Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aciditerrimonas ferrireducens gen. nov., sp. nov., an iron-reducing thermoacidophilic actinobacterium isolated from a solfataric field.

An iron-reducing, moderately thermophilic, acidophilic actinobacterium, strain IC-180(T), isolated from a solfataric field in Hakone, Japan, was subjected to polyphasic taxonomic analysis. Strain IC-180(T) was a motile, short rod-shaped, Gram-positive bacterium that was able to grow at temperatures of 35-58 °C (optimally at 50 °C) and at pH 2.0-4.5 (optimally at pH 3.0). The strain grew aerobically and heterotrophically. It also grew anaerobically or autotrophically by dissimilatory reduction of ferric iron. No oxidation of ferrous iron was observed. Major cellular fatty acids detected were iso-C(16 : 0), anteiso-C(17 : 0) and iso-C(18 : 0); the major menaquinone was MK-9(H(8)). Phosphatidyl-N-methylethanolamine and an unknown ninhydrin-positive phosphoglycolipid were detected. The total DNA G+C content was 74.1 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that strain IC-180(T) was a member of the order Acidimicrobiales and clustered coherently with uncultured actinobacteria from a geothermal site and a bioreactor operated under moderately thermophilic conditions. This cluster could be distinguished from the two other clusters comprising the families of this order, Acidimicrobiaceae and Iamiaceae, respectively. Based on the properties of strain IC-180(T) determined in this polyphasic taxonomic study, this strain represents a novel species in a new genus in the order Acidimicrobiales, for which the name Aciditerrimonas ferrireducens gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is IC-180(T) ( = JCM 15389(T) = DSM 45281(T)).
Defective tumoricidal capacity of macrophages from C3H/HeJ mice.

Peritoneal macrophages from C3H/HeN mice treated i.p. with T cell mitogens or viable BCG organisms were cytotoxic to syngeneic tumor cells in vitro. Macrophages from endotoxin-unresponsive C3H/HeJ mice treated with BCG or T cell mitogens, however, were not tumoricidal. Furthermore, unlike cells from C3H/HeN mice, macrophages from C3H/HeJ mice could not be activated for tumor cytotoxicity after in vitro treatment with bacterial endotoxins or with lymphokine-rich supernatants. The subnormal induction of cytotoxic macrophages after in vitro or in vivo treatments in C3H/HeJ mice appears to be a highly selective defect. Macrophage responses (yield, phagocytosis, or peroxidase staining) in inflammatory exudates induced by BCG, T cell mitogens, or heterologous serum in C3H/HeJ or C3H/HeN mice were identical. C3H/HeJ macrophages also responded normally in vitor to chemotactic lymphokines. Thus, C3H/HeJ macrophages possess a profound and selective defect in tumoricidal capacity. This defect was not dependent upon exogenous endotoxins. Defective macrophage cytotoxic responses may reflect non-LPS related functions regulated by the LPS gene.
Paranormal and Religious Believers Are More Prone to Illusory Face Perception than Skeptics and Non-believers

Summary Illusory face perception, a tendency to find human-like faces where none are actually present in, for example, artifacts or scenery, is a common phenomenon that occasionally enters the public eye. We used two tests (N = 47) to analyze the relationship between paranormal and religious beliefs and illusory face perception. In a detection task, the participants detected face-like features from pictures of scenery and landscapes with and without face-like areas and, in a rating task, evaluated the face-likeness and emotionality of these areas. Believer groups were better at identifying the previously defined face-like regions in the images but were also prone to false alarms. Signal detection analysis revealed that believers had more liberal answering criteria than skeptics, but the actual detection sensitivity did not differ. The paranormal believers also evaluated the artifact faces as more face-like and emotional than the skeptics, and a similar trend was found between religious and non-religious people. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effects of Dye Loading Conditions on the Energy Conversion Efficiency of ZnO and TiO2 Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

In this paper, we report the significant effects of dye loading conditions on the overall light conversion efficiency of zinc oxide (ZnO) film electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells. A comparison of the ZnO film electrodes was also made with TiO2 film electrodes prepared with similar dye loading conditions. It was found that using a higher and lower dye concentration requires a shorter and longer immersion time, respectively, for optimal sensitization of ZnO to obtain maximum efficiencies. A similar trend was found for the TiO2 film electrode as well; however, smaller differences in the overall light conversion efficiencies were observed with varying dye concentration and immersion time. It was found that the chemical stability was an issue for the ZnO film electrodes but was not pertinent for the TiO2 film electrodes. The film quality and structure of the ZnO film differed after prolonged immersion in high dye concentration, where the formation of N3 dye and Zn2+ aggregates and/or the deterioration of .
ANALISIS KEMAMPUAN BERPIKIR KRITIS SISWA PADA MATERI POKOK SISTEM PENCERNAAN MANUSIA DI KELAS XI IPA SMA SWASTA YAPIM BIRU-BIRU, DELITUA TAHUN PEMBELAJARAN 2017/2018

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa pada materi pokok sistem pencernaan manusia di kelas XI IPA SMA Swasta YAPIM Biru-biru, Delitua Tahun Pembelajaran 2017/2018. Populasi penelitian ini adalah seluruh siswa kelas XI IPA YAPIM Biru-biru, Delitua yang terdiri atas tiga kelas berjumlah 98 siswa. Sampel penelitian terdiri atas satu kelas yaitu XIIPA3 sebanyak 34 siswa dan pengambilan sampel dilakukan dengan teknik random sampling. Jenis penelitian adalah penelitian deskriptif kuantitatif. Instrumen penelitian yang digunakan adalah tes kemampuan berpikir kritis sebanyak 25 soal dan lembar observasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa pada materi Sistem Pencernaan Manusia di kelas XI IPA SMA Swasta YAPIM Biru-biru, Delitua Tahun Pembelajaran 2017/2018 berada padakriteria cukup sampai dengan sangat baik (79,41%) sebanyak 27 siswa. Rata-rata kemampuan berpikir kritis paling tinggi ditemukan pada indikator 4 (Mengobservasi dan mempertimbangkan hasil observasi)yaitu sebesar 81 %, sedangkan rata-rata kemampuan berpikir kritis paling rendah ditemukan pada indikator 2 (Bertanya dan menjawab pertanyaan) yaitu sebesar 59,65 %
Electrospun poly(ɛ-caprolactone) scaffold for suture-free solder-mediated laser-assisted vessel repair.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The addition of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) scaffolds to liquid solder-mediated laser-assisted vascular repair (sLAVR) has been shown to increase soldering strength significantly. Unfortunately, the fast degradation of PLGA is associated with adverse effects such as acidity of the degradation products. This study investigated the possibility of using electrospun poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) as reinforcement material in scaffold and solder-mediated LAVR (ssLAVR). MATERIALS AND METHODS In vitro sLAVR of 10-mm arteriotomies (n = 62) was performed on 0.3- to 0.6-cm diameter porcine carotid arteries with a 670-nm diode laser. The solder contained 50% bovine serum albumin (BSA) and 0.1-0.7% methylene blue (MB) as a chromophore. The soldering strength was studied as a function of PCL-scaffold thickness, scaffold-fiber diameter, MB concentration, number of laser passes, and different sLAVR techniques. Leaking-point pressures (LPPs) were measured with a fluid-infusion technique. RESULTS The highest mean ± SD LPP (749 ± 171 mm Hg) was produced by the ssLAVR modality that included the sheathing of the arteriotomy with 30 μL solder containing 50% BSA and 0.5% MB, followed by application of the PCL scaffold (mean ± SD thickness of 187 ± 9 μm and 14-μm fiber diameter) and irradiation with two consecutive continuous-wave laser passes. CONCLUSIONS The study demonstrated the potential applicability of an electrospun PCL scaffold as reinforcement material in ssLAVR. Soldering strength was dependent on the scaffold physical properties, chromophore concentration, the number of laser passes, and the ssLAVR technique.
Self‐Sustaining Status Epilepticus: A Condition Maintained by Potentiation of Glutamate Receptors and by Plastic Changes in Substance P and Other Peptide Neuromodulators

Summary: We describe a model of self‐sustaining status epilepticus (SSSE) induced by stimulation of the perforant path in free‐running rats. In this model, seizures can be transiently suppressed by intrahippocampal injection of a blocker of α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylisoxazole‐4‐propionic acid/kainate synapses but return in the absence of further stimulation when the drug ceases to act. However, seizures are irreversibly abolished by blockers of N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptors given locally or systemically. SSSE is enhanced by substance P and its agonists and blocked by its antagonists. SSSE induces novel expression of substance P‐like immunoreactivity in hippocampal principal cells. These changes and those in other limbic peptides may contribute to the maintenance of SSSE and to the modulation of hippocampal excitability during epileptic seizures.
Differential influence of peripheral and systemic sex steroids on skeletal muscle quality in pre‐ and postmenopausal women

Aging is associated with gradual decline of skeletal muscle strength and mass often leading to diminished muscle quality. This phenomenon is known as sarcopenia and affects about 30% of the over 60‐year‐old population. Androgens act as anabolic agents regulating muscle mass and improving muscle performance. The role of female sex steroids as well as the ability of skeletal muscle tissue to locally produce sex steroids has been less extensively studied. We show that despite the extensive systemic deficit of sex steroid hormones in postmenopausal compared to premenopausal women, the hormone content of skeletal muscle does not follow the same trend. In contrast to the systemic levels, muscle tissue of post‐ and premenopausal women had similar concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone and androstenedione, while the concentrations of estradiol and testosterone were significantly higher in muscle of the postmenopausal women. The presence of steroidogenetic enzymes in muscle tissue indicates that the elevated postmenopausal steroid levels in skeletal muscle are because of local steroidogenesis. The circulating sex steroids were associated with better muscle quality while the muscle concentrations reflected the amount of infiltrated fat within muscle tissue. We conclude that systemically delivered and peripherally produced sex steroids have distinct roles in the regulation of neuromuscular characteristics during aging.
Accessing Source Information in Analogical Problem-Solving

Several studies showed that people presented with source information fail to apply it to an analogous target problem unless they are instructed to use the source. Seven experiments were carried out to assess whether such a lack of spontaneous transfer occurs because individuals do not activate the source during the target task or because they do not realize the source-target relationship. Experiment 1 compared a condition in which the source was activated with no cue about the source-target connection to conditions in which subjects were informed about this connection. Results suggested that the lack of spontaneous transfer does not depend on failure in activating source information. Experiments 2, 3, and 4 were devised to falsify this finding by activating the source closer and closer to the target and by focusing participants’ attention toward the relevant aspects of the source. Experiments 5, 6, and 7 were aimed at stressing source-target correspondences by introducing surface similarities. All experiments showed that the mere activation of the source does not facilitate analogical transfer. Results suggested that two processes should be distinguished in the access phase of analogical problem-solving: Source retrieval and identification of the source-target connection.
Declining Incidence of Persistent Proteinuria in Type I (Insulin-Dependent) Diabetic Patients in Denmark

The decreasing relative mortality among type I (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients during the last 50 years might be related to the incidence of clinical diabetic nephropathy. We therefore followed 2890 type I diabetic patients (1607 males and 1283 females) diagnosed between 1933 and 1972 and before the age of 31, from admission to death, emigration, or January 1, 1984. All patients had been admitted to the Steno Memorial Hospital. Information on development of proteinuria was obtained in 2658 patients (92%). Five hundred twenty-five patients developed proteinuria due to diabetes and 49 developed nondiabetic proteinuria. When comparing patients diagnosed between 1933 and 1942 with those diagnosed between 1953 and 1962, the incidence of proteinuria decreased by 30% (P < .03). This might explain the decrease of relative mortality in type I diabetic patients. The incidence decreased with increasing age at onset but was always highest in males. Insulin dose (U/kg) and diabetes duration at admission did not influence the incidence of proteinuria. The incidence peaked after 15-17 yr of diabetes duration independent of sex, age at diagnosis, or calendar year of diagnosis. However, the majority of patients did not develop proteinuria during 40 yr of diabetes. This suggests individual renal susceptibility to the deleterious effect of hyperglycemia.
Effect of an intensive hand exercise programme in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The aim of this study was to test the effect of an intensive hand exercise programme in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Designed as a clinical controlled trial, the first 30 participants received a conservative exercise programme (CEP), while the next 30 received an intensive exercise programme (IEP). Outcomes were assessed at baseline, and after 2 and 14 weeks. Hand strength, measured as grip strength and pinch strength, was the primary outcome variable. Secondary outcomes were joint mobility, hand pain, and functional ability. After two weeks, there were significant differences between the groups in favour of the IEP in pinch strength in the dominant hand (p=0.01), as well as grip and pinch strength in the non-dominant hand (p=0.04 and 0.05, respectively). After 14 weeks, there was a significant difference between the two groups in grip strength in the non-dominant hand (p=0.04), again in favour of the IEP. There was a trend towards increased pain in the CEP group and towards decreased pain in the IEP group, with significant differences between the groups in several measures of pain after 2 and 14 weeks. However, there were few significant differences between the two groups regarding joint mobility and functional ability. The results indicate that, compared with a traditional programme, an intensive hand exercise programme is well tolerated and more effective in improving hand function in patients with RA.
Nucleotide sequence and functions of the oriT operon in IncI1 plasmid R64

Two transfer genes of IncI1 plasmid R64, tentatively designated nikA and nikB, were cloned and sequenced. They are located adjacent to the origin of transfer (oriT) and appear to be organized into an operon, which we call the oriT operon. On the basis of the DNA sequence, nikA and nikB were concluded to encode proteins with 110 and 899 amino acid residues, respectively. Complementation analysis indicated that these two genes are indispensable for the transfer of R64 but are not required for the mobilization of ColE1. By the maxicell procedure, the product of nikA was found to be a 15-kDa protein. On treating a cleared lysate prepared from cells harboring a plasmid containing oriT, nikA, and nikB with sodium dodecyl sulfate or proteinase K, superhelical plasmid DNA in the cleared lysate was converted to an open circular form (relaxation). Relaxation of plasmid DNA was found to require the oriT sequence in cis and the nikA and nikB sequences in trans. It would thus follow that the products of nikA and nikB genes form a relaxation complex with plasmid DNA at the oriT site.
Information extraction from large-scale WSNs: approaches and research issues: approaches and research issues: part I: overview and agent based approaches

Regardless of the application domain and deployment scope, the ability to retrieve information is critical to the successful functioning of any wireless sensor network (WSN) system. In general, information extraction procedures can be categorized into three main approaches: agentbased, query-based and macroprogramming. Whilst query-based systems are the most popular, macroprogramming techniques provide a more general-purpose approach to distributed computation. Finally, the agent-based approaches tailor the information extraction mechanism to the type of information needed and the configuration of the network it needs to be extracted from. This suite of three papers (Part I-III) offers an extensive survey of the literature in the area of WSN information extraction, covering in Part I and Part II the three main approaches above. Part III highlights the open research questions and issues faced by deployable WSN system designers and discusses the potential benefits of both in-network processing and complex querying for large scale wireless informational systems. Copyright © 2008 IFSA.
The effects of airway microbiome on corticosteroid responsiveness in asthma.

RATIONALE The role of airway microbiome in corticosteroid response in asthma is unknown. OBJECTIVES To examine airway microbiome composition in patients with corticosteroid-resistant (CR) asthma and compare it with patients with corticosteroid-sensitive (CS) asthma and normal control subjects and explore whether bacteria in the airways of subjects with asthma may direct alterations in cellular responses to corticosteroids. METHODS 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples of 39 subjects with asthma and 12 healthy control subjects. In subjects with asthma, corticosteroid responsiveness was characterized, BAL macrophages were stimulated with pathogenic versus commensal microorganisms, and analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction for the expression of corticosteroid-regulated genes and cellular p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Of the 39 subjects with asthma, 29 were CR and 10 were CS. BAL microbiome from subjects with CR and CS asthma did not differ in richness, evenness, diversity, and community composition at the phylum level, but did differ at the genus level, with distinct genus expansions in 14 subjects with CR asthma. Preincubation of asthmatic airway macrophages with Haemophilus parainfluenzae, a uniquely expanded potential pathogen found only in CR asthma airways, resulted in p38 MAPK activation, increased IL-8 (P < 0.01), mitogen-activated kinase phosphatase 1 mRNA (P < 0.01) expression, and inhibition of corticosteroid responses (P < 0.05). This was not observed after exposure to commensal bacterium Prevotella melaninogenica. Inhibition of transforming growth factor-β-associated kinase-1 (TAK1), upstream activator of MAPK, but not p38 MAPK restored cellular sensitivity to corticosteroids. CONCLUSIONS A subset of subjects with CR asthma demonstrates airway expansion of specific gram-negative bacteria, which trigger TAK1/MAPK activation and induce corticosteroid resistance. TAK1 inhibition restored cellular sensitivity to corticosteroids.
Twitch potentiation induced by two different modalities of neuromuscular electrical stimulation: Implications for motor unit recruitment

Introduction: We tested the hypothesis that twitch potentiation would be greater following conventional (CONV) neuromuscular electrical stimulation (50‐µs pulse width and 25‐Hz frequency) compared with wide‐pulse high‐frequency (WPHF) neuromuscular electrical stimulation (1‐ms, 100‐Hz) and voluntary (VOL) contractions, because of specificities in motor unit recruitment (random in CONV vs. random and orderly in WPHF vs. orderly in VOL). Methods: A single twitch was evoked by means of tibial nerve stimulation before and 2 s after CONV, WPHF, and VOL conditioning contractions of the plantar flexors (intensity: 10% maximal voluntary contraction; duration: 10 s) in 13 young healthy subjects. Results: Peak twitch increased (P < 0.05) after CONV (+4.5 ± 4.0%) and WPHF (+3.3 ± 5.9%), with no difference between the 2 modalities, whereas no changes were observed after VOL (+0.8 ± 2.6%). Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that presumed differences in motor unit recruitment between WPHF and CONV do not seem to influence twitch potentiation results. Muscle Nerve 51: 412–418, 2015
Trellis-coded vector quantization

Trellis-coded quantization is generalized to allow a vector reproduction alphabet. Three encoding structures are described, several encoder design rules are presented, and two design algorithms are developed. It is shown that for a stationary ergodic vector source, if the optimized trellis-coded vector quantization reproduction process is jointly stationary and ergodic with the source, then the quantization noise is zero-mean and of a variance equal to the difference between the source variance and the variance of the reproduction sequence. Several examples illustrate the encoder design procedure and performance. >
Frontal fibrosing alopecia: a clinical review of 36 patients

Background Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) is a primary lymphocytic cicatricial alopecia with a distinctive clinical pattern of progressive frontotemporal hairline recession. Currently, there are no evidence‐based studies to guide treatment for patients with FFA; thus, treatment options vary among clinicians.
Aflatoxin M1 in breast-milk of UAE women

Abstract A study was undertaken to determine whether breast-milk of mothers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) contained aflatoxins. One hundred and forty lactating mothers, 55 who had delivered premature infants (<2500 g, ≤37 wk gestational age) and 85 who had full-term infants, agreed to participate in the study. Breast-milk was collected during regular feeding of infants in the special care baby unit and postnatal wards using an electric breast pump and ten ml of milk was siphoned off into a zinc-free plastic container for analysis. Aflatoxin M1 concentration in the breast-milk samples was measured by HPLC. Samples were collected between January 1999 and December 2000. Approximately 66% of the mothers were expatriates and 34% were UAE nationals. Babies' weight, postnatal age, sex, birthweight and gestational age, and mothers' nationality, age and parity were recorded. Overall, 92% of the breast-milk samples contained aflatoxin M1. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis failed to show significant correlation between aflatoxin M1 and gestational age, postnatal age, gender, nationality and clinical condition. Levels of lactose, protein and lipids did not correlate significantly with levels of aflatoxin M1. The public should be educated about storing food and the hazards of aflatoxin ingestion to reduce the unacceptably frequent presence of aflatoxin in breast-milk.