Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Long-Term Starvation on a Host Bivalve (Codakia orbicularis, Lucinidae) and Its Symbiont Population

ABSTRACT The bivalve Codakia orbicularis, hosting sulfur-oxidizing gill endosymbionts, was starved (in artificial seawater filtered through a 0.22-μm-pore-size membrane) for a long-term experiment (4 months). The effects of starvation were observed using transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence in situ hybridization and catalyzed reporter deposition (CARD-FISH), and flow cytometry to monitor the anatomical and physiological modifications in the gill organization of the host and in the symbiotic population housed in bacteriocytes. The abundance of the symbiotic population decreased through starvation, with a loss of one-third of the bacterial population each month, as shown by CARD-FISH. At the same time, flow cytometry revealed significant changes in the physiology of symbiotic cells, with a decrease in cell size and modifications to the nucleic acid content, while most of the symbionts maintained a high respiratory activity (measured using the 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride method). Progressively, the number of symbiont subpopulations was reduced, and the subsequent multigenomic state, characteristic of this symbiont in freshly collected clams, turned into one and five equivalent genome copies for the two remaining subpopulations after 3 months. Concomitant structural modifications appeared in the gill organization. Lysosymes became visible in the bacteriocytes, while large symbionts disappeared, and bacteriocytes were gradually replaced by granule cells throughout the entire lateral zone. Those data suggested that host survival under these starvation conditions was linked to symbiont digestion as the main nutritional source.
Thromboelastography may predict risk of grade 2 bleeding in thrombocytopenic patients

Platelet count is used as a prophylactic platelet transfusion trigger, although evidence suggests that it is a poor predictor of bleeding. Thus, alternative tests are required. The primary objective of this study was to compare thromboelastography (TEG) parameters on days with and without bleeding symptoms. The secondary objectives were to investigate the relationship between TEG parameters and haematological variables, fever, C‐reactive protein (CRP) and platelet transfusion.
Phosphodiesterase 1B differentially modulates the effects of methamphetamine on locomotor activity and spatial learning through DARPP32‐dependent pathways: evidence from PDE1B‐DARPP32 double‐knockout mice

Mice lacking phosphodiesterase 1B (PDE1B) exhibit an exaggerated locomotor response to d‐methamphetamine and increased in vitro phosphorylation of DARPP32 (dopamine‐ and cAMP‐regulated phosphoprotein, Mr 32 kDa) at Thr34 in striatal brain slices treated with the D1 receptor agonist, SKF81297. These results indicated a possible regulatory role for PDE1B in pathways involving DARPP32. Here, we generated PDE1B × DARPP32 double‐knockout (double‐KO) mice to test the role of PDE1B in DARPP32‐dependent pathways in vivo. Analysis of the response to d‐methamphetamine on locomotor activity showed that the hyperactivity experienced by PDE1B mutant mice was blocked in PDE1B–/–x DARPP32–/– double‐KO mice, consistent with participation of PDE1B and DARPP32 in the same pathway. Further behavioral testing in the elevated zero‐maze revealed that DARPP32–/– mice showed a less anxious phenotype that was nullified in double‐mutant mice. In contrast, in the Morris water maze, double‐KO mice showed deficits in spatial reversal learning not observed in either single mutant compared with wild‐type mice. The data suggest a role for PDE1B in locomotor responses to psychostimulants through modulation of DARPP32‐dependent pathways; however, this modulation does not necessarily impact other behaviors, such as anxiety or learning. Instead, the phenotype of double‐KOs observed in these latter tasks may be mediated through independent pathways.
PCR for enteric pathogens in high-prevalence settings. What does a positive signal tell us?

Abstract Background: Molecular methods, in particular PCR, are increasingly used for the diagnosis of enteric pathogens in stool samples. In high-endemicity settings, however, asymptomatic carriage or residual DNA from previous infections will hamper the interpretation of positive test results. We assessed the quantitative dimension of this problem in schoolchildren in the rural highlands of Madagascar. Methods: Stool samples were collected from 410 apparently healthy Madagascan schoolchildren and analysed by multiplex real-time PCR for enteroinvasive bacteria (Salmonella spp., Shigella spp./enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC), Campylobacter jejuni, Yersinia spp. ), enteric protozoa (Entamoebea histolytica, Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium spp., Cyclospora spp.), and helminths (Ascaris lumbricoides, Ancylostoma spp., Necator americanus, Strongyloides stercoralis). Symptoms of gastrointestinal disease were assessed. Results: Among the 410 samples, we detected Giardia duodenalis in 195, Campylobacter jejuni in 91, Ascaris lumbricoides in 72, Cyclospora cayetanenesis in 68, Shigella spp. /EIEC in 56, and Strongyloides stercoralis and Cryptosporum spp. in 1 case each. Salmonella spp. , Yersinia spp. and hookworms were not observed. Relative risk assessment suggested few and incoherent associations with pathogen detections, indicating asymptomatic carriage or DNA residuals. Only 26.1% of the schoolchildren were tested negative for all analysed pathogens. Conclusions: The very high risk of detecting traces of asymptomatic carriage or residual DNA from previous infections limits the value of highly sensitive PCR for the causal attribution of detected enteric pathogens from stool samples to an infectious gastrointestinal disease in the high-endemicity setting. Evaluated standards for the interpretation of such results are needed both for the diagnostic routine and for epidemiological assessments.
Aberrant gene promoter methylation in acute promyelocytic leukaemia: profile and prognostic significance

Summary. Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) has distinct clinicopathological and molecular features. However, the profile of aberrant gene promoter methylation is undefined. In this study, methylation‐specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) was used to define the methylation status of a panel of nine genes, comprising p15, p16, RARβ, oestrogen receptor (ER), E‐cadherin (E‐CAD), p73, caspase 8 (CASP8), VHL and MGMT, in 29 patients with APL. Aberrant methylation of p15, ER, RARβ, p16 and E‐CAD occurred, respectively, in 23 (79%), 14 (48%), six (21%), six (21%) and two (7%) patients at diagnosis, but p73, VHL, CASP8 and MGMT were not methylated in any patients. There was methylation of one gene in 13 patients (45%), two genes in four patients (14%), three genes in six patients (21%) and four genes in three patients (10%). Concurrent methylation of two or more genes occurred in 13 patients (45%). No association was identified between gene methylation and presenting clinicopathological features. However, p15 methylation was significantly associated with an inferior disease‐free survival (DFS, P = 0·008), and remained the only poor prognostic factor in multivariate analysis (P = 0·019). In APL, p15, p16, ER and RARβ were most frequently methylated. This profile is distinct from other types of myeloid leukaemias. p15 methylation has a poor prognostic impact on DFS.
Rapid stress reduction and anxiolysis among distressed women as a consequence of a three-month intensive yoga program.

BACKGROUND Emotional distress is an increasing public health problem and Hatha yoga has been claimed to induce stress reduction and empowerment in practicing subjects. We aimed to evaluate potential effects of Iyengar Hatha yoga on perceived stress and associated psychological outcomes in mentally distressed women. MATERIAL/METHODS A controlled prospective non-randomized study was conducted in 24 self-referred female subjects (mean age 37.9+/-7.3 years) who perceived themselves as emotionally distressed. Subjects were offered participation in one of two subsequential 3-months yoga programs. Group 1 (n=16) participated in the first class, group 2 (n=8) served as a waiting list control. During the yoga course, subjects attended two-weekly 90-min Iyengar yoga classes. Outcome was assessed on entry and after 3 months by Cohen Perceived Stress Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Profile of Mood States, CESD-Depression Scale, Bf-S/Bf-S' Well-Being Scales, Freiburg Complaint List and ratings of physical well-being. Salivary cortisol levels were measured before and after an evening yoga class in a second sample. RESULTS Compared to waiting-list, women who participated in the yoga-training demonstrated pronounced and significant improvements in perceived stress (P<0.02), State and Trait Anxiety (P<0.02 and P<0.01, respectively), well-being (P<0.01), vigor (P<0.02), fatigue (P<0.02) and depression (P<0.05). Physical well-being also increased (P<0.01), and those subjects suffering from headache or back pain reported marked pain relief. Salivary cortisol decreased significantly after participation in a yoga class (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Women suffering from mental distress participating in a 3-month Iyengar yoga class show significant improvements on measures of stress and psychological outcomes. Further investigation of yoga with respect to prevention and treatment of stress-related disease and of underlying mechanism is warranted.
Home births and postnatal practices in Madagali, north-eastern Nigeria.

BACKGROUND Home births are common in resource poor countries and postnatal practices vary from one community to the other. OBJECTIVE To determine the proportion of home births, reasons for home delivery, and evaluate postnatal practices in Madagali, north-eastern Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of 400 women of reproductive age, who had put to birth in the past 1 year. The study was carried out over a period of 8 weeks from April to June 2010. The multistage method of sampling was used to select respondents. In the first stage, four of the five health districts were chosen randomly, namely, Gulak, Madagali, Sukur, and Duhu. The questionnaires were evenly distributed among the four health districts. In the second stage, from each district, two villages were chosen by simple random sample. In the third stage, two wards were selected in each village by simple random sampling. RESULT Of the 400 respondents interviewed, 289 (72.2%) were aged between 20 and 39 years, and most, 374 (93.5%) were married. Only 14 (3.5%) had tertiary education. Most respondents, 224 (56.0%) were farmers and grandmultiparae, 187 (46.7%). A total of 196 (49.0%) women delivered at home, whereas 204 (51.0%) delivered at the hospital. Of the 196 respondents who delivered at home, the bedroom 142 (72.4%), was the preferred place of birth. The most common reason for home birth was short duration of labor in 71 (36.3%) cases. Delivery was conducted by untrained persons in 50, (25.4%), whereas 99 (50.8%) and 31 (15.5%) deliveries were supervised by Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and Midwives/Nurses, respectively. Postpartum, the majority, 235 (58.7%) respondents used sanitary pads to stanch lochia, whereas 140 (35%) used rags. CONCLUSION A significant number of births take place in the home and supervised by unskilled persons. Against the backdrop of poor education and low socio-economic status of respondents, perineal hygiene can be adjudged satisfactory. There is the need to increase on the number of hospital birth and also trained TBA who conduct most of home deliveries.
Plasma Gabapentin Concentrations in Children With Epilepsy: Influence of Age, Relationship With Dosage, and Preliminary Observations on Correlation With Clinical Response

The influence of age and administered daily dosage on the plasma concentrations of gabapentin (GBP) at steady state was evaluated in a group of 41 children and young adults (aged 3–30 years) receiving long-term adjunctive treatment with GBP for the management of refractory partial-onset seizures. For each patient, peak and trough concentrations were determined by a specific high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method in samples obtained before the morning dose and 2.5 hours later, respectively. To assess within-subject relationship between plasma concentration and dosage, 30 patients were evaluated at more than one dosage level. Within the assessed dose range, plasma GBP concentrations were linearly related to dose. Apparent oral clearance values (mean ± SD) in children aged 6 years or less (4.8 ± 0.9 mL/kg/min) were comparable with those observed in children aged 7 to 15 years (4.6 + 1.5 mL/kg/min) and moderately higher than those found in young adults (3.9 + 0.9 mL/kg/min), even though differences among groups failed to reach statistical significance. There was, however, a significant difference in CL/F between children aged 10 years or less and older children (5.1 ± 1.1 vs. 3.8 ± 1.2 mL/kg/min, P < 0.005). Of the 41 patients who entered the study, 22 discontinued treatment, mostly due to insufficient efficacy. No significant difference in plasma GBP concentration was detected between patients showing a greater than 50% reduction in seizure frequency (4.1 ± 1.9 &mgr;g/mL, n = 11, mean ± SD) and those having no significant clinical improvement (4.4 ± 1.7 &mgr;g/mL, n = 30). These results indicate that in children given dosages up to 50 mg/kg/d (mean, 25 mg/kg/d), GBP pharmacokinetic analyses show no important deviation from linearity. The data also suggest that, on average, children may need moderately higher dosages to reach plasma GBP concentrations comparable with those found in adults. There seems to be a large variation in the plasma concentrations of the drug associated with a favorable therapeutic response.
Viscoelastic properties of acid‐ and alkaline‐treated human dermis: a correlation between total surface charge and elastic modulus

Background: One of the major mechanical functions of collagenous tissues is the storage, transmission and dissipation of elastic energy during mechanical deformation. In skin, mechanical energy is stored during loading and then is transmitted and dissipated, which protects skin from mechanical failure. Thus energy storage (elastic properties) and dissipation (viscous properties) are important characteristics of extracellular matrices.
Influence of phytase and xylanase, individually or in combination, on performance, apparent metabolisable energy, digestive tract measurements and gut morphology in broilers fed wheat-based diets containing adequate level of phosphorus

1. The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of microbial phytase and xylanase, individually or in combination, on performance, apparent metabolisable energy, digesta viscosity, digestive tract measurements and gut morphology in broilers fed on wheat–soy diets containing adequate phosphorus (P). The wheat–soy basal diet was formulated to contain 4·5 g/kg non-phytate P and the experimental diets were formulated by supplementing the basal diet with xylanase (1000 xylanase units/kg diet), phytase (500 phytase units/kg diet) or a combination of phytase and xylanase. 2. Supplemental phytase improved the weight gains and feed efficiency by 17·5 and 2·9%, respectively. Corresponding improvements due to the addition of xylanase were 16·5 and 4·9%, respectively. The combination of phytase and xylanase caused no further improvements in broiler performance. 3. Individual additions of xylanase or phytase resulted in numerical improvements in apparent metabolisable energy (AME), but the differences were not significant. The combination of the two enzymes significantly increased AME. Addition of xylanase and the combination of the two enzymes reduced the viscosity of digesta in all sections of the intestine. Phytase supplementation reduced digesta viscosity in the duodenum and ileum, but not in the jejunum. 4. Enzyme supplementation lowered the relative weight and length of the small intestine. Additions of xylanase and phytase reduced the relative weight of the small intestine by 15·5 and 11·4%, respectively, while the corresponding reductions in the relative length of the small intestine were 16·5 and 14·1%, respectively. The combination of phytase and xylanase had no further effects on the relative weight and length of the small intestine compared with the xylanase group. 5. The addition of phytase increased villus height in the duodenum and decreased the number of goblet cells in the jejunum compared with those on the unsupplemented basal diet. Xylanase supplementation tended to increase goblet cell numbers in the duodenum and decreased crypt depth in the jejunum. The combination of phytase and xylanase increased villus height in the ileum and crypt depth in the jejunum and ileum. 6. In summary, the present results showed that the addition of a microbial phytase, produced by solid state fermentation and containing significant activities of β-glucanase and xylanase, was as effective as xylanase in improving the performance of broiler chickens fed on wheat-based diets containing adequate levels of P. Improved performance with enzyme supplementation was generally associated with reduced digesta viscosity, increased AME, and reduced relative weight and length of small intestine.
Education for Diversity in Initial Teacher Preparation Programmes: a Comparative International Study

Despite the growing diversity in school polulation, many teacher educators fail incorporating diversity-related content into the courses they teach. As a result, numerous preservice teachers lack quality learning opportunities to become well versed on issues of diversity in meaningful ways. This article reports the results of an international study which explores preservice teacher perceptions of opportunity to learning to teach in diverse inclusive classrooms. A questionnaire was used to document the perceptions of a cohort of kindergarten and elementary student teachers from Spain and the US. Results indicated that strong international differences existed in the perceptions of respondents towards opportunity to learn theoretical aspects of teaching for diversity (e.g., know intervention strategies to meet student diverse educational needs), opportunity to learning to teach inclusively (e.g., learn how to develop an inclusive curriculum), and opportunity to observe and analyse practical aspects of diversity teaching (e.g., conduct diversity-related field-work), all these differences favouring US respondents. The results highlight the need for increased attention to teaching diversity in preservice teacher education programmes. Implications for ongoing development of initial teacher preparation are discussed within the context of improving educators and student teachers’ training for diversity. Key words: Teacher education for diversity, opportunity to learning to teach, inclusive education, preservice teachers’ perceptions, international higher education.
Stages of PPP and Principal–Agent Conflicts: The Swedish Water and Sewerage Sector

ABSTRACT The focus of this article is on public–private partnerships (PPPs). The aim is to both theoretically and empirically illustrate PPP agency problems in four PPP stages, as well as to identify potentially relevant solutions to the agency problems. The study employed a longitudinal case study of one PPP in a municipality in southern Sweden. Through an analysis based on interviews, observations, and documents, the study illustrates a number of agency problems faced by PPPs and highlights the importance of resource allocation, stakeholder management, and the creation of a common identity in reducing these problems.
Intrinsic Susceptibility of Rhesus Macaque Peripheral CD4+ T Cells to Simian Immunodeficiency Virus In Vitro Is Predictive of In Vivo Viral Replication

ABSTRACT Previous studies with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of rhesus macaques suggested that the intrinsic susceptibility of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to infection with SIV in vitro was predictive of relative viremia after SIV challenge. The present study was conducted to evaluate this parameter in a well-characterized cohort of six rhesus macaques selected for marked differences in susceptibility to SIV infection in vitro. Rank order relative susceptibility of PBMC to SIVsmE543-3-infection in vitro was maintained over a 1-year period of evaluation. Differential susceptibility of different donors was maintained in CD8+T-cell-depleted PBMC, macrophages, and CD4+ T-cell lines derived by transformation of PBMC with herpesvirus saimiri, suggesting that this phenomenon is an intrinsic property of CD4+target cells. Following intravenous infection of these macaques with SIVsmE543-3, we observed a wide range in plasma viremia which followed the same rank order as the relative susceptibility established by in vitro studies. A significant correlation was observed between plasma viremia at 2 and 8 weeks postinoculation and in vitro susceptibility (P < 0.05). The observation that the two most susceptible macaques were seropositive for simian T-lymphotropic virus type 1 may suggests a role for this viral infection in enhancing susceptibility to SIV infection in vitro and in vivo. In summary, intrinsic susceptibility of CD4+ target cells appears to be an important factor influencing early virus replication patterns in vivo that should be considered in the design and interpretation of vaccine studies using the SIV/macaque model.
Work/family conflict across various life and career stages

This study examines Work Family Conflict including Work Interferes with Family (WIF) conflict, Family Interferes with Work (FIW) conflict, role overload, role interference and the impact of children across various life and career stages. Much of the research in this area focuses on the differences in the way the genders experience Work Family Conflict. Research has shown that various life and career stages can have a marked impact on this type of conflict and this study aims to determine how individuals in the various life and career stages experience this conflict. A correlational research design was used for this study. Using a five point likert scale, participants were asked to score their responses to seventeen items. The instrument was based on Duxbury and Mills Measure of Work Family Conflict (1990) (in Handbook of Quality-of-Life Research: An Ethical Perspective by Sirgy, 2001) with the inclusion of two additional items due to their high face validity. The questionnaire was distributed to human resources managers in organisations, friends, family members and colleagues and friends, family members and colleagues of theirs. Most of the responses were scored using a pencil and paper technique and the remainder was distributed using a Surveymonkey application on social media platforms like Facebook and Linkedin. The overall sample size of respondents was 175. The raw data was entered on an excel spreadsheet and analysed using Statistica version 12 and Microsoft Excel applications with VBA macros developed by a consultant for the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Unit for Statistical