Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mixed Xenogeneic Chimerism Induces Donor-Specific Humoral and Cellular Immune Tolerance for Cardiac Xenografts1

Xenotransplantation has been suggested as a potential solution to the critical shortage of donor organs. However, success has been limited by the vigorous rejection response elicited against solid organs transplanted across species barriers. Mixed xenogeneic bone marrow chimeras resulting from the transplantation of a mixture of host and donor marrow (B10 mouse + F344 rat → B10 mouse) results in donor-specific cross-species transplantation tolerance for subsequent nonvascularized skin and islet grafts. Furthermore, compared with fully xenogeneic chimeras (rat → mouse), mixed xenogeneic chimeras exhibit superior immunocompetence for infectious agents in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that the immune system is intact. The ability to establish long-term humoral and cellular tolerance for primarily vascularized xenografts in vivo, in the setting of both recipient and donor Ig and effector cell production, has not previously been characterized. Mixed xenogeneic chimeras exhibit donor-specific humoral tolerance as evident by the absence of anti-donor Ab and Ab-dependent donor-specific cytotoxicity in vitro and intravascular IgM deposition within donor-strain (F344) cardiac xenografts in vivo. F344 cardiac xenografts are accepted (median ≥180 days) without clinical or histologic evidence of rejection, suggesting cellular tolerance. In contrast, MHC-disparate third-party mouse (B10.BR) and rat (ACI or WF) grafts are rejected (median of 23 and 41 days, respectively) in association with extensive mononuclear cell infiltration and vascular deposits of mouse IgM. These results demonstrate that mixed xenogeneic chimerism establishes donor-specific humoral and cellular tolerance and permits the successful transplantation of even primarily vascularized xenografts in the setting of intact Ab production.
Sexual Deviance among Male College Students

Much research on sexual deviance on university and college campuses is limited by its narrow focus on group affiliation and leads to much speculation and conjecture. This article suggests that an alternative explanation is more suitable for explaining such an important and complex problem on college campuses. It argues that prior deviance serves as a more robust predictor variable of sexual deviance. Logistic regression analyses indicate a direct relationship between prior deviance and sexual deviance. The results lend support to the argument that group affiliation is not a suitable explanation for such a complex societal problem—sexual deviance. Limitations of the study and directions for future research on sexual deviance are discussed.
White Look-Alikes: Mainstream Culture Adoption Makes Immigrants “Look” Phenotypically White

White Americans generally equate “being American” with “being White. ” In six studies, we demonstrate that White Americans perceive immigrants who adopt American mainstream culture as racially White and, reciprocally, perceive White-looking immigrants as assimilating more. In Studies 1 and 2, participants visually represented immigrants who adopted U.S. culture by acculturating to mainstream American culture or by holding a common or dual identity as more phenotypically White and less stereotypic in appearance. In Studies 3 and 4, these processes explained why participants were less likely to racially profile immigrants but also regarded them as less qualified for integration support. In Study 5, participants perceived light skin to fit to high U.S. culture adoption and dark skin to low U.S. culture adoption. Finally, in Study 6, light-skinned immigrants were seen as less threatening because they were perceived as assimilating more. Immigrants’ acculturation orientation and appearance interact and shape how they are evaluated.
Postoperative course after portacaval anastomosis in rats is determined by the portacaval pressure gradient.

Variability in experimental results have led to criticism regarding the validity of the rat after portacaval anastomosis (PCA) as a model of changes induced by portal-systemic shunting (PSS). A nonsuture technique using cyanoacrylate glue has been reported to yield a better experimental preparation. To investigate if variations in splanchnic hemodynamics could explain different outcomes after the procedure, male rats received either an end-to-side PCA or sham operations (16 rats each). The PCA was constructed using the "suture" or "glue" technique (8 rats each). Beginning on postoperative day 24 under methoxyflurane and ketamine anesthesia, pressures were recorded from the portal vein, inferior vena cava, and femoral artery. Blood flow to the splanchnic organs and the percent PSS were assessed using the microsphere technique. The rate of delivery of NH3 from the portal vein to the systemic circulation and the concentration of glutamine in the cerebrospinal fluid were determined. In PCA rats, weight gain was significantly impaired, and all animals had evidence of liver atrophy (in both suture and glue groups) when compared with sham animals; a trend toward greater weight gain was seen in glue rats. Portal vein inflow, PSS, NH3 delivery, and CSF glutamine were significantly increased in both PCA-suture and PCA-glue animals compared with sham rats, although no significant differences were seen between the two PCA techniques. When PCA rats from either technique were grouped according to the pressure gradient between portal vein and inferior vena cava, striking differences between animals were now evident. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Measuring disaster resilience in the Philippines: evidence using network data envelopment analysis

ABSTRACT In this paper, we assess the resilience of households in responding to climate-induced calamities such as flash floods and landslides in Compostela Valley of the Philippines. Using cross-sectional survey data collected in 2013 and 2014, we applied the integrated data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based network model to estimate a composite resilience score, ranging from zero to one, and decomposed into coping and adaptive capacities. The overall resilience score of households is, on average, 0.75, while the average coping and adaptive capacity scores are 0.61 and 0.92, respectively. The correlation of the overall resilience with the adaptive capacity is significantly higher than that of the overall resilience and the coping capacity. This implies that adaptation measures of households mainly depend on external assistance that enables vulnerable households to recover from calamity, and thus effectively achieve post-event life stabilization. No significant difference in the overall resilience scores is found among villages in the surveyed area.
Molecular Mechanism of Nicotine Degradation by a Newly Isolated Strain, Ochrobactrum sp. Strain SJY1

ABSTRACT A newly isolated strain, SJY1, identified as Ochrobactrum sp. , utilizes nicotine as a sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy. Strain SJY1 could efficiently degrade nicotine via a variant of the pyridine and pyrrolidine pathways (the VPP pathway), which highlights bacterial metabolic diversity in relation to nicotine degradation. A 97-kbp DNA fragment containing six nicotine degradation-related genes was obtained by gap closing from the genome sequence of strain SJY1. Three genes, designated vppB, vppD, and vppE, in the VPP pathway were cloned and heterologously expressed, and the related proteins were characterized. The vppB gene encodes a flavin-containing amine oxidase converting 6-hydroxynicotine to 6-hydroxy-N-methylmyosmine. Although VppB specifically catalyzes the dehydrogenation of 6-hydroxynicotine rather than nicotine, it shares higher amino acid sequence identity with nicotine oxidase (38%) from the pyrrolidine pathway than with its isoenzyme (6-hydroxy-l-nicotine oxidase, 24%) from the pyridine pathway. The vppD gene encodes an NADH-dependent flavin-containing monooxygenase, which catalyzes the hydroxylation of 6-hydroxy-3-succinoylpyridine to 2,5-dihydroxypyridine. VppD shows 62% amino acid sequence identity with the hydroxylase (HspB) from Pseudomonas putida strain S16, whereas the specific activity of VppD is ∼10-fold higher than that of HspB. VppE is responsible for the transformation of 2,5-dihydroxypyridine. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis suggested that the VPP pathway, which evolved independently from nicotinic acid degradation, might have a closer relationship with the pyrrolidine pathway. The proteins and functional pathway identified here provide a sound basis for future studies aimed at a better understanding of molecular principles of nicotine degradation.
Optimization of temporal dose modulation: comparison of theory and experiment.

PURPOSE To compare theoretical predictions and experimental measurements of cell survival after exposure to two different temporally modulated radiation dose patterns that deliver the same dose in the same overall time. METHODS The authors derived an analytic expression for the dose protraction factor G in the Lea-Catcheside formalism for cell survival for "triangle" and "V" temporal modulation of dose. These temporal dose patterns were used in experimental clonogenic studies of a melanoma cell line (MM576) and a nonsmall-cell lung cancer line (NCI-H460) that have different alpha, beta, and repair parameters. The overall treatment time and total dose were kept constant. RESULTS The analytic expressions for G for the two temporal modulations are presented as a function of a single variable, the product of the exposure time, and the repair constant, enabling G to be evaluated for any exposure time and for any cell line. G for the triangle delivery pattern is always the larger. For the MM576 cell line, following a large dose of 6 Gy, a larger survival fraction was found for the V delivery pattern. No difference in survival was observed for lower doses or for the NCI-H460 cell line at any dose. These results are predicted by our theory, using published values of alpha, beta, and repair time within the limits of experimental uncertainty. CONCLUSIONS The study provides evidence to confirm that cell lines having large beta values exhibit a response that is sensitive to the pattern of dose delivery when the delivery time is comparable with the repair time. It is recommended that the dose delivery pattern be considered in hypofractionated treatments.
Breath hydrogen after oral xylose in tropical malabsorption.

Thirty hospital in-patients (12 of whom were suspected on clinical grounds of having tropical mahabsorption (TM), and 18 who either had trivial symptoms or were undergoing a routine examination after tropical exposure) had breath hydrogen determinations at 10 mm intervals for 5 hr, and 5-hr urinary and 90-mm blood xylose measurements, after 25 g oral xylose. In seven patients (five of whom had evidence of TM), a significant increase in breath hydrogen above the fasting concentration (T) was observed during the 1st hour (group 1); they all excreted 5 g xylose. The remaining 15 patients did not show a significant increase in hydrogen compared with the fasting concentration (group 3); xylose excretion was >5 g. Correlation between T and urinary xylose excretion in groups 1 and 2 was significant (P < 0.001). Twenty-five patients also had breath hydrogen estimations at lO-min intervals after 33.5 g oral lactulose, and mean T was similar in those in groups 1 to 3; a previous study has demonstrated a significant slowing of transit in TM. A rise in hydrogen production during the 1st hour after xylose is presumably, therefore, a reflection of small intestinal bacterial activity, and is not the result of rapid transit. Bacterial metabolism of xylose seems to be much less in TM than in the blind-loop syndrome, and does not invalidate the test in TM. If hydrogen production rises during the 1st hour after 25 g xylose, total 5 hr urinary xylose excretion is <5 g; that is likely to constitute a valuable noninvasive test in the evaluation of TM. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 33: 555-560, 1980.
Short-term Effects of Air Pollution on Pulse Pressure Among Nonsmoking Adults

Background: Previous studies on the effects of acute air pollution have focused primarily on blood pressure (BP). Methods: Our study enrolled 9238 nonsmoking adults over 30 years of age from 6 townships in Taiwan: 1 seaport, 1 urban, 1 industrial, and 3 rural. Using generalized additive models, we evaluated the associations between brachial BP and short-term exposure to 5 air pollutants: particulate matter with diameter <10 &mgr;m (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3). Results: After adjusting for individual and meteorologic factors, the systolic BP was decreased by all 5 pollutants, whereas the diastolic BP was increased by SO2, NO2, and O3. The pulse pressure was consistently decreased by all 5 pollutants, with changes of −1.5 (95% confidence interval = −2.0 to −1.1), −0.6 (−0.9 to −0.4), −2.4 (−3.0 to −1.8), −1.2 (−1.6 to −0.9), and −1.4 (−1.8 to −0.9) mm Hg for interquartile range increases in 3-day lagged PM10, SO2, NO2, carbon monoxide, and O3, respectively. PM10 exposure was more strongly associated with reduction of pulse pressure among men, persons >60 years of age, those with hypertension, and those living in the industrial township. Conclusions: Short-term exposure to air pollution reduces pulse pressure. PM10 in industrial emissions may contribute to pulse pressure changes. Age, sex, and hypertensive status may modify the effects of PM10 on pulse pressure.
Ras-GRF Activates Ha-Ras, but Not N-Ras or K-Ras 4B, Proteinin Vivo *

Human cells contain four homologous Ras proteins, but it is unknown whether these homologues have different biological functions. As a first step in determining if Ras homologues might participate in distinct signaling cascades, we assessed whether a given Ras guanine nucleotide exchange factor could selectively activate a single Ras homologue in vivo. We found that Ras-GRF/Cdc25Mm activates Ha-Ras, but does not activate N-Ras or K-Ras 4B, protein in vivo. Moreover, our results suggested that residues within the C-terminal hypervariable domains of Ras proteins may dictate, at least in part, the specificity of Ras-GRF/CDC25Mm for Ha-Ras protein. Our studies represent the first biochemical evidence that a Ras GEF can selectively activate a single Ras homologue in vivo. Selective activation of a single Ras homologue by Ras-GRF/Cdc25Mm or other Ras guanine nucleotide exchange factors could potentially enable each of the Ras homologues to participate in different signal transduction pathways.
Vif Is Largely Absent from Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Mature Virions and Associates Mainly with Viral Particles Containing Unprocessed Gag

ABSTRACT Vif is a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protein that is essential for the production of infectious virus. Most of Vif synthesized during HIV infection localizes within cells, and the extent of Vif packaging into virions and its function there remain controversial. Here we show that a small but detectable amount of Vif remains associated with purified virions even after their treatment with the protease subtilisin. However, treatment of these virions with 1% Triton X-100 revealed that most of the virion-associated Vif segregated with detergent-resistant virus particles consisting of unprocessed Gag, indicating that detergent-soluble, mature virions contain very little Vif. To investigate the control of Vif packaging in immature virus particles, we tested its association with Gag-containing virus-like particles (VLPs) in a Vif and Gag coexpression system in human cells. Only a small proportion of Vif molecules synthesized in this system became packaged into VLPs, and the VLP-associated Vif was protected from exogenous protease and detergent treatment, indicating that it is stably incorporated into immature virion-like cores. About 10-fold more Vpr than Vif was packaged into VLPs but most of the VLP-associated Vpr was removed by treatment with detergent. Mutagenesis of the C-terminal sequences in Gag previously shown to be responsible for interaction with Vif did not reduce the extent of Vif packaging into Gag VLPs. Surprisingly, short deletions in the capsid domain (CA) of Gag (amino acid residues 284 to 304 and 350 to 362) increased Vif packaging over 10-fold. The 350 to 363 deletion introduced into CA in HIV provirus also increased Vif incorporation into purified virions. Our results show that Vif can be packaged at low levels into aberrant virus particles or immature virions and that Vif is not present significantly in mature virions. Overall, these results indicate that the Vif content in virions is tightly regulated and also argue against a function of virion-associated Vif.
Comparative Production of Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from Transgenic Cotton Expressing Either One or Two Bacillus thuringiensis Proteins with and without Insecticide Oversprays

Abstract Transgenic cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.), expressing either one or two Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. kurstaki Berliner (Bt) proteins was compared with the conventional sister line in field experiments with regard to production of bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and bolls damaged by bollworm. The relative numbers of bollworms that developed on Bollgard (Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO), Bollgard II (Monsanto Co.), and conventional cotton were estimated under nontreated conditions in 2000 and both insecticide-treated and nontreated conditions in 2001–2002 in North Carolina tests. Averaged across seven field studies under nontreated conditions, Bollgard cotton generated statistically similar numbers of large (L4–L5) bollworm larvae compared with the conventional variety; however, Bollgard cotton produced significantly fewer damaged bolls and bollworm adults than the conventional variety. Production of large larvae, damaged bolls, and adults was decreased dramatically by Bollgard II cotton as compared with Bollgard and conventional varieties. When comparing insecticide-treated and nontreated cotton genotypes, both Bt cotton sustained less boll damage than the conventional variety averaged across insecticide regimes; furthermore, Bollgard II cotton had fewer damaged bolls than the Bollgard variety. When averaged across cotton genotypes, pyrethroid oversprays reduced the numbers of damaged bolls compared with the nontreated cotton. Insecticide-treated Bollgard cotton, along with insecticide-treated and nontreated Bollgard II cotton reduced production of bollworm larvae, pupae, and adults. However, the addition of pyrethroid oversprays to Bollgard II cotton seemed to be the best resistance management strategy available for bollworm because no bollworms were capable of completing development under these conditions.
Effects of Feed Particle Size and Feed Form on Growth Performance, Nutrient Metabolizability and Intestinal Morphology in Broiler Chickens

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of feed particle size and feed form on growth performance, nutrient metabolizability and intestinal morphology in broiler chickens. This experiment was a 2x2 factorial arrangement including two feed particle sizes (fine and coarse) and two feed forms (mash and pellet). A total of 288 day-old male Arbor Acre broilers were used in this six-week experiment. Birds were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments with six replicates per treatment and twelve birds per replicate. The results showed that pelleting of diets resulted in greater ADG (p<0.01), greater ADFI (p<0.01) and lower feed to gain ratio (F/G) (p<0.05) during starter, grower and overall periods. Also, pelleting improved both apparent metabolizable energy (AME) (p<0.01) and the apparent metabolizability of crude protein (p<0.05) and organic matter (p<0.05), regardless of the phase. Reduction of feed particle size enhanced AME (p<0.05) during d 19 to 21. Increased villus height (p<0.05) and crypt depth ratio (p< 0.05) within the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were observed in birds fed the pellet diet compared with those given the mash. In conclusion, the results indicated that feed pellets might enhance performance by improving nutrient metabolizability and digestive tract development.
Stochastic Modeling Handbook for Optical AGN Variability

This work develops application techniques for stochastic modeling of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) variability as a probe of accretion disk physics. Stochastic models, specifically Continuous Auto-Regressive Moving Average (CARMA) models, characterize light curves with a perturbation spectrum and an Impulse-Response function, which crucially provides an interpretation for variability timescales. CARMA timescales are not physical but rather, they describe correlation structure and ordered information in stochastic processes. We begin this tutorial by reviewing discrete auto-regressive and moving-average processes, we bridge these components to their continuous analogs, and lastly we investigate the significance of CARMA timescales, obtained by modeling a light curve in the time domain, in relation to the shape of the power spectrum (PSD) and structure function. We determine that higher order CARMA models, for example the Damped Harmonic Oscillator (DHO or CARMA(2, 1)) are more sensitive to deviations from a single-slope power-law description of AGN variability; unlike Damped Random Walks (DRW or CAR(1)) where the PSD slope is fixed, the DHO slope is not. Higher complexity stochastic models than the DRW capture additional covariance in data and output additional characteristic timescales that probe the driving mechanisms of variability. We provide code using Kali software to generate simulations of diverse complexity stochastic light curves. We also provide a heuristic discussion of aliasing effects in ground-based cadences and the importance of light curve length in regards to uncertainty and limitations in timescale estimation.
Geometric optimal control and transfer between elliptic Keplerian orbits

This paper concerns the time minimum transfer of a satellite between Keplerian elliptic orbits. We study the controllability properties of the system and we make a preliminary analysis of the local time optimal control constructing a nilpotent model. Second order conditions for optimally are given using the concept of conjugate time and the time optimal trajectory to transfer the system from an initial low orbit with large excentricity to a geostationary orbit is obtained numerically.