Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decreased number of FoxP3+ regulatory T cells in preeclampsia

Systemic inflammation is characteristic for preeclampsia (PE). A hypothesis for immune dysregulation is that the function of regulatory T cells (CD4+FoxP3+, Tregs) inhibiting the activation of lymphocytes is impaired. We investigated the proportion of Tregs and their cellular network in preeclamptic women. Fifteen preeclamptic and 17 healthy pregnant women were enrolled in the 32nd gestational week (median age 29 (range 22–45) and 32 (range 26–38) years, respectively). PE was diagnosed according to international criteria at a median of 30 gestational weeks (range 21–31). Peripheral blood was taken and blood mononuclear cells were isolated. Flow cytometry was used to determine the proportion of regulatory (CD4+FoxP3+) T cells, lymphoid and myeloid dendritic cells, natural killer and natural killer T cells, naive and memory and activated CD4+ and CD8+cells. The proportion of Tregs and that of naive CD4+CD45RA+ cells was lower in preeclamptic than in control women (p = 0.025, p = 0.04, respectively). The proportion of other investigated cell types did not differ. Low Treg numbers may support the notion that PE shares similar features to autoimmune disorders. Low Treg numbers are not reflected in the proportion of activated lymphocytes, at least in this stage of pregnancy. This does not exclude, however, the functional alterations of these cell types.
Brand Attitude, Its Antecedents and Consequences. Investigation into Smartphone Brands in Malaysia

The notion of brand attitude has been conceptualized and been the target of different empirical investigations. There are arguments regarding the antecedents and the consequences of this concept in business environment, and it is believed that there are several factors affecting brand attitude including advertisement and customer satisfaction. On the other hand brand attitude has been argued to be positively related to purchase intentions among customers. This study by analyzing smartphone brands in Malaysia found that the relationship of customer satisfaction and advertising with brand attitude is positive and significant, while the latter is positively related to purchase intention.
Can the American High School Become an Avenue of Advancement for All?

As the twenty-first century opens, says Robert Balfanz, the United States is developing a deep social consensus that American high schools should ensure that all adolescents graduate from high school prepared for postsecondary schooling and training. Balfanz asks how well high schools are succeeding in this mission and whether they can ultimately fulfill it. Balfanz first surveys the structure and demographics of today’s high schools. Forty percent of white students attend high schools that are 90 percent or more white, while roughly one-third of Latino and African American students attend high schools that are 90 percent or more minority. Minority students are also much more likely than white students to attend high schools that confront the challenges of concentrated poverty. In predominantly white, affluent suburban school districts, nearly every student arrives ready for high school work and then graduates. In all-minority inner city schools in high-poverty neighborhoods, most entering students lack a good middle school education and only half to two-thirds graduate. With only a third to a half of high school graduates today prepared to succeed in college, how likely is it that American high schools will succeed in their mission of preparing all students for additional schooling or training? Balfanz argues that reforms over the past twenty-five years offer some hope. The standards and accountability movement has made the American high school a more focused and academic place. College preparatory course-taking has increased substantially, as has standardized testing. Mandatory exit exams have been imposed. And during the past decade, in particular, reformers have made a concerted effort to improve the low-performing high schools that serve low-income and minority students. Investments by the federal government and by foundations have led to the development of several types of reforms that have been proven effective, thus raising hopes that the nation’s lowest-performing high schools can better serve their students. Still, the American high school has a considerable way to go to be able to prepare all students for further schooling or training. To advance all its students, it must find a way to bring to scale the methods and mechanisms, conditions, and know-how that have enabled a few low-performing high schools to achieve this transformation.
Differences Between Forest Type and Vertical Strata in the Diversity and Composition of Hymenpteran Families and Mymarid Genera in Northeastern Temperate Forests

Abstract Most insects’ assemblages differ with forest type and show vertical stratification. We tested for differences in richness, abundance and composition of hymenopteran families and mymarid genera between sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and white pine (Pinus strobus) stands and between canopy and understory in northeastern temperate forests in Canada. We used flight interception traps (modified malaise traps) suspended in the canopy and the understory in a split-split block design, with forest type as the main factor, forest stratum as the first split factor, and collection bottle location as the second split factor. Hymenopteran families and mymarid genera differed in their diversity depending on forest type and stratum. Both family and genera richness were higher in maple than in pine forests, whereas family richness was higher in the canopy and top bottles and generic richness was higher in the understory and bottom bottles. Multivariate analysis separated samples by forest type, vegetation stratum, and bottle location. Family composition showed 77% similarity between forest types and 73% between the canopy and understory. At the lower taxa level, mymarid genera showed only 47% similarity between forest types and 40% between forest strata, indicating vertical stratification and relatively high β-diversity. Our study suggests that hymenopteran diversity and composition is strongly dependent on forest type and structure, making flying members of this order particularly vulnerable to forest management practices. It also shows that insect assemblage composition (especially at low-taxon levels), rather than relative abundance and richness, is the community attribute most sensitive to forest type and vertical stratification.
A comparison of Echinostoma trivolvis and E. caproni using random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis

Abstract The random amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) technique was applied to two closely-related echinostome species, Echinostoma trivolvis and E. caproni, to demonstrate interspecffic polymorphisms of genomic DNA. Band patterns generated using five individual primers showed that these two echinostomes were genetically distinct, although they share genomic DNA to some extent.
Role of DNA sequence in nucleosome stability and dynamics

1. Introduction 270 1.1 Overview of nucleosome structure 271 2. Relative equilibrium stability (affinity) of histone–DNA interactions in nucleosomes 272 2.1 Relative affinity equals relative equilibrium stability 272 2.2 Competition assays for relative free-energy measurements 273 2.3 Technical issues in relative free-energy measurements 275 2.4 Range of affinities 278 3. Relation of nucleosome stability to nucleosome positioning 279 3.1 Translational nucleosome positioning 279 3.2 Rotational positioning 280 3.3 Unfavorable positioning 281 3.4 Experiments 281 4. Physical basis of DNA sequence preferences 282 4.1 Free-energy cost of DNA bending 283 4.2 Molecular mechanics of DNA bending and bendability 284 4.3 Bent and bendable DNA sequences 286 4.4 Parameter sets for prediction of DNA bending and bendability 288 4.5 DNA twisting 290 4.6 Energetics of nucleosomal DNA packaging 291 5. DNA sequence motifs for nucleosome packaging 292 5.1 Natural and designed nucleosomal DNAs 293 5.2 New rules and reagents from physical selection studies 294 5.3 Molecular basis of DNA sequence preferences 299 5.4 Special properties of the TA step 300 5.5 Unfavorable sequences 302 5.6 Natural genomes 303 5.7 Evolutionary approach toward an optimal sequence 305 5.8 Optimization by design 305 6. Dynamic nucleosome instability 308 6.1 Site-exposure equilibria 308 6.2 DNA sequence-dependence to site-exposure equilibria 312 6.3 Nucleosome translocation 315 6.4 Action of processive enzymes 319 7. Conclusions 319 8. Acknowledgements 320 9. References 320 The nucleosome core particle is the fundamental repeating subunit of chromatin. It consists of two molecules each of the four ‘core histone’ proteins, H2A, H2B, H3 and H4, and a 147 bp stretch of DNA. The lowest level of chromatin organization consists of a repeated array of nucleosome core particles separated by variable lengths of ‘linker DNA’. In many, but not all, cases, each core particle plus its linker DNA is associated with one molecule of a fifth ‘linker’ histone protein, H1. The complex of the core particle plus its linker DNA and H1 (when present) is called a ‘nucleosome’.
Molecular epidemiological survey on the vectors of Thelazia gulosa, Thelazia rhodesi and Thelazia skrjabini (Spirurida: Thelaziidae)

A Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)- based assay developed for the specific identification of Thelazia gulosa, Thelazia rhodesi and Thelazia skrjabini (Nematoda, Spirurida), which cause bovine ocular thelaziosis, was evaluated for its usefulness in detecting the intermediate hosts and in estimating the infection prevalence of vectors in field conditions throughout 5 years (from 1997 to 2001). A total of 5190 flies were captured and identified as Musca larvipara, Musca osiris, Musca autumnalis, Musca tempestiva or Musca domestica. Genomic DNA was extracted from pools constituted by heads, thoraces, abdomens and wings of 10 flies of each species, and 2076 samples were subjected to a PCR assay to specifically detect the ribosomal ITS-1 sequence of bovine Thelazia. Amplicons were sequenced and subjected to digestion with CpoI restriction enzyme. M. autumnalis, M. larvipara, M. osiris and M. domestica species were shown to be PCR positive. T. gulosa was specifically detected by PCR in M. autumnalis, M. larvipara, M. osiris and M. domestica, whereas T. rhodesi is in M. autumnalis and M. larvipara. Of 27 positive samples, 23 were positive for T. gulosa and 4 for T. rhodesi, with a mean prevalence of 2·86% in the whole fly population collected. The highest mean prevalence values of infection were detected in M. autumnalis (4·46%) and M. larvipara (3·21%), and the former species was confirmed to be the vector of T. gulosa and T. rhodesi. This study is the first report of M. osiris as a vector of T. gulosa and M. larvipara as a vector of T. gulosa and T. rhodesi under natural conditions. The occurrence of Thelazia in fly populations in the Apulia region of Italy (in the 5 grazing seasons considered) indicates that cattle thelaziosis is enzootic in southern Italy. This molecular assay should be a useful epidemiological tool for assessing the role of different species of flies as intermediate hosts of thelaziae.
Impaired expression of the CD3‐zeta chain in peripheral blood T cells of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia results in an increased susceptibility to apoptosis

In patients with myeloid malignancies, cell‐mediated immunity is often suppressed, being most profound in those with advanced disease. Such immune dysfunction, as demonstrated in many patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), may, at least in part, be due to altered expression of the CD3‐zeta chain, which is an important component of the T‐cell receptor (TCR). We speculated that impaired expression of the TCR‐zeta chain would be evident in peripheral blood T cells of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and that such an abnormality would result in an increased ex vivo susceptibility to apoptosis. In this study, we demonstrated that, compared with normal controls, zeta chain expression was significantly downregulated in all of the T‐cell subsets (P < 0·009) in more than 90% of CML patients. In addition, there was a significantly lower expression of the CD3‐epsilon chain (P < 0·001) in patients than in controls. In those patients with abnormal zeta chain expression, the proportion of lymphocytes with spontaneous DNA fragmentation, as determined by terminal deoxynucleotide transferase‐mediated dUTP‐biotin nick‐end labelling (TUNEL) assays, was also significantly higher (P < 0·002) than controls. From all of the patients tested, it was possible to upregulate partially zeta chain expression and hence to reduce the susceptibility to apoptosis by cross‐linking the T cells with interleukin (IL)‐2, interferon (IFN)‐alpha or immobilized CD3. In addition, such cross‐linked T cells showed a significantly higher capacity to proliferate than the native CML T cells.
Global finite-time stabilisation by output feedback for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems

This article considers the problem of global finite-time stabilisation by output feedback for a class of nonlinear systems comprised of a chain of power integrators perturbed by an uncertain vector field. To solve the problem, we first construct a homogeneous observer and controller in a recursive way for the nominal system without the perturbing nonlinearities. Then, using the homogeneous domination approach, we scale the homogeneous observer and controller with an appropriate choice of gain to render the uncertain nonlinear system globally finite-time stable. Due to the use of a reduced-order observer, the proposed output feedback controller is applicable to those systems with unknown gains associated with the power integrators.
d-Lactic Acid Measurements in the Diagnosis of Bacterial Infections

This study explored the use of D-lactic acid as a marker for bacterial infections. D-Lactic was produced by frequently encountered human bacterial pathogens under anaerobic growth conditions; Bacteroides fragilis produced the largest amount. Orally administered D-lactic acid was absorbed from the intestines of rats and later found in measurable quantities in the blood and urine. Eunephric and anephric rats that received D-lactic acid intravenously showed similar quantities of this metabolite in the blood. These quantities are consistent with the distribution of D-lactic acid to total body water. Isolated liver and lung tissues from rats did not metabolize or produce D-lactic acid. Rats with experimentally induced, sublethal klebsiella peritonitis had D-lactic acidemia of 0.2 mM and 25.6 mM at 0 and 6 hr of infection, respectively. In a normal human, D-lactic acid was detected in the urine and blood after a subcutaneous injection of D-lactic acid, and pharmacokinetics of elimination similar to those of rats were found.
Effect of influent nutrient ratios and hydraulic retention time ( HRT ) on simultaneous phosphorus and nitrogen removal in two-sludge sequencing batch reactor

A laboratory-scale anaerobic-anoxic/nitrification sequencing batch reactor (A2N-SBR) fed with domestic wastewater was operated to examine the effect of varying ratios of influent COD/P, COD/TN and TN/P on the nutrient removal. With the increased COD/P, the phosphorus removals exhibited an upward trend. The influent TN/P ratios had a positive linear correlation with the phosphorus removal efficiencies, mainly because nitrates act as electron acceptors for the phosphorus uptake in the A2N-SBR. Moreover, it was found that lower COD/TN ratio, e.g. 3.5, did not significantly weaken the phosphorus removal, though the nitrogen removal first decreased greatly. The optimal phosphorus and nitrogen removals of 94% and 91% respectively were achieved with influent COD/P and COD/TN ratios of 19.9 and 9.9 respectively. Additionally, a real-time control strategy for A2N-SBR can be undertaken based on some characteristic points of pH, redox potential (ORP) and dissolved oxygen (DO) profiles in order to obtain the optimum hydraulic retention time (HRT) and improve the operating reliability.
Incidence of Leukaemia in Singapore, and Rarity of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia in Chinese

character of this murmur, that of the heart sounds, and the presence or absence of a diastolic murmur are important in deciding whether or not the heart is normal. From the present findings the characteristics of presumed functional systolic murmurs may be defined, but a murmur with apparently similar characteristics may occur in congenital heart disease or none may be audible. It is worth noting that no very loud, long, or high-pitched systolic murmurs were heard or recorded in the normal infants studied, nor any diastolic murmurs. Foetal murmurs have been previously recorded on infants subsequently found to have congenital heart disease (Smith and Hervert, 1940; Smith, 1941; Menzies and Scott, 1955). The present findings show that murmurs may be recorded in the majority of foetuses near term, and may be audible by foetal stethoscope without a congenital defect being present.
Estimation of disruption of animal cells by turbulent capillary flow

Disruption of animal cells in turbulent capillary flows has been predicted from a model of cell–hydrodynamic interactions using cell mechanical properties determined by micromanipulation. Eddies of sizes similar to or smaller than the cells are presumed to interact with those cells, causing local surface deformations. The proposed mechanism of cell damage is that such deformations result in an increase in membrane tension and surface energy and that a cell disrupts when its bursting membrane tension and bursting surface energy are exceeded. The surface energy of the cells is estimated from the kinetic energy of appropriately sized eddies. To test the model, cells were disrupted in turbulent flows in capillaries at mean energy dissipation rates up to 2 × 104 m2/s3. In all cases the model underestimated the cell disruption by about 15%. Such good agreement implies that the approach of the model to the complicated phenomena of cell turbulence interactions is reasonable. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Diverging trends in the incidence and mortality of stroke during the period 1986—2002: A study from the Stroke register in Kaunas, Lithuania

Aims: The aim of the present study was to explore the longitudinal stroke trends in the middle-aged Lithuanian population. Methods: All stroke events in the studied population were ascertained and validated according to the standardized criteria outlined by the WHO MONICA Project. The study included all patients aged 25 to 64 years who experienced a stroke between 1986 and 2002. Results: A flat trend was observed in both the incidence and the attack rates of stroke among men during the 17-year study period, while among women, the incidence of stroke increased by 1.7%/year, and the attack rates by 2.3%/year. The 28-day case fatality and mortality rates of stroke decreased significantly in both sexes. The decline in case fatality explained 100% of the decline in mortality. Among the types of stroke, cerebral infarction contributed most to the decline in the mortality in men. In women, the mortality from cerebral infarction and intracerebral haemorrhage declined similarly to that from all types of strokes. Conclusions: Findings from our study indicating no positive changes in the incidence of stroke but instead an increase among middle-aged women in Kaunas are disturbing. These results suggest a need for the intensification of appropriate strategies for stroke prevention by the public health officials in Lithuania.
Undergraduate Agriculture Student Critical Thinking Abilities and Anticipated Career Goals: Is There a Relationship?

Abstract This study attempted to examine the relationship between College of Agricultural and Life Sciences student critical thinking disposition and career choice. The researchers measured critical thinking disposition using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (Facione, Facione, & Giancarlo, 1996). Demographic data were collected with a researcher-developed instrument. The demographic instrument contained variables identified in similar research conducted with University of Florida’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences students (Rudd, Baker, & Hoover, 1998). A panel of experts in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida validated the instrument. Students in six classes in the spring semester of 2001 were selected for this study. Courses were chosen to specifically focus on students enrolled in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Specific courses chosen for the study were AEB 3341 - Selling Strategically, AEB 3300 - Agricultural and Food Marketing, HUNN 2201 HNRS - Honors Fundamentals of Human Nutrition, HUN 2201 - Fundamentals of Human Nutrition, PLS 3221 - Plant Propagation, and ORH 4804C - Annual and Perennial Gardening. The study did not find a significant relationship between career choice and critical thinking disposition. It did find a conflict in student disposition by gender with an earlier study.
Mechanism of capsid assembly for an icosahedral plant virus.

Capsids of spherical viruses share a common architecture: an icosahedral arrangement of identical proteins. We suggest that there may be a limited number of common assembly mechanisms for such viruses. Previous assembly mechanisms were proposed on the basis of virion structure but were not rigorously tested. Here we apply a rigorous analysis of assembly to cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV), a typical, small, positive-strand RNA virus. The atomic resolution structure of CCMV revealed an interleaving of subunits around the quasi-sixfold vertices, which suggested that capsid assembly was initiated by a hexamer of dimers (Speir et al., 1995, Structure 3, 63-78). However, we find that the capsid protein readily forms pentamers of dimers in solution, based on polymerization kinetics observed by light scattering. Capsid assembly is nucleated by a pentamer, determined from analysis of the extent of assembly by size-exclusion chromatography. Subsequent assembly likely proceeds by the cooperative addition of dimers, leading to the T = 3 icosahedral capsid. At high protein concentrations, the concentration-dependent nucleation reaction causes an overabundance of five-dimer nuclei that can be identified by classical light scattering. In turn these associate to form incomplete capsids and pseudo-T = 2 capsids, assembled by oligomerization of 12 pentamers of dimers. The experimentally derived assembly mechanisms of T = 3 and pseudo-T = 2 CCMV capsids are directly relevant to interpreting the structure and assembly of other T = 3 viruses such as Norwalk virus and pseudo-T = 2 viruses such as the vp3 core of blue tongue virus.