Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blubber morphology in wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Southeastern United States: Influence of geographic location, age class, and reproductive state

This study investigated blubber morphology and correlations of histological measurements with ontogeny, geography, and reproductive state in live, wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the southeastern United States. Surgical skin‐blubber biopsies (N = 74) were collected from dolphins during capture–release studies conducted in two geographic locations: Charleston, SC (N = 38) and Indian River Lagoon, FL (N = 36). Histological analysis of blubber revealed stratification into superficial, middle, and deep layers. Adipocytes of the middle blubber were 1.6× larger in Charleston subadults than in Indian River Lagoon subadults (4,590 ± 340 compared to 2,833 ± 335 μm2 per cell). Charleston subadult dolphins contained higher levels of total blubber lipids than Charleston adult animals (49.3% ± 1.9% compared to 34.2% ± 1.7%), and this difference was manifested in more adipocytes in the middle blubber layer (19.2 ± 0.9 compared to 14.9 ± 0.5 cells per field). However, dolphins from Indian River Lagoon did not exhibit this pattern, and the adipocyte cell counts of subadults were approximately equal to those of the adults (16.0 ± 1.4 compared to 13.4 ± 0.8 cells per field). The colder year‐round water temperatures in Charleston compared to Indian River Lagoon may explain these differences. Adipocytes in the deep blubber layer were significantly smaller in lactating and simultaneously pregnant and lactating animals compared to pregnant dolphins (840 ± 179, 627 ± 333, and 2,776 ± 586 μm2 per cell, respectively). Total blubber lipid content and adipocyte size in the deep blubber of mothers with calves decreased linearly with calf length. Lactating females may utilize lipids from the deep blubber during periods of increased energetic demands associated with offspring care. This study demonstrates that ontogeny, geography, and reproductive state may influence morphological parameters such as structural fiber densities and adipocyte numbers and sizes, measured in bottlenose dolphin blubber. J. Morphol. 269:496–511, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Distribution of Escherichia coli O157:H7 within and among cattle operations in pasture-based agricultural areas.

OBJECTIVE To determine the distribution of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in pasture-based cattle production areas. SAMPLE POPULATION Two 100-km2 agricultural areas consisting of 207 pasture, 14 beef-confinement, and 3 dairy locations within 24 cattle operations. PROCEDURE 13,726 samples from cattle, wildlife, and water sources were obtained during an 11-month period. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was identified by use of culture and polymerase chain reaction assays and characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). RESULTS Odds of recovering E coli O157:H7 from feeder-aged cattle were > 4 times the odds for cow-calf or dairy cattle. There was no difference in prevalence for pastured versus confined cattle after controlling for production age group. Number of samples collected (37 to 4,829), samples that yielded E coli O157:H7 (0 to 53), and PFGE subtypes (0 to 48) for each operation varied and were highly correlated. Although most PFGE subtypes were only detected once, 17 subtypes were detected on more than 1 operation. Ten of 12 operations at which E coli O157:H7 was detected had at least 1 subtype that also was detected on another operation. We did not detect differences in the probability of having the same subtype for adjacent operations, nonadjacent operations in the same study area, or operations in the other study area. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Strategies aimed at controlling E coli O157:H7 and specific subtypes should account for the widespread distribution and higher prevalence in feeder-aged cattle regardless of production environment and the fact that adjacent and distant cattle operations can have similar subtypes.
The Literature of American Public Administration: Its Contents and Contributors

Professional journals of public administration play a prominent role in influencing the study and practice of administration. As both a creature and creator of significant trends in administrative thought, periodicals are an important means of disseminating knowledge in the field. The purpose of this article is to examine a sample of this literature in order to discern the scope and direction of American public administration. This inquiry should be of interest to several groups of people interested in public administration. Members of the profession, for example, may expect that leading journals are receptive to most contributions regardless of subject matter or author affiliation. ' Empirical evidence will be presented to shed light upon such expectations. Secondly, students in public administration will find information that will give them a better grasp of the literature that they read. Finally, the editorial boards of the journals will receive a disinterested empirical account of how their publications have contributed to the discipline. The major question posed for all readers, then, is "how do the major journals and their contributors represent the study of public administration in the 1 970s? " Although other professions have published investigations similar to that presented here,2 surprisingly little attention has been paid to this aspect of public administration. Previous work has been limited to specific aspects of the literature and to commentaries on the state of the field.3 There is no comprehensive study of the contents of journals and their contributors in public administration. Through a statistical analysis of seven representative publications, we hope to fill this gap by discussing the characteristics of their articles and authors.4 The journals are published by professional associations, universities, academic publishing houses, governmental organizations, and civic groups. The reviews are the Administrative Science Quarterly (ASQ), Administration and Society [(A&S), formerly the Journal of Comparative Public Administration], Public Administration Review (PAR), the Bureaucrat, the Midwest Review of * This article examines the periodical literature of public administration in order to discern the scope and direction of the field. Through a statistical analysis of the articles published in seven journals, the contents and contributors to the literature in the '70s are discussed. The intellectual perspective, subject matter, and research methodology of 1,407 articles includes their institutional affiliation, professional identification, organizational rank, and sex. A number of interesting findings about the characteristics of the literature are reported that generally reflect the broad, interdisciplinary nature of the study of public administration. The evidence demonstrates, however, that the journal literature is not necessarily representative of the membership or content of the field.
Comparing the Overhead of Topological and Concatenated Quantum Error Correction

This work compares the overhead of quantum error correction with concatenated and topological quantum error-correcting codes. To perform a numerical analysis, we use the Quantum Resource Estimator Toolbox (QuRE) that we recently developed. We use QuRE to estimate the number of qubits, quantum gates, and amount of time needed to factor a 1024-bit number on several candidate quantum technologies that differ in their clock speed and reliability. We make several interesting observations. First, topological quantum error correction requires fewer resources when physical gate error rates are high, white concatenated codes have smaller overhead for physical gate error rates below approximately 10−7. Consequently, we show that different error-correcting codes should be chosen for two of the studied physical quantum technologies – ion traps and superconducting qubits. Second, we observe that the composition of the elementary gate types occurring in a typical logical circuit, a fault-tolerant circuit protected by the surface code, and a fault-tolerant circuit protected by a concatenated code all differ. This also suggests that choosing the most appropriate error correction technique depends on the ability of the future technology to perform specific gates efficiently.
Aspergillus nidulans Infection in Chronic Granulomatous Disease

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare inherited disorder of the NADPH oxidase complex in which phagocytes are defective in generating reactive oxidants. As a result, patients with CGD suffer from recurrent bacterial and fungal infections. The most common fungal infections are caused by Aspergillus species. Aspergillus nidulans is a rare pathogen in most patient populations with quantitative or qualitative neutrophil defects. We have reviewed all cases in which A. nidulans was isolated from patients at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) between 1976 and 1997. A. nidulans infection occurred in 6 patients with CGD, but was not a pathogen in any other patient group. Aspergillus fumigatus was a more common pathogen in CGD compared with A. nidulans, but A. nidulans was more virulent. A. nidulans was significantly more likely to result in death compared with A. fumigatus, to involve adjacent bone, and to cause disseminated disease. Patients with A. nidulans received longer courses of amphotericin B therapy than patients with A. fumigatus, and were treated with surgery more often. In contrast to A. fumigatus, A. nidulans was generally refractory to intensive antifungal therapy, suggesting that early surgery may be important. These data show that A. nidulans is a distinct pathogen in CGD and its isolation carries more severe implications than that of A. fumigatus.
Duration of the protective effect of polyaspartic acid on experimental gentamicin nephrotoxicity

It is known that daily polyaspartic acid (PAA) protects the kidney from gentamicin nephrotoxicity in a standardized rat model despite marked cortical accumulation of the aminoglycoside. The present experiments address the duration of PAA protection. When administered every other day, PAA provided functional and histologic protection against gentamicin-induced toxicity. A stepwise reduction in nephroprotection occurred as the dosage interval was prolonged.
Quantitative data on the magnitude of the systemic inflammatory response and its effect on micronutrient status based on plasma measurements.

BACKGROUND Plasma concentrations of several trace elements and vitamins decrease because of the systemic inflammatory response. Thus, low values do not necessarily indicate deficiency. OBJECTIVE The magnitude of this effect on plasma micronutrient concentrations was investigated to provide guidance on the interpretation of routine clinical results. DESIGN Between 2001 and 2011, the results (2217 blood samples from 1303 patients) of routine micronutrient screens (plasma zinc, copper, selenium, and vitamins A, B-6, C, and E) and all vitamin D results (4327 blood samples from 3677 patients) were extracted from the laboratory database. C-reactive protein concentrations were measured as a marker of the severity of inflammation and categorized into 6 groups; for each group, plasma micronutrient concentrations and percentage changes were calculated. RESULTS Except for copper and vitamin E, all plasma micronutrient concentrations decreased with increasing severities of the acute inflammatory response. For selenium and vitamins B-6 and C, this occurred with only slightly increased C-reactive protein concentrations of 5 to 10 mg/L. For each micronutrient, the change in plasma concentrations varied markedly from patient to patient. The magnitude of the effect was greatest for selenium and vitamins A, B-6, C, and D, for which the median plasma concentrations decreased by >40%. CONCLUSIONS The clinical interpretation of plasma micronutrients can be made only with knowledge of the degree of inflammatory response. A reliable clinical interpretation can be made only if the C-reactive protein is <20 mg/L (plasma zinc), <10 mg/L (plasma selenium and vitamins A and D), or <5 mg/L (vitamins B-6 and C).
Comparative outcomes of a 2-year follow-up of cervical medial branch blocks in management of chronic neck pain: a randomized, double-blind controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Cervical therapeutic intraarticular facet joint injections, therapeutic medial branch blocks, and radiofrequency neurotomy have been applied in managing chronic neck pain of cervical facet joint origin. However, the effectiveness of these modalities continues to be debated. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical effectiveness of therapeutic cervical medial branch blocks with or without steroids. STUDY DESIGN A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. SETTING An interventional pain management practice, a specialty referral center, a private practice setting in the United States. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical outcomes of therapeutic cervical medial branch blocks with local anesthetic with or without steroids in managing chronic neck pain of facet joint origin. METHODS A total of 120 patients meeting inclusion criteria were included. All of the patients met the diagnostic criteria of cervical facet joint pain by means of comparative, controlled diagnostic blocks, with at least 80% relief. Group I consisted of cervical medial branch blocks with bupivacaine only and Group II consisted of cervical medial branch blocks with bupivacaine and steroid. Therapeutic cervical medial branch blocks with local anesthetic with or without steroids were administered. Main outcome measures included numeric pain scores, Neck Disability Index (NDI), opioid intake, and work status evaluated at baseline, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. The one-year results of outcomes were published in 2008. This manuscript describes the 2-year results. Significant improvement was defined as at least 50% improvement in pain relief and/or functional status improvement. OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT Patient outcomes were measured at baseline, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months post-treatment with the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), the Neck Disability Index (NDI), employment status, and opioid intake. Decrease of ≥ 50% of NRS scores and Oswestry scores were considered significant. RESULTS Eighty-five percent of patients in Group I and 93% of patients in Group II showed significant pain relief (≥ 50%) at 2 years. The average number of treatments for 2 years was 5.7. The duration of average pain relief with each procedure was 17-19 weeks on average in both groups. Significant improvement of pain and function was demonstrated for 83 to 89 weeks over a period of 2 years. LIMITATIONS The study limitations include the lack of a placebo group. CONCLUSIONS In this study, therapeutic cervical medial branch blocks instituted after the diagnosis, with controlled comparative local anesthetic blocks with 80% concordant pain relief, repeated approximately 6 times over a period of 2 years, provided significant improvement over a period of 2 years. CLINICAL TRIAL NCT00332722.
Exposure-disease continuum for 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine, a prototype ocular teratogen. 3. Intervention with PK11195.

BACKGROUND Treatment of pregnant mice with 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (2CdA) on Day 8 of gestation induces microphthalmia through a mechanism linked to the p53 tumor suppressor pathway. The present study defines the response of Day 8 mouse embryos through time with respect to pharmacologic intervention with PK11195, a ligand of the mitochondrial peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (Bzrp). METHODS Pregnant CD-1 mice dosed with 2CdA with or without PK11195 on gestation Day 8 provided fetuses for teratologic evaluation on Day 14 and Day 17; HPLC measured pyridine nucleotides (NADH/NAD+) at 1.5 hr, RT-PCR measured mitochondrial 16S rRNA abundance at 3.0 hr, and p53 protein induction was assessed with immunostaining at 4.5 hr postexposure. RESULTS The mean incidences of malformed fetuses were significantly higher in the 7.5 mg/kg 2CdA treatment group (50.2% malformed) vs. the 2CdA + 4.0 mg/kg PK11195 co-treatment group (4.4% malformed). Malformed fetuses displayed a range of ocular defects that included microphthalmia and keratolenticular dysgenesis (Peters anomaly). No malformations were observed in the control or PK11195 alone groups. PK11195 also protected litters from increased resorption rates and fetal weight reduction. It did not rescue early effects on NADH balance (1.5 hr) or 16S rRNA expression (3.0 hr); however, the p53 response (4.5 hr) was downgraded in 2CdA + PK11195 embryos vs. 2CdA alone. By delaying the administration of PK11195 in 1.5 hr intervals it was determined that the window for protection closed between 4.5 to 6.0 hr after 2CdA. CONCLUSIONS The capacity of PK11195 to suppress the pathogenesis of microphthalmia implies a critical role for mitochondrial peripheral benzodiazepine receptors in the p53-dependent mode of action of 2CdA on ocular development.
Inheritance of maternal immunoglobulin G1 concentration by the bovine neonate.

Serum samples were collected between 24 and 48 h of age from 408 Herefored calves of a Selection Experiment and from 200 Angus, Hereford and Red Poll calves of another experimental population (Germ Plasm Utilization Project). Concentrations of immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) were determined by single radial immunodiffusion. Breed or selection line of calf and age of dam were the most important factors influencing IgG1 concentrations (P less than .01). In the Germ Plasm Utilization (GPU) herd, Angus calves were highest, Red Polls were intermediate and Herefords were lowest in serum concentrations. Calves from Hereford lines selected for weaning weight, yearling weight or an index based on yearling weight and muscling score were lower in IgG1 concentration than calves from the randomly selected control line. In both populations immunoglobulin levels in the calf increased as age of dam increased. In Selection Experiment Herefords, increased calving difficulty was associated with a decrease in calf IgG1 levels (P less than .05). Heritabilities of calf serum IgG1 concentration, estimated from paternal half-sib analysis on a within line or breed basis, were . 03 +/- . 09 and . 13 +/- . 19 in the two populations. In the Selection Experiment Herefords, when the component of variance for selection line was added both to the numerator and denominator of heritability, the revised estimate was . 09 +/- . 09. Heritabilities of maternal effects on IgG1 concentration were also estimated (by nesting calves within maternal grandsires) on a within line or breed basis. These heritabilities were . 23 +/- . 17 and -. 07 +/- . 27 for the Selection Experiment and GPU populations, respectively. In the Selection Experiment population, when the variance component for selection line was added to the numerator and denominator of maternal effects heritability, the estimate was . 27 +/- . 17. Those calves that died had a lower mean IgG1 concentration than the population average (P less than .01).
Production of synthetically created phospholipase A2 variants with industrial impact

Phospholipases A2 (PLA2) play an important role for the production of lysophospholipids. Presently they are mainly obtained from porcine or bovine pancreas but these mammalian sources are not accepted in several fields of application. To make accessible a non‐mammalian PLA2 to industrial application, synthetic genes encoding PLA2 from honey bee (Apis mellifera) with modified N‐termini were constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. While expression of the gene with an N‐terminal leader sequence to direct the protein into the periplasm failed, four variants with slightly modified N‐termini (I1A‐PLA2, I1V‐PLA2, His6‐tagged PLA2 and PLA2 still containing the start methionine) were successfully expressed. In all cases, the PLA2 variants were produced as inclusion bodies. Their protein content amounted to 26–35% of total cell protein. The optimized renaturation procedure and subsequent purification by cation‐exchange chromatography yielded pure active enzymes in yields of 4–11 mg L−1. The recombinant PLA2 variants showed activities, far‐UV CD and fluorescence spectra similar to the glycosylated PLA2 isolated from the venom glands of honey bee (bv‐PLA2). The thermodynamic stabilities of the recombinant enzymes calculated from the transition curves of guanidine hydrochloride induced unfolding were also nearly identical to the stability of bv‐PLA2. For the variant I1A‐PLA2 high‐cell density fermentation in 10 L‐scale using mineral salt medium was shown to increase the volumetric enzyme yield considerably. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2007; 98: 48–59. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Reduction of Myeloid‐Derived Suppressor Cells and Lymphoma Growth by a Natural Triterpenoid

Lymphoma is a potentially life threatening disease. The goal of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of a natural triterpenoid, Ganoderic acid A (GA‐A) in controlling lymphoma growth both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we show that GA‐A treatment induces caspase‐dependent apoptotic cell death characterized by a dose‐dependent increase in active caspases 9 and 3, up‐regulation of pro‐apoptotic BIM and BAX proteins, and a subsequent loss of mitochondrial membrane potential with release of cytochrome c. In addition to GA‐A's anti‐growth activity, we show that lower doses of GA‐A enhance HLA class II‐mediated antigen (Ag) presentation and CD4+ T cell recognition of lymphoma cells in vitro. The therapeutic relevance of GA‐A treatment was also tested in vivo using the EL4 syngeneic mouse model of metastatic lymphoma. GA‐A‐treatment significantly prolonged survival of EL4 challenged mice and decreased tumor metastasis to the liver, an outcome accompanied by a marked down‐regulation of STAT3 phosphorylation, reduction myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and enhancement of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in the host. Thus, GA‐A not only selectively induces apoptosis in lymphoma cells, but also enhances cell‐mediated immune responses by attenuating MDSCs, and elevating Ag presentation and T cell recognition. The demonstrated therapeutic benefit indicates that GA‐A is a candidate for future drug design for the treatment of lymphoma. J. Cell. Biochem. 116: 102–114, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Link between Phylogeny and Virulence inEscherichia coli Extraintestinal Infection

ABSTRACT Previous studies suggesting a link between Escherichia coli phylogenetic groups and extraintestinal virulence have been hampered by the difficulty in establishing the intrinsic virulence of a bacterial strain. Indeed, unidentified virulence factors do exist, and the susceptibility of the host to infection is highly variable. To overcome these difficulties, we have developed a mouse model of extraintestinal virulence to test the virulence of the strains under normalized conditions. We then assessed the phylogenetic relationships compared to the E. coli reference (ECOR) collection, the presence of several known virulence determinants, and the lethality to mice of 82 human adult E. coli strains isolated from normal feces and during the course of extraintestinal infections. Commensal strains belong mainly to phylogenetic groups A and B1, are devoid of virulence determinants, and do not kill the mice. Strains exhibiting the same characteristics as the commensal strains can be isolated under pathogenic conditions, thus indicating the role of host-dependent factors, such as susceptibility linked to underlying disease, in the development of infection. Some strains of phylogenetic groups A, B1, and D are able to kill the mice, their virulence being most often correlated with the presence of virulence determinants. Lastly, strains of the B2 phylogenetic group represent a divergent lineage of highly virulent strains which kill the mice at high frequency and possess the highest level of virulence determinants. The observed link between virulence and phylogeny could correspond to the necessity of virulence determinants in a genetic background that is adequate for the emergence of a virulent clone, an expression of the interdependency of pathogenicity and metabolic activities in pathogenic bacteria.