Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
C3 Promotes Clearance of Klebsiella pneumoniae by A549 Epithelial Cells

ABSTRACT The airway epithelium represents a primary site for contact between microbes and their hosts. To assess the role of complement in this event, we studied the interaction between the A549 cell line derived from human alveolar epithelial cells and a major nosocomial pathogen, Klebsiella pneumoniae, in the presence of serum. In vitro, we found that C3 opsonization of poorly encapsulated K. pneumoniae clinical isolates and an unencapsulated mutant enhanced dramatically bacterial internalization by A549 epithelial cells compared to highly encapsulated clinical isolates. Local complement components (either present in the human bronchoalveolar lavage or produced by A549 epithelial cells) were sufficient to opsonize K. pneumoniae. CD46 could competitively inhibit the internalization of K. pneumoniae by the epithelial cells, suggesting that CD46 is a receptor for the binding of complement-opsonized K. pneumoniae to these cells. We observed that poorly encapsulated strains appeared into the alveolar epithelial cells in vivo but that (by contrast) they were completely avirulent in a mouse model of pneumonia compared to the highly encapsulated strains. Our results show that bacterial opsonization by complement enhances the internalization of the avirulent microorganisms by nonphagocytic cells such as A549 epithelial cells and allows an efficient innate defense.
Interdonato lemon from Nizza di Sicilia (Italy): chemical composition of hexane extract of lemon peel and histochemical investigation

Abstract Considering that the determination of authenticity and of the geographical origin of food is a very challenging issue, in this study we studied by means of histological and histochemical analyses the famous Sicilian lemon known as ‘Interdonato Lemon of Messina PGI’. Since the protected geographical indication Interdonato lemon of Messina possesses high organoleptic properties, the composition of the hexane extract of lemon peel was determined by HRGC and HRGC–MS analyses and compared with that of lemon of different cultivars. The results obtained are informative of the oil’s quality and explain the variation of the lemon essential oil composition. Given the fundamental economic implications of any fraud, the aim of this study was to determine a fingerprint able to evaluate the authentication of the geographic origin in such way to prevent frauds in national and international markets. Graphical Abstract
Residence at the expression site is necessary and sufficient for the transcription of surface antigen genes of Pneumocystis carinii

The major surface glycoprotein (MSG) of P. carinii f. sp. carinii is a family of proteins encoded by a family of heterogeneous genes. Messenger RNAs encoding different MSG isoforms start with the same sequence, called the upstream conserved sequence (UCS), which is encoded by a single locus. The mechanism by which the UCS becomes part of different MSG mRNAs is not obvious because at least 15 loci, which are distributed throughout the genome, encode MSGs. One possibility is that attachment to the UCS locus is required for the transcription of an MSG gene. The alternative to this expression site model is that mRNAs acquire the UCS by RNA splicing. To distinguish between these two models, UCS/MSG junctions in the genome were compared with UCS/MSG junctions in mRNA. The UCS/MSG junctions in the mRNA matched those in the genome, as would be expected if splicing did not contribute to the attachment of the UCS to the 5′ ends of MSG mRNAs. Given that few if any MSG mRNAs lack the UCS, the correspondence between the UCS/MSG junctions in transcripts and those in the genome indicates that attachment to the UCS is both necessary and sufficient for transcription of an MSG gene.
Rising Skill Premium?: The Roles of Capital-Skill Complementarity and Sectoral Shifts in a Two-Sector Economy

Empirical studies report a marked dispersion in skill-premium changes across economies over the past few decades. Structural models in early studies successfully replicate the increases in skill premiums in many economies, while some other cases with a decline in the skill premium are yet to be explained. To this end, we develop a two-sector (i.e., manufacturing and non-manufacturing) general equilibrium model with skilled and unskilled labor, in which degrees of capital-skill complementarity differ across sectors. Based on the estimated structural parameters, we show that a decline in capital-skill complementarity in the non-manufacturing sector can provide a consistent explanation for the following aspects of the Japanese data at both the aggregate and industry levels: (i) a decline in the skill premium, (ii) widening of the sectoral wage gap due to a rise in manufacturing wages and decline in non-manufacturing wages, and (iii) an increase in the unskilled labor share in the non-manufacturing sector. We interpret that this change reflects compositional effects and uneven technology adoption of firms within non-manufacturing.
Online Gaming, Internet Addiction, and Aggression in Chinese Male Students: The Mediating Role of Low Self-Control

Even though the General Aggression Model suggests that personality and situational variables can influence aggression, it is not clear if the model can be applied to Eastern cultures. The present study examined the mediating role of low self-control in the relationships between violent online gaming, Internet addiction, and aggression. We conducted a cross-sectional study using online self-report questionnaires to assess violent online game exposure, Internet addiction, low self-control, and aggression in 211 Chinese male students. We found that the majority of the 10 most popular games reported by the participants were violent. There were positive correlations between violent online game exposure, Internet addiction, low self-control, and aggression. Aggression was not only directly predicted by violent online game exposure and Internet addiction, but also mediated by low self-control. These findings support the development of educational programs and measures to cultivate self-control in college students and reduce aggression engendered by playing violent online games. Aggression and self-control, which is conducive to educational interventions, are related. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.
Fault-tolerant control of a polyethylene reactor

This work focuses on fault-tolerant nonlinear control of a gas phase polyethylene reactor. Initially, a family of candidate control configurations, characterized by different manipulated inputs, are identified. For each control configuration, a bounded nonlinear feedback controller, that enforces asymptotic closed-loop stability in the presence of constraints, is designed, and the constrained stability region associated with it is explicitly characterized using Lyapunov-based tools. A switching policy is then derived, on the basis of the stability regions, to orchestrate the activation/deactivation of the constituent control configurations in a way that guarantees closed-loop stability in the event of control system faults. Closed-loop system simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the fault-tolerant control strategy
Measuring Human-made Corner Structures with a Robotic Total Station using Support Points, Lines and Planes

Measuring non-planar targets with a total station in reflectorless mode is a challenging and error-prone task. Any accurate 3D point measurement requires a fully reflected laser beam of the electronic distance meter and proper orientation of the pan-tilt unit. Prominent structures like corners and edges often cannot fulfill these requirements and cannot be measured reliably. We present three algorithms and user interfaces for simple and efficient construction-side measurement corrections of the systematic error, using additional measurements close to the non-measurable target. Postprocessing of single-point measurements is not required with our methods, and our experiments prove that using a 3D point, a 3D line or a 3D plane support can lower the systematic error by almost a order of magnitude.
QTL Analysis of Seed Iron, Zinc, and Phosphorus Levels in an Andean Bean Population

Iron and zinc are essential micronutrients for human health often found in insuffi cient quantities in the diet. Biofortifi cation of seed crops has been undertaken to reduce micronutrient malnutrition. The objectives of this study were to identify variability for seed Fe, Zn, P, and phytic acid levels in an F 5:7 recombinant inbred line (RIL) population developed from a cross between AND696 and G19833, both common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) of Andean origin. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis was conducted with data from 2 yr and 2 P treatments with a previously described linkage map of AND696/ G19833. Signifi cant environmental and genetic variability for Fe, Zn, and P levels was identifi ed, and Fe and Zn levels were correlated (up to r = 0.53). Quantitative trait loci for seed Fe and Zn co-localized on three linkage groups (B1, B6, and B11). On B6, a QTL for Fe (R 2 = 0.36) was found at the same marker interval as a QTL for seed Zn (R 2 = 0.39), both derived from AND696. Quantitative trait loci for seed P were identifi ed on six linkage groups and explained 17 to 55% of the total phenotypic variation depending on year and environment.
Use of pulse wave analysis to measure arterial stiffness in old age.

SIR—We read with interest Fantin’s cross-sectional study comparing the influence of age on arterial stiffness using the technique of applanation tonometry with pulse wave analysis (PWA) [1]. Their study is particularly welcome since the literature contains few direct comparisons of different markers of arterial stiffness [2]. The overall PWA completion rate was 66% (302/458) for carotid tonometry and 99% (453/458) for radial tonometry. This is consistent with previous research that has found carotid tonometry technically more demanding, less acceptable to patients and less repeatable than radial artery tonometry [3]. This might explain why the fitted straight-line for female carotid augmentation pressure (AG) appears inconsistent with the rest of the data [1]. The relationship between radial AG and age was best described by a simple straight line. The relationship between radial augmentation index (AIx) and age was best explained by a quadratic curve with a plateau at around 60 years for women and 80 years for men. We have also used SphygmoCor (with radial artery tonometry) in a preliminary comparative study of arterial stiffness in acute stroke patients, individuals with equivalent cardiovascular risk and healthy volunteers (N = 59, 73% aged over 55 years; LREC Ref:05/S0801/45). While our sample size is insufficient to permit a useful comparison by sex (and we share with Fantin the problem of a heterogeneous study population) we also observed similar age-related patterns (see Figure 1). Both AIx and AG had an initial linear relationship with age, before levelling off (at 55 years for AIx and 75 years for AG) and finally dipping at the extremes of older age. We suspect this final dip reflects a ‘healthy survivor effect’ (a bias to which cross-sectional data is particularly prone) rather than a true physiological reversal of arterial ageing. Our analysis employs both simple linear regression and non-parametric ‘local linear regression smoothing’ (SPSS v15). The latter approach is useful for exploring arterial stiffness across age-bands without having to make assumptions about the overall distribution of the observations [4]. Since AIx varies with heart rate [5], it is also shown standardised to 75 bpm. It would have been useful to see the results of similar analyses in Fantin’s study. While our findings appear comparable with Fantin’s much larger study, we think it is premature to conclude that AG is a better guide to arterial ageing than AIx for two main reasons [1]. Firstly, pooling data from several cross-sectional surveys creates a heterogeneous study population, which restricts generalisability and potentially compounds any individual study biases. Secondly, as the accompanying editorial suggests, the clinical utility of AG and AIx will depend upon their relative prognostic ability to predict future cardiovascular events [2]. Nevertheless, Fantin’s findings justify further research into the role of PWA indices in cardiovascular risk stratification. Figure 1.
Identification of three putative GnRH receptor subtypes in vertebrates.

The majority of vertebrates have two or three forms of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which appear to have arisen by successive gene duplication events. This suggests the possibility of concordant gene duplications of the GnRH receptor to produce two or more cognate receptors. Since the extracellular loop 3 (EC3) domain of mammalian GnRH receptors plays a role in distinguishing the different forms of GnRH, we have contemplated that the sequence of this domain will differ significantly in the putative cognate receptors. Degenerate oliognucleotides encoding the sequences of the transmembrane domains preceding and following EC3 were used for PCR amplification of genomic DNA from zebrafish (Brachydanio rerio), goldfish (Carassius auratus), African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), chicken (Gallus domesticus), and lizard (Agama atra). Isolation and sequencing of specific clones revealed that they fell into three groups. Two of these were most similar to the mammalian pituitary GnRH receptor and were therefore designated Type IA and Type IB. The third form (designated Type II) was most different from the others and was identified in Xenopus, lizard, and human DNA. These findings support the concept of the existence of three distinct GnRH receptors, which have evolved in conjunction with three distinct GnRH ligand classes present in many vertebrates.
Flavobacterium macrobrachii sp. nov., isolated from a freshwater shrimp culture pond.

A bacterial strain, designated an-8(T), was isolated from a freshwater shrimp culture pond in Taiwan and characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Cells of strain an-8(T) were Gram-reaction-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped and non-motile, formed yellow-pigmented colonies and grew at 15-30 °C (optimum 25 °C), pH 7-8 (optimum pH 8.0) and in 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 0 %). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain an-8(T) belonged to the genus Flavobacterium and its most closely related neighbours were Flavobacterium terrigena DS-20(T) and Flavobacterium terrae R2A1-13(T) with sequence similarities of 95.1 and 94.9 %, respectively. Strain an-8(T) contained iso-C(15 : 0), summed feature 3 (C(16 : 1)ω6c and/or C(16 : 1)ω7c), iso-C(16 : 0) 3-OH, iso-C(15 : 0) 3-OH, iso-C(17 : 0) 3-OH and iso-C(15 : 1) as the major fatty acids. The major isoprenoid quinone was MK-6. The polar lipid profile consisted of a mixture of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine and several unidentified polar lipids. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 39.8 mol%. On the basis of the phylogenetic and phenotypic data, strain an-8(T) represents a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium macrobrachii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is an-8(T) ( = BCRC 17965(T) = LMG 25203(T)).
Nutritional Composition of Iranian Desi and Kabuli Chickpea (Cicer Arietinum L.) Cultivars in Autumn Sowing

The grain quality of chickpea in Iran is low and instable, which may be attributed to the evolution of cultivars with a narrow genetic base making them vulnerable to biotic stresses. Four chickpea varieties from diverse geographic origins were chosen and arranged in a randomized complete block design. Mesorhizobium sp. cicer strain SW7 was added to all the chickpea seeds. Chickpea seeds were planted on October 9, 2013. Each genotype was sown 5 m in length, with 35 cm inter-row spacing, in 3 rows. Weeds were removed manually in all plots. Results showed that Analysis of variance on the studied traits showed significant differences among genotypes for N, P, K and Fe contents of chickpea, but there is not a significant difference among Ca, Zn and Mg continents of chickpea. The experimental coefficient of variation (CV) varied from 7.3 to 15.8. In general, the CV value lower than 20% is considered to be good, indicating the accuracy of conducted experiments. The highest grain N was observed in Hashem and Jam cultivars. The highest grain P was observed in Jam cultivar. Phosphorus content (mg/100g) ranged from 142.3 to 302.3 with a mean value of 221.3. The negative correlation (-0.126) was observed between the N and P of chickpea cultivars. The highest K and Fe contents were observed in Jam cultivar. Keywords—Cultivar, genotype, nitrogen, nutrient, yield.
Cross cultural change, adjustment and culture shock: UK to USA.

Globalisation of the hospitality industry has resulted in continuously increasing numbers of international student sojourners whose desire to experience and learn about new cultures is frequently accompanied by an aim to develop their linguistic and professional skills. This paper focuses predominantly on United Kingdom students' perceptions of their international placement experiences in the United States of America. Issues pertaining to cultural diversity, cross-cultural adjustment, culture shock, culture surprise and acculturation are discussed. A deductive approach was adopted, with cluster sampling. Quantitative and qualitative evidence pertaining to perceptions of the phases of adjustment, culture shock, culture surprise and preparation material received from the university placement office was collected. Data from academic placement tutor interviews (n=2) then student questionnaires (n=38), focus groups (n=2) and in-depth interviews (n=4) were triangulated employing SPSS and network analysis. The findings showed that the majority of students suffered culture shock due to their changed circumstances, yet the experience was not deemed wholly negative. Culture shock was linked to language problems, lack of preparation, cultural differences and frustration at work. Culture surprise was evident in feelings of comfort, belonging and security. Cross-cultural adjustment focused on peers, hosts and workrelated stress; an alternative model for cross-cultural adjustment emerged. Key recommendations include education and training to raise levels of awareness of culture shock in preparation for cross-cultural change. It is concluded that culture shock may be moderated by culture surprise, hence accelerating cross-cultural adjustment, particularly when cultural distance is small.
Quantum aspects of beam physics

The continued demand for higher beam energies, luminosities, and brightness, induces increasing number of beam phenomena that involve quantum effects. In this paper we review the various quantum aspects of beam physics, with emphasis on their recent advances. These include quantum effects in beam dynamics, electron-photon interaction, beam phenomena under strong fields, fundamental physics under violent acceleration, and quantum methodology in beam physics. We conclude with a future outlook of this very exciting new field by the name quantum beam physics.
Improved Shielding Performance Using High Permeability Electroplated Thin Films in Printed Circuit Boards

The application of electroplated magnetic materials for improved shielding of inductive coil structures produced using printed circuit board (PCB) technology is demonstrated. In this way, the range of shielding materials available for use in PCB as a replacement for ferrite is increased, so that a wider range of applications can be addressed and practical issues associated with the need for attachment and brittleness of ferrite are eliminated. A comparison of shielding performance of four different soft magnetic alloys is presented. The performance of different thicknesses and permeability of electroplated materials is compared in terms of coil inductance and shielding effectiveness (SE). Simulations and measurements show that the proposed alloy materials can provide inductance enhancement of inductive coils in PCB by a factor of over 1.4, while matching the SE levels of ferrite.
Locally advanced rectal cancer: from molecular profiling to clinical practice. A literature review: Part 2

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The management of rectal cancer has undergone, and continues to undergo, significant evolutions. In the last two decades, new multimodality strategies have been developed. The ability to predict tumor response before treatment could significantly impact the selection of patients for preoperative combined-modality therapy, as well as potentially modify postoperative treatment plans. The present review analyzes the new molecular targets that could be involved in predicting response and prognosis.
Visual results after submacular surgery for neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Submacular membranectomy has been proposed as a treatment option for subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes (CNVMs). The authors reviewed the visual outcomes of patients who underwent surgical removal of subfoveal CNVMs caused by age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty-eight patients (38 eyes) were retrospectively reviewed. Selection criteria included: (1) the presence of a well-demarcated subfoveal CNVM on fluorescein angiography; (2) best-corrected Snellen visual acuity reduced to the level of 20/200 or worse; and (3) no other eye disease that could compromise visual acuity. Pars plana vitrectomy, retinotomy, and membrane removal were performed to remove the subfoveal choroidal neovascular complex with minimal disruption of the surrounding tissues. A significant change was defined as a two-line difference from best-corrected preoperative visual acuity on the Snellen chart. RESULTS At 3 months postoperatively, 7 (18.4%) of the 38 eyes had improved, 8 (21.1%) of the eyes had worsened, and 23 (60.5%) of the eyes had remained unchanged. The final visual acuity improved in 8 (21.1%) of the eyes, worsened in 11 (28.9%) of the eyes, and remained unchanged in 19 (50%) of the eyes. The average follow-up time was 632 days. CONCLUSIONS The authors employed a minimally invasive approach to the removal of CNVMs in ARMD. Nevertheless, the resultant visual acuity was often unsatisfactory. Therefore, the authors recommend not operating on ARMD-associated subfoveal CNVMs with the current technology.