Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 expression negatively controlled by EIIANtr–SsrB interaction is required for Salmonella virulence

SsrA/SsrB is a primary two-component system that mediates the survival and replication of Salmonella within host cells. When activated, the SsrB response regulator directly promotes the transcription of multiple genes within Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI-2). As expression of the SsrB protein is promoted by several transcription factors, including SsrB itself, the expression of SPI-2 genes can increase to undesirable levels under activating conditions. Here, we report that Salmonella can avoid the hyperactivation of SPI-2 genes by using ptsN-encoded EIIANtr, a component of the nitrogen-metabolic phosphotransferase system. Under SPI-2–inducing conditions, the levels of SsrB-regulated gene transcription increased abnormally in a ptsN deletion mutant, whereas they decreased in a strain overexpressing EIIANtr. We found that EIIANtr controls SPI-2 genes by acting on the SsrB protein at the posttranscriptional level. EIIANtr interacted directly with SsrB, which prevented the SsrB protein from binding to its target promoter. Finally, the Salmonella strain, either lacking the ptsN gene or overexpressing EIIANtr, was unable to replicate within macrophages, and the ptsN deletion mutant was attenuated for virulence in mice. These results indicated that normal SPI-2 gene expression maintained by an EIIANtr–SsrB interaction is another determinant of Salmonella virulence.
Strengthening collaboration for successful field experiences

Abstract Because a majority of teachers come from public universities, universities play an important role in examining and strengthening their teacher preparation programs to ensure they are graduating quality teachers. Student teaching is typically the culminating experience of the teacher preparation program and is considered to be the most crucial and beneficial learning experience. This article presents research from a study of 205 public universities across the United States with teacher education programs on the involvement of faculty in the student teaching experience as well as a follow-up study with 28 methods students and their perceptions about their supervision experience. The findings could foster discussions in order to strengthen university teacher preparation programs.
Obesity, overweight and body‐weight perception in a High Atlas Moroccan population

In order to study the prevalence of obesity and overweight and to understand how the human body is perceived among Moroccan mountain populations, we carried out a survey that covered a sample of 436 Amazigh individuals aged 20 years and more from the High Moroccan Atlas. Through this survey, we noticed that obesity is still low among men (2.4%), whereas the prevalence of obesity among women is alarming and reaches 13.3%. The prevalence of overweight is also high, especially among women, with 32.8% vs. 21.8% among men. Obesity prevalence, especially overweight, is higher than that recorded in the national rural level. The high prevalence of overweight that can develop to obesity should be taken into account mainly when dealing with women that still value overweight. In fact, women in our sample underestimate their overweight more than men and wish to have a heavier body.
RNA Misprocessing in C9orf72-Linked Neurodegeneration

A large GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the first intron or promoter region of the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of familial and sporadic Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a devastating degenerative disease of motor neurons, and of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), the second most common form of presenile dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. C9orf72-associated ALS/FTD is a multifaceted disease both in terms of its clinical presentation and the misregulated cellular pathways contributing to disease progression. Among the numerous pathways misregulated in C9orf72-associated ALS/FTD, altered RNA processing has consistently appeared at the forefront of C9orf72 research. This includes bidirectional transcription of the repeat sequence, accumulation of repeat RNA into nuclear foci sequestering specific RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and translation of RNA repeats into dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs) by repeat-associated non-AUG (RAN)-initiated translation. Over the past few years the true extent of RNA misprocessing in C9orf72-associated ALS/FTD has begun to emerge and disruptions have been identified in almost all aspects of the life of an RNA molecule, including release from RNA polymerase II, translation in the cytoplasm and degradation. Furthermore, several alterations have been identified in the processing of the C9orf72 RNA itself, in terms of its transcription, splicing and localization. This review article aims to consolidate our current knowledge on the consequence of the C9orf72 repeat expansion on RNA processing and draws attention to the mechanisms by which several aspects of C9orf72 molecular pathology converge to perturb every stage of RNA metabolism.
Politically Unengaged, Distrusting, and Disaffected Individuals Drive the Link Between Compulsory Voting and Invalid Balloting

Invalid ballots are relatively common in countries with compulsory voting, yet there is no cross-national evidence as to who is more likely to cast a blank or spoiled ballot where voting is forced. I argue that increased rates of blank and spoiled balloting where voting is obligatory result from the behavior of the politically unknowledgeable, uninterested, untrusting, and disaffected, who are incentivized to turn out to the polls where they can be sanctioned for abstention. To test this, I conduct an individual-level examination of the influence of compulsory voting on invalid balloting across countries. I find support for my expectations with analyses of survey data from several American democracies, many of which compel electoral participation.
Prenatal maternal stress and cord blood innate and adaptive cytokine responses in an inner-city cohort.

RATIONALE Stress-elicited disruption of immunity begins in utero. OBJECTIVES Associations among prenatal maternal stress and cord blood mononuclear cell (CBMC) cytokine responses were prospectively examined in the Urban Environment and Childhood Asthma Study (n = 557 families). METHODS Prenatal maternal stress included financial hardship, difficult life circumstances, community violence, and neighborhood/block and housing conditions. Factor analysis produced latent variables representing three contexts: individual stressors and ecological-level strains (housing problems and neighborhood problems), which were combined to create a composite cumulative stress indicator. CBMCs were incubated with innate (lipopolysaccharide, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, cytosine-phosphate-guanine dinucleotides, peptidoglycan) and adaptive (tetanus, dust mite, cockroach) stimuli, respiratory syncytial virus, phytohemagglutinin, or medium alone. Cytokines were measured using multiplex ELISAs. Using linear regression, associations among increasing cumulative stress and cytokine responses were examined, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, parity, season of birth, maternal asthma and steroid use, and potential pathway variables (prenatal smoking, birth weight for gestational age). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Mothers were primarily minorities (Black [71%], Latino [19%]) with an income less than $15,000 (69%). Mothers with the highest cumulative stress were older and more likely to have asthma and deliver lower birth weight infants. Higher prenatal stress was related to increased IL-8 production after microbial (CpG, PIC, peptidoglycan) stimuli and increased tumor necrosis factor-alpha to microbial stimuli (CpG, PIC). In the adaptive panel, higher stress was associated with increased IL-13 after dust mite stimulation and reduced phytohemagglutinin-induced IFN-gamma. CONCLUSIONS Prenatal stress was associated with altered innate and adaptive immune responses in CBMCs. Stress-induced perinatal immunomodulation may impact the expression of allergic disease in these children.
The Complexity of Pregnancy Anemia in Dar-es-Salaam

Objectives: To investigate the main causes of anemia in pregnancy in Dar-es-Salaam and identify appropriate investigations at all levels of care. Materials: All pregnant women booking for antenatal care at 2 clinics (n = 2,235) were screened for anemia. Investigations for etiology of anemia were done in all anemic women (Hb <10.5 g/dl) (n = 361). Methods: Blood cell counts, microscopy of blood films, S-ferritin, C-reactive protein, HIV, stool parasite and bone marrow analysis were performed. Results: Iron deficiency dominated in 86% and malaria in 1/3 of anemia cases. Since 42% had indication of ongoing inflammation, S-ferritin was less useful as indicator of iron deficiency but blood film microscopy identified most cases.
Plasma Valine and Urinary C‐Peptide in Breast‐fed and Artificially Fed Infants up to 6 Months of Age

ABSTRACT. Plasma branched‐chain amino acids and urinary C‐peptide‐creatinine excretion was determined at 3, 41/2 and 6 months of age in a group of 50 infants who were either breast‐fed or artificially fed and selected at random. The average concentrations of valine in plasma and C‐peptide in urine as well as the ratio between C‐peptide and creatinine in urine were 2–3 times higher (p < 0.01) in artificially fed as compared to breast‐fed infants at all the ages studied. Plasma valine values correlated significantly with the urinary C‐peptide/creatinine ratio (r= 0.76, p < 0.01), which suggests that the enhanced insulin response induced by the artificial formula is related to its protein content.
Visual and visuoperceptual function in children with Panayiotopoulos syndrome

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess behavioral aspects of visual function and visuoperceptual abilities in patients with Panayiotopoulos syndrome (PS), and their possible associations with clinical and electroencephalography (EEG) findings in order to establish the possible effect of interictal paroxysmal activity on visual performance.
Ten‐year review reveals changing trends and severity of allergic reactions to nuts and other foods

Over the past few decades, the incidence of food allergies has risen and Sweden has increased its import of peanuts and exotic nuts, such as cashew nuts, which may cause severe allergic reactions. This study aimed to retrospectively investigate paediatric emergency visits due to food reactions over a 10‐year period, focusing on reactions to peanuts and tree nuts.
Quality of Life in Younger Persons With an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator

Although a life-saving device for people with potentially lethal ventricular arrhythmias, the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) also imposes numerous limitations. This is especially true for active younger people who will have many more years of trying to cope with the limitations the device imposes. The authors report how younger people with ICDs describe the quality of their life, and suggest ways nurses can help these individuals manage with an ICD.
Identification and Mutation of Phosphorylation Sites in a Linker Histone

Linker histone phosphorylation has been suggested to play roles in both chromosome condensation and transcriptional regulation. In the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena, in contrast to many eukaryotes, histone H1 of macronuclei is highly phosphorylated during interphase. Macronuclei divide amitotically without overt chromosome condensation in this organism, suggesting that requirements for phosphorylation of macronuclear H1 may be limited to transcriptional regulation. Here we report the major sites of phosphorylation of macronuclear H1 in Tetrahymena thermophila. Five phosphorylation sites, present in a single cluster, were identified by sequencing 32P-labeled peptides isolated from tryptic peptide maps. Phosphothreonine was detected within two TPVK motifs and one TPTK motif that resemble established p34 cdc2 kinase consensus sequences. Phosphoserine was detected at two non-proline-directed sites that do not resemble known kinase consensus sequences. Phosphorylation at the two noncanonical sites appears to be hierarchical because it was observed only when a nearby p34 cdc2 site was also phosphorylated. Cells expressing macronuclear H1 containing alanine substitutions at all five of these phosphorylation sites were viable even though macronuclear H1 phosphorylation was abolished. These data suggest that the five sites identified comprise the entire collection of sites utilized by Tetrahymena and demonstrate that phosphorylation of macronuclear H1, like the protein itself, is not essential for viability in Tetrahymena.
The functional neuroanatomy of tinnitus

We used PET to map brain regions responding to changes in tinnitus loudness in four patients who could alter tinnitus loudness by performing voluntary oral facial movements (OFMs). Cerebral blood flow was measured in four patients and six controls at rest, during the OFM, and during stimulation with pure tones. OFM-induced loudness changes affected the auditory cortex contralateral to the ear in which tinnitus was perceived, whereas unilateral cochlear stimulation caused bilateral effects, suggesting a retrocochlear origin for their tinnitus. Patients, compared with controls, showed evidence for more widespread activation by the tones and aberrant links between the limbic and auditory systems. These abnormal patterns provide evidence for cortical plasticity that may account for tinnitus and associated symptoms. Although audiologic symptoms and examinations of these patients were typical, the unusual ability to modulate tinnitus loudness with an OFM suggests some caution may be warranted in generalizing these findings.
Three Applications of Time-Varying Parameter and Stochastic Volatility Models to the Malaysian and Australian Economy

After the introductory chapter, this thesis comprises of three chapters that examines the application of time-varying parameter and stochastic volatility models to the Malaysian and Australian economy. Chapter 2 aims to determine whether the propagation and transmission mechanism of Malaysian monetary policy di ered during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997/98 and the Global Financial Crisis of 2007/08. The methodology employs a time-varying vector-autoregression framework. The primary result is that despite having no evidence of time-variation in the propagation mechanism of Malaysian monetary policy the average contribution of a monetary policy shock to the variability of each macroeconomic variable-Real GDP, In ation and the Nominal E ective Exchange Rate-di ers between the two crises. This nding suggests that despite the propagation mechanism being relatively constant, Malaysia's monetary policy transmission mechanism evolves over time. We believe that the main mechanism driving this evolution is the time-variation in the variance-covariance matrix of the shocks of the model, not the coe cients. We also nd some evidence that the implementation of capital controls reduced the in uenceability of monetary policy on the Malaysian economy. Chapter 3 investigates whether incorporating time variation and fat-tails into a suite of popular univariate and multivariate Gaussian distributed models can improve the forecast performance of key Australian macroeconomic variables: real GDP growth, CPI in ation and a short-term interest rate. The forecast period is from 1992Q1 to 2014Q4, thus replicating the central banks forecasting responsibilities since adopting in ation targeting. We show that time varying parameters and stochastic volatility with Student's-t error distribution are important modeling features of the data. More speci cally, a vector autoregression with the proposed features provides the best interest and in ation forecasts over the entire sample. Remarkably, the full sample results show that a simple rolling window autoregressive model with Student's-t errors provides the most accurate GDP forecasts. Chapter 4 estimates a time-varying parameter Panel Bayesian vector autoregression
International research on vegetable improvement in East and Southern Africa: adoption, impact, and returns

There is a lack of evidence for impact at scale of vegetable research and development, although the importance of vegetables for human nutrition and smallholder incomes is generally understood. We therefore study adoption and impact of improved tomato and African eggplant varieties developed through international agricultural research, released by national agricultural research and extension systems, and supplied to farmers by private seed companies in East and Southern Africa from 1990 to 2014. The study finds that in 2014, varieties developed by the World Vegetable Center accounted for 50% of tomato and 98% of African eggplant commercial seed production in East and Southern Africa. For Tanzania alone, investment in crop improvement generated economic gains of US$ 255 million for tomato and US$ 5 million for African eggplant up to 2014. The internal rate of return is 26% for tomato and 12% for African eggplant, though we project the latter to increase to 26% by 2024 as the variety was released only in 2007. These findings support the view that agricultural policy and investment reoriented towards contemporary nutritional challenges will give high returns to investment.
Effect of oxyethylene moiety in polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters on the pharmacokinetics of menatetrenone incorporated in O/W lipid emulsions prepared with polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters and soybean oil in rats

Oil‐in‐water (O/W) lipid emulsions are suitable drug carriers for lipophilic drugs; however, the effects of numbers or chains of oxyethylene units within a surfactant molecule such as polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters (PSs) on the biological fate of these lipid emulsions have not yet been clarified. In this study, a series of PSs and soybean oil (SO) were utilized to prepare menatetrenone‐incorporated lipid emulsions (SO/PSs), and the biological fate of menatetrenone administered as SO/PSs was studied at a clinical injection volume (0.1 mL kg−1) in rats. The plasma concentration and organ uptake of menatetrenone administered as SO/20OE‐PSs (PSs with 20 oxyethylene units) was similar to that of SO/egg‐yolk phosphatides (SO/EYP). The plasma concentration of menatetrenone was extensively lower for SO/6OE‐PSs (PSs with 6 oxyethylene units) and SO/20OE‐3FA‐PSs (PSs with 20 oxyethylene units and 3 fatty acid chains) than that for SO/EYP, and menatetrenone uptake by the liver and spleen was higher for SO/6OE‐PSs and SO/20OE‐3FA‐PSs, respectively, than those for SO/EYP. Furthermore, menatetrenone uptake by the lungs was also increased for SO/6OE‐PS and SO/20OE‐3FA‐PS with double bonds in the fatty acid moieties of the PSs. These findings suggested that shortening the oxyethylene units or decreasing the oxyethylene chain numbers of emulsifiers resulted in a rapid clearance of the lipid emulsions from the circulation by extensive uptake via the liver, spleen or lungs.
The prophylactic effect of Acetobacter syzygii probiotic species against squamous cell carcinoma

Background. Squamous cell carcinoma is a prevalent carcinoma of the oral cavity. Recently anti-proliferative effect of probiotics has been considered and assessed against different cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of Acetobacter syzygii strain supernatant on KB human oral cancer cell line and KDR human epithelial normal cell line. Methods. The cytotoxicity assessments were performed through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) as well as through qualitative (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining) and quantitative (flow cytometry assessments using the BD Biosciences Annexin V-FITC Kit) evaluations of apoptosis. Results. A. syzygii secretions exhibited significant cytotoxicity against KB cancer cell lines similar to cisplatin (75.7% apoptosis) while the rate of apoptosis in KDR normal cells was only 9.36%. The prophylactic effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus (PTCC 1643), as a reference bacterium, was similar to A. syzygii, indicating beneficial effects of useful bacteria on prevention of oral diseases. Conclusion. The anticancer bioactivity of A. syzygii strain secretions depends on the induction of apoptosis in KB cancer cells. However, several investigations should be conducted to precisely determine effective compounds to be used as anticancer therapeutics in the future.
CFTR interacts with ZO-1 to regulate tight junction assembly and epithelial differentiation through the ZONAB pathway

ABSTRACT Mutations in CFTR lead to dysfunction of tubular organs, which is currently attributed to impairment of its conductive properties. We now show that CFTR regulates tight junction assembly and epithelial cell differentiation through modulation of the ZO-1–ZONAB pathway. CFTR colocalizes with ZO-1 at the tight junctions of trachea and epididymis, and is expressed before ZO-1 in Wolffian ducts. CFTR interacts with ZO-1 through the CTFR PDZ-binding domain. In a three-dimensional (3D) epithelial cell culture model, CFTR regulates tight junction assembly and is required for tubulogenesis. CFTR inhibition or knockdown reduces ZO-1 expression and induces the translocation of the transcription factor ZONAB (also known as YBX3) from tight junctions to the nucleus, followed by upregulation of the transcription of CCND1 and downregulation of ErbB2 transcription. The epididymal tubules of cftr−/− and cftr&Dgr;F508 mice have reduced ZO-1 levels, increased ZONAB nuclear expression, and decreased epithelial cell differentiation, illustrated by the reduced expression of apical AQP9 and V-ATPase. This study provides a new paradigm for the etiology of diseases associated with CFTR mutations, including cystic fibrosis.
LTE handset antenna with closely-located radiators, low-band MIMO, and high efficiency

Performance of a multi-element handset antenna operating at LTE frequencies is reported. The antenna elements have metal parts that are closely located physically and electrically. Matching circuits are used to reduce mutual coupling and to improve the efficiency. With a combination of active and reactively loaded radiators and fixed matching circuits, an embedded radiation efficiency better than 80 % at 698–960 MHz and better than 60% from 1.7 GHz upwards is achieved. By using identical antennas in both ends of the device, two-element Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) operation can be obtained in simulations with efficiencies up to 60 % at low band and better than 60 % at high band.
What Has Publishing Inflation Forecasts Accomplished? Central Banks and Their Competitors

This paper has examined the evolution of disagreement over the short-term inflation outlook in nine advanced economies during the decade and half beginning in the 2000s. The paper focuses on how disagreement is largely shaped by the benchmark against which this concept is evaluated and the role of potential shocks to the inflation process such as the global financial crisis.