Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Analyses of the Isoforms of Surfactin Produced by Bacillus subtilis HSO 121 Using GC-MS

Lipopeptide is one of the most important biosurfactants. The content of each isoform of a lipopeptide is crucial to the study of the properties of metabolites as well as the biological and biochemical characters of microbes. However, this information has not been accurately provided by the current analysis method. A new method for the quantitative determination of each isoform in the surfactin family has been established. The surfactin was firstly hydrolyzed in an acid solution at 90°C for 20 h, dried and then treated with bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide at 60°C for 20 min. The derived hydrolysates were then analyzed by GC-MS for a quantitative determination via comparison with working curves made with amino acids. GC-MS analyses show that the nine isoforms with an amount of 4.80 × 10^−7 mol (493 µg) in a 500 µg surfactin sample were detected, in which the mole fractions of surfactin isoforms with different fatty acid chains were 0.32% ( n C_12), 4.89% ( iso C_13), 6.27% ( anteiso C_13), 23.05% ( iso C_14), 8.95% ( n C_14), 17.69% ( iso C_15), 38.69% ( anteiso C_15), 0.07% ( iso C_16), and 0.07% ( n C_16), respectively. This approach can be applied to quantitative analyses for other families of lipopeptides as long as the sequence of amino acid residues in the peptide is determined.
Cost of trauma in Europe

TBI is defined as an insult to the brain that leads to temporary or permanent impairments of cognitive abilities and physical functioning. Head injury results from an interaction between an individual and an external agent such as a mechanical force and contributes significantly to the outcomes in one half of all deaths from trauma (Kraus, 1987). This mechanical force may be related to road traffic accidents, falls (with or without alcohol consumption) and work/sport accidents. Trauma injures neural tissue by primary (direct brain tissue injury) or secondary mechanisms (increased intracranial pressure, ischemia related to general hypoxia and hypotension). The consciousness level is a valuable index of injury severity. Impairment of consciousness is stratified according to the Glasgow Coma Scale Scores (GCS) in terms of the responses to external stimuli. The lower the level of GCS on admission, the worse the outcome. Those patients with moderate or severe TBI who survive are often unable to return to full employment and require some degree of rehabilitation. This means that TBI is related to significant direct medical and non-medical costs in terms of hospitalization, outpatient care and rehabilitation, indirect costs due to lost productivity, and intangible costs due to reduced quality of life. This review provides an overview of existing epidemiological and economic evidence in TBI, and discusses the possibility of estimating the total costs of TBI in Europe. The results presented in this summary are described in more detail in previous publications (Kraus, 1987; Tagliaferri 2005). Methodology We searched Medline for epidemiological articles published between 1980 and 2004. The search was undertaken using the terms epidemiology, head injury, trauma, brain injury and Europe. These terms were linked using the following combinations: epidemiology plus head injury or brain injury and trauma and Europe. References from the retrieved reports were checked to identify other possible reports. The reports selected for review were limited to studies of European populations, without restrictions on age, gender or severity of TBI. While the search language was English, articles in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese were also included in the review if relevant. We studied the abstract in English of those papers in other languages. Data extracted (when available) included: country, number of patients, severity of trauma, incidence, male/female incidence ratio, hospital days, mortality, prevalence, cost of care and other relevant
Magnetization Transfer and T2 Relaxation Components in Tissue

T2 relaxation makes an important contribution to tissue contrast in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Many tissues are known to exhibit multicomponent T2 relaxation that suggests some compartmental segregation of mobile protons on a T2 timescale. Magnetization transfer (MT) is another relaxation mechanism that can be used to produce tissue contrast in MR imaging. The MT process depends strongly on water‐macromolecular interactions. To investigate the relationship between multicomponent T2 relaxation and the MT process, multiecho T2 measurements have been combined with MT measurements for freshly excised samples of cardiac muscle, striated muscle, and white matter. For muscle, short T2 components show greater MT than long T2 components, consistent with the belief that they represent distinct water environments. For white matter, quantitative MT measurements were identical for the two major T2 components, apparently because of exchange between the T2 compartments on a timescale characteristic of the MT experiment. Implications for accurate modeling of MT in tissue and the use of MT for MR image contrast are discussed.
Subjectivation par voie d'objectivation de l'eau chez les enfants d’Afrique subsaharienne : terrains mauritanien, sénégalais et togolais : développement subjectif des enfants de 4 à 7 ans envisagé sous le rapport à l'eau comme objet social

Cette these, inspiree des travaux sur le developpement du jeune enfant en conditions de vie defavorisees (Zaouche Gaudron, 2005), traite de la subjectivation d’enfants d’Afrique subsaharienne dans leurs rapports a l’eau. La subjectivation est ici le proces par lequel les enfants produisent leur singularite subjective dans le rapport aux realites objectives de leur environnement (Malrieu, 2003). Notre approche revient sur la question, classique en psychologie, de l’activite du sujet sur l’objet. L’alternative des objectivations nous permet de montrer que les objets ne sont pas seulement determinants pour les sujets mais peuvent, dans et par la mediation sociale, devenir des sujets (Marx, 1867 ; Vygotsky, 1930 ; Wallon, 1945 ; Meyerson, 1948, Seve, 2008). Le processus de subjectivation chez l’enfant ne nous renvoie donc pas directement a l’activite des enfants, mais aux objectivations sociales a partir desquelles, dans leurs rapports aux objets, ils deviennent sujets singuliers. Notre echantillon d’etude est constitue de 68 enfants, âges de 4 a 7 ans, qui vivent dans les localites rurales de Bogue et de Bakel proches du fleuve entre la Mauritanie et le Senegal puis a Tome au Togo pres de la riviere Egbi. Notre recherche a ete menee a partir d’entretiens semi-directifs a destination des parents ou adultes significatifs, et de planches figuratives destinees aux enfants et permettant, a partir de scenes d’eau, d’en faire l’objectivation en trois phases successives : en situations "naturelle", concertee et remanente. Nos principaux resultats montrent que lorsque les adultes s’impliquent dans l’objectivation de l’eau, en situation concertee, l’eau devient un objet social dans le rapport auquel les enfants sont davantage en etat de realiser leurs subjectivations. Le rapport a l’eau propice au developpement des enfants se revele alors irreductible a l’effet des determinations naturelles, c’est-a-dire de leur zone d’habitation. Neanmoins, nos resultats specifiques, par localites, mettent en evidence des disparites entre celles-ci dans le rapport a l’eau indiquant que l’implication sociale necessaire a un rapport a l’eau propice au developpement des enfants, est encore a construire et a developper en Afrique subsaharienne. Les resultats obtenus permettent de proposer des perspectives de recherche et des pistes d’intervention quant au rapport des enfants aux objets, notamment ceux de premiere necessite et en milieux defavorises.
A coupled fluid–solid model for problems in geomechanics: Application to sand production

Some of the most challenging problems in geomechanics involve the coupling between fluid flow and solid deformation. In this paper we briefly present an overview of existing coupling methods to problems involving fluid flow and deformation and describe testing of a new discrete‐based coupling method for problems in porous media. Modeled permeability and porosity distributions are compared to idealized packed assemblies and results are presented for simulations of steady flow through porous media. Previously published results for the coupled model focused on few or multiple particles in a fluid, whereas our results show good agreement to packed assemblies of particles (i.e. porous media). Finally, the two‐dimensional model is applied to sand production, a common problem in geomechanics. Sand production is defined as the co‐production of both a fluid and solid phase in oil and gas wells. In our models, we capture initial sand production associated with early‐time drawdown. Later‐time results show episodic sanding rates associated with formation stability and instabilities. Both observations are qualitatively consistent with laboratory and field observations. We find that high confining pressure inhibits the production of sand, through elevated interparticle contact forces. It is argued that these physically based models have a use in testing and evaluating competing hypotheses of sand production but their applicability is currently limited to small spatial and temporal scales. We believe these models bridge an important gap between the underlying physics of micro‐mechanical interactions of fluid and solid grains and the continuum descriptions of those systems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synergistic induction of interleukin-1 by endotoxin and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 using rat macrophages

We studied interleukin-1 (IL-1) secretion by rat peritoneal exudate macrophages stimulated with purified toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1). TSST-1 was observed to be a more potent inducer of IL-1 than was endotoxin. The induction of IL-1 secretion by TSST-1 was not blocked by polymyxin B but could be blocked by monoclonal antibodies directed against TSST-1. Synergistic induction of IL-1 was observed when the cells were stimulated with TSST-1 and endotoxin. The sequence of addition was found to be important for the synergistic response. Enhanced IL-1 production was observed only when macrophages were exposed to endotoxin before or simultaneously with TSST-1. Prior exposure of macrophages to TSST-1 had no enhancing effect on endotoxin-induced IL-1 secretion. We conclude that stimulation of the macrophage by endotoxin enhances the responsiveness of the cells to TSST-1 and may thereby play a role in the pathogenesis of toxic shock syndrome.
Genetic analysis of type O viruses responsible for epidemics of foot-and-mouth disease in North Africa

The nucleotide sequences of the 3′ end of the capsid-coding region were determined for 30 serotype O foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) viruses isolated between 1987 and 1994 from outbreaks in North Africa and the Middle East. These sequences were compared with the previously published sequences of 9 field virus isolates from the Middle East and 5 vaccine virus strains, 3 of which originated from the Middle East (O1/Turkey/Manisa/69, O1/Sharquia/Egypt/72 and O1/Israel/2/85) and 2 from Europe (O1/Lausanne/Switzerland/65 and O2/Brescia/Italy/47). Cluster analysis of these sequences using the unweighted pair group mean average (UPGMA) method showed: (i) that the FMD viruses isolated from North Africa and the Middle East were very different from the classical European vaccine strains; (ii) that all the viruses isolated during the 1989–92 North African epidemic formed a cluster differing by no more than 6% from each other; (iii) a virus isolated in Libya in 1988 was unrelated to the aforementioned epidemic; and (iv) viruses from a second, less extensive epidemic, occurring in 1994, fell into yet another cluster.
Developing Seeds of Ricinus communis L., When Detached and Maintained in an Atmosphere of High Relative Humidity, Switch to a Germinative Mode without the Requirement for Complete Desiccation.

Immature seeds of castor bean (Ricinus communis) removed from the capsule at 25 to 40 days after pollination (25-40 DAP) and placed in an atmosphere of high relative humidity undergo limited water loss, and germinate upon subsequent return to full hydration. This switch from a developmental to a germinative/growth mode at 40 DAP is reflected in a change in the types of proteins being synthesized in the endosperm; after partial drying, developmental protein synthesis ceases and germinative/growth-related proteins are produced. The nature and timing of these protein synthetic changes elicited upon imbibition are identical to those following premature desiccation/rehydration of 30 and 40 DAP seeds and upon imbibition of the mature dry seed. Enzymes involved in postgerminative reserve mobilization (l-leucyl-beta-naphthylamidase and isocitrate lyase) are induced upon imbibition, following partial drying at 40 DAP, to levels attained in the endosperms of germinated mature, and prematurely dried/rehydrated, seeds. The changes in protein synthesis resulting from partial drying are effected at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level. Upon return to full hydration some new (i.e. germination and growth-related) mRNAs are synthesized, while others (associated with development) present in the partially dried endosperm decline. Thus developing seeds of castor bean do not have to experience substantial (whole seed) water loss to acquire the ability to germinate and grow upon subsequent imbibition. Seed detachment from the mother plant alone is not sufficient to elicit a switch to germination and growth processes. However, the length of time of detachment from the mother plant, in combination with some water loss may interact to elicit the "switch" from development to germination.
Endometriosis Affects Oocyte Morphology in Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Cycles?

OBJECTIVE To identify associations between presence of endometriosis and oocyte defects, embryo developmental potential, and cycle outcomes. METHODS This study looked into the impact of endometriosis on oocyte and embryo quality, and blastocyst formation probability. Endometriosis was also correlated with cycle characteristics. In order to avoid age-related bias, in the first analysis only patients aged 36 years or younger were included, and the cycles were split into endometriosis infertility cycles (n=431; 3172 oocytes) and other cycles (n=2510; 24480 oocytes). RESULTS The number of retrieved oocytes (10.6±21.2 vs. 14.6±21.1, P<0.001), oocyte yield (68.1±20.0% vs. 70.6±19.6%, P=0.015), and embryos obtained (6.1±4.43 vs. 7.8±5.12, P<0.001) were lower among patients with endometriosis. Implantation rates (28.1%±38.9% vs. 33.9±42.7, P<0.001) were lower among patients with endometriosis, but fertilization, pregnancy, miscarriage and cycle cancelation rates were not different. There was a significant increase in the incidence of extra-cytoplasmic, but not intra-cytoplasmic, oocyte defects among patients with endometriosis. The quality of embryos (45.3% vs. 47.3%, P=0.037) collected from patients with endometriosis was lower, but blastocyst formation rates were unaltered. CONCLUSION A possible explanation for the lower implantation rates seen in patients with endometriosis is the poorer quality of the oocytes and embryos observed in this group of patients.
ACT: a DFT tool for self-timed circuits

This paper presents a Design for Testability (DFT) tool called ACT (Asynchronous Circuit Testing) which uses a partial scan technique to make macro-module based self-timed circuits testable. The ACT tool is the first of its kind for testing macro-module based self-timed circuits. ACT modifies designs automatically to incorporate partial scan and provides a complete path from schematic capture to physical layout. It also has a test generation system to generate vectors for the testable design and to compute fault coverage of the generated tests. The test generation system includes a module for doing critical hazard free test generation using a new 6-valued algebra. ACT has been built around commercial tools from Viewlogic and Cascade. A Viewlogic schematic is used as the design entry point and Cascade tools are used for technology mapping.
Fruit load modulates flowering-related gene expression in buds of alternate-bearing 'Moncada' mandarin.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Gene determination of flowering is the result of complex interactions involving both promoters and inhibitors. In this study, the expression of flowering-related genes at the meristem level in alternate-bearing citrus trees is analysed, together with the interplay between buds and leaves in the determination of flowering. METHODS First defruiting experiments were performed to manipulate blossoming intensity in 'Moncada' mandarin, Citrus clementina. Further defoliation was performed to elucidate the role leaves play in the flowering process. In both cases, the activity of flowering-related genes was investigated at the flower induction (November) and differentiation (February) stages. KEY RESULTS Study of the expression pattern of flowering-genes in buds from on (fully loaded) and off (without fruits) trees revealed that homologues of FLOWERING LOCUS T (CiFT), TWIN SISTER OF FT (TSF), APETALA1 (CsAP1) and LEAFY (CsLFY) were negatively affected by fruit load. CiFT and TSF activities showed a marked increase in buds from off trees through the study period (ten-fold in November). By contrast, expression of the homologues of the flowering inhibitors of TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (CsTFL), TERMINAL FLOWER 2 (TFL2) and FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) was generally lower in off trees. Regarding floral identity genes, the increase in CsAP1 expression in off trees was much greater in buds than in leaves, and significant variations in CsLFY expression (approx. 20 %) were found only in February. Defoliation experiments further revealed that the absence of leaves completely abolished blossoming and severely affected the expression of most of the flowering-related genes, particularly decreasing the activity of floral promoters and of CsAP1 at the induction stage. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the presence of fruit affects flowering by greatly altering gene-expression not only at the leaf but also at the meristem level. Although leaves are required for flowering to occur, their absence strongly affects the activity of floral promoters and identity genes.
The Down Regulated in Adenoma (dra) Gene Encodes an Intestine-specific Membrane Sulfate Transport Protein (*)

A gene has been described, Down Regulated in Adenoma (dra), which is expressed in normal colon but is absent in the majority of colon adenomas and adenocarcinomas. However, the function of this protein is unknown. Because of sequence similarity to a recently cloned membrane sulfate transporter in rat liver, the transport function of Dra was examined. We established that dra encodes for a Na-independent transporter for both sulfate and oxalate using microinjected Xenopus oocytes as an assay system. Sulfate transport was sensitive to the anion exchange inhibitor DIDS (4,4′-diisothiocyano-2,2′disulfonic acid stilbene). Using an RNase protection assay, we found that dra mRNA expression is limited to the small intestine and colon in mouse, therefore identifying Dra as an intestine-specific sulfate transporter. dra also had a unique pattern of expression during intestinal development. Northern blot analysis revealed a low level of expression in colon at birth with a marked increase in the first 2 postnatal weeks. In contrast, there was a lower, constant level of expression in small intestine in the postnatal period. Caco-2 cells, a colon carcinoma cell line that differentiates over time in culture, demonstrated a marked induction of dra mRNA as cells progressed from the preconfluent (undifferentiated) to the postconfluent (differentiated) state. These results show that Dra is an intestine-specific Na-independent sulfate transporter that has differential expression during colonic development. This functional characterization provides the foundation for investigation of the role of Dra in intestinal sulfate transport and in the malignant phenotype.
Human antibody reactivity against xenogeneic N‐glycolylneuraminic acid and galactose‐α‐1,3‐galactose antigen

Despite the development of α1,3‐galactosyl transferase‐knockout (GTKO) pigs, acute humoral xenograft rejection caused by antibodies against non‐Gal antigens, along with complement activation, are hurdles that need to be overcome. Among non‐Gal antigens, N‐glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) is considered to play an important role in xenograft rejection in human.
Comparison of the TSI Model 3306 Impactor Inlet with the Andersen Cascade Impactor: Solution Metered Dose Inhalers

The product performance of a series of solution Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs) were evaluated using the TSI Model 3306 Impactor Inlet and the Andersen Cascade Impactor (ACI). The goal of the study was to test whether the fine particle and coarse particle depositions obtained using the Model 3306 were comparable to those results obtained by ACI testing. The analysis using the Model 3306 was performed as supplied by the manufacturer as well as with 20 cm and 40 cm vertical extensions that were inserted between the Model 3306 and the USP Inlet. Nine different solution formulations were evaluated. The drug concentrations ranged from 0.08 to 0.8% w/w and the ethanol cosolvent concentration varied between 5 and 20% w/w. In general, it was found that good correlations between the two instruments were obtained. However, for formulations containing 10–20% w/w ethanol it is shown that an extension fitted to the Model 3306 yielded an improved correlation to those obtained from the ACI.
Sequence and genomic organization of GBV‐C: A novel member of the flaviviridae associated with human non‐A‐E hepatitis

Recently, sequences from a novel virus, termed GB virus C (GBV‐C), were identified in serum from several patients with cryptogenic hepatitis. In the present study, the nucleotide sequence of this virus has been extended to near‐genome length. GBV‐C encodes a putative single large polyprotein in which the structural proteins are positioned at the N‐terminal end, with the nonstructural proteins located at the C‐terminal end. Amino acid sequence analysis of this large polyprotein reveals the presence of protease, helicase, and replicase motifs. Sequence alignments of the polyprotein followed by phylogenetic analyses suggest that GBV‐C is a member of the Flaviviridae, most closely related to the recently described GB virus A. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Controlling uniformity of RRAM characteristics through the forming process

The proposed constant voltage forming (CVF) is shown to increase the resistances of the low resistance and high resistance states while reducing their variability. By forcing the forming in all devices to occur at the same predefined voltage, the CVF method eliminates a major cause of the device-to-device variation associated with the randomness of the forming voltage values. Moreover, both experiments and simulations show that CVF at lower voltages suppresses the parasitic overshoot current, resulting in a more controlled and smaller filament cross-section and lower operation currents.