Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Public disclosure for carbon abatement: African decision-makers in a PROPER public good experiment

A linear public good experiment adopted from Holt and Laury [1997. Classroom games: Voluntary provision of a public good. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11(4), 209–215. ] has been employed to investigate strategic behaviour in pollution abatement among African climate decision-makers. The experiment consisted of three groups, of which groups 2 and 3 received one and two treatments, respectively. The first treatment entailed publicly disclosing the pollution of each member of a group by placing a corresponding colour-coded card in front of each subject, while the second involved the withdrawal of the public disclosure. Group 2 received the first treatment; Group 3 received both the first and second treatments in succession. We found that the untreated group (baseline) polluted more than the two treated groups, and there was no statistically significant difference between the pollution abatement of the two treated groups. These results suggest that public disclosure potentially drives pollution abatement and that its eventual withdrawal does not obliterate abatement behaviour. We did not observe conditional cooperation but average pollution declined over time. Furthermore, individuals who thought it was unfair for Africa to reduce emissions polluted more. We also found that pollution levels differ significantly between males and females.
ANTIBODY RESPONSE TO VACCINATION WITH PNEUMOCOCCAL CAPSULAR POLYSACCHARIDES IN SPLENECTOMIZED CHILDREN

ABSTRACT. In 67 splenectomized children vaccinated with a 14‐valent pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide vaccine an antibody fold increase above 2 from pre‐ to postvaccination samples was found in 60 % of all single type antibody determinations performed. The vaccine may only afford protection against 55 % of those serotypes that cause serious infections in children, assuming a protective antibody level of 300 ng antibody N/ml. Our results indicate a somewhat reduced antibody response to pneumococcal vaccine in splenectomized children and suggest that pneumococcal vaccination may not be relied upon as the only kind of prophylaxis against pneumococcal infection in this patient group.
Nutritional characteristics and quality of eggs from laying hens fed on a diet supplemented with chestnut tannin extract (Castanea sativa Miller)

Abstract The trial was performed with 80 laying hens belonging to two Tuscan autochthonous breeds: 40 birds of the Mugellese (MU) breed and 40 of the White Leghorn (WL) breed. The animals were allotted to 4 groups of individually caged 20 hens each: two groups were fed on a commercial diet and worked as the control groups (MUC and WLC); the other two groups received the same diet, integrated with 2 g of chestnut tannin (CT) extract per kg of diet (MUT and WLT). A sample of 70 eggs were randomly collected and analysed for cholesterol content, fatty acid (FA) profile, weight, thickness of shell and colour of yolk. Physical parameters, including yolk colour, and indices of egg quality were not affected by the treatments. The concentration of unsaturated FAs increased, whereas cholesterol was significantly decreased: −17% in WLT and −9% in MUT. Dietary supplementation with CT extract resulted in a modification of lipid composition, towards a more healthy quality of eggs.
The conserved decanucleotide from the immunoglobulin heavy chain promoter induces a very high transcriptional activity in B‐cells when introduced into an heterologous promoter.

A conserved decanucleotide (ATGCAAATNA) is present 45‐60 nucleotides upstream from the transcription startpoint in all immunoglobulin heavy chain promoters (VH promoters). We have introduced this decanucleotide (cd sequence) at a similar position into the upstream flanking sequence of the mouse Renin‐1 gene. This gene is only transcribed in highly specialized tissues, and the fragment used here (‐449 to +30 with respect to the main transcription startpoint) has little promoter activity in fibroblastic or myeloma cell lines, even if coupled to a functional enhancer. In contrast, after insertion of the decanucleotide, this fragment, while still inactive in non‐lymphoid cells, becomes a potent promoter in B‐cells when associated with SV40 or immunoglobulin heavy chain enhancer. In all respects, the engineered fragment behaves like an authentic VH promoter isolated in this laboratory, except that it is even more active in B‐cells. Deletion experiments show that all renin sequences are dispensable for the activity of the chimaeric promoter, except probably for the renin TATA box which defines the precise transcription startpoint. We conclude that the decanucleotide is sufficient to activate a promoter in B‐cells but not in non‐B‐cells, and therefore that no other element is needed to account for the B‐cell specificity of the VH promoter. In addition, our results suggest that the lack of activity of the renin promoter in non cognate cells is not due to the binding of a repressor.
Apocynin improves endothelial function and prevents the development of hypertension in fructose fed rat

Background and Objectives: Exaggerated production of superoxide and inactivation of nitric oxide have been implicated in pathogenesis of hypertension. NAD(P)H oxidase is one of the major source of reactive oxygen species in vasculature. In the present study, we aimed to determine the effect of chronic administration of Apocynin an NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor on endothelial function and hypertension in fructose-fed rat. Materials and Methods: Endothelial function, vascular superoxide, and nitric oxide production/bioavailability in aortas from fructose-fed rats and age-matched controls treated with or without apocynin were assessed using isometric tension studies in organ chambers. Systolic blood pressure was measured by the tail cuff method. Results: In fructose-fed rats, acetylcholine-induced relaxation was impaired, vascular superoxide production was increased, and nitric oxide bioavailability was decreased along with an increase in systolic blood pressure compared to controls. Apocynin treatment prevented the increased generation of superoxide, decreased nitric oxide bioavailability, impaired acetylcholine-induced relaxation, and elevation of systolic blood pressure. Conclusion: Chronic administration of apocynin improves the endothelial function by reducing oxidative stress, improving NO bioavailability, and prevents the development hypertension in fructose-fed rat.
Regulation of IL-1 Receptor-Associated Kinases by Lipopolysaccharide1

IL-1R-associated kinase (IRAK) plays a pivotal role in IL-1R/Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated signaling and NF-κB activation. IRAK from leukocytes undergoes rapid activation and inactivation/degradation following IL-1 or LPS stimulation. The rapid degradation of IRAK may serve as a negative feedback mechanism of down-regulating IL-1R/TLR-mediated signaling and cytokine gene transcription. Although IL-1/IL-1R-triggered IRAK degradation has been studied in detail, the mechanism of LPS-induced IRAK activation and degradation is not clearly defined. In this study, we demonstrate that the IRAK N-terminal 186-aa region is required for LPS-induced degradation. The N-terminally truncated IRAK protein expressed in human monocytic THP-1 cells remains stable upon LPS challenge. In comparison, IRAK as well as the IRAK mutant with C-terminal truncation undergo degradation with LPS stimulation. We demonstrate that pretreatment with protein kinase C inhibitor calphostin inhibits LPS-induced IRAK degradation. Furthermore, we observe coimmunoprecipitation of endogenous IRAK and protein kinase C-ζ protein. We show that functional TLR4 is required for LPS-mediated IRAK degradation. IRAK protein in the murine GG2EE cells harboring a mutated TLR4 gene does not undergo degradation upon LPS treatment. In sharp contrast, we observe that the IRAK homolog, IRAK2, does not undergo degradation upon prolonged LPS treatment, suggesting complex regulation of the innate immunity network upon microbial challenge.
Effect of Interlamelar Composition on ZnAl Hydrotalcites: Synthesis and Characterization

The preparation and characterisation of ZnAl hydrotalcites with varying interlamellar anions have been investigated. The synthesis was achieved through co-precipitation at low supersaturation, accompanied by hydrothermal curing at 110˚C for 18h. A range of techniques such as XRD, XRF, FT-IR, TG-DTA, SEM, and surface area were utilised to investigate the effect that the varying of interlamellar anions impacted on the hydrotalcites. The x-ray diffraction and FT-IR data confirmed that the samples synthesised were hydrotalcites with the intercalation of various anions of interest. The nitrate hydrotalcite showed less stacking order with highest basal spacing, while the carbonate hydrotalcite showed smallest unit cell, more regular stacked sheets, and denser nanoparticles. Thermal results are identical in all hydrotalcite studied but with variance in the temperature of the decomposition stages. Suraface area and the scanning electron microscopy analysis demonstrated that the composition of interlamella region influences the structure and properties of the synthesised hydrotalcites.
Prolactin in human systemic lupus erythematosus

In the last decade, evidence has accumulated to support the hypothesis that both mild and moderate elevations of serum prolactin (PRL) participate in the clinical expression and pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Hyperprolactinemia (HPRL) has been found in 20–30% of patients with SLE. HPRL seems to be associated with clinical activity of SLE during pregnancy. Although the relationship between HPRL and active SLE in non-pregnant patients is controversial, recent clinical and experimental studies support the potential role of prolactin (PRL) as a promoter of clinical activity and severity of SLE. Mild elevations of serum PRL secondary to microadenoma could trigger the onset of SLE in a subset of patients. Elevated PRL and interleukin (IL)-6 have been found in the urine of patients with active lupus nephritis and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with active central nervous system (CNS) SLE. PRL may therefore participate in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis and cerebritis, and the presence of PRL may reflect an abnormal communication between the immune system and the neuroendocrine system in active SLE. Lymphocytes from patients with active SLE produce increased amounts of PRL, and this extrapituitary PRL may participate in aberrant immune processes in SLE. There is exciting new evidence that HPRL in SLE may be explained by stimulation of pituitary PRL secretion by cytokines. In addition, defects in peptidergic modulators and dopamine metabolism have been described in patients with SLE. The interactions between PRL, cytoquines, autoantibodies and organ involvement suggest that PRL participates in local and generalized immune and inflammatory processes and acts as a bridge between the neuroendocrine and immune systems in SLE. Understanding the interactions between these systems in SLE will help us to understand and treat this important autoimmune disease.
miRNA expression profiles determined in maternal sera of patients with HELLP syndrome

Objective: Syndrome of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets (HELLP) represents a distinct subgroup of severe preeclampsia. The aim of our study was to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in sera of patients with HELLP syndrome in comparison to unaffected controls. Study design: Blood samples were obtained from patients with manifest HELLP syndrome and matched unaffected controls. The expression of 754 mature miRNAs was assessed using the TaqMan Array format (n = 12). Results of seven differentially expressed miRNAs were further validated by single quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays. Results: Serum miRNA analysis allowed detection of maternal and fetal miRNAs. Distinct miRNA expressions were confirmed for miR-122, miR-758 and miR-133a represented by a median up-regulation ≥two-fold in the HELLP group. The liver specific miR-122 was 11.5-fold increased with an area under curve (AUC) of 0.82 in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Cluster analyses of our data uncovered subgroups of HELLP patients were associated with clinical subtypes and differences in organ manifestation. Conclusion: In our proof of principle study, we demonstrated that patients with HELLP syndrome showed alterations of serum miRNA expression patterns. Data analysis goes along with the hypothesis that HELLP syndrome is regarded to be a heterogeneous disease.
Levodopa‐induced modulation of subthalamic beta oscillations during self‐paced movements in patients with Parkinson's disease

Excessive synchronization of neural activity in the beta frequency band (∼20 Hz) within basal ganglia circuits might contribute to the paucity and slowness of movement in Parkinson's disease (PD). Treatment with dopaminergic drugs reduces the background level of beta frequency band synchronization in the subthalamic nucleus (STN), but has not been shown to increase the proportion of beta activity that is suppressed before voluntary movement in PD. We assessed changes in the event‐related desynchronization (ERD) in the beta frequency band of local field potential signals from the region of the STN in 14 patients with PD as they performed self‐paced movements of a joystick before and after levodopa administration. The dopamine precursor, levodopa, increased the duration and magnitude of the premovement beta ERD, but did not alter postmovement synchronization in the beta band. Both the latency and magnitude of the beta ERD inversely correlated with the degree of motor impairment. These findings suggest that the beta ERD recorded in the STN area reflects motor‐preparative processes that are at least partly dependent on dopaminergic activity within the basal ganglia.
Predicting Hunger: The Effects of Appetite and Delay on Choice.

Preferences often fluctuate as a result of transient changes in hunger and other visceral states. When current decisions have delayed consequences, the preferences that should be relevant are those that will prevail when the consequences occur. However, consistent with the notion of an intrapersonal empathy gap (Loewenstein, 1996) we find that an individual's current state of appetite has a significant effect on choices that apply to the future. Participants in our study made advance choices between healthy and unhealthy snacks (i.e., fruit and junk food) that they would receive in 1 week when they were either hungry (late in the afternoon) or satisfied (immediately after lunch). In 1 week, at the appointed time, they made an immediate choice, an opportunity to change their advance choice. Our main predictions were strongly confirmed. First, advance choices were influenced by current hunger as well as future hunger: hungry participants chose more unhealthy snacks than did satisfied ones. Second, participants were dynamically inconsistent: they chose far more unhealthy snacks for immediate choice than for advance choice. An additional hypothesis related to gender differences was also confirmed. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.
Aversive Conditioning under Conditions of Restricted Awareness: Effects on Spatial Cueing

In the literature on aversive conditioning there is still debate on the role of awareness. According to some authors, affective learning can occur with or without contingency learning (dual-process model), whereas others argue that a single process produces both affective responses and contingency knowledge. Although many studies have investigated these models, the results to date are inconclusive. Based on a review of the literature, a new series of experiments was designed to examine aversive conditioning in the absence of contingency awareness. In the present study we examined the effects of subliminal aversive conditioning on a spatial cueing task. Awareness was stringently tested after conditioning. Three kinds of awareness were distinguished: contingency awareness (awareness of the CS−US contingencies, where CS is the conditioned stimulus, and US is the unconditioned stimulus), perceptual awareness (awareness of the perceptual differences between the CSs), and US expectancy (awareness of a threat feeling when confronted with the CS+, but not when confronted with the CS−). The results of three experiments demonstrated that responses on the spatial cueing task were modulated by subliminal aversive conditioning. Importantly, none of the participants was contingency aware or able to perceptually discriminate between the conditioned stimuli. However, in Experiment 3, only those participants showing some level of postconditioning expectancy awareness exhibited conditioning effects. These experiments suggest that subliminal aversive conditioning produces small but significant effects, which may be modulated by expectancy awareness.
Teaching and Learning in History: Effective and Reform-Based Practices for Students with Learning Disabilities.

This article provides a review of effective and reform-based approaches to instruction that focus on teaching and learning of history for students with LD. Historical thinking goals, such as learning to think like a historian, to develop contextualized understandings, and to apply domainspecific approaches when reading and writing with primary source documents are now the norm in secondary history classrooms. Promising approaches that are designed to meet these goals, as well as interventions involving historical discussion and those that allow students to engage in inquiry are shared, as well as recommendations for further research and practice in history instruction.
Entrepreneurship Causes Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis for Western European Countries and the United States 1990-2004

In this paper a distinction will be made between manager and owner and it will be attempted to estimate numerically the country’s total economy’s entrepreneurial remuneration by a common measure across countries and show econometrically the positive impact of total economy’s entrepreneurial ability on country’s economic growth, coming to agreement with the established theory. The sample refers annually to the Western European countries and the United States for the period 1990-2004, using EGLS panel data model analyzed with Eviews software package. The same model can be applied in a firm provided that income statements and balance sheets are available.
Genetic diversity of antibiotic and plant extract resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from hospitalized patients in Ekiti State, Nigeria

This study aimed to determine the genetic diversity of antibiotics and plants extract resistant Staphylococcus aureus using molecular technique. A total of 106 human clinical samples were collected from patients in three different hospitals within Ekiti State. Microbiological and molecular analyses were performed using standard methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility test with common antibiotics and plant leaves extracts was carried out using disk and agar well diffusion methods. Urine samples from male patients recorded high percentage of S. aureus (57.1%) as compared to the female patients (43.1%). Percentage of S. aureus recorded from the ear swab samples in male patients (58.3%) was also high as compared to the female (41.7%). From the nose swab samples, female patients recorded 60% as compared to their male counterpart (40%). Equal percentage (50%) of wound infection caused by S. aureus was observed in both male and female patients. Of the eight antibiotics used in this study, the S. aureus isolated were susceptible to ofloxacin (25 to 36 mm), gentamycin (16 to 23 mm) and erythromycin (11 to 25 mm). All the isolates confirmed resistance to ceftaxidime and cloxacillin. Nine isolates were susceptible to cefuroxime with zones of inhibition that ranged from 10 to 25 mm, while 11 were susceptible to ceftriaxone with zone of inhibition between 11 and 20 mm. Only one isolate was sensitive to augmentin (amoxicillin/clavulanate) with zone of inhibition of 20 mm. Out of three plant extracts used in this study, aqueous leaf extract of Terminalia catappa demonstrated highest antibacterial activity on the test isolates with zone of inhibition of 16 to 36 mm followed by Mangifera indica with inhibition ranging from 11 to 32 mm, while least inhibition ranging from 11 to 20 mm was exhibited by Acalypha wikesiena. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) proved to be useful as genetic markers in determining genetic diversity among antibiotic and plant extract resistant S. aureus. Key words: Acalypha wikesiena, multidrug-resistant strains, Staphylococcus aureus, genetic diversity.
Superposition Model Predicts EEG Occipital Activity during Free Viewing of Natural Scenes

Visual event-related potentials (ERPs) produced by a stimulus are thought to reflect either an increase of synchronized activity or a phase realignment of ongoing oscillatory activity, with both mechanisms sharing the assumption that ERPs are independent of the current state of the brain at the time of stimulation. In natural viewing, however, visual inputs occur one after another at specific subject-paced intervals through unconstrained eye movements. We conjecture that during natural viewing, ERPs generated after each fixation are better explained by a superposition of ongoing oscillatory activity related to the processing of previous fixations, with new activity elicited by the visual input at the current fixation. We examined the electroencephalography (EEG) signals that occur in humans at the onset of each visual fixation, both while subjects freely viewed natural scenes and while they viewed a black or gray background. We found that the fixation ERPs show visual components that are absent when subjects move their eyes on a homogeneous gray or black screen. Single-trial EEG signals that comprise the ERP are predicted more accurately by a model of superposition than by either phase resetting or the addition of evoked responses and stimulus-independent noise. The superposition of ongoing oscillatory activity and the visually evoked response results in a modification of the ongoing oscillation phase. The results presented suggest that the observed EEG signals reflect changes occurring in a common neuronal substrate rather than a simple summation at the scalp of signals from independent sources.
Real-Time Monitoring of nfxB Mutant Occurrence and Dynamics in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Exposed to Subinhibitory Concentrations of Ciprofloxacin

ABSTRACT Biofilm infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa are frequently treated with ciprofloxacin (CIP); however, resistance rapidly develops. One of the primary resistance mechanisms is the overexpression of the MexCD-OprJ pump due to a mutation in nfxB, encoding the transcriptional repressor of this pump. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of subinhibitory concentrations of CIP on the occurrence of nfxB mutants in the wild-type PAO1 flow cell biofilm model. For this purpose, we constructed fluorescent reporter strains (PAO1 background) with an mCherry tag for constitutive red fluorescence and chromosomal transcriptional fusion between the PmexCD promoter and gfp leading to green fluorescence upon mutation of nfxB. We observed a rapid development of nfxB mutants by live confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) imaging of the flow cell biofilm (reaching 80 to 90% of the whole population) when treated with 1/10 minimal biofilm inhibitory concentration of CIP for 24 h and 96 h. Based on the observed developmental stages, we propose that nfxB mutants emerged de novo in the biofilm during CIP treatment from filamentous cells, which might have arisen due to the stress responses induced by CIP. Identical nfxB mutations were found in fluorescent colonies from the same flow cell biofilm, especially in 24-h biofilms, suggesting selection and clonal expansion of the mutants during biofilm growth. Our findings point at the significant role of high-enough antibiotic dosages or appropriate combination therapy to avoid the emergence of resistant mutants in biofilms.