Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intercontinental Spread of a Multidrug-Resistant MethicillinResistant Staphylococcus aureusClone

ABSTRACT Two hundred ten methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates recovered between 1990 and 1997 from three Portuguese hospitals located in Lisbon and Oporto were analyzed by molecular fingerprinting techniques. The hybridization ofClaI restriction digests with the mecA- and Tn554-specific DNA probes combined with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis documented the abrupt appearance and extensive intrahospital spread of the Brazilian epidemic MRSA clone in the 1995 samples of each one of the three hospitals analyzed—suggesting the intercontinental transfer of this strain from Brazil to Portugal. The appearance of this clone may challenge the dominance of another highly epidemic imported clone—the Iberian MRSA, currently the most widely spread MRSA clone in Portuguese hospitals.
Summertime foraging ecology of North Atlantic right whales

North Atlantic right whales were instrumented with suction-cup mounted, time-depth recorders (TDR) during the summers of 2000 and 2001 to examine their diving and foraging behav- ior. Simultaneous observations of temperature, salinity and the vertical distribution of their principal prey, Calanus finmarchicus stage 5 copepodites (C5), were obtained along each whale's track with a conductivity-temperature-depth instrument (CTD) and an optical plankton counter (OPC). Right whale feeding dives were characterized by rapid descent from the surface to a particular depth between 80 and 175 m, remarkable fidelity to that depth for 5 to 14 min and then rapid ascent back to the surface. The average depth of dive was strongly and positively correlated with both the aver- age depth of peak C. finmarchicus C5 abundance and the average depth of the bottom mixed layer's upper surface. Significantly longer surface intervals were observed for reproductively active females and their calves when compared to other individuals, indicating that this critical segment of the pop- ulation may be at increased risk of ship strikes owing to their diving behavior. Ingestion rates calcu- lated from TDR and OPC data exceeded estimated daily metabolic requirements for most of the tagged right whales; however, short deployment durations and uncertainty in metabolic rates make it impossible to judge whether individual right whales were obtaining sufficient energy to meet the metabolic costs of reproduction. Improvements in attachment durations and the development of novel methods to estimate the metabolic rates of large whales in situ are required to determine whether right whale reproduction is limited by insufficient food resources.
The appearance and distribution of mature T and B cells in the developing immune tissues of the stripe‐faced dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura)

This paper describes the initial appearance and distribution of mature T and B cells in the developing immune tissues of the stripe‐faced dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura) based on the use of species cross‐reactive antibodies to the lymphocyte cell surface markers CD3, CD5 and CD79b. At birth no mature T or B cells were detected in the liver or bone marrow using anti‐CD3, anti‐CD5 or anti‐CD79b antibodies. T cells were detected in the thymus with anti‐CD3 by day 12 and anti‐CD5 by day 50 postpartum, and T cells in the spleen were detected by day 43 and day 80 postpartum using anti‐CD3 and anti‐CD5, respectively. B cells were observed in the dunnart spleen by 43 days after birth. CD3‐ and CD79b‐positive cells were detected in the lymph nodes by 50 days and CD5 by day 15 after birth, and in the gut‐associated lymphoid tissues by day 50 and anti‐CD5 by day 57 postpartum. The development and distribution of T and B cells in the immune tissues of dunnart pouch young is similar to that described in other marsupial species. Low numbers or absence of mature lymphocytes in immune tissues of early pouch young dunnarts further support the proposition that young marsupials are reliant on non‐specific defence strategies and/or maternal strategies for a significant period of their time of development in the pouch.
Achievement Goals, Perceived Motivational Climate, and Students' Self-Reported Mastery Behaviors

Abstract Achievement goals and perceived motivational climate are two important constructs in achievement goal theory, and they play critical roles in student motivation and behavior. Traditionally, these two constructs have been examined separately. The present study examined relationships between the two constructs and students' self-reported mastery behaviors as well as age-related differences. Three hundred eight students in 4th, 8th, and 11th grades completed questionnaires assessing their achievement goals, perceived motivational climate, and perceptions of their mastery behaviors. Results indicated that achievement goals and perceived motivational climate were related to students' self-reported mastery behaviors. However, the relations varied depending on the students' ages. The older students, compared to the younger ones, appeared to be inclined more toward ego orientation and the ego-involved climate. A multiple achievement goals perspective is recommended for future research on relationships among achievement goals, perceived motivational climate and achievement-related cognitions, and behaviors in physical education.
Characterization and classification of psittacine atherosclerotic lesions by histopathology, digital image analysis, transmission and scanning electron microscopy

Atherosclerosis is a degenerative and inflammatory vascular disease characterized in mammals and birds by the accumulation of inflammatory cells, lipids, calcium, and formation of large fibrofatty lesions within the intima of arteries resulting in the disorganization of the arterial wall and stenosis of the lumen. Despite the high incidence of atherosclerosis in parrots and the high number of case reports, there are few pathologic investigations and the ultrastructural study of the lesions has not been documented. Sixty-three major arteries were collected from 24 psittacine birds of 11 species during routine post-mortem examinations. Samples from the major arteries were fixed in 2% paraformaldehyde and 1.25% glutaraldehyde, and processed for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additional samples were fixed in 10% formalin and embedded in paraffin for histological examination. Additional histochemical stains for calcium, elastic fibres, and lipid were performed. Toluidine blue-stained 0.5 µm-thick resin sections were also obtained. Digital image analysis was performed to provide objective quantitative information on the different lesions. The histopathology and ultrastructure of psittacine atherosclerosis were found to be similar to other avian and mammalian species. Seven lesion types could be described, which were similar to the human classification system. Digital image analysis, TEM, and SEM helped to further describe the lesions and refine the classification system. TEM findings were similar to other avian and mammalian species with the notable presence of macrophage-derived and smooth muscle cell-derived foam cells and extracellular lipid. SEM revealed various stages of endothelial surface defects and, occasionally, adherent blood cells.
Prevalence of antiphospholipid antibodies in psychiatric patients users and non‐users of antipsychotics

Past reports have suggested that antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies may emerge as a response to antipsychotics treatment, as a high prevalence of aPL antibodies in antipsychotics users has been observed. However, no control group of non‐medicated psychiatric patients was included in these reports. In a cross sectional study we determined the prevalence of aPL antibodies in 333 psychiatric inpatients. We compared the proportions of positive aPL antibodytests between users and non‐users of antipsychotics with adjustments for potential confounders. The proportion of antipsychotics users carrying at least one aPL antibody ranged from 10·8% to 27·0% compared with 6·8% to 27·2% in non‐users (P = 0·24, P = 0·24) depending on the method of detection of lupus anticoagulant (LA). The prevalence of LA detected by dilute Russell viper venom time or partial thromboplastin time‐LA was not different between antipsychotics users and non‐users (8·1% vs. 5·4%, P = 0·53 and 18·4% vs. 18·2%, P = 0·22), as well as the prevalence of IgM and IgG anti‐β2‐glycoprotein‐I antibodies, IgM and IgG anti‐cardiolipin antibodies(3·8% vs. 2·0%, P = 0·75, 0·0% vs. 0·0%, P = not applicable, 1·1 vs. 1·4%, P = 0·91, 2·7% vs. 3·4%, P = 0·71). In conclusion, aPL antibodies were frequently found in patients with psychiatric diseases and no significant increase in the prevalence of aPL antibodies was observed in antipsychotics users.
Experimental evaluation of an active speech control method

We experimentally evaluated an active speech control scheme which reduces unnecessary speech radiated into the surrounding space. The intended application of this system, typically cellular phones, does not require speech to be radiated into the surrounding space, but only into the microphone. We previously proposed to reduce speech by generating phase-inverted predicted speech from a secondary loudspeaker. We used LPC recursively to predict samples ahead of the associated processing delay, which could go up to a few milliseconds. First, predicted samples of recorded speech were prepared off line. Then, both the original and the phase-inverted predicted samples were played out simultaneously from two loud speakers. It was found that: 1) speech cancellation of 10 dB is possible, but is highly speaker dependent; 2) the secondary loudspeaker should be oriented in the same direction as the primary source, i.e., the mouth for maximum cancellation.
SELECTED HEMATOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF PIKEPERCH SANDER LUCIOPERCA (L.) FROM INTENSIVE CULTURE

Pikeperch culture is a new direction in European aquaculture. There is scant knowledge of pikeperch physiology, especially regarding hematological and biochemical parameters in the blood. This study examines selected hematological parameters in the blood and the biochemical parameters in the plasma of pikeperch from intensive culture. To determine the hematological parameters, blood was drawn from 20 healthy fish, weighing 40-50 g. The red blood cell count (RBC), hematocrit (Ht), hemoglobin (Hb), various leukocyte counts, the total leukocyte level and MCV, MHC and MCHC counts were examined. The AST, ALT, ALP, plasma bilirubin, cholesterol, glucose, urea and total protein level were determined in the blood plasma. The analyses of the results suggest that pikeperch have similar hematological and biochemical parameters to rainbow trout. The results of this preliminary study indicate that fish from this new intensive culture were in good condition without any symptoms of diseases.
Strained extremely-thin body In0.53Ga0.47As-on-insulator MOSFETs on Si substrates

We report the first demonstration of strained In<sub>0.53</sub>Ga<sub>0.47</sub>As-on-insulator (-OI) MOSFETs on Si substrates using the direct wafer bonding (DWB) technique. 1.7 % highly-strained In<sub>0.53</sub>Ga<sub>0.47</sub>As-OI structures were successfully fabricated on Si by DWB. Strained In<sub>0.53</sub>Ga<sub>0.47</sub>As-OI MOSFETs with Ni-InGaAs metal S/D have successfully operated, for the first time. MOSFETs with 1.7 % tensile strain exhibits 1.65 × effective mobility (μ<sub>eff</sub>) enhancement against InGaAs MOSFET without strain with maintaining high I<sub>on</sub>/I<sub>off</sub> ratio of ~10<sup>5</sup>. It is revealed from Hall measurements that the μ<sub>eff</sub> enhancement is attributed to the increase in mobile free electron concentration due to the lowering in the conduction band edge induced by tensile strain.
Establishment and characterization of renal progenitor like cells from S3 segment of nephron in rat adult kidney

Kidney is thought to be a regenerative organ in terms of repair from acute tubular injury. It is unknown whether cell population contributes to repair disordered kidney. We attempted to identify and isolate highly proliferative cells from a single cell. We dissected a single nephron from adult rat kidney. Isolated nephrons were separated into segments and cultured. Outgrowing cells were replated after limiting dilution so that each well contained a single cell. One of cell line which was the most potent to grow was designated as rKS56. rKS56 cells showed cobblestone appearance and expressed immature cell markers relating to kidney development and mature tubular cell markers. rKS56 cells grew exponentially and could be maintained for 300 days without transformation. In different culture conditions, rKS56 cells differentiated into mature tubular cells defined by aquaporin‐1, 2 expression, and responsiveness to parathyroid hormone or vasopressin. Engrafted to kidney in rat ischemic reperfusion model, rKS56 cells replaced in injured tubules in part after implantation and improved renal function. These results suggest rKS56 cells possess character such as self‐renewal, multi‐plasticity and capability of tissue repair. rKS56 may possibly contribute to the future development of cell therapy for renal regeneration. Kitamura, S. , Yamasaki, Y. , Kinomura, M. , Sugaya, T. , Sugiyama, H. , Maeshima, Y. , Makino, H. Establishment and characterization of renal progenitor like cells from S3 segment of nephron in rat adult kidney. FASEB J. 19, 1789–1797 (2005)
Soft trellis-based decoder for linear block codes

A systematic design of a trellis-based maximum-likelihood soft-decision decoder for linear block codes is presented. The essence of the decoder is to apply an efficient search algorithm for the error pattern on a reduced trellis representation of a certain coset. Rather than other efficient decoding algorithms, the proposed decoder is systematically designed for long codes, as well as for short codes. Computational gain of up to 6 is achieved for long high-rate codes over the well-known trellis decoder of Wolf (1978). Efficient decoders are also obtained for short and moderate length codes. >
Isolation of twenty-three Yucaipa-like viruses from 616 wild birds in Senegal, West Africa.

MATERIALS AND METHODS All wild birds were Passeriformes Ploceidae calught in the southeast of Senegal (around Kedougou) and the Senegal river region. They were obtained from a bird-fancier and were to be exported to Europe. Viruses were isolated from the feces (Institut Pasteur, Dakar, Senegal, Africa) and identified by hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) as described (1) (Central Veterinary Laboratory, New Haw, Weybridge, Surrey, Great-Britain).
The N-Terminal V3 Loop Glycan Modulates the Interaction of Clade A and B Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Envelopes with CD4 and Chemokine Receptors

ABSTRACT We investigated the underlying mechanism by which the highly conserved N-terminal V3 loop glycan of gp120 conferred resistance to neutralization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). We find that the presence or absence of this V3 glycan on clade A and B viruses accorded various degrees of susceptibility to neutralization by antibodies to the CD4 binding site, CD4-induced epitopes, and chemokine receptors. Our data suggest that this carbohydrate moiety on gp120 blocks access to the binding site for CD4 and modulates the chemokine receptor binding site of phenotypically diverse clade A and clade B isolates. Its presence also contributes to the masking of CD4-induced epitopes on clade B envelopes. These findings reveal a common mechanism by which diverse HIV-1 isolates escape immune recognition. Furthermore, the observation that conserved functional epitopes of HIV-1 are more exposed on V3 glycan-deficient envelope glycoproteins provides a basis for exploring the use of these envelopes as vaccine components.
Measuring Risk Perception Among Low‐income Minority Primary Care Patients

Studying patients' risk perceptions by ascertaining the probabilities of developing a disease is suboptimal, as patients might have difficulty using numerical expressions to depict the probabilities/chances of developing a disease. We surveyed patients at 2 community health centers and assessed risk perception by patients' self-reported chance of developing a disease (expressed in percentages), patients' relative chance of developing a disease compared to others' chance of developing a disease, and patients' ranked chances of developing different diseases. Many patients had difficulties understanding percentages and most patients overestimated their absolute risk. However, most patients indicated that they had a lower chance of developing diseases when compared to others. Patients with known risk factors (smoking) indicated a higher relative risk of developing an associated disease (lung cancer). Patients' ranked chances of developing different diseases were consistent with the actual frequency of developing a disease. Although patients had difficulty expressing risk in percentages, they estimated their risks well through comparisons with others and by ranking of disease frequencies.
Use of plasmid R68.45 for constructing a circular linkage map of the Rhizobium trifolii chromosome

Plasmid R68.45 was used to promote conjugal transfer of chromosomal markers in Rhizobium trifolii RS55. Analysis of two-factor and three-factor crosses among R. trifolii strains enabled construction of a circular linkage map of the R. trifolii chromosome, containing 17 nutritional and resistance markers.
Impact of carotid atherosclerosis on long-term mortality in chronic hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Cardiovascular event is the major cause of mortality in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. We prospectively tested the predictive values of atherosclerotic parameters for all-cause and cardiovascular outcomes in 219 hemodialysis patients (age, 58 +/- 13 years; time on hemodialysis, 13 +/- 7 years; male/female, 144/75). METHODS We measured blood homocysteine (Hcy), ultrasound carotid artery intima media thickness (IMT) and % aortic wall calcification at L2/3 region [% of calcification index in the abdominal aortic wall (%ACI)] by computed tomography (CT) scan, and followed all patients for 5 years. RESULTS During the follow-up periods, 54 patients (25%) died, 40 (74%) of them of cardiovascular causes. IMT was significantly higher in patients who expired (0.75 +/- 0.02 mm) than in those who survived (0.62 +/- 0.01 mm). IMT was significantly correlated with age (r = 0.47, P < 0.01) and %ACI (r = 0.27, P < 0.01). The survival rate during the observation was significantly lower in the final IMT third (58%) than in the first (90%) and the middle IMT third (80%) (P < 0.01). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that diabetes and IMT became independent determinants of all-cause and cardiovascular death. Adjusted hazards ratios of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality for an increase of 0.1 mm in IMT were 1.31 (95% CI, 1.07 to 1.59) and 1.41 (95% CI, 1.12 to 1.76). In contrast, %ACI at abdominal aorta and blood Hcy did not affect their 5-year mortality. CONCLUSION These findings suggested that measurement of carotid artery IMT is useful for predicting long-term mortality in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis.
Self-Selection of Emigrants: Theory and Evidence on Stochastic Dominance in Observable and Unobservable Characteristics

We show that the Roy model has more precise predictions about the self-selection of migrants than previously realized. The same conditions that have been shown to result in positive or negative selection in terms of expected earnings also imply a stochastic dominance relationship between the earnings distributions of migrants and non-migrants. We use the Danish full population administrative data to test the predictions. We find strong evidence of positive self-selection of emigrants in terms of pre-emigration earnings: the income distribution for the migrants almost stochastically dominates the distribution for the non-migrants. This result is not driven by immigration policies in destination countries. Decomposing the self-selection in total earnings into self-selection in observable characteristics and self-selection in unobservable characteristics reveals that unobserved abilities play the dominant role.
Modification to the Capsid of the Adenovirus Vector That Enhances Dendritic Cell Infection and Transgene-Specific Cellular Immune Responses

ABSTRACT Adenovirus (Ad) gene transfer vectors can be used to transfer and express antigens and function as strong adjuvants and thus are useful platforms for the development of genetic vaccines. Based on the hypothesis that Ad vectors with enhanced infectibility of dendritic cells (DC) may be able to evoke enhanced immune responses against antigens encoded by the vector in vivo, the present study analyzes the vaccine potential of an Ad vector expressing β-galactosidase as a model antigen and genetically modified with RGD on the fiber knob [AdZ.F(RGD)] to more selectively infect DC and consequently enhance immunity against the β-galactosidase antigen. Infection of murine DC in vitro with AdZ.F(RGD) showed an eightfold-increased transgene expression following infection compared to AdZ (also expressing β-galactosidase, but with a wild-type capsid). Binding, cellular uptake, and trafficking in DC were also increased with AdZ.F(RGD) compared to AdZ. To determine whether AdZ.F(RGD) could evoke enhanced immune responses to β-galactosidase in vivo, C57BL/6 mice were immunized with AdZ.F(RGD) or AdZ subcutaneously via the footpad. Humoral responses with both vectors were comparable, with similar anti-β-galactosidase antibody levels following vector administration. However, cellular responses to β-galactosidase were significantly enhanced, with the frequency of CD4+ as well as the CD8+ β-galactosidase-specific gamma interferon response in cells isolated from the draining lymph nodes increased following immunization with AdZ.F(RGD) compared to Ad.Z (P < 0.01). Importantly, this enhanced cellular immune response of the AdZ.F(RGD) vector was sufficient to evoke enhanced inhibition of the growth of preexisting tumors expressing β-galactosidase: BALB/c mice implanted with the CT26 syngeneic β-galactosidase-expressing colon carcinoma cell line and subsequently immunized with AdZ.F(RGD) showed decreased tumor growth and improved survival compared to mice immunized with AdZ. These data demonstrate that addition of an RGD motif to the Ad fiber knob increases the infectibility of DC and leads to enhanced cellular immune responses to the Ad-transferred transgene, suggesting that the RGD capsid modification may be useful in developing Ad-based vaccines.