Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Source Identification of Atlanta Aerosol by Positive Matrix Factorization

Abstract Data characterizing daily integrated particulate matter (PM) samples collected at the Jefferson Street monitoring site in Atlanta, GA, were analyzed through the application of a bilinear positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. A total of 662 samples and 26 variables were used for fine particle (particles ≤2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter) samples (PM2.5 ), and 685 samples and 15 variables were used for coarse particle (particles between 2.5 and 10 µm in aerodynamic diameter) samples (PM10–2.5 ). Measured PM mass concentrations and compositional data were used as independent variables. To obtain the quantitative contributions for each source, the factors were normalized using PMF-apportioned mass concentrations. For fine particle data, eight sources were identified: SO4 2−-rich secondary aerosol (56%), motor vehicle (22%), wood smoke (11%), NO3 −-rich secondary aerosol (7%), mixed source of cement kiln and organic carbon (OC) (2%), airborne soil (1%), metal recycling facility (0.5%), and mixed source of bus station and metal processing (0.3%). The SO4 2−-rich and NO3 −-rich secondary aerosols were associated with NH4 +. The SO4 2−-rich secondary aerosols also included OC. For the coarse particle data, five sources contributed to the observed mass: airborne soil (60%), NO3 −-rich secondary aerosol (16%), SO4 2−-rich secondary aerosol (12%), cement kiln (11%), and metal recycling facility (1%). Conditional probability functions were computed using surface wind data and identified mass contributions from each source. The results of this analysis agreed well with the locations of known local point sources.
SAR interferometric signatures of forest

The potential of SAR interferometry for forest mapping and monitoring is discussed. It is shown that forest can clearly be discriminated from other land categories. Furthermore it is possible to distinguish a number of forest types. The presented approach is based on the SAR interferometric correlation and the backscatter intensities using ERS-1 SAR repeat-pass data. Baseline, time interval, and seasonal dependences were analyzed, substantiating a wide applicability of the approach. Data over an Alaskan test site were used to extend the results found over temperate forest to boreal forest and to demonstrate the potential of the described technique over remote areas. In addition, repeat-pass SAR interferometry was found to be particularly sensitive to change. Examples for the recognition of freezing, mechanical cultivation of agricultural fields, and canopy growth are shown. >
Duck influenza lacking evidence of disease signs and immune response

Influenza viruses A/duck/Hokkaido/5/77 (Hav7N2), A/budgerigar/Hokkaido/1/77 (Hav4Nav1), A/Kumamoto/22/76 (H3N2), A/Aichi/2/68 (H3N2), and A/New Jersey/8/76 (Hsw1N1) were experimentally inoculated into Pekin ducks. Of these, the influenza viruses of duck and budgerigar origin replicated in the intestinal tract of the ducks. The infected ducks shed the virus in the feces to high titers, but did not show clinical signs of disease and scarcely produced detectable serum antibodies. Using immunofluorescent staining, we demonstrated that the target cells of the duck virus in ducks were the simple columnar epithelial cells which form crypts in the large intestines, especially in the colon. After primary infection, the birds resisted reinfection with the duck virus at least for 28 days, but from 46 days onward they were susceptible to reinfection. These infections were quickly restricted by a brisk secondary immune response, reflected in the rapid appearance of high titers of antibody after reinoculation. In contrat to the avian influenza viruses, the remaining three influenza viruses of human origin did not replicate in the intestinal tract but did cause a serum antibody response.
Meet Me Half-Way

TO THE EDITOR: I particularly enjoyed the article by Sewitch et al. titled, “Patient Nonadherence to Medication in Inflammatory Bowel Disease” (1). In general, few data exist from prospective or longitudinal studies on the determinants of nonadherence to medication in outpatients with IBD, as most other adherence studies have been of cross-sectional or population study design (2, 3). Besides its prospective nature, the main strength of this study rests in its effort to assess the impact of discordant patient–physician perceptions on nonadherence to medication. To explore fully the link between discordance and nonadherence, the Montreal-based investigators employed a sophisticated and somewhat complicated statistical model to analyze factors such as psychological distress, perceived stress, negative life events, and social support as potential confounders and effect modifiers on this relationship. Nonadherence within 2 wk of an office visit was high (41%) but was similar to rates typically found for long-term treatment associated with chronic disease (4). Of the patients, 33% were unintentionally nonadherent to medication, 15% were intentionally nonadherent, and 7% were both. The authors concluded that the therapeutic relationship, as well as individual clinical and psychosocial characteristics, influence adherence to medication. An interesting finding was that although discordance on well-being was associated with overall medication nonadherence, the association varied depending on the presence or absence of psychological distress. Specifically, they observed that higher discordance was associated with increased risk of nonadherence to medication in psychologically nondistressed patients but with decreased risk in distressed patients. Why is this important? The underlying assumption is that discordance, which is a product of the patient–physician encounter, may provide clinicians with a means to identify patients who are at higher risk for nonadherence and may require additional monitoring. The authors recommend that physicians need to determine levels of psychological distress and discordance in their patients who are prescribed medication and then schedule follow-up appointments for those who are not distressed and have more discordance on well-being.
Self-Recalibrating Surface EMG Pattern Recognition for Neuroprosthesis Control Based on Convolutional Neural Network

Hand movement classification based on surface electromyography (sEMG) pattern recognition is a promising approach for upper limb neuroprosthetic control. However, maintaining day-to-day performance is challenged by the non-stationary nature of sEMG in real-life operation. In this study, we propose a self-recalibrating classifier that can be automatically updated to maintain a stable performance over time without the need for user retraining. Our classifier is based on convolutional neural network (CNN) using short latency dimension-reduced sEMG spectrograms as inputs. The pretrained classifier is recalibrated routinely using a corrected version of the prediction results from recent testing sessions. Our proposed system was evaluated with the NinaPro database comprising of hand movement data of 40 intact and 11 amputee subjects. Our system was able to achieve ~10.18% (intact, 50 movement types) and ~2.99% (amputee, 10 movement types) increase in classification accuracy averaged over five testing sessions with respect to the unrecalibrated classifier. When compared with a support vector machine (SVM) classifier, our CNN-based system consistently showed higher absolute performance and larger improvement as well as more efficient training. These results suggest that the proposed system can be a useful tool to facilitate long-term adoption of prosthetics for amputees in real-life applications.
Investigation of platelets count and indices in coronary artery diseases among Sudanese patients

Platelets play a key role in initiation of atherosclerosis and formation of coronary thrombus in coronary artery diseases (CAD). Active platelets are large in size and have a higher potential thrombotic ability, evaluation of their volume indices as indicator of their activity could be useful in prediction and differentiation of coronary events. This study evaluated the platelets volume indices in a group of Sudanese patients with CAD and compared with normal populations. Among the total included 103 patients with CAD; there were 53 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), 50 patients with chronic stable angina. Age and sex matched; 100 subjects with non-cardiac chest pain were also included as normal controls. K3-EDTA anticoagulated venous blood of each subject was collected, platelets count and indices were measured using Sysmex KX-21 analyzer. Platelets count was significantly higher in ACS group than normal controls; p-value 0.001, there was no significant difference between stable angina group and normal controls; p-value 0.29. Mean platelets volume (MPV), platelets distribution width (PDW), and platelets -large cell ratio (P-LCR) were significantly higher in ACS cases compared to controls (P-values: < 0.05), however, these indices were not significantly differ between stable angina and controls (P-values: > 0.05). There were no age or gender differences in MPV values in normal controls, p. values: > 0.05. Patients with ACS had significantly higher platelet volume indices compared to normal population. Evaluation of platelets count and indices might be useful in predicting those patients at higher risk for acute coronary events.
Salmonella typhimurium-induced cytokine production and surface molecule expression by murine macrophages.

The influence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium) on co-stimulatory molecule expression, cytokine production and induction of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) by murine macrophages (Mphi), as well as the influence of the phoP locus on these aspects of S. typhimurium-Mphi interaction, was characterized. Pulsing Mphi with S. typhimurium resulted in increased surface expression of MHC-I, MHC-II, CD86 and CD54. Furthermore, co-incubating S. typhimurium with Mphi resulted in interleukin (IL)-12p40, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha production as well as iNOS induction while IL-12p70 was not detectable. Finally, although phoP did not influence the level of surface molecule expression or cytokine production by S. typhimurium-pulsed Mphi phoP did influence the level of iNOS induction. Together these data show that S. typhimurium interaction with Mphi activates these cells in ways that may enhance their ability to productively stimulate Salmonella-specific T cells following phagocytic processing and presentation of Salmonella antigens.
Serum response factor regulates bone formation via IGF‐1 and Runx2 signals

Serum response factor (SRF) plays vital roles in numerous cellular processes; however, the physiological function of SRF in skeletal tissue remains unknown. In several organ systems, SRF regulates the expression of insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1), which is crucial for normal development of mineralized skeleton and bone remodeling throughout life. Here, we show that conditional deletion of SRF in osteoblasts by osteocalcin‐Cre generated viable mice with normal body size and body weight. Compared with normal siblings, osteoblast‐specific SRF‐deficient adult mice exhibited a marked decrease in bone mineral density and bone formation rate. Deletion of SRF in primary mouse calvarial osteoblasts reduced cell differentiation and mineralization in vitro. This was accompanied by a decrease in IGF‐1 expression and secretion. Addition of IGF‐1 in the culture media enhanced osteoblast differentiation in control cells and partially restored the mineralization defect of SRF‐deficient cells, supporting an important role of SRF in regulating IGF‐1 and IGF‐1–mediated osteoblast differentiation. IGF‐1–induced Akt activation was inhibited in SRF‐deficient calvarial cells and enhanced in the SRF overexpressed cells. In addition, SRF deficiency decreased the transcriptional activity of Runx2, the key transcription factor for osteogenesis. Overexpression of SRF induced Runx2 transactivity in control cells and restored Runx2 transactivity in the SRF‐deficient cells. Taken together, we conclude that SRF is important for IGF‐1–induced osteoblast differentiation and mineralization via regulating IGF‐1 expression and Runx2 transactivity. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Stock Market and Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis for Germany

This paper investigates the causal relationship between stock market development and economic growth for Germany for the period 1965-2007 using a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The purpose of this paper was to examine the long-run relationship between these variables, applying the Johansen co-integration analysis based on the classical unit roots tests. The results of Granger causality tests indicated that there is a unidirectional causality between stock market development and economic growth with direction from stock market development to economic growth.
Congenital Anomalies Associated with Cleft Lip and Palate Defects in a High Volume Indian Centre

Objective: The objective of this study was to find the prevalence of associated anomalies in patients with cleft lip and palate defects. A number of associated anomalies were noticed by the authors while routinely examining patients with cleft and craniofacial defects at their center. An accurate study to identify the prevalence of associated anomalies in cleft lip and palate patients was needed, to emphasize the need for a thorough investigation of children with cleft lip and palate and the need for a multidisciplinary team to diagnose cleft lip and palate. There was also a need to study the impact of associated anomalies on the burden of cleft care in a developing country like India. Design and Setting: This is a retrospective study of 800 consecutive patients with cleft lip and palate CL=184, CLP=532, CP=84 seen in the year 2006. The data was collected retrospectively by processing the case history of the patients. The patient’s cleft defect, age and sex was noted along with the religious background, level of income and consanguinity. The anomalies were classified under 10 headings depending on the organ system affected. Results: Associated anomalies were present in 330 cases (41.3%). The highest prevalence of 46.4% was found in patients with cleft lip and palate. The lowest prevalence of 27.7 % was found in isolated cleft lip patients. There was no significant difference of prevalence found between unilateral or bilateral clefts and complete or incomplete clefts. The skeletal system was affected the most. Anomalies of the skeletal system count for 42% of all anomalies. Logistic Regression was used to calculate if any of the other background data increased the chance of having an associated anomaly showed that having an isolated cleft palate decreased the chance of having an associated anomaly as was being a Muslim or from another religion as compared to being a Hindu. Other background data did not have a statistically significant chance to have an associated anomaly with clefts. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of associated anomalies in the study done at this center. There was, however a need to study the reasons for such anomalies further. There is also a need to study the impact of such anomalies on the burden of cleft care in developing countries.
Systemic telomere length and preclinical atherosclerosis: the Asklepios Study.

AIMS Peripheral blood leucocyte (PBL) telomere length (TL) is a systemic ageing biomarker and has been proposed to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed at providing an explanation for this association by the evaluation of the biomarker value of PBL-TL in preclinical atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS Peripheral blood leucocyte telomere length was assessed by telomere restriction fragment analysis in 2509 volunteers free from established CVD, aged approximately 35-55 years old, from the Asklepios Study cohort. Intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque presence were determined by ultrasonography in both left and right carotid and femoral arteries. Peripheral blood leucocyte telomere length was not a significant independent determinant of IMT (P > 0.3) or plaque presence (P > 0.05), in either artery or either sex. In women but not in men, PBL-TL was a weak determinant of combined (carotid or femoral) plaque presence, adjusted for other risk factors (women: P = 0.03, men: P > 0.4). However, even in women presenting plaques, PBL-TL was still longer than in men. CONCLUSION Since systemic TL is not a substantial underlying determinant of preclinical atherosclerosis, the association between CVD and TL cannot be explained by the fact that subjects with shorter inherited TL are predisposed to atherosclerosis.
Is PHEEM a multi-dimensional instrument? An international perspective

Aim: To look at the characteristics of Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) using data from the UK, Brazil, Chile and the Netherlands, and to examine the reliability and characteristics of PHEEM, especially how the three PHEEM subscales fitted with factors derived statistically from the data sets. Methods: Statistical analysis of PHEEM scores from 1563 sets of data, using reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis and correlations of factors derived with the three defined PHEEM subscales. Results: PHEEM was very reliable with an overall Cronbach's alpha of 0.928. Three factors were derived by exploratory factor analysis. Factor One correlated most strongly with the teaching subscale (R = 0.802), Factor Two correlated most strongly with the role autonomy subscale (R = 0.623) and Factor Three correlated most strongly with the social support subscale (R = 0.538). Conclusions: PHEEM is a multi-dimensional instrument. Overall, it is very reliable. There is a good fit of the three defined subscales, derived by qualitative methods, with the three principal factors derived from the data by exploratory factor analysis.
Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Coconut Husk Extract

The coconut plant Cocos nucifera (family Arecaceae) is considered as an important fruit crop in tropical countries. It is commonly available plant with wide variety of applications in food, drinks, fibres, building materials and various chemicals finding their way into a huge range of modern day products. Being highly nutritious, young coconuts have also been studied for medicinal qualities. As preliminary investigation of the use of coconut husk, the antimicrobial activity can be evaluated. In present study antimicrobial activity of coconut husk is evaluated. It was observed that the antimicrobial activity of husk extract increased with increasing concentration and was found to be more effective against gram-negative than gram-positive organism. Extract was observed more effective against Pneumonia vulgaris . Presence of tannins and other phenolic compounds may responsible for antimicrobial activity.
Toward high-resolution prediction and design of transmembrane helical protein structures

The prediction and design at the atomic level of membrane protein structures and interactions is a critical but unsolved challenge. To address this problem, we have developed an all-atom physical model that describes intraprotein and protein–solvent interactions in the membrane environment. We evaluated the ability of the model to recapitulate the energetics and structural specificities of polytopic membrane proteins by using a battery of in silico prediction and design tests. First, in side-chain packing and design tests, the model successfully predicts the side-chain conformations at 73% of nonexposed positions and the native amino acid identities at 34% of positions in naturally occurring membrane proteins. Second, the model predicts significant energy gaps between native and nonnative structures of transmembrane helical interfaces and polytopic membrane proteins. Third, distortions in transmembrane helices are successfully recapitulated in docking experiments by using fragments of ideal helices judiciously defined around helical kinks. Finally, de novo structure prediction reaches near-atomic accuracy (<2.5 Å) for several small membrane protein domains (<150 residues). The success of the model highlights the critical role of van der Waals and hydrogen-bonding interactions in the stability and structural specificity of membrane protein structures and sets the stage for the high-resolution prediction and design of complex membrane protein architectures.
Intestinal Helminths Regulate Lethal Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease and Preserve the Graft-versus-Tumor Effect in Mice

Donor T lymphocyte transfer with hematopoietic stem cells suppresses residual tumor growth (graft-versus-tumor [GVT]) in cancer patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT). However, donor T cell reactivity to host organs causes severe and potentially lethal inflammation called graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). High-dose steroids or other immunosuppressive drugs are used to treat GVHD that have limited ability to control the inflammation while incurring long-term toxicity. Novel strategies are needed to modulate GVHD, preserve GVT, and improve the outcome of BMT. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) control alloantigen-sensitized inflammation of GVHD, sustain GVT, and prevent mortality in BMT. Helminths colonizing the alimentary tract dramatically increase the Treg activity, thereby modulating intestinal or systemic inflammatory responses. These observations led us to hypothesize that helminths can regulate GVHD and maintain GVT in mice. Acute GVHD was induced in helminth (Heligmosomoides polygyrus)–infected or uninfected BALB/c recipients of C57BL/6 donor grafts. Helminth infection suppressed donor T cell inflammatory cytokine generation and reduced GVHD-related mortality, but maintained GVT. H. polygyrus colonization promoted the survival of TGF-β–generating recipient Tregs after a conditioning regimen with total body irradiation and led to a TGF-β–dependent in vivo expansion/maturation of donor Tregs after BMT. Helminths did not control GVHD when T cells unresponsive to TGF-β–mediated immune regulation were used as donor T lymphocytes. These results suggest that helminths suppress acute GVHD using Tregs and TGF-β–dependent pathways in mice. Helminthic regulation of GVHD and GVT through intestinal immune conditioning may improve the outcome of BMT.
Narrativas interativas sobre o cuidado materno e seus sentidos afetivo-emocionais

Na medida em que a clinica e a pesquisa da maternidade reafirmam a importância do suporte social as maes, pretendemos investigar o imaginario de estudantes universitarios sobre o cuidado materno. Partindo do pressuposto de que narramos para elaborar experiencias vividas, reconhecemos no narrar um procedimento privilegiado de acesso aos sentidos afetivo-emocionais que subjazem a toda conduta humana. Elaboramos uma narrativa ficticia sobre o abandono materno para que estudantes de Educacao Fisica e Jornalismo a completassem. Tais producoes imaginativas, consideradas psicanaliticamente, apontam para uma abordagem ambigua. A mae e responsabilizada pelo destino do filho, ainda que a compreensibilidade de sua conduta seja situada em termos do contexto social. Tal postura parece traduzir o contraste entre o pretendido tratamento etico da questao materna e as expectativas sociais em relacao a figura materna, usualmente ocultas pelo discurso contemporâneo do politicamente correto.
Nucleotide sequence of tryptophan tRNA gene in Acholeplasma laidlawii.

A tryptophan (Trp) tRNA was isolated from Acholeplasma laidlawii bv BD-cellulose column (1) and sequenced by formamide-degradation method (2). Genomic DNA Southern hybridization with several restriction enzymes showed only one positive band with the isolated tRNA. The tRNA was 75 base long with anticodon sequence CCA. The sequence of the cloned DNA fragment that hybridized with the tRNA monocistronic for Trp-tRNA anticodon CCA The above results UGG a sole Trp codon laidlawii Mycoplasma capricolum, also belonging to the class Mollicutes, Trp-tRNA UCA together with citated that the change in UGA codon assignment from stop to Trp occurred in Mycoplasma after separation of Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma from their ancestor.