Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rabies DNA vaccines for protection and therapeutic treatment

DNA vaccines have shown efficacy in preclinical animal models in preventing or even treating a variety of diseases caused by infectious agents, malignancies or immunological disorders. One of the main perceived advantages of DNA vaccines for use in less developed countries is their low cost. Nevertheless, in general, immune responses elicited by DNA vaccines are less potent than those induced by traditional vaccines or second generation viral recombinant vaccines, and their efficacy in human Phase I trials has been disappointing. DNA vaccines have shown good efficacy in preventing rabies in some experimental animal models; their performance in postexposure treatment has been less impressive. Considering that rabies is nearly always fatal, efficacious vaccines are available and treatment in most cases is initiated after exposure, the development of current DNA vaccines to rabies for use in humans is, at the current time, not appropriate.
Violent Culture Wars: Religion and Revolution in Mexico, Russia and Spain in the Interwar Period:

This article explores the relationship between political revolution and antireligious violence in the interwar period through a comparison of Mexico, the Soviet Union and Spain. In all three cases antireligious violence was associated with revolution and the defeat of religion was seen either as a necessary condition for revolution or as an equally necessary result. All three revolutions were accompanied by violent ‘cultural revolutions’ targeting religion. The article engages in two levels of comparison. It explores similarities and dissimilarities among the events that took place in each of the three countries. At the same time, it juxtaposes the different explanatory models that have been offered of antireligious violence in each country, thereby initiating a dialogue between historiographical traditions that have developed in relative isolation from one another.
Comparing smoothing techniques in Cox models for exposure–response relationships

To allow for non‐linear exposure–response relationships, we applied flexible non‐parametric smoothing techniques to models of time to lung cancer mortality in two occupational cohorts with skewed exposure distributions. We focused on three different smoothing techniques in Cox models: penalized splines, restricted cubic splines, and fractional polynomials. We compared standard software implementations of these three methods based on their visual representation and criterion for model selection. We propose a measure of the difference between a pair of curves based on the area between them, standardized by the average of the areas under the pair of curves. To capture the variation in the difference over the range of exposure, the area between curves was also calculated at percentiles of exposure and expressed as a percentage of the total difference. The dose–response curves from the three methods were similar in both studies over the denser portion of the exposure range, with the difference between curves up to the 50th percentile less than 1 per cent of the total difference. A comparison of inverse variance weighted areas applied to the data set with a more skewed exposure distribution allowed us to estimate area differences with more precision by reducing the proportion attributed to the upper 1 per cent tail region. Overall, the penalized spline and the restricted cubic spline were closer to each other than either was to the fractional polynomial. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Analysis of Iron and Lipid Profiles in Indian Male Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients

Body iron contributes to pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD) through formation of free radicals by Fenton and Haber-Weiss reactions. Free radicals cause lipid peroxidation leading to formation of atherosclerotic plaques by deposition of modified low density lipoprotein (LDL). However, the relationship between body iron indices and acute myocardial infarction remains ambiguous. The present study intended to analyze alterations in body iron levels and correlate them with lipid profile in AMI patients in Indian population. The study enrolled 160 male subjects (40-60 years of age), 80 AMI patients with first MI incidence and 80 healthy controls (no history of angina/MI). Serum ferritin was measured by electro-chemiluminescence immunometric method by Roche Cobas e411 analyzer. Serum iron, TIBC, transferrin and lipid profile consisting of cholesterol (total, LDL, HDL), triglycerides were estimated by photometric and apolipoproteins, A1 and B, by immuno-turbidimetric methods on Roche Cobas c501 analyzer using commercially available kits from Roche. Iron and ferritin levels were found to be significantly increased (p<0.001) whereas, TIBC and transferrin levels were significantly decreased (p˂0.001) in sera of AMI cases when compared to control. Patients with AMI had significantly high total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglyceride and apolipoprotein B (p<0.001) and significantly low HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 levels than healthy subjects (p˂0.001). Serum ferritin level for predicting AMI was found to be more than 196 ng/ml (Sensitivity 89 % and specificity 78%) in ROC curve analysis. In the present study, AMI patients demonstrate elevated serum ferritin levels along with concurrent dyslipidemic changes like raised LDL, total cholesterol, triglyceride and apolipoprotein B and decreased HDL apolipoprotein A1. Such association indicates that the body iron status coupled with the lipid profile might play a role in development and precipitation of acute myocardial infarction in Indian male population.
Lack of Association between Lactotransferrin Polymorphism and Dental Caries

Objective: Dental caries is a complex, multifactorial disease and one of the most common illnesses worldwide. Its etiology is related to microbial, dietary and host factors. Recent evidence suggests a role of lactotransferrin (LTF) in caries. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between LTF gene polymorphism and dental caries. Methods: In this case-control study, 637 unrelated children, aged 11-13 years, were enrolled. The subjects were divided into two groups, i.e. caries-free (decayed/missing/filled teeth = 0) and caries-affected children (decayed/missing/filled teeth ≥ 1). The LTF rs1126478 (140A/G in exon 2, Lys/Arg) genotypes were determined by PCR with restriction analysis using the EarI enzyme. Results: Of 637 children, 155 (24.3%) were caries free. There were no statistically significant differences between caries levels and allele or genotype distributions in the total cohort. When the caries-affected group (n = 482) was stratified into low (decayed/missing/filled teeth = 1), moderate (2 ≤ decayed/missing/filled teeth ≤ 3) and high (decayed/missing/filled teeth ≥ 4) caries experience, allele and genotype frequencies were similar among all subgroups. Conclusions: The LTF 140A/G (exon 2, Lys/Arg) polymorphism was not associated with the susceptibility to or severity of dental caries in the Czech population.
Money‐output Causality Revisited – A Bayesian Logistic Smooth Transition VECM Perspective

This article proposes a Bayesian approach to examining money-output causality within the context of a logistic smooth transition vector error correction model. Our empirical results provide substantial evidence that the postwar US money-output relationship is nonlinear, with regime changes mainly governed by the output growth and price levels. Furthermore, we obtain strong support for nonlinear Granger causality from money to output, although there is also some evidence for models indicating that money is not Granger causal or long-run causal to output.
Effects of Deletion of the Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 Gene on Development of Murine Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms

Background—The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) contribute to cardiovascular remodeling, and MMPs, such as the gelatinases (MMP-9 and MMP-2), have been identified in thoracic aortic aneurysmal (TAA) tissue, but a cause-effect relationship has not been clearly established. Accordingly, this study examined TAA progression in mice devoid of the MMP-9 gene. Methods and Results—The descending thoracic aortas of wild-type (WT) FVB (n =17) and MMP-9 gene knockout (KO, n =11) mice were exposed to 0.5 mol/L of CaCl2 for 15 minutes with terminal studies performed at 4 weeks. Aortic lumen diameter was measured using video micrometry at baseline and at 4 weeks (TAA) followed by aortic tissue analysis. In WT mice, aortic diameter increased by 138±5% at 4 weeks (P<0.05), consistent with TAA formation. In the KO mice, aortic diameter increased from baseline by 120±4% (P<0.05) but was attenuated from WT TAA values (P<0.05). Gelatin zymography performed on TAA segments confirmed the absence of MMP-9 in the KO mice but a >8-fold relative increase in the active form of MMP-2 compared with WT (P<0.05). Despite this, MMP-2 activity was relatively increased (P<0.05) and colocalized to smooth muscle cell actin in a differential pattern favoring medial distruction in the WT TAA compared with the KO TAA segments. Conclusions—These results demonstrate that MMP-9 gene deletion attenuated TAA formation despite an increase in the zymographic levels of MMP-2. These unique findings suggest that an interaction between these 2 MMPs is necessary to facilitate TAA progression.
Early versus delayed angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition in experimental chronic heart failure. Effects on survival, hemodynamics, and cardiovascular remodeling.

BACKGROUND The efficacy of ACE inhibitors in congestive heart failure (CHF) might be affected by the pathophysiological status present at the onset of treatment. We compared in a rat model the effects of ACE inhibition (lisinopril, 10 mg.kg-1.d-1) initiated early (1 week) or late (3 months) after myocardial infarction (i.e., at time points corresponding to moderate or severe CHF without or with established cardiac remodeling). METHODS AND RESULTS Survival was improved by early treatment at 3 months (from 76% to 95%) and by both early and delayed treatment at 9 months (placebo, 28%; early, 90%; delayed, 61%). Delayed treatment was initiated in a more severe pathophysiological context of CHF than early treatment, illustrated in untreated rats by higher left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic and central venous pressures and by increased LV weight and LV cavity circumference. After 9 months, early and delayed treatments reduced systolic, LV end-diastolic, and central venous pressures. Both treatments also similarly decreased LV weight, LV cavity circumference, and LV collagen density. CONCLUSIONS In this rat model of CHF, early and delayed ACE inhibitor treatments both increase survival and exert similar beneficial effects on cardiac hemodynamics and remodeling. Although early treatment prevents the development of ventricular dysfunction and remodeling, delayed treatment is capable of reversing cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling, as well as ventricular dysfunction. Thus, ACE inhibitors exert marked beneficial effects even when treatment is initiated late into the evolution of heart failure (ie, at a time of established ventricular dysfunction and remodeling).
Formation of Labyrinth Patterns in Langmuir Films

A Langmuir film is a molecularly thin fluid layer on the surface of a subfluid. When dipole–dipole forces are negligible, bounded films relax to energy-minimizing circular domains. We investigate numerically the case where dipole–dipole interactions are strong enough to deform the domain into highly distorted labyrinth-type patterns. Our numerical method is designed to achieve higher accuracy and better stability than previous work and exploits an analytic formulation that removes a singularity in the dipole– dipole forces without resorting to a small cut-off parameter. We calculate the relaxation rates for a linearly perturbed circular domain, and we verify them numerically. We are also able to numerically reproduce experimentally observed circle to dog-bone transitions with minimal area loss.
Crashes Induced By Driver Information Systems and What Can Be Done to Reduce Them

Future in-vehicle information systems may overload drivers, compromising driving safety and product usability. Suggestions of overload appear in (1) statistics from Japan, the United States, and Kuwait for mobile phone-related crashes, (2) statistics from Japan for navigation system-related crashes, and (3) human performance data. From most to least frequent, tasks associated with crashes were receiving a call, dialing, talking (on a phone), looking at a (navigation) display and operating an interface (for navigation). To optimize driver performance for future interfaces, developers should comply with design guidelines (JAMA, SAE J2364), work more closely with human factors experts, expand usability testing, and implement workload managers.
Socio-affective characteristics and properties of extrinsic feedback in physiotherapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The usual approach in physiotherapy is to communicate the desired action by means of some combination of verbal instruction and explanation, visual demonstration and manual assistance. Patients' and physiotherapists' communication and acts express socio-affective elements which influence the atmosphere governing this interaction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the socio-affective characteristics of the verbal, visual and manual feedback given to their patients by physiotherapists in the performance of their duties. METHOD Data were collected by videotaping patient-physiotherapist interaction. Systematic observation was used to depict physiotherapists' and patients' verbal and physical communications. The observation instrument consisted of the categories of verbal communication, physical activities and the socio-affective features of communication. RESULTS The physiotherapists used verbal and physical guidance more and visual guidance less. In the main, the properties of the feedback given were motivational and reinforcing. Information feedback appeared very seldom. Verbal cues were mostly short comments. The main significance of manual cueing was in the tactile input that was used in orienting patients to produce the correct movement. The most effective way of helping patients to understand the purpose of the action and the sequential organization of the subroutine of the movement was to give a demonstration containing the relevant visual and verbal cues. CONCLUSIONS The extensive use of verbal and manual guidance found in this study needs to be thought over carefully, especially as physiotherapists seemed to use these techniques more as routine than as a result of careful consideration. The socio-affective atmosphere seems to influence physiotherapists' ways of giving feedback to their patients. Further research is needed to determine the most effective way of arranging guidance strategies for physiotherapists to produce effective feedback.
A G-band balanced tripler using 0.1 µm GaAs process

This paper presents a G-band balanced tripler using 0.1 um GaAs process. An anti-parallel diode pair (APDP) structure is applied in the tripler to obtain the third harmonic signal. The balanced architecture with two 90° Lange couplers is employed for doubling the output power, improving input and output impedance matching, as well as increasing the spurious suppression. The measurement results show that the output power of the tripler is -10 dBm ~ -5 dBm from 140 GHz to 220 GHz at the input power level of ~16 dBm. The chip size is 1 × 0.6 mm2 including the test pads. The proposed tripler has a huge potential for the THz source integration.
Dual-kidney transplants: long-term results1

Background. Dual-kidney transplantation, where two usually aged adult kidneys are placed into an adult recipient, is one way to help alleviate the continuing disparity between the number of patients on the kidney transplant waiting list and those who receive kidney transplants each year. The Dual Kidney Registry was developed to analyze donor and recipient data and outcomes at several centers. Methods. Two hundred eighty-seven patients who have undergone transplantation since 1994 have been entered into the relational database. The patients were followed yearly after initial entry into the database. Results. The mean donor age was 58±13 years and the mean terminal creatinine clearance was 77±40 mL/min. The mean glomerular sclerosis on procurement biopsy was 16±13%. Delayed graft function (DGF), defined as dialysis in the first 7 days after transplantation, was a predictor of poor outcome, and increased cold storage time was a predictor of DGF. The overall incidence of DGF was 27%. In recipients with prompt graft function (PGF), the mean cold storage time was 22±9 hr versus 29±10 hr in recipients with DGF (P <0.001). The overall 1- and 5-year graft survival was 86% and 69%, respectively. The 1- and 5-year graft survival rates were significantly better in recipients with PGF (90% and 74%) versus DGF (79% and 54%) (P <0.002). Conclusions. Cold storage time and DGF have a significant impact on the 1- and 5-year graft survival in recipients of dual-kidney transplants. The 5-year graft survival in recipients of dual-kidney transplants is excellent.
Ectopic DNMT3L Triggers Assembly of a Repressive Complex for Retroviral Silencing in Somatic Cells

ABSTRACT Mammalian genomes are replete with retrotransposable elements, including endogenous retroviruses. DNA methyltransferase 3-like (DNMT3L) is an epigenetic regulator expressed in prospermatogonia, growing oocytes, and embryonic stem (ES) cells. Here, we demonstrate that DNMT3L enhances the interaction of repressive epigenetic modifiers, including histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), SET domain, bifurcated 1 (SETDB1), DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A), and tripartite motif-containing protein 28 (TRIM28; also known as TIF1β and KAP1) in ES cells and orchestrates retroviral silencing activity with TRIM28 through mechanisms including, but not limited to, de novo DNA methylation. Ectopic expression of DNMT3L in somatic cells causes methylation-independent retroviral silencing activity by recruitment of the TRIM28/HDAC1/SETDB1/DNMT3A/DNMT3L complex to newly integrated Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV) proviral DNA. Concurrent with this recruitment, we also observed the accumulation of histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) and heterochromatin protein 1 gamma (HP1γ), as well as reduced H3K9 and H3K27 acetylation at Mo-MuLV proviral sequences. Ectopic expression of DNMT3L in late-passage mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) recruited cytoplasmically localized HDAC1 to the nucleus. The formation of this epigenetic modifying complex requires interaction of DNMT3L with DNMT3A as well as with histone H3. In fetal testes at embryonic day 17.5, endogenous DNMT3L also enhanced the binding among TRIM28, DNMT3A, SETDB1, and HDAC1. We propose that DNMT3L may be involved in initiating a cascade of repressive epigenetic modifications by assisting in the preparation of a chromatin context that further attracts DNMT3A-DNMT3L binding and installs longer-term DNA methylation marks at newly integrated retroviruses. IMPORTANCE Almost half of the mammalian genome is composed of endogenous retroviruses and other retrotransposable elements that threaten genomic integrity. These elements are usually subject to epigenetic silencing. We discovered that two epigenetic regulators that lack enzymatic activity, DNA methyltransferase 3-like (DNMT3L) and tripartite motif-containing protein 28 (TRIM28), collaborate with each other to impose retroviral silencing. In addition to modulating de novo DNA methylation, we found that by interacting with TRIM28, DNMT3L can attract various enzymes to form a DNMT3L-induced repressive complex to remove active marks and add repressive marks to histone proteins. Collectively, these results reveal a novel and pivotal function of DNMT3L in shaping the chromatin modifications necessary for retroviral and retrotransposon silencing.
Applying Situational Crisis Communication Theory to Sports: Investigating the Impact of Athlete Reputational Crises on Team Perception

Abstract The purpose of this study is to empirically examine key factors (i.e. the type of athlete transgression, the team’s history with athlete transgression) within the SCCT framework in a sports context, while also examining the use of SCCT-recommended response strategies to repair a team’s image when facing athlete reputational crises (ARC). A sample of 426 participants was recruited for an experiment testing the assumptions of SCCT based on an ARC. Findings revealed that while the core assumptions of SCCT surrounding the connection among perceived crisis responsibility, organization reputation, and behavioral intentions are applicable in a sports setting, there is little support for the impact of crisis history. In addition, there were differences in the effectiveness of the response strategies for a performance ARC compared to a non-performance ARC. Theoretical and practical insight is provided for using SCCT to address sports-related crisis situations.
Comunicar en la sociedad red : teorías, modelos y prácticas

Internet esta modificando el modo en que trabajamos y aprendemos, como nos comunicamos y nos relacionamos, adquiriendo una centralidad cada vez mayor en nuestras vidas. La Sociedad Red, como apunta Manuel Castells, no solo se basa en el desarrollo de la tecnologia, sino en como surgen nuevas formas de interaccion en la politica, la cultura, la economia, la educacion y las relaciones humanas. Este manual pretende actualizar las teorias de la comunicacion en el nuevo ecosistema mediatico de la Sociedad Red: medios que han perdido el monopolio informativo; contenidos adaptados a los intereses de usuarios activos; redes donde compartir, investigar y conspirar; periodistas con nuevos perfiles y exigencias. Al hilo de los modelos basicos de la comunicacion, la convergencia mediatica y las tecnicas de desinformacion, se exploran los retos que afronta el periodismo en un entorno marcado por el cambio permanente.
Mushroom Bodies Enhance Initial Motor Activity in drosophila

Abstract: The central body (or central complex, CCX) and the mushroom bodies (MBs) are brain structures in most insect phyla that have been shown to influence aspects of locomotion. The CCX regulates motor coordination and enhances activity while MBs have, thus far, been shown to suppress motor activity levels measured over time intervals ranging from hours to weeks. In this report, we investigate MB involvement in motor behavior during the initial stages (15 minutes) of walking in Buridan's paradigm. We measured aspects of walking in flies that had MB lesions induced by mutations in six different genes and by chemical ablation. All tested flies were later examined histologically to assess MB neuroanatomy. Mutant strains with MB structural defects were generally less active in walking than wild-type flies. Most mutants in which MBs were also ablated with hydroxyurea (HU) showed additional activity decrements. Variation in measures of velocity and orientation to landmarks among wild-type and mutant flies was attributed to pleiotropy, rather than to MB lesions. We conclude that MBs upregulate activity during the initial stages of walking, but suppress activity thereafter. An MB influence on decision making has been shown in a wide range of complex behaviors. We suggest that MBs provide appropriate contextual information to motor output systems in the brain, indirectly fine tuning walking by modifying the quantity (i.e., activity) of behavior.