Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in infectivity and plasmid profile of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, as a result of in vitro cultivation

In vitro cultivation of Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme spirochetosis, allows for the isolation and growth of this bacterium from infected tissues. However, continuous cultivation in modified Kelly medium causes a reduction in the number of detectable plasmids and the loss of infectivity in the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus. In an unpassaged culture of B. burgdorferi, nine plasmids were present, including seven linear plasmids ranging in size from 49 to 16 kilobases (kb) and two circular plasmids of 27 and 7.6 kb. The 7.6-kb circular and 22-kb linear plasmids were no longer detectable in spirochetes noninfective in white-footed mice, suggesting that a gene(s) encoding for factors responsible for infection may be present on one or more of these extrachromosomal elements. Furthermore, changes in spirochetal proteins and lipopolysaccharide-like material were observed also during early cultivation and may be related to loss of infectivity.
Physiological Reactivity in Acculturation: A Study of Female Japanese Students

Several investigations have indicated that length of residence can predict acculturation associated with stress. However, there have been no studies from a psychophysiological perspective to assess whether length of residence affects physiological reactivity. The purpose of this study was to compare reactivity to psychological stress in female Japanese students of long- and short-term residence at a large university in northeastern USA, after administering a stress questionnaire to examine stress in adjusting to their US academic lives. 12 subjects were randomly chosen for each group (short- and long-term residence) from an initial population of 90 students. The subjects were presented three stressors (English-reading, stress-imagination, and arithmetic) for 2 min. each, with a 6-min. recovery period following each stressor. A significant interaction appeared for groups over time on heart-rate reactivity While the long-term group had a linear component in heart rate across time for the tasks, the short-term group did not. Although the short-term group had higher skin temperature than the long-term group, only the short-term group had a tendency to increase skin temperature after the tasks. These data suggest that continued study of physiological reactivity to stress may be useful for developing techniques for coping with acculturative stress.
Relationship between student learning factors and their learning outcome in Senior Secondary School economics in Osun State Public Secondary Schools, Nigeria

This study examined the relationship between student learning factors and their learning outcome in Economics in Odo-Otin local government area of Osun State. The study investigated how instructional materials, students' attitude, teachers' attitude with their methods of teaching, parental status and government policy related with the students' learning outcome in Economics. This study is significant because it will make known to both the students and teachers factors that relate to students learning outcome in Economics. This will however help both students and teachers in other areas of continent to adopt and use the findings of this study for their benefit. The study is limited to Osun State of Nigeria and some sampled schools in Odo-Otin Local Government Area. Content wise, the study covered the variables considered in this study. It adopted the descriptive survey research design of the ex-post facto type. The study samples consisted of 11 Senior Secondary Schools, 344 students of Senior Secondary 2 level. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to analyse the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed positive significant relationship between (i) the availability of instructional materials and student learning outcome (r=0.113; p 0.05) (v) government policy and student learning outcome (r=0.267; p>0.05). It therefore recommended that government should ensure adequate provision of instructional materials in schools and their utilization by school heads to improve learning outcome of students in schools. Learners must also be encouraged to exhibit a commensurate and positive attitude towards the subject, while the Economics teacher should put in their effort at improving their learning outcome in schools.
Going Back to School: Why STEM Professionals Decide to Teach through Alternative Certification Programs.

Prompted by the emergence of alternative pathways to teacher certification as well as federal, state, and local policy directives aimed at raising student achievement, this study explores the extent to which prospective teachers’ reasons to teach have or have not changed since before the enactment of such changes in public schools. In addition, the study contributes to the literature on the recruitment and retention of STEM teachers in difficult-to-staff schools through the analysis of reasons to enter teaching and the implications of those reasons for career changers in an alternative teacher preparation program. Data for this study were gathered over the span of participants’ entire first year in the classroom through interviews, questionnaires, and application materials. This study found that participants in Alternative Certification in Science and Mathematics (ACSM) express model influences, experiential influences, programmatic influences, race- and gender-related reasons, and vocational reasons as motivation for teaching. In addition, data revealed that participants’ reasons to stay in teaching become much more specific over time.
[Correlations between blood pressure, left ventricular hypertrophy, and left ventricular diastolic function in hypertensive patients].

We examined the relationship of hypertension to left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and left ventricular diastolic function by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring device and echocardiography. We studied 36 untreated hypertensive non-diabetic patients (16 males and 20 females) whose casual systolic blood pressure (CSBP) and/or diastolic blood pressure (CDBP) were higher than 140 mmHg and 90 mmHg, respectively. All patients were less than 65 years of age without organic heart disease. Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures (RSBP, RDBP) were measured after lying in a supine position for 30 min by the auscultatory method. Ambulatory blood pressure was measured every 30 or 60 min for 24 hours by Colin ABPM 630, and the mean 24-hour ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressures (ASBP, ADBP) and the systolic and diastolic hyperbaric indices (SHI, DHI) were obtained. The left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was obtained as an indicator of LVH by M-mode echocardiography. The ratio of peak velocity of mitral inflow caused by atrial contraction to that of rapid inflow (A/R) was obtained as an indicator of the LV diastolic function by Doppler echocardiography. The coefficients of correlation between BP and the LVMI, and the A/R were determined. There were significant positive correlations between the LVMI and ASBP (r = 0.51, p < 0.005), the SHI (r = 0.49, p < 0.005), CSBP (r = 0.47, p < 0.01) and RSBP (r = 0.41, p < 0.05), however, there were no significant correlations between the LVMI and ADBP, the DHI, CDBP, RDBP and age. There were significant positive correlations between the A/R and ADBP (r = 0.44, p < 0.01), age (r = 0.40, p < 0.02), CSBP (r = 0.38, p < 0.05) and RDBP (r = 0.38, p < 0.05), however, no significant correlations between the A/R and ASBP, the SHI, DHI, RSBP and CDBP. Only a weak correlation was observed in all subjects between the LVMI and A/R, which was slightly improved by use of > 90 mmHg CSBP readings (r = 0.32). It was concluded that LVH is related mainly to continuous systolic hypertension, and that LV diastolic dysfunction is related mainly to continuous diastolic hypertension. Therefore, it was suggested that LVH and LV diastolic dysfunction in hypertensive patients are caused by different mechanisms.
Frequency Domain Analysis of Superregenerative Receivers in the Linear and the Logarithmic Modes

Despite their simplicity, analysis and design of superregenerative oscillators is often still based on approximations which provide limited insight into its behavior. In this paper we investigate the superregenerative oscillator in the linear and logarithmic operation modes without any approximations. A frequency-domain formulation allows us to efficiently compute the relevant waveforms both in the time and in the frequency domains. One of the main results is the ability to efficiently predict the exact envelope and the instantaneous phase and frequency of the generated waveforms for sinusoidal input signals. The formulation allows taking into account different amplitude-limiting nonlinearities that are responsible for the logarithmic response. We analyze different superregenerative oscillator designs under various operating conditions. We also provide a comparison of the results with those obtained with other techniques.
Cryptic fish associated with different substrates in two coastal reef communities of Colima, Mexico

The ecological importance of cryptic ichthyofauna in the trophic chains of reef communities has scarcely been studied. It has been established that cryptic fish (CF) contribute to keeping the equilibrium of marine environments, and are also potential indicators of the environment. In the present study, ecological evaluations of CF associated with two reef communities off the Colima, Mexico coast (La Boquita - LB, and Bahia Carrizales - CA) were carried out. A total of 16 surveys were carried out during winter-spring (WS) and eight surveys were carried out in summer-fall (SF). Three CF surveys were carried out in each reef community, covering a 180 m 2 area; several ecological indices were calculated and the benthic habitat was characterized. A total of 3,056 CF belonging to 23 species, 22 genera and 15 families were recorded. The species Axoclinus lucillae, Acanthemblemaria macrospilus , Coralliozetus boehlkei, Ekemblemaria myersi and Hippocampus ingens represented new records for the region. The physiographic and topographic characteristics of the marine substrate were decisive for the occurrence of CF, especially those with reduced mobility. There was higher CF richness and diversity during the SF. The species C. boehlkei and E. myers, associated with rocky environments with high sponge and macroalgae cover, were identified as potential bioindicators of environmental quality. The species Cirrhitichtys oxycechalus, Acanthemblemaria macrospilus, Coryphopterus urospilus , and Elacatinus punticulatus were associated with coralline, crystalline, and relatively unperturbed environments.
A Rare Motor Neuron Deleterious Missense Mutation in the DPYSL3 (CRMP4) Gene is Associated with ALS

The dihydropyrimidinase‐like 3 (DPYSL3) or Collapsin Response Mediator Protein 4a (CRMP4a) expression is modified in neurodegeneration and is involved in several ALS‐associated pathways including axonal transport, glutamate excitotoxicity, and oxidative stress. The objective of the study was to analyze CRMP4 as a risk factor for ALS. We analyzed the DPYSL3/CRMP4 gene in French ALS patients (n = 468) and matched‐controls (n = 394). We subsequently examined a variant in a Swedish population (184 SALS, 186 controls), and evaluated its functional effects on axonal growth and survival in motor neuron cell culture. The rs147541241:A>G missense mutation occurred in higher frequency among French ALS patients (odds ratio = 2.99) but the association was not confirmed in the Swedish population. In vitro expression of mutated DPYSL3 in motor neurons reduced axonal growth and accelerated cell death compared with wild type protein. Thus, the association between the rs147541241 variant and ALS was limited to the French population, highlighting the geographic particularities of genetic influences (risks, contributors). The identified variant appears to shorten motor neuron survival through a detrimental effect on axonal growth and CRMP4 could act as a key unifier in transduction pathways leading to neurodegeneration through effects on early axon development.
A Framework to Assess the Harms of Crime with an Application to Cocaine Trafficking in Belgium

s, using “harm” as a keyword yielded only 54 “hits” as of January 2010 for the period 1960-2009. All but one publication (Sherman, 2007) concerned “self harm”; that is, the harm some people impose on themselves via self-mutilation or suicide. In reality, a few more publications discuss the harms of crime and specifically organized crime but undoubtedly a very limited number of scholars have so far dissected or compared these harms. A considerable literature has instead developed on two related concepts, namely, the perceived seriousness of crime (that is, ordinary people’s perceptions of the seriousness of crime) and the monetary costs of crime. In a lively—and sometimes acrimonious—debate about harm reduction in the drug policy community, several scholars have proposed frameworks to classify drug-related harms. We review these literatures below, starting from the least closely related to the harms of crime. 2.1. Perceived Seriousness of Crime Following the seminal research of Thorstein Sellin and Martin Wolfgang (1964), a number of predominantly North American studies have surveyed the perceived seriousness of crime. Typically, perceived seriousness is considered a function of the perceived consequences and perceived wrongfulness of an act (Stylianou, 2003: 42). This focus on harmfulness—termed “consequences”—and wrongfulness dates back to Warr (1989), who was the first to identify these two components of seriousness (see also O’Connell and Whelan, 1996: 299). Some consensus has been found in perceptions: persons of different socio-economic and cultural background within the societies surveyed tend, for example, to give similar rank-ordering to crimes (Stylianou, 2003). Despite the relevance of harmfulness in people’s perceptions of seriousness, public opinion polls and surveys provide limited insight. The possibility of factual misjudgment and a lack of reflection on the criteria for judging known facts diminish the value of these instruments. First, people may believe that a crime involves greater risk of violence than it does or may underestimate the negative effects of other crimes. Second, in judging the harmfulness of a crime, they may refer only to some criteria, for instance, material damages, while neglecting some others, such as psychological damages (Von
Modern Molecular and Clinical Approaches to Eradicate HPVMediated Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer was formerly the second most common cancer killer of women worldwide. Following widespread adoption of Papanicolau cytologic screening (Pap test) for cervical cancer in the 1950s, this began to change. Today, advanced cervical cancer is rare in screened populations. Although an uncommon disease in developed nations, internationally about 500,000 women annually are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and about half of those women will die of their disease. In global terms, this ranks second only to breast cancer as a cause of cancer-specific mortality. Over the past three decades the scientific community has witnessed spectacular advances in the understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of cervical cancer, with the most profound discovery being in 1983 of the identification of the human papillomavirus (HPV) within cervical cancer (a discovery that earned Harold Zur-Hausen, M.D the Nobel prize for Medicine and Physiology in 2008). A viral etiology for cervical cancer implied that it may be possible to eradicate cervical cancer through vaccination. This promise was partially fulfilled in 2006 when the United States Food and Drug Administration approved an HPV vaccine for the prevention of HPV-induced cervical dysplasia and/or cancer. These advances, profound though they are, have yet to eradicate cervical cancer. Furthermore, due to the pervasiveness of HPV infection and the timeline of disease progression, it will be a few decades before we will be able to determine the impact preventive practices are having on cancer incidence and prevalence. In addition, those for whom preventative measures are not a solution, including HIV+ individuals as well as women already infected with HR-HPV, await an answer.
Targeting of alpha(nu)beta(3)-integrins expressed on tumor tissue and neovasculature using fluorescent small molecules and nanoparticles.

AIM Receptor-specific small molecules and nanoparticles are widely used in molecular imaging of tumors. Although some studies have described the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches, reports of a direct comparison and analysis of the two strategies are lacking. Herein, we compared the tumor-targeting characteristics of a small near-infrared fluorescent compound (cypate-peptide conjugate) and relatively large perfluorocarbon-based nanoparticles (250 nm diameter) for imaging alpha(nu)beta(3)-integrin receptor expression in tumors. MATERIALS & METHODS Near-infrared fluorescent small molecules and nanoparticles were administered to living mice bearing subcutaneous or intradermal syngeneic tumors and imaged with whole-body and high-resolution optical imaging systems. RESULTS The nanoparticles, designed for vascular constraint, remained within the tumor vasculature while the small integrin-avid ligands diffused into the tissue to target integrin expression on tumor and endothelial cells. Targeted small-molecule and nanoparticle contrast agents preferentially accumulated in tumor tissue with tumor-to-muscle ratios of 8 and 7, respectively, compared with 3 for nontargeted nanoparticles. CONCLUSION Fluorescent small molecular probes demonstrate greater overall early tumor contrast and rapid visualization of tumors, but the vascular-constrained nanoparticles are more selective for detecting cancer-induced angiogenesis. A combination of both imaging agents provides a strategy to image and quantify integrin expression in tumor tissue and tumor-induced neovascular systems.
The Essence of Social Security: Debunked Myths

This paper attempts to focus the definition of a social security system at its most basic level. In doing so, it discovers a number of truths: 1. PAYGO systems are not remarkably different from fully funded systems. 2. Fully funded systems are not demographically immune. 3. Fully funded systems are not inherently more stable than PAYGO systems. 4. The least desirable design for a social security system is an individual account defined contribution system.
On the linear in probability model for binary data

The analysis of binary response data commonly uses models linear in the logistic transform of probabilities. This paper considers some of the advantages and disadvantages of simple least-squares estimates based on a linear representation of the probabilities themselves, this in particular sometimes allowing a more direct empirical interpretation of underlying parameters. A sociological study is used in illustration.
Preformed and De Novo Donor Specific Antibodies in Visceral Transplantation: Long‐Term Outcome With Special Reference to the Liver

Despite improvement in early outcome, rejection particularly chronic allograft enteropathy continues to be a major barrier to long‐term visceral engraftment. The potential role of donor specific antibodies (DSA) was examined in 194 primary adult recipients. All underwent complement‐dependent lymphocytotoxic crossmatch (CDC‐XM) with pre‐ and posttransplant solid phase HLA–DSA assay in 156 (80%). Grafts were ABO‐identical with random HLA‐match. Liver was included in 71 (37%) allografts. Immunosuppression was tacrolimus‐based with antilymphocyte recipient pretreatment in 150 (77%). CDC‐XM was positive in 55 (28%). HLA–DSA was detectable before transplant in 49 (31%) recipients with 19 continuing to have circulating antibodies. Another 19 (18%) developed de novo DSA. Ninety percent of patients with preformed DSA harbored HLA Class‐I whereas 74% of recipients with de novo antibodies had Class‐II. Gender, age, ABO blood‐type, cold ischemia, splenectomy and allograft type were significant DSA predictors. Preformed DSA significantly (p < 0.05) increased risk of acute rejection. Persistent and de novo HLA–DSA significantly (p < 0.001) increased risk of chronic rejection and associated graft loss. Inclusion of the liver was a significant predictor of better outcome (p = 0.004, HR = 0.347) with significant clearance of preformed antibodies (p = 0.04, OR = 56) and lower induction of de novo DSA (p = 0.07, OR = 24). Innovative multifaceted anti‐DSA strategies are required to further improve long‐term survival particularly of liver‐free allografts.
Microstructural White Matter and Links With Subcortical Structures in Chronic Schizophrenia: A Free-Water Imaging Approach

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder with often a chronic course. Neuroimaging studies report brain abnormalities in both white and gray matter structures. However, the relationship between microstructural white matter differences and volumetric subcortical structures is not known. We investigated 30 long-term treated patients with schizophrenia (mean age 51.1±7.9 years, illness duration 27.6±8.0 years) and 42 healthy controls (mean age 54.1±9.1 years) using 3 T diffusion and structural magnetic resonance imaging. The free-water imaging method was used to model the diffusion signal, and subcortical volumes were obtained from FreeSurfer. We applied multiple linear regression to investigate associations between (i) patient status and regional white matter microstructure, (ii) medication dose or clinical symptoms on white matter microstructure in patients, and (iii) for interactions between subcortical volumes and diagnosis for microstructural white matter regions showing significant patient-control differences. The patients had significantly decreased free-water corrected fractional anisotropy (FAt), explained by decreased axial diffusivity and increased radial diffusivity (RDt) bilaterally in the anterior corona radiata (ACR) and the left anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC) compared to controls. In the fornix, the patients had significantly increased RDt. In patients, positive symptoms were associated with localized increased free-water and negative symptoms with localized decreased FAt and increased RDt. There were significant interactions between patient status and several subcortical structures on white matter microstructure and the free-water compartment for left ACR and fornix, and limited to the free-water compartment for right ACR and left ALIC. The Cohen’s d effect sizes were medium to large (0.61 to 1.20, absolute values). The results suggest a specific pattern of frontal white matter axonal degeneration and demyelination and fornix demyelination that is attenuated in the presence of larger structures of the limbic system in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Findings warrants replication in larger samples.
Theoretical evidence for a NH...XC blue-shifting hydrogen bond: complexes pairing monohalomethanes with HNO.

Correlated ab initio calculations are used to analyze the interaction between nitrosyl hydride (HNO) and CH3X (X = F, Cl, Br). Three minima are located on the potential energy surface of each complex. The more strongly bound contains a NH.X bond, along with CH.O; CH.O and CH.N bonds occur in the less stable minimum. Binding energies of the global minimum lie in the range of 11-13 kJ/mol, and there is little sensitivity to the identity of the halogen atom. Unlike most other such hydrogen bonds, the NH covalent bond in this set of complexes becomes shorter, and its stretching frequency shifts to the blue, upon forming the NH.X hydrogen bond. The amount of this blue shift varies in the order F > Cl > Br.