Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved Green Fluorescent Protein Reporter Gene-Based Microplate Screening for Antituberculosis Compounds by Utilizing an Acetamidase Promoter

ABSTRACT The green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene offers many advantages as a viability reporter for high-throughput antimicrobial drug screening. However, screening for antituberculosis compounds by using GFP driven by the heat shock promoter, hsp60, has been of limited utility due to the low signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, an alternative promoter was evaluated for its enhanced fluorescence during microplate-based culture and its response to 18 established antimicrobial agents by using a green fluorescent protein microplate assay (GFPMA). Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains H37Rv, H37Ra, and Erdman were transformed with pFPCA1, which contains a red-shifted gfp gene driven by the acetamidase promoter of M. smegmatis mc2155. The pFPCA1 transformants achieved higher levels of GFP-mediated fluorescence than those carrying the hsp60 construct, with signal-to-noise ratios of 20.6 to 27.8 and 3.8 to 4.5, respectively. The MICs of 18 established antimicrobial agents for all strains carrying pFPCA1 in the GFPMA were within 1 to 2 twofold dilutions of those determined by either the fluorometric or the visual microplate Alamar Blue assay (MABA). No significant differences in MICs were observed between wild-type and pFPCA1 transformants by MABA. The optimized GFPMA is sufficiently simple, robust, and inexpensive (no reagent costs) to be used for routine high-throughput screening for antituberculosis compounds.
An experimental study of 2-D cardiac motion pattern based on contact radar measurement

This paper presents an experimental study of human cardiac motion pattern detection using Doppler radar. The measurement results show that with contact radar detection, more motion information can be detected compared with the remote detection. Besides, measurements at three chest positions confirm that cardiac motion pattern has 2-D variance on the chest plane. These detection experiments indicate that lots of valuable cardiac motion information would be lost if we only measure it remotely or treat it as a simple 1-D back and forward motion.
Small-scale turbulence can reduce parasite infectivity to dinoflagellates

Small-scale turbulence and parasite infection are 2 important factors that govern the dynamics and fate of phytoplankton populations. We experimentally investigated the influence of turbulent mixing on the infectivity of the parasite Parvilucifera sinerae to dinoflagellates. Natural phytoplankton communities were collected during 3 stages of a bloom event in Arenys de Mar Har- bour (NW Mediterranean). The 15 to 60 µm size fraction was used as the inoculum and distributed into spherical flasks. Half of the recipients were exposed to turbulence while the rest were kept still. In the experiments, the dinoflagellate assemblage was mainly composed of Prorocentrum micans, Scrippsiella trochoidea and Alexandrium minutum. We observed a collapse of A. minutum and S. tro- choidea populations in the unshaken flasks, which coincided with an increase in parasite infectivity. After a short exposure to turbulence, the development of the dinoflagellate populations slowed down and stabilised as expected. In the shaken treatments, the infectivity was lower and the decay in the host cells numbers was delayed compared to the still treatments. The degree of interference of the turbulence with infectivity varied among the experiments, due to differences in cell abundances and possibly their physiological state. Results from a numerical model suggest that turbulence could lead to a 25 to 30% decrease in the maximum infection rate, which could be due to host population disper- sion and/or reduced host-parasite contact times. Turbulence may thus be effective in delaying the initial infection, but not in preventing it.
Comparative Study of Uterine Repair during Caesarean Section – Intra-Abdominal Vs Exteriorisation of Uterus

Background: The safety of the technique of uterine exteriorisation during Caesarean delivery though popular among obstetricians, remains controversial. Objective: To evaluate the effect of exteriorisation of uterus during uterine repair on Caesarean morbidity. Method: In this hospital based prospective study 200 women who underwent Caesarean delivery, were included. The women were randomly allocated in two groups 100 of each. Variables analysed were operative time, perioperative blood loss, length of hospital stay and postoperative morbidities. Results: The estimated perioperative blood loss, period of hospital stay and post operative febrile morbidity were significantly less in the exteriorised group than the intra-abdominal group, (P = 0.001, 0.001 & 0.005 respectively). Operative time is little shorter in exteriorisation group as compared to intra abdominal group. But there was no significant difference between two groups with respect to other outcome measures. Conclusion: Exteriorisation of uterus for repair following Caesarean delivery is not associated with significant problems and it is associated with less blood loss, shorter operative time, decreased hospital stay and less febrile morboidity.
Le patron diglossique de variation grammaticale en français

Selon l’hypothese de la diglossie francaise, les locuteurs eduques produisent des enonces a l’aide de deux competences grammaticales concurrentes, mais pas etanches. La premiere, le francais demotique, est mise en œuvre lors des rapports langagiers paritaires, tandis que la seconde, le francais classique tardif, sert aux rapports protocolaires. Contrairement aux opposants a cette hypothese, je veux montrer que l’interet de supposer ces deux grammaires s’observe dans la description de certains faits grammaticaux (la negation, les sujets lexicaux), et que ces deux grammaires s’induisent en effet par le constat de l’incompatibilite de certaines variantes grammaticales dans un idiolecte donne (etude de corpus).
Donepezil Treatment Stabilizes Functional Connectivity During Resting State and Brain Activity During Memory Encoding in Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract Previous studies with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) demonstrated a differential brain activity and connectivity after treatment with donepezil in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) when compared to healthy elders. Importantly however, there are no available studies where the placebo or control group included comparable AD patients relative to the treated groups. Fifteen patients recently diagnosed of AD were randomized to treatment (n = 8) or to control group (n = 7); the former receiving daily treatment of donepezil during 3 months. At baseline and follow-up, both groups underwent resting-state as well as task-fMRI examinations, this latter assessing encoding of visual scenes. The treated group showed higher connectivity in areas of the default mode network, namely the right parahippocampal gyrus at follow-up resting-fMRI as compared to the control group. On the other hand, for the task-fMRI, the untreated AD group presented progressive increased activation in the left middle temporal gyrus and bilateral precuneus at the 3-month examination compared to baseline, whereas the treated group exhibited stable patterns of brain activity. Donepezil treatment is associated with stabilization of connectivity of medial temporal regions during resting state and of brain efficiency during a cognitive demand, on the whole reducing progressive dysfunctional reorganizations observed during the natural course of the disease.
Dimensions of Leader Behavior in Sports : Deveiopment of a Leadership

Three different samples (total N = 485) participated in the development and refinement ofthe Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS). A five-factor solution with 40 items describing the most salient dimensions of coaching behavior was selected as the most meaningful. These factors were named Training and Instruction, Democratic Behavior, Autocratic Behavior, Social Support, and Positive Feedback. Internal consistency estimates ranged from . 45 to . 93 and the test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from . 71 to . 82. The relative stability of the factor structure across the different samples confirmed the factorial validity ofthe scale. The interpretation ofthe factors established the content validity of the scale. Finally, possible uses of the LSS were pointed out.
The Semantics of the Dutch Gender System

In this paper, it is argued that, although Dutch gender assignment is not systematically organized along semantic lines in the lexicon, the gender system has a semantic basis. This semantic basis involves a distinction between masculine/common gender associated with a high degree of individuation on the one hand, and neuter gender associated with a low degree of individuation, on the other hand. This is in line with Audring (2006, 2009), who found that Dutch pronouns often show semantic agreement along these lines. It is shown that the same semantic distinction between the genders can also be found in the nominal domain. It surfaces particularly in cases where lexically stored gender does not play a role. The semantic distinction arguably goes back to Proto-Indo-European. It is argued that, since nominal gender has become an invariable, lexically stored feature of nouns, the semantic basis of nominal gender assignment has become disrupted. This causes a con-flict between lexical and semantic gender agreement in pronouns. It is suggested that the surfacing of semantic agreement in this conflict is connected with a reduced marking of lexical gender on adnominal elements.
Intrauterine growth retardation and premature delivery: the influence of maternal smoking and psychosocial factors.

OBJECTIVES This study investigated the influence of psychosocial stress, maternal schooling, social support, psychological well-being, alcohol, and smoking on intrauterine growth retardation and premature delivery. METHODS At a Copenhagen university hospital, 2432 pregnant women completed a questionnaire on general health, psychosocial stressors, and sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS In 212 cases (8.7%) the women delivered prematurely. Preterm delivery as associated with psychosocial stress (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=1.14 for each 1-point increase on the psychosocial stressor 5-point scale and 1.92 for the whole scale) and poor school education (adjusted OR=2.62 for 7-9 years of schooling, 1.91 for 10 years, and 1.0 for 11-13 years). In 152 cases (6.3%), infants had a birthweight below the 10th percentile. Intrauterine growth retardation was associated with smoking, daily drinking, school education, and social network variables. In a multiple logistic regression model, intrauterine growth retardation was associated with smoking habits (adjusted OR=2.40 for 0-9 cigarettes daily, 2.68 for 10-15 daily, and 2.88 for more than 15 daily). CONCLUSIONS Psychosocial stressors and limited duration of schooling appeared to influence preterm delivery. Smoking habits influenced intrauterine growth retardation.
Statistical techniques for analyzing of soil vapor intrusion data: A case study of manufactured gas plant sites

As part of an ongoing study of soil vapor intrusion (SVI), concentration data for approximately 2000 air and vapor samples were assembled from remedial site investigations and stand-alone assessments conducted at New York State Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) sites. Vapor samples were collected from ambient outdoor air, indoor air, beneath building slabs, and from outside of buildings. Despite the large sample size, the considerable variability in compound and sample-specific censoring limits inhibited the use of conventional tools for statistical interpretation. This paper describes the development and application of improved statistical tools to address an unusually high degree of data censoring and possible artifacts related to uneven distributions of samples across sites and buildings. In addition to methods for calculating population percentiles and associated confidence intervals, methods for comparing the population of MGP-SVI data with a reference population were also developed and evaluated via illustrative comparisons with the published 2001 EPA Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) study of industrial buildings. The focus of this work is on the development and evaluation of new statistical methods; a more complete summary and evaluation of the full NYS MGP-SVI data set will be presented in a companion paper. Implications: Data from vapor intrusion and other environmental studies are often stratified and/or censored, which complicates comparisons with background data or reference populations. In some cases, statistical methods for censored data can be modified to support population-based inference and reduce biases associated with the presence of repeated measurements from multiple sources. Such modifications are particularly appropriate for retrospective data mining studies that are not guided by a formal experimental design. Supplemental Materials: Supplemental materials are available for this paper. Go to the publisher's online edition of the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Complicated With Interstitial Lung Disease: A Prospective Study in 178 Patients

Objective To analyze the clinical features and prognosis of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) complicated with interstitial lung disease (ILD). Methods One hundred and seventy-eight consecutive PBC patients, who were admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2001 to March 2007, were included in this prospective study. A structured interview, systemic rheumatologic examination, laboratory tests (including autoantibodies), and high-resolution computed tomography were conducted for each patient and compared between patients with and without ILD. Results Twenty-eight (15.7%) PBC patients had ILD, and 53.6% of them had respiratory symptoms including dyspnea and cough, 88.2% showed diffusing and restrictive ventilation impairment on pulmonary function test. PBC patients with ILD were older and had higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate levels than those without ILD, P<0.05. There was no significant difference in liver biochemical parameters, positive rates of antinuclear antibodies, antimitochondrial antibodies (AMA), AMA-M2, anticentromere antibodies, anticardiolipin antibodies, and Mayo risk score between the 2 groups, P>0.05. Logistic regression analysis found that Raynaud phenomenon and association with other connective tissue diseases (CTDs) were risk factors for PBC patients to develop ILD (P=0.04, odds ratio=3.12 and P=0.01, odds ratio=3.18, respectively), though 42.9% of ILD-PBC patients did not have other CTDs. Conclusions ILD is a common and clinically significant complication of PBC. PBC patients who have Raynaud phenomenon and other CTDs are more likely to develop ILD.
Regenerative Effects of Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor on Extracellular Matrix Production in Aged Rat Vocal Folds

Objectives We investigated acute changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) gene expression and histologic changes in the deposition of collagen and hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid; HA) after basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) treatment of the aged rat vocal fold. Methods For the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) experiments, we divided ten 18-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats into two groups that received serial injections of sham (saline solution) or bFGF (2 ng/uL) and euthanized them 2 weeks after the initial injection to investigate acute changes in ECM gene expression. We treated a separate group of 5 animals unilaterally and sacrificed them 4 weeks after the initial injection to investigate histologic changes in the deposition of collagen and HA. Results Real-time PCR revealed significantly up-regulated HA synthase (HAS)-2, HAS-3, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and procollagen type I gene expression in the bFGF treatment group as compared to the sham treatment group. Histologic staining revealed significantly increased deposition of HA in the bFGF-treated vocal fold as compared to the sham-treated vocal fold. No differences in ECM collagen levels were observed between treatment sides. Conclusions Basic fibroblast growth factor induced the up-regulation of HAS-2, HAS-3, MMP-2, and procollagen type I. Histologically, aged vocal folds treated with bFGF revealed increased deposition of HA as compared to sham-treated vocal folds.
Expression of myelin basic protein in two oligodendroglial cell lines is modulated by apotransferrin through different transcription factors

We have shown that apotransferrin (aTf) promotes the differentiation of two oligodendroglial cell (OLGc) lines, N19 and N20.1, representing different stages of OLGc maturation. Although in both cell lines aTf promoted myelin basic protein (MBP) expression, an increase in cAMP levels and CREB phosphorylation was observed only in the less mature cells (N19), suggesting that the maturation induced by aTf is achieved probably through different signaling pathways. We transfected both cell lines with the proximal region of the human MBP promoter fused to the lacZ reporter gene. In both transfected cell lines, addition of aTf produced an activation of the promoter. To elucidate the mechanisms involved in this action, Western blot analysis, EMSAs, and RT‐PCR were performed for different transcription factors involved in mbp regulation. In the N20.1 line, treatment with aTf increased the expression and the DNA‐binding capacity of thyroid hormone (TH) receptors, Sp1, and nuclear factor‐κB (NFκB). For these cells we found that an inductor of NFκB (tumor necrosis factor‐α) promoted MBP messenger synthesis, whereas mithramycin, a specific inibitor of Sp1, and a cAMP analog (db‐cAMP) inhibited its transcription. In the N19 cell line, aTf stimulated NF‐I and NFκB activation, but, aside from aTf, only db‐cAMP induced mbp transcription. These data suggest that, depending on the OLGc maturational stage, aTf modulates MBP expression and OLGc differentiation through different signaling pathways and different transcription factors. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Oral Presentation

The basics, a LUCAS and an SGA: A simulation study of the deployment of the Lund University cardiopulmonary assist system D Daly, A Ormazabal National Ambulance Service College, Dublin, Ireland Objective: The purpose of the research reported in this paper was to investigate, using data gathered from simulated Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) exercises, the impact on the quality of chest compressions when introducing a King Laryngeal-Tube (KLT) airway and then employing the LUCAS mechanical CPR device or employing the LUCAS and then securing the KLT airway. These findings may also provide EMS practitioners with evidence-based guidance on how to better employ the LUCAS in an OHCA. Methods: Student paramedic 2-person crews were assigned a simulated call for a “58 y/o patient, not conscious, not-breathing”. On entering the scene, the crew finds an adult manikin supine, on the floor. The crew managed the initial stages of a simulated adult OHCA VF simulation using a simple, well-practiced BLS drill, a LUCAS, and a Supra-Glottic-Airway (SGA) while minimising interruptions to chest compressions. Results: The primary outcome measure was the length of time that no chest compressions were taking place in each simulated scenario. A significant statistical difference was found between the LUCAS-first condition, with a mean time off the chest of 4.63 s and the Airway-first condition, which had 5.25 s, z (−8.509) with critical value 1.96. Conclusion: The data showed the difference between a two-stage deployment of the LUCAS before and after the KLT airway was statistically significant in favour of the LUCAS first group, however, it was considered not clinically significant as the difference in the time off the chest was less than 10 s between the two conditions.
How should we measure left atrium size and function?

Echocardiographic assessment of left atrial size from M‐mode or 2D echocardiography measurements has been used in clinical and research studies for years, but its accuracy is now questioned. New techniques, such as 3D and tissue Doppler imaging, assessing velocities, strain and strain rate, provide improved prognostic value in a wide range of diseases. 2D strain imaging using speckle tracking on B‐mode images may yield even better, angle‐independent, results than tissue Doppler imaging‐derived strain echocardiography. Finally, velocity vector imaging is a novel image analysis technique that may be used to quantify left atrial volume. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2012
AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs With High Quality ALD-Al2O3 Gate Dielectric Using Water and Remote Oxygen Plasma As Oxidants

We demonstrate the electrical performances of AlGaN/GaN metal–insulator–semiconductorhigh electron mobility transistors (MIS-HEMTs) with high quality Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> gate dielectric deposited by plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition using both H<sub>2</sub>O and remote O<sub>2</sub> plasma as oxygen sources. Excellent gate-dielectric/GaN interface and Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> film quality were obtained, resulting in a very small threshold voltage hysteresis and a low interface trap density. The MIS-HEMT device exhibited high on/off current ratio of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim 10^{10}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, steep subthreshold slope, small gate leakage current, low dynamic on-resistance degradation, and effectively current collapse suppression. These results indicate that incorporating remote O<sub>2</sub> plasma in the ALD-Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> deposition process is an effective and simple way to provide high quality gate dielectric for the GaN MIS-HEMTs production
Approximate Controllability of Semilinear Deterministic and Stochastic Evolution Equations in Abstract Spaces

Various sufficient conditions for approximate controllability of linear evolution systems in abstract spaces have been obtained, but approximate controllability of semilinear control systems usually requires some complicated and limited assumptions. In this paper, we show the approximate controllability of the abstract semilinear deterministic and stochastic control systems under the natural assumption that the associated linear control system is approximately controllable. The results are obtained using new properties of symmetric operators (which are proved in this paper), compact semigroups, the Schauder fixed point theorem, and/or the contraction mapping principle.
Expression of cytokeratin 19 mRNA in human lung cancer cell lines

The present study was designed to clarify the mechanism by which some lung cancer cell lines can produce cytokeratin 19 (CK19) fragment and others cannot. We hypothesized that some lung cancer cell lines which cannot release CK19 express an incomplete sequence of CK19 mRNA. Expression of mRNA was evaluated by RT‐PCR using several primer pairs for CK19. CK19 in the culture supernatant was measured by an immuno‐radiometric assay. CK19 protein synthesis was evaluated by Western immunoblot and immuno‐histochemistry. Among 16 lung cancer cell lines, 7 released significant amounts of CK19 in the supernatant. In some cell lines, expression of CK19 mRNA was observed only in some combinations of primers, suggesting that incomplete mRNA was expressed. 3′‐RACE analysis detected amplified products of a shorter size compared with normal amplified products in cell lines which expressed incomplete CK19 mRNA, suggesting that 3′‐ends of mRNA for CK19 were deleted. Results of Western immunoblot and immuno‐histochemical staining using anti‐human CK19 monoclonal antibody completely correlated with the results on CK19 levels in culture supernatants as well as with complete expression of mRNA. We conclude that levels of CK19 closely relate to the expression of complete mRNA for CK19. Int. J. Cancer 81:939–943, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.