Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction technology in chimerism monitoring after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: One center experience

Chimerism status evaluation is a routine test performed in post‐hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) period. The aim of the study was to evaluate a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method (GenDx, Utrecht, the Netherlands) applicability for this purpose. The study included 74 recipient/donor pairs tested for informative markers: median of four and six informative markers was found for patients (related and unrelated donor, respectively). Higher sensitivity of qPCR method was confirmed by analysis of recipient post‐HSCT samples (N = 800) among which microchimerism (0.1%‐1% recipient DNA) was detected in 21.8% of cases. The ability to detect less than 1% of minor population, as opposed to the short tandem repeat (STR) method for which 1% is the limit, translated into earlier identification of a disease relapse for four patients in our study sample.
Effect of GnRH and PGF2 alpha treatment on conception rate and blood biochemical and mineral profile of postpartum true anoestrus and suboestrus Surti buffaloes

Postpartum true anoestrus (6) and suboestrus (5) Surti buffaloes of an organized farm confirmed by thrice rectal palpation 10 days apart from 12th week postpartum were treated with single i/m injection of 5 ml receptal and 5 ml lutalyse on 15th week postpartum, respectively, keeping some animals (4 and 3) of same status as control, to see the oestrus induction response and conception rate including weekly evaluation of blood biochemical. metabolic and mineral profile, 3 weeks before through 6 weeks after treatment, i.e. 12th to 20th week postpartum. Five (88.33%) GnRh treated true anoestrus buffaloes exhibited heat by mean interval of 19.33±7.89 days and all 5 conceived within 2 cycles/Al as against 27.75±12.39 days with 50.00% (2/4) conception in control group by 20th week postpartum. Similarly, all the 5 PGF2a treated suboestrus buffaloes (100%) exhibited pronounced oestrus within 3.40±0.40 days as against 91.33±76.86 days in control group from the date of treatment schedule, with 100 (5/5) and 66.66 (2/3)% conception rate. The levels of blood plasma glucose in true anoestrus and suboestrus buffaloes were statistically at per (67.94±2.82 vs 65.13±3.80 mg/dl). but those of total protein (7.43±0.12 vs 7.89±0.18 mg/dl), total cholesterol (127.78±4.33 vs 153.11±5.91 mg/dl), triglycerides (35.90±2.41 vs 50.85±4.02 mg/dl), calcium (10.29±0.18 vs 11.32±0.31 mg/dl) and inorganic phosphorus (4.79±0.16 vs 5.93±0.17 mg/dl) were significantly lower in true anoestrus than the suboestrus buffaloes and the AKP revealed reverse trend (126.19±3.65 vs 117.33±6.08 IU/L). The levels of magnesium (3.67±0.08 vs 3.66±0.011 mEq/L) and trace minerals (Zn, Fe, Cu. Co. Mn), however, did not vary between them. The values of glucose. protein, phosphorus, AKP. Fe. Cu and Co were significantly or apparenlly higher and those of total cholesterol and triglyctrides were lower in the GnRH treated group than its control group. But no such significantly higher in the former group. However, the weekly means (12th to 20th postpartum) of none of these traits differed significantly between treatment and control groups at any of the intervals or between weeks within the group, except total protein in anoestrus and triglycerides in suboestrus buffaloes.
Ecology and Behavior of Anthophora edwardsii (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae)

Anthophora edwardsii Cresson, a vernal bee occurring throughout western North America, possesses several unusual biological characteristics for the genus. In an extensive nesting aggregation near Coalinga, California, females constructed their single-celled nests in compacted sandy soil on a flat hilltop. The nests were about 7.5 to 10 cm deep, lacked turrets, and were plugged with soil from the cell cap to the surface on completion. The bees do not spin cocoons. They pupate in the autumn and overwinter as adults in their natal cells. Females exhibit an apparent communal aggressive behavior towards intruders at the nest site. These bees show interpopulation variation in characteristics such as the number of cells per nest and whether they nest in flat ground or in vertical banks. Biotic enemies, other than mold, account for 18 to 37% mortality at three nest sites. A parasitic bee of the genus Melecta caused losses of 21 to 27% at two nest sites.
Vascular anatomy and morphology of the flower in Fritillaria montana hoppe (liliaceae)

In the first time structural type of gynoecium and vascular system organization in Fritillaria montana Hoppe flower were described in details. We ascertain that gynoecium is divided in three vertical zones viz synascidiate, symplicate and apocarpous. Therefore the gynoecium was described as syncarpous in wide sense and typified as Fritillaria -type. In the other hand, for the vascular system of the flower six main groups of bundles were described, e.g. recurrent bundles in central column of ovary were observed. It was ascertained that ovules supply by the complex of ventral and dorsal as soon as recurrent bundles. A little difference in the innervation of inner and outer tepals was ascertained too.
Intra and interhabitat migration in junvenile brown trout and Atlantic salmon in restored tributaries of the Vindelriver

Several techniques are used to sample juvenile salmonids in lotic environments. Electrofishing is by far the most commonly used method on the Scandinavian peninsula. As restoration of stream habitat is becoming increasingly popular, electrofishing is consequently being used to assess the effects of restoration on juvenile brown trout and Atlantic salmon. Electrofishing requires a number of assumptions regarding the movements of the target species. This study scrutinized a few of those assumptions to find out whether current electrofishing-based monitoring methods are appropriate in restored tributaries to the Vindel river in Northern Sweden. By sampling juvenile trout and salmon in two different tributaries, providing them with PIT-tags and releasing them into specific locations of the streams the within-stream-movements of the fish were studied. PIT-tag antennas were used to monitor any potential outward migration from the streams. Several of the tagged fish were detected to migrate out of the electrofishing reaches they were originally caught in. Body length of the fish did, to a small extent, differ between individuals with different migration patterns. Salmon showed a more concentrated period of outmigration compared to trout. One of the tributaries had a considerably larger outmigration from the stream compared to the other. These findings are discussed in relation to future electrofishing-based monitoring.
The relationship between systemic inflammation, body composition and clinical outcomes in patients with operable colorectal cancer at low and medium to high nutritional risk

In accordance with European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition guidelines, the combination of malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST), systemic inflammation [modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS)] and body composition [skeletal muscle index (SMI) and skeletal muscle density (SMD)] were examined in relation to clinical outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC).
Light adaptation explains different linearity of ON and OFF responses

The visual system separates the responses to dark and light stimuli into OFF and ON channels. Recordings in visual thalamus indicate that these channels exhibit marked asymmetries in linearity: OFF responses grow roughly linearly with intensity decrements, but ON responses can saturate with small intensity increments. Here I show that this asymmetry is likely to originate in photoreceptors, as it follows from the classical description of their light responses and of their properties of light adaptation. Under this interpretation, the surprising aspect of the recordings is that the visual system does so little to change this asymmetry in subsequent stages.
The use of allopurinol in the inhibition of obliterative bronchiolitis of the transplanted lung

Long‐term survival following lung transplantation has been limited primarily by the development in patients' lungs of a rejection‐related obliteration of terminal bronchioles by fibroblasts. It is known to result from frequent and persistent acute lung rejection and its physiological features include a progressive decline in the lung function measurement of forced expiratory volume in 1 s. We report the dramatic effect on this hitherto usually fatal condition of a specific inhibition of purine metabolism at the xanthine oxidase enzyme by the hypoxanthine analogue allopurinol. The effect of this drug in heart‐lung transplant patients with deteriorating lung function in reducing the rate of rejection and in stabilizing lung function was apparent over as short a follow‐up period as 3 months and in ten patients. Although the follow‐up time is short, we believe the effects are so striking as to require reporting although the mechanisms of this phenomenon are not yet well understood.
Troponin I in the murine myocardium: influence on length‐dependent activation and interfilament spacing

Cyclic AMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKA) targets contractile proteins, troponin‐I (TnI) and myosin binding protein C (MyBP‐C) in the heart and induces a decrease in myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity. Yet, the effect of sarcomere length (SL) change on Ca2+ sensitivity (length‐dependent activation: LDA) following PKA‐dependent phosphorylation is not clear. To clarify the role of PKA‐dependent phosphorylation of TnI and MyBP‐C on LDA in the heart, we examined LDA in skinned myocytes from a non‐transgenic (NTG) and a transgenic murine model in which the native cardiac isoform (cTnI) was completely replaced by the slow skeletal isoform of TnI (ssTnI‐TG) lacking the phosphorylation sites for PKA, while retaining PKA sites on MyBP‐C. In NTG myocytes, PKA treatment decreased Ca2+ sensitivity at each SL, but enhanced the impact of SL change on Ca2+ sensitivity. Despite a greater sensitivity to Ca2+ and a reduction in LDA, neither Ca2+ responsiveness nor LDA was affected by PKA treatment in ssTnI‐TG myocytes. To determine whether the above observations could be explained by the lateral separation between thick and thin filaments, as suggested by others, we measured interfilament spacing by X‐ray diffraction as a function of SL in skinned cardiac trabeculae in the passive state from both NTG and ssTnI‐TG models before and following treatment with PKA. Phosphorylation by PKA increased lattice spacing at every SL in NTG trabeculae. However, the relationship between SL and myofilament lattice spacing in ssTnI‐TG was markedly shifted downward to an overall decreased myofilament lattice spacing following PKA treatment. We conclude: (1) PKA‐dependent phosphorylation enhances length‐dependent activation in NTG hearts; (2) replacement of native TnI with ssTnI increases Ca2+ sensitivity of tension but reduces length‐dependent activation; (3) MyBP‐C phosphorylation by PKA does not alter calcium responsiveness and induces a decrease in myofilament lattice spacing at all sarcomere lengths and (4) length‐dependent activation in the heart cannot be entirely explained by alterations in myofilament lattice spacing.
Cytomegalovirus‐related disease and risk of acute rejection in renal transplant recipients: a cohort study with case‐control analyses

Abstract The relationship between a cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and the acute rejection of a renal transplant is not well established. The aim of the study was to document whether the clinical presentation of a CMV infection as a diffuse inflammatory disease or as a clinically asymtomatic illness is a risk factor of acute renal transplant rejection. One hundred and ninetytwo consecutive renal transplant recipients were included in a historical cohort study for exposed ‐ non exposed analyses. CMV infection after transplantation was the exposure factor. Before transplantation, 113 patients had antibodies against CMV and 79 were seronegative. The patients were divided into three groups: Group 1 consisted of 64 patients who had neither clinical signs of CMV disease nor CMV serological changes after transplantation, Group 2 consisted of 77 seropositive patients with asymptomatic viremia, and Group 3 consisted of 51 seropositive patients with clinical signs of diffuse inflammation that included fever, neutropenia, and various visceral involvements (CMV disease). Groups 2 and 3, the seropositive patients, were paired with Group 1 patients. Acute rejection was considered as CMV‐induced when it occurred within one month following viremia, during the first year after transplantation. Transplant patients with CMV disease, had a significant likelihood of developing acute rejection after CMV infection or reactivation (P < 0.01). The odds ratio for developing rejection was 5.98, 95% confidence interval: 1.21–29.40. Such a link was not documented for recipients with asymptomatic CMV infection. In conclusion, CMV disease, but not asymptomatic viremia, is a risk factor of acute renal transplant rejection. On epidemiological grounds, these results support the hypothesis that factors controlling both the viral replication and the diffuse inflammatory process are implicated in acute graft rejection.
Clinical relevance of soluble HLA and interaction of papain derived class I molecules with alloreactive CTL

MHC class I and class II molecules are expressed in soluble form in the serum of both healthy and diseased individuals. Our aim was to investigate whether soluble class I (sHLA) levels in allograft patients correlate with their clinical status. Altogether, 20 renal and 30 cardiac graft recipients were examined. High levels of sHLA were measured at least 5 days preceding acute rejection episodes. Immune complexes between anti‐HLA antibodies and sHLA were detected in a patient who died of a severe vascular rejection. In another study the interaction of papain‐derived sHLA on alloreactive CTL in vitro was investigated. In a chromium‐51‐release cytotoxicity assay, 1,25 µg/ml of papain‐digested class I molecules reduced CTL cytotoxicity to background levels. On the contrary, immobilized molecules triggered the release of serine esterase allospecifically. These data showed that the MHC molecule alone was a sufficient ligand for the interaction with alloreactive CTL.
Briefly noted

targeting volume control in 218 chronic hemodialysis patients resulted in a mean predialysis BP of 121 ⁄75 mmHg; only eight patients had BPs >140 ⁄ 90 mmHg and only nine required drug therapy (enalapril) (1). Strict salt restriction (estimated at 70 mEq ⁄day) and 4to 5-hour hemodialysis treatments with extra isolated ultrafiltration as needed were utilized; mean interdialytic weight gain was 0.93 kg ⁄day. Mortality rates during the mean 47month follow-up correlated with systolic blood pressure and cardiothoracic index.
RECLASSIFICATION OF ACTAEA TO INCLUDE CIMICIFUGA AND SOULIEA (RANUNCULACEAE) : PHYLOGENY INFERRED FROM MORPHOLOGY, NRDNA ITS, AND CPDNA TRNL-F SEQUENC E VARIATION

Phylogenetic analyses using parsimony were performed on three independent data sets to test generic relationships between Actaea, Cimicifuga, and Souliea. Analyses of morphology and nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS were performed on 23 species of Cimicifuga, 4 species of Actaea, and the single species of Souliea. Analysis of chloroplast DNA trnL-F was applied to the same species, less two of Cimicifuga. The outgroup taxa Eranthis and Anemonopsis both resolved outside the ingroup in all parsimony analyses, whereas Souliea resolved within it. Jukes-Cantor pairwise sequence distances confirm Eranthis and Anemonopsis to be most distant. Souliea distances are comparable with those of taxa within the Actaea-Cimicifuga assemblage. A strongly supported monophyletic clade including all studied species of Actaea, Cimicifuga, and Souliea was found in all analyses. Evidence presented here allows a broader concept of Actaea to be adopted, reverting to the circumscription of Linnaeus in 1753. Seven sections, based on clades found in the total analysis, could be defined by morphological characters: A. sect. Actaea, sect. Podocarpae, sect. Cimicifuga, sect. Dichanthera, sect. Oligocarpae, sect. Pityrosperma, and sect. Souliea. One species, A. taiwanensis, is newly described and 23 new combinations are made in the ranks of section, species, and variety. Keys are provided to identify taxa at all ranks within the revised circumscription of Actaea. Maps showing the distributions of all seven sections and their constituent species are presented. Phytogeographic patterns suggest a Tertiary origin for the newly redefined genus, with species surviving in refugia during the glacial periods of the Pleistocene.
CRACking the Riddle

In recent years, there has been a considerable interest in the molecular organization of biological membranes. It has been hypothesized that self-assembling, freely diffusing, submicroscopic domains consisting of sphingolipids, cholesterol and certain proteins exist and the prevailing view is that those lipid rafts serve as platforms for specific molecular interactions by the preferential exclusion and inclusion of proteins. It was presumed, that in particular viruses make use of plasma membrane lipid rafts to augment the infection process and spread efficiently. However, the exact biological function and physical basis of protein partitioning into microdomains remains an outstanding question in virus biology. In the present study, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy was used to study lipid raft partitioning of the HIV-1 glycoprotein gp41 by detecting Foerster Resonance Energy Transfer between fluorescently labeled viral and raft marker proteins in living cells. Plasma membrane microdomain association of gp41 was demonstrated and by introducing systematic mutations and truncations in different gp41 motifs, the cholesterol recognition amino acid consensus (CRAC) was identified as the crucial determinant of the lateral sorting. Interestingly, we observed a systematic cell-to-cell variability in our raft related data that suggests underlying cell-biological mechanisms of membrane organization. Moreover, fluorescence polarization microscopy revealed a distinct CRAC requirement for gp41 oligomerization whereas other properties, such as intracellular distribution and expression efficiency were clearly demonstrated to be CRAC independent. Based on those findings a biological function of gp41, namely the membrane perturbation exerted by the protein’s membrane proximal external region was investigated using flow cytometry. Again, a significant CRAC dependence of that property was found underlining the importance of a functional cholesterol binding motif. Our data provide further insight into the molecular basis and biological implications of the cholesterol dependent lateral protein sorting for virus assembly processes at cellular plasma membranes.
Biology in Missouri of Dectes texanus, a New Pest of Soybean

Dectes texanus LeConte, a cerambycid associated with ragweed, Ambrosia spp. , and a new pest of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. , in Missouri, has 1 generation per year and overwinters as a mature or partially-grown larva within the lower portion of the soybean stem. Larvae pupate inside the stems from mid-June to early August. Adults emerge ca. 2 wk after pupation from late June to mid-August, and mating and oviposition begin in early July. Eggs are laid in the pith of leaf petioles, side branches, and primary stems of soybeans. Measurements of the head capsules of field-collected larvae indicate six instars. Larvae feed on pith and bore throughout the plant from late July to mid-October. Larvae are cannabalistic and only 1 survives in a single plant. Before overwintering and about the time plants are mature and ready for harvest, the larva girdles the stem near ground level; this causes the plant to break off at the slightest pressure. Seven species of hymenopteran parasites representing the families Braconidae, Pteromalidae, and Ichneumonidae were reared from larvae.
Effects of Feed Restriction and Diet Nutrient Density During Re-Alimentation on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, Organ Weight, Blood Parameters and the Immune Response of Broilers

Two hundred and ten one-day-old male chickens of the Ross 308 strain were randomly allocated to one of seven treatments (five replicates of six birds per treatment). The control birds were fed ad libitum throughout the whole experimental period. In the remaining treatments (T15-5, T15-10 and T15-15, and T30-5, T30-10 and T30-15), the feed restriction was 15 and 30% ad libitum intake between 8 and 14 days of age (starting period), whereas during growing (15-28 days) and finishing periods (20-42 days), the feeds contained 5, 10 and 15% higher energy and protein contents than the respective control feeds. Compared with the controls, T15 and T30 chickens suffered 12% and 20% body weight reduction at the end of the starting period, but both groups were heavier (P<0.05) than the controls at the end of the experimental period, mainly due to a higher (P<0.05) body weight gain during the finishing period, irrespective of the diet nutrient density. When the whole experimental period was considered, the feed restricted broilers showed a lower (P<0.05) feed conversion ratio than the controls and no negative effects were observed on carcass traits. The abdominal fat relative to carcass weight was higher (P<0.05) in the T15 broilers than in the controls and the T30 broilers. A positive correlation (P<0.05) was observed between the total, HDL and LDL cholesterol contents in the blood and abdominal fat percentage. The dietary treatments had no or a low impact on the relative weight of the organs and immune response of the broilers.
Speciation of Cu in a Contaminated Agricultural Soil Measured by XAFS, μ-XAFS, and μ-XRF

Contamination of agricultural soils with Cu as a result of fungicide application and spills threatens environmental quality and reduces soil quality for crop growth. In this paper advanced spectroscopic and microscopic methods were used to elucidate the Cu speciation in a calcareous soil contaminated since the 1940s. Microscopically focused synchrotron-based XRF (μ-SXRF) was used to map the elemental distribution in the soils. Results indicated that most of the Cu was not associated with metal oxides, silicates, phosphates, or carbonates. Bulk and microscopically focused X-absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra indicated that the Cu in the soil was predominantly Cu adsorbed on soil organic matter (SOM). Interpretation of the fitting results suggests that the Cu is complexed to SOM via bidentate inner-sphere coordination with carboxyl or amine ligands. Results presented in this paper provide detailed information on the molecular coordination of C.