Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The somatic antigens of the Cl. welchii group of organisms

The complex group of organisms with cultural and biochemical properties closely similar to the classical Cl. welchii are at present differentiated into four types according to the quality and number of the toxins they elaborate in vitro. The present study is concerned with the specific affinities of the bacterial antigens of representative strains from these four types. The experiments confirm earlier reports concerning a wide diversity in the specificity of the somatic antigens of the classical type A strains. The bacterial antigens of the types B, C and D, however, have been shown to possess interesting similarities and affinities: (1) The O antigen of type A (classical Cl. welchii) strains is strictly strain specific. (2) The type B (L.D. bacillus) strains isolated in Great Britain share an identical O antigen but a strain from South Africa had a strictly specific O component. (3) The O antigen of the type C (B. paludis) strains isolated in Great Britain is identical. (4) The type D (B. ovitoxicus) strains exhibit wide diversity in the specificity of their O component. Thirteen strains were placed in not less than seven groups. (5) Cross O reactions between various types is negligible or entirely absent. (6) In addition to the heat-stable O antigen certain strains possess a heat-labile somatic component. This antigen occurs only among those types (B and D) that produce ɛ toxin but it is probably not present in all strains. (7) Colony variants reminiscent of the typical rough forms of Gram-negative organisms are frequently encountered among strains of each type. Certain of these forms appear as stable variants and they are characterized serologically by the loss of O antigen specific for the strain. (8) The rough forms still produce toxins characteristic of the type to which the parent culture belongs.
O,O-Dimethyl O-(4-sulfamoylphenyl) phosphorothioate (cythioate)

The title molecule, C8H12NO5PS2, exhibits a crystallographic mirror plane that is perpendicular to the ring and bisects the sulfamoyl and thiophosphate ester groups. In the crystal, molecules are linked by N—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding interactions reminiscent of carboxylic acid hydrogen bonding pairs, forming chains parallel to the b-axis direction.
Laser Microdissection applied to plants

Laser microdissection (LM) is a process that allows the harvest of isolated cells or groups of cells of the same type resulting in homogenous and pure samples that can be used for DNA, RNA, proteins and metabolite extraction for further analysis. The use of LM in plants has been made mainly for transcript expression profiles studies through microarray analysis or, more recently, by high-throughput sequencing methods. LM is more adequate for gene expression studies than for proteins or metabolites analysis due to the fact that it is possible to amplify transcripts “in vitro” and by that, overcoming the reduced amount of material collected by LM as a limiting factor. Despite that, proteosome and metabolosome profiles in plants have been reported. Here we give an overview of LM in plants and of its potential to understand the distinct and complex functions of each cell type.
Stabilization of stick-slip oscillations Integrating fluid injection in oilwell drillstring system

To address security issues in oilwell drillstring system, the drilling operation handling which is in generally not autonomous but ensured by an operator may be drill bit destructive or fatal for the machine. In drilling process, the drillstring control at the right speed is not sufficient and a rate of fluid mud is necessary. This paper studies coupling between torsional vibrations, as a wave equation, the drillstring slider displacement, and the fluid flow distribution. The design consists to couple the fluid behavior ODE and the drillstring torsional vibration phenomena PDE. In presence of damping in the wave equation, we show only a PDE-ODE system stability. Further, investigation of the wave equation without damping term coupled with the fluid dynamics is reduced to a difference equation, and the designed controller leads to an asymptotic stability of the torsional variable, the downhole pressure, and the annulus pressure. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the PDE-ODE coupled system stability.
Electroencephalographic study of conditioned salivary reflexes in human subjects.

A salivary conditioned reflex was established in human subjects by applying a metronome beat (conditioned stimulus) and a small amount of acid solution (unconditioned stimulus) successively at an appropriate time interval. The action current. of the parotid was taken as an index of the secretion reflex. Patterns of electroencephalograms were studied n comparison with the parotid activity.1. When the conditioning advanced, the parotid showed two successive activities upon the conditioned stimulus alone. The preceding and succeeding responses were called initial and delayed responses respectively.2. The delayed response could be regarded as a conditioned reflex, because its latency was almost the same as the time interval between the conditioned and the unconditioned stimulus. The initial response which appeared soon after the onset of the conditioned stimulus could be considered a conditioned reflex, because in our experiment the possibility was completely excluded that the said response might be an unconditioned response to the conditioned stimulus.3. The electroencephalography could reveal that the delayed response of the parotid was accompanied with a conditioned cortical excitation while the initial response could not be related to a marked changes in EEG at least in the well-conditioned state.4. In the experiment of generalization, it was found that the initial response was more easily generalized than the delayed response.5. After the extinction of tl, ie established conditioned reflex had been completed, a procedure of disinhibition was applied. Only the initial response of the parotid was elicited by the conditioned stimulus which was applied following the disinhibiting procedure. The recovery of the abolished delayed response was accomplished after the renewed application of the conditioning procedure.6. Nature of the initial and delayed responses was discussed upon the basis of the electroencephalographic findings. Our sincere thanks are due to Prof. K. Motokawa for his valuable suggestions and advices during the course of this work.
Resilience of the human fetal lung following stillbirth: Potential relevance for pulmonary regenerative medicine

ABSTRACT Recent advances in pulmonary regenerative medicine have increased the demand for alveolar epithelial progenitor cells. Fetal lung tissues from spontaneous pregnancy losses may represent a neglected, yet ethically and societally acceptable source of alveolar epithelial cells. The aim of this study was to determine the regenerative capacity of fetal lungs obtained from second trimester stillbirths. Lung tissues were harvested from 11 stillborn fetuses (13 to 22 weeks’ gestation) at postdelivery intervals ranging from 10 to 41 hours and grafted to the renal subcapsular space of immune-suppressed rats to provide optimal growth conditions. Histology, epithelial and alveolar type II cell proliferation, and surfactant protein-C mRNA expression were studied in preimplantation lung tissues and in xenografts at posttransplantation week 2. All xenografts displayed advanced architectural maturation compared with their respective preimplantation tissues, regardless of gestational age and postdelivery interval. The proliferative activity of the grafts was significantly higher than that of the preimplantation tissues (mean Ki-67 labeling index 26.7% ± 7.7% versus 14.7% ± 10.5%; P < .01). The proliferative activity of grafts obtained after a long (>36 hours) postdelivery interval was significantly higher than that of the corresponding preimplantation tissue, and equivalent to that of grafts obtained after a short postdelivery interval (<14 hours). The regenerative capacity of fetal lung tissue was greater at younger (13 to 17 weeks) than at older (19 to 22 weeks) gestational ages. The presence of inflammation/chorioamnionitis did not appear to affect graft regeneration. All grafts studied displayed robust surfactant protein-C mRNA expression. In conclusion, fetal lung tissues from second trimester stillbirths can regain their inherent high regenerative potential following short-term culture, even if harvested more than 36 hours after delivery.
Imbalance of Circulating T‐Lymphocyte Subpopulation in COPD and its Relationship with CAT Performance

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with systemic effects, and T‐cell‐mediated immunity was involved in the COPD. COPD Assessment Test (CAT) could provide a valid, reliable, and standardized measure of COPD health status. The objective of this study was determination of lymphocyte subpopulation in patients with stable COPD (n = 52) and to ascertain if a relationship existed between T‐lymphocyte subpopulation and CAT performance. The stable COPD patients were assessed with CAT, and divided into four groups with score >30 (n = 8), 20< score ≤30 (n = 16), 10< score ≤20 (n = 20), and score ≤10 (n = 8). Spearman's rank correlation was used to determine the relationship between proportion of T lymphocyte and CAT score. We found an elevated proportion of CD8+ cells in COPD patients of the group with score >30 compared to other groups. Proportion of CD4+ cells was significantly lower in the groups with score >30 and 20< score ≤30 when compared to groups with 10< score ≤20 and score ≤10. The CD4+:CD8+ ratio was also significantly lower in the groups with score >30 and 20< score ≤30. Of note are the correlations of proportion of CD8+ cells and CD4+:CD8+ ratio with CAT performance when score >20. No correlations existed between proportion of CD4+, CD8+ cells, CD4+:CD8+ ratio, and CAT performance when score ≤20. Our results show that the determinants of T‐lymphocyte subpopulation in COPD patients were value to assess physical conditions. We considered CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes to be a representative and stable parameter in grading of health status in COPD patients.
The Optimal Design of 2500km-10Gbps Optical Communication Dispersion Compensation Systems Based on FBG without Electric Regenerator

An optimization scheme of long-haul optical communication systems based on dispersion compensation fiber Bragg grating (FBG) was presented. Employing FBG for the dispersion compensation in modern communication system has certain upgrade issues. According to the optimization scheme, the performance of the 2500km-10Gbps optical communication systems were simulated with the key system parameters, such as the modulation format, the duty cycle, the input power, the amplifier span length and the range of FBG bandwidth. The simulation results show that the optimal system parameters in optimization scheme improve the transmission performance effectively.
Treatment of cocaine and alcohol dependence with psychotherapy and disulfiram.

AIMS To evaluate disulfiram and three forms of manual guided psychotherapy for individuals with cocaine dependence and concurrent alcohol abuse or dependence. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial. SETTING Urban substance abuse treatment center. PARTICIPANTS One hundred and twenty-two cocaine/alcohol abusers (27% female; 61% African-American or Hispanic). INTERVENTIONS One of five treatments delivered over 12 weeks: cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) plus disulfiram; Twelve Step facilitation (TSF) plus disulfiram; clinical management (CM) plus disulfiram; CBT plus no medication; TSF plus no medication. MEASUREMENTS Duration of continuous abstinence from cocaine or alcohol; frequency and quantity of cocaine and alcohol use by week, verified by urine toxicology and breathalyzer screens. FINDINGS Disulfiram treatment was associated with significantly better retention in treatment, as well as longer duration of abstinence from alcohol and cocaine use. The two active psychotherapies (CBT and TSF) were associated with reduced cocaine use over time compared with supportive psychotherapy (CM). Cocaine and alcohol use were strongly related throughout treatment, particularly for subjects treated with disulfiram. CONCLUSIONS For the large proportion of cocaine-dependent individuals who also abuse alcohol, disulfiram combined with outpatient psychotherapy may be a promising treatment strategy. This study underlines (a) the significance of alcohol use among treatment-seeking cocaine abusers, (b) the promise of the strategy of treating co-morbid disorders among drug-dependent individuals, and (c) the importance of combining psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of drug use disorders.
Vertical movements of frost mounds in subarctic permafrost regions analyzed using geodetic survey and satellite interferometry

Abstract. Permafrost-affected soils cover about 40–45 % of Canada. The environment in such areas, especially those located within the discontinuous permafrost zone, has been impacted more than any other by recorded climatic changes. A number of changes, such as surface subsidence and the degradation of frost mounds due to permafrost thawing, have already been observed at many locations. We surveyed three frost mounds (lithalsas) in the subarctic, close to Umiujaq in northern Quebec, using high-precision differential global positioning system (d-GPS) technology during field visits in 2009, 2010 and 2011, thus obtaining detailed information on their responses to the freezing and thawing that occur during the course of the annual temperature cycle. Seasonal pulsations were detected in the frost mounds, and these responses were shown to vary with their state of degradation and the land cover. The most degraded lithalsa showed a maximum amplitude of vertical movement (either up or down) between winter (freezing) and summer (thawing) of 0.19 ± 0.09 m over the study period, while for the least degraded lithalsa this figure was far greater (1.24 ± 0.47 m). Records from areas with little or no vegetation showed far less average vertical movement over the study period (0.17 ± 0.03 m) than those with prostrate shrubs (0.56 ± 0.02 m), suggesting an influence from the land cover. A differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (D-InSAR) analysis was also completed over the lithalsas using selected TerraSAR-X images acquired from April to October 2009 and from March to October 2010, with a repeat cycle of 11 days. Interferograms with baselines shorter than 200 m were computed revealing a generally very low interferometric coherence, restricting the quantification of vertical movements of the lithalsas. Vertical surface movements of the order of a few centimeters were recorded in the vicinity of Umiujaq.
Differing histopathology and prognosis in pulmonary adenocarcinoma at central and peripheral locations.

BACKGROUND Pulmonary adenocarcinoma is largely peripheral in location but often does occur centrally. In the course of this study, clinicopathologic features of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, including the prognosis of early-stage disease, were assessed and compared by tumor location. METHODS A retrospective chart review was conducted, examining 308 patients treated for pulmonary adenocarcinoma by curative resection. Clinicopathologic findings were analyzed, comparing central and peripheral primary locations. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were determined for tumor subsets (central vs. peripheral). RESULTS At all disease stages (N=308), 41 patients (13.3%) with central adenocarcinoma were documented. In central (vs. peripheral) adenocarcinoma, mean tumor size was larger (3.1 vs. 2.3 cm, P=0.014), nodal metastasis was more frequent (P=0.012), and the likelihood of advanced disease (stages II and III) was greater (P=0.007). Microscopically, central adenocarcinoma displayed more acinar (53.3% vs. 38.9%; P=0.006) and less lepidic (20.9% vs. 37.5%; P=0.001) growth. At stage I disease [N=329; central, 25 (10.5%)], group similarities were sustained. As with disease overall, central adenocarcinoma contained more acinar (51.8% vs. 37.1%; P=0.025) and fewer lepidic (26.2% vs. 44.1%; P=0.006) areas. Three-year RFS rates for central and peripheral adenocarcinoma at all disease stages were 63.2% and 82.5% (P=0.024), respectively, compared with 70.4% and 91.0% (P=0.023), respectively at stage I. Lepidic growth was identified as a statistically significant risk factor for early recurrence by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS Central pulmonary adenocarcinoma is generally detected at an advanced stage. In early (stage I) disease, the prognosis is comparatively worse for central adenocarcinoma, owing to significant micromorphologic differences in central and peripheral tumors.
Comparative equilibration and online technique for determination of non-exchangeable hydrogen of keratins for use in animal migration studies

Stable hydrogen-isotope ratios (δD) of keratin provide a novel means for tracking geographical movements of birds and other species. Here we describe a rapid, low cost, analytical approach to facilitate online continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (CF-IRMS) δD analyses of keratins (120-160 samples per day) through the use of calibrated keratin working standards and "comparative equilibration" to correct for the effects of moisture on exchangeable hydrogen. It is anticipated that this analytical approach and CF-IRMS will greatly aid in providing cost effective and directly comparable δD results on keratins and feathers among various laboratories and researchers involved in animal migration studies.
The Relaxin Family Peptide Receptor 3 Activates Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase 1/2 through a Protein Kinase C-Dependent Mechanism

Human gene 3 relaxin (H3 relaxin) is a member of the relaxin/insulin family of peptides. Neuropeptides mediate behavioral responses to stress and regulates appetite; however, the cell signaling mechanisms that control these events remain to be identified. The relaxin family peptide receptor 3 (RXFP3, formerly GPCR135 or SALPR) was characterized as the receptor for H3 relaxin, functionally coupled to the inhibition of cAMP. We have identified that RXFP3 stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 (CHO-RXFP3) and human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 (HEK-RXFP3) cells activates extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 when stimulated with H3 relaxin and an H3 relaxin B-chain (dimer) peptide. Using inhibitors of cellular signaling proteins, we subsequently determined the mechanism of ERK1/2 activation by RXFP3. ERK1/2 phosphorylation requires the activation of Gi/o proteins and seems to require receptor internalization and/or compartmentalization into lipid-rich environments. ERK1/2 activation also predominantly occurred via the activation of a protein kinase C-dependent pathway, although activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and Src tyrosine kinase were also involved to a lesser extent. The mechanisms underlying ERK1/2 phosphorylation were similar in both CHO-RXFP3 and HEK-RXFP3 cells, although some differences were evident. Phospholipase Cβ and the transactivation of endogenous epidermal growth factor receptors both played a role in RXFP3-mediated ERK1/2 activation in HEK293 cells; however, they were not involved in RXFP3-mediated ERK1/2 activation in the CHO-K1 cell background. The pathways identified in CHO- and HEK-transfected cells were also used in the murine SN56 neuronal cell line, suggesting that these pathways are also important for RXFP3-mediated signaling in the brain.
Evaluating mixed criticality scheduling algorithms with realistic workloads.

Most work on mixed-criticality scheduling has considered timing-related failures to be independent of one another. In reality this is not true as in many systems the state that caused the original failure will be similar to the state in the next release (job) of the task. Therefore when arguing about the number of jobs that do not meet their deadlines, it is crucial tasks have an appropriate fault model incorporated into the tool framework (i.e. task set generators and simulators) used to evaluate scheduling policies. The second issue that affects the tool framework is the choice of Worst-Case Execution Times (WCET) for different criticality modes of tasks. In the current literature it has been argued that a WCET should be chosen which would only be exceeded incredibly rarely, e.g. 1 in 10 jobs. This leads to WCET values much greater than the High WaterMark (HWM). The needs of certification and the consideration of how safety is argued leads to the conclusion that the probability of a job not meeting its deadline can be much greater. This would greatly impact the WCETs and hence the results of the evaluation. The contributions of this paper are thus a more realistic tool framework, and hence more realistic results than those previously reported, which we claim gives a better insight into how the scheduling policies would behave in practice and hence better evidence for any safety case.
Cerebral White Matter Oxidation and Nitrosylation in Young Rodents With Kaolin-Induced Hydrocephalus

Abstract Hydrocephalus is associated with reduced blood flow in periventricular white matter. To investigate hypoxic and oxidative damage in the brains of rats with hydrocephalus, kaolin was injected into the cisterna magna of newborn 7- and 21-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats, and ventricle size was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging at 7, 21, and 42 days of age. In-situ evidence of hypoxia in periventricular capillaries and glial cells was shown by pimonidazole hydrochloride binding. Biochemical assay of thiobarbituric acid reaction and immunohistochemical detection of malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal indicated the presence of lipid peroxidation in white matter. Biochemical assay of nitrite indicated increased nitric oxide production. Nitrotyrosine immunohistochemistry showed nitrosylated proteins in white matter reactive microglia and astrocytes. Activities ofthe antioxidant enzymes catalase and glutathione peroxidase were notincreased, and altered hypoxia-inducible factor 1&agr; was not detectedby quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. Cerebral vascular endothelial growth factor expression determined byquantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was not changed, but vascular endothelial growth factor immunoreactivity was increased in reactive astrocytes of hydrocephalic white matter. To determine if nitric oxide synthase is involved in the pathogenesis, we induced hydrocephalus in 7-day-old wild-type and neuronal nitric oxide synthase–deficient mice. At 7 days, the wild-type and mutant mice exhibited equally severe ventriculomegaly and no behavioral differences, although increased glial fibrillary acidic protein was less in the mutant mice. We conclude that hypoxia, via peroxidation and nitrosylation, contributes to brain changes in young rodents with hydrocephalus and that compensatory mechanisms are negligible.
Random beamforming for multiuser multiplexing in downlink correlated Rician channel

Multiuser multiplexing is an attractive research topic for wireless communication system, since it can increase the sum channel capacity dramatically. The multiuser multiplexing is realized based on the independent channel influences of different users. However, the multiplexing gain will be reduced, when the channels are correlated among different users, due to the destroyed independent statistics. This paper proposes a scheme that employs random beamforming (RBF), which is the evolution of opportunistic beamforming (OBF), to achieve multiuser multiplexing for correlated Rician channel. According to the feedback of the channel state information (CSI), the user with the largest signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) is selected to transmit data, similarly to that of the traditional OBF system. Numerical analysis shows that the RBF technology is capable of boosting the performance of system capacity for correlated Rician channel, when the number of users is large enough.