Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Host Acceptance, Suitability, and Effects of Host Deprivation on the West African Egg Parasitoid Telenomus isis (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) Reared on East African Stemborers Under Varying Temperature and Relative Humidity Regimens

ABSTRACT Scelionid egg parasitoids of Telenomus spp. have been shown to significantly affect noctuid stemborer populations and yields of maize in western Africa. One of them, T. isis, has never been reported from eastern Africa and was introduced into the laboratories of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Kenya. This study evaluates the biotic potential of T. isis using East African stemborers as hosts. Host acceptance was tested using 15 lepidopteran borer species. Only noctuid stemborers were accepted for oviposition by T. isis. Sesamia calamistis Hampson, Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefebvre), and Busseola fusca (Fuller) were further used to study the effect of host species, host age, duration of host deprivation, temperature, and humidity on the performance of the parasitoid. In contrast to sex ratio, developmental time, parasitism, and parasitoid emergence varied significantly with host species, and the former two decreased with the age of host eggs. Female longevity increased with duration of host deprivation, whereas average lifetime fecundity decreased, probably because of oocyte resorption. T. isis successfully developed between 18 and 32°C at both low (40–50%) and high (70–80%) relative humidity regimens, but temperature played a more critical role. Using the modified Logan model, the lower and upper temperature thresholds for development were estimated at 11.5 and 37.5°C, respectively, with an optimum at 30.5°C for both humidity regimens. Depending on temperature and relative humidity regimen, the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) varied from 0.077 to 0.300, net reproductive rate (Ro) from 7.70 to 83.96, and generation time (G) from 11 to 38 d. The results of this study indicate that T. isis is likely to establish in eastern Africa.
Comparative Analysis of Rac1 Binding Efficiency With Different Classes of Ligands: Morpholines, Flavonoids and Imidazoles

The focal adhesion pathway has a great impact on cellular growth and survival. Its disregulation is correlated with the loss of cellular mechanical properties. Such modifications are, in many cases, associated with pathologies such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Actin remodeling is a critical reaction cascade embedded in focal adhesion pathway, and Rac1 is one of the proteins involved in actin remodeling. In order to design highly selective pharmacophores against this target, it is necessary to maximize the binding affinity of chemical entities against Rac1. To this purpose we propose an integrative chemo-bioinformatics tool to screen ligand specificity for a target protein. Our integrative workflow includes chemo-informatics data mining (Chemical System), structural bioinformatics and combined exploratory data analysis. We have applied this integrative chemo-bioinformatics workflow to a comparative analysis of three different classes of ligands (morpholines, flavonoids and imidazoles) against the Rac1 protein. Our analysis emphasizes the presence of several ligands that preferentially dock Rac1 in the domain that seems to be responsible for Rac1-phospholipase C gamma 1 interaction. Recent studies have highlighted the Rac1 and PLC interactions in platelet adhesion. Our study has highlighted the role of Rac1-PLC gamma1 interaction in cytoskeleton remodeling associated with cardiovascular diseases. Rac1 PLC interaction is Calcium dependent. This suggest that some of the analysed ligands, could be used to control the Calcium dependent cytoskeleton remodeling since they dock Rac1 in the switch 2 domain. Our results, in a nanotechnology perspective, also endorse the use Rac1's switch 2 domain suitable for new highly specific biosensors.
Biofilm formation by Staphylococcus epidermidis on peritoneal dialysis catheters and the effects of extracellular products from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Biofilm formation by Staphylococcus epidermidis is a cause of infections related to peritoneal dialysis (PD). We have used a PD catheter flow-cell model in combination with confocal scanning laser microscopy and atomic force microscopy to study biofilm formation by S. epidermidis. Adherence to serum-coated catheters was four times greater than to uncoated ones, suggesting that S. epidermidis binds to serum proteins on the catheter surface. Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm supernatant interfered with the formation of a serum protein coat thereby reducing the capacity for biofilm formation in S. epidermidis. Supernatants from ΔpelA, ΔpslBCD and ΔrhlAB strains of P. aeruginosa showed no differences from the wild-type supernatant indicating that the effect on serum coat formation was not due to rhamnolipids or the PelA and PslBCD polysaccharides. Supernatant from P. aeruginosa also dispersed established S. epidermidis biofilms. Supernatants lacking PelA or PslBCD showed no differences from the wild type but that from a ΔrhlAB strain, showed reduced, but not abolished, capacity for dispersal. This suggests that rhamnolipids are involved but not wholly responsible for the effect. Thus, supernatants from P. aeruginosa contain promising substances for the prevention and treatment of biofilm infections, although further work is required to identity more active components.
Tuning Method Aimed at Optimized Settling Time and Overshoot for Synchronous Proportional-Integral Current Control in Electric Machines

Implementation of proportional-integral controllers in synchronous reference frame is a well-established current control solution for electric machines. Nevertheless, their gain selection is still regarded to be poorly reported, particularly in relation to the influence of the computation and modulation delay. To fill this gap, a design procedure to set the maximum gains for an acceptable damped response, with the delay being considered, has been recently proposed. In contrast, this paper presents a simple rule of thumb to achieve nearly the minimum settling time in combination with negligible overshoot for reference changes. This conclusion is theoretically demonstrated by the analysis of root locus diagrams and of overshoot versus settling time trajectories for sweeps of gain values. The design approaches aimed at gain maximization and the one developed here are compared, revealing that the latter provides shorter settling time and much lower overshoot in the command tracking response, while allowing greater stability margins. On the other hand, the proposed tuning method leads to a worse disturbance rejection, but by including an active resistance with enhanced pole/zero cancellation as a second degree of freedom, both design procedures attain comparable and optimized attenuation of disturbances. Matching simulation and experimental results validate the theoretical study.
The diagnostic value of SPECT with Tc 99m HMPAO in Alzheimer's disease

We studied the diagnostic accuracy of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with technetium 99m-labeled hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (Tc 99m HMPAO) in 48 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria and in 60 controls recruited from a population-based study. With logistic regression, we identified decreased temporal regional cerebral blood flow as the best discriminating variable between patients and controls. Receiver-operator characteristic curves showed that the discriminative ability of SPECT improved with increasing dementia severity. With specificity set at 90%, sensitivity figures were 42% in mild, 56% in moderate, and 79% in severe AD. The diagnostic gain as a function of the prior probability of the disease being present was computed for those with mild AD. When the prior probability varied at around 50%, the diagnostic gain for mild AD patients was substantial (a maximum of 34%) for a positive test result but poor for a negative test result. The results suggest that the practical usefulness of SPECT as a diagnostic adjunct in patients suspected of having mild AD is confined to situations in which, on clinical grounds, there is considerable diagnostic doubt.
Molecular characterization, isolation, pathology and pathotyping of peafowl (Pavo cristatus) origin Newcastle disease virus isolates recovered from disease outbreaks in three states of India

ABSTRACT Disease outbreak investigations were carried out in three states of Northern India namely Haryana (Rewari), Uttar Pradesh (Noida) and Delhi, where a total of 110 Indian peafowls (Pavo cristatus) showed sudden onset of nervous signs and died within a period of two weeks during June, 2012. The F (fusion) gene-based RT-PCR detection of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in affected tissues confirmed the presence of the virus. Three NDV isolates were selected (one from each area under investigation) and further characterized. They were found to be of virulent pathotype (velogenic NDV) based on both pathogenicity assays (MDT, ICPI and IVPI) and partial F gene sequence analysis. Additionally, the phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates belonged to the genotype VIIi and XIII of class II avian Paramyxovirus serotype1 (APMV-1) and related closely to new emerging sub-genotypes. This is the first report regarding the presence of the fifth panzootic vNDV genotype VIIi from India. In this scenario, extensive epidemiological studies are suggested for surveillance of NDV genotypes in wild birds and poultry flocks of the country along with adopting suitable prevention and control measures.
Investigation of a 3D hybrid finite element/boundary element method for electromagnetic launch applications and validation using semianalytical solutions

The hybrid finite element/boundary element (FE/BE) computational scheme is advantageous in that it satisfies boundary conditions at infinity while avoiding meshing and computations in the air regions. Of numerous hybrid schemes, one using the fundamental solution of Poisson's equation as the weighting function has been employed successfully in many fields. Analyses in electromagnetic (EM) launch usually involve strong coupling among EM, thermal, and structural equations. The hybrid method has the added benefit that it may be fashioned to incorporate the effect of structural deformations on EM fields. Here, a three-dimensional (3D) hybrid algorithm using the fundamental solution of Poisson's equation as the weighting function is investigated and implemented in the parallel version of the code electromechanical analysis program in 3D (EMAP3D). The method is validated using two examples with semianalytical solutions: a 3D ring conductor with rectangular cross section carrying uniform current, and a quadrupole configuration with four independent, closed-ring conductors excited by imposed potential differences. The solutions obtained using the hybrid method match the semianalytical solutions within approximately four percent deviations.
German EstSmoke: estimating adult smoking‐related costs and consequences of smoking cessation for Germany

AIMS We compared predicted life-time health-care costs for current, never and ex-smokers in Germany under the current set of tobacco control polices. We compared these economic consequences of the current situation with an alternative in which Germany were to implement more comprehensive tobacco control policies consistent with the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) guidelines. DESIGN German EstSmoke, an adapted version of the UK EstSmoke simulation model, applies the Markov modelling approach. Transition probabilities for (re-)currence of smoking-related diseases were calculated from large German disease-specific registries and the German Health Update (GEDA 2010). Estimations of both health-care costs and effect sizes of smoking cessation policies were taken from recent German studies and discounted at 3.5%/year. SETTING Germany. PARTICIPANTS German population of prevalent current, never and ex-smokers in 2009. MEASUREMENT Life-time cost and outcomes in current, never and ex-smokers. FINDINGS If tobacco control policies are not strengthened, the German smoking population will incur €41.56 billion life-time excess costs compared with never smokers. Implementing tobacco control policies consistent with WHO FCTC guidelines would reduce the difference of life-time costs between current smokers and ex-smokers by at least €1.7 billion. CONCLUSIONS Modelling suggests that the life-time healthcare costs of people in Germany who smoke are substantially greater than those of people who have never smoked. However, more comprehensive tobacco control policies could reduce health-care expenditures for current smokers by at least 4%.
Effect of chemical aging on warpage for encapsulated packages — Characterization and simulation

The effect of curing process on the warpage of encapsulated electronic package is considered by using a coupled chemical-thermo-mechanical modeling methodology. A cure-dependent constitutive model that consists of a cure kinetics model, a curing and chemical aging induced shrinkage model and a degree of cure-dependent viscoelastic relaxation model was implemented in a numerical finite element model for warpage simulation. Effects of polymerization conversion and chemical aging on the warpage evolution of a bimaterial dummy package after molding and during the post-mold curing (PMC) process were investigated by using the proposed modeling methodology. Shadow Moiré warpage analyses were also performed to validate the numerical results. It was found from the warpage analyses that the chemical aging, while contributing little to the overall crosslinking during PMC, has a significant effect on package warpage. The coupled chemical-thermo-mechanical model can be applied for performing numerical optimization for packaging process and assembly reliability.
Automatic equal phase shift principle for space charge measurement under periodic stress of arbitrary waveform

An automatic equal phase shift principle (AEPS) is proposed to simplify space charge detection under periodic stress with the pulsed electroacoustic method. For pulse frequency, f<sub>p</sub> is a non-integral multiple with periodic stress frequency f<sub>a</sub>; the detecting phase can be automatically shifted with a certain value after each cycle of periodic stress. The pulse position will be at the same phase of periodic stress after several cycles. The minimum amounts of periodic stress cycles and pulse generated during this process are defined as N<sub>a</sub> (>1) and N<sub>p</sub>, respectively. They can be uniquely confirmed by the characteristic equation N<sub>a</sub>/f<sub>a</sub> = N<sub>p</sub>/f<sub>p</sub>. Moreover, the positions of pulse generated during this process are equally distributed in the periodic stress from 0<sup>o</sup> to 360° with a characteristic sequence of pulse. The phase interval, i.e. phase resolution Δ', is 2π divided by N<sub>p</sub>. Consequently, the phase resolution can be easily enhanced through an increase in the pulse amount N<sub>p</sub> by selection of f<sub>p</sub>, according to the characteristic equation. Finally, space charge behaviours in low-density polyethylene under 50 Hz AC stress were measured with three different pulse frequencies f<sub>p</sub>, i.e. 25.5, 1010 and 1001 Hz, to validate the proposed AEPS principle. Results show that the space charge distribution can be successfully acquired with a phase resolution from 7.07<sup>o</sup> to 0.36<sup>o</sup>, even if the pulse frequency is lower than the AC frequency at 25.5 Hz. This result indicates that AEPS can overcome the frequency limitation of the pulse generator, and a high phase resolution can be realised.
Genomic alterations in primary breast cancers compared with their sentinel and more distal lymph node metastases: An aCGH study

Metastatic potential of breast cancer may be associated with specific genomic alterations and the earliest metastases are likely to be found in the sentinel lymph nodes (SLN). Using array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), we compared the genomes of primary breast invasive duct carcinomas (IDCs), their sentinel and more distal lymph node metastases, and IDCs without nodal metastasis. Thirty‐three samples from 22 patients with IDC were subjected to aCGH: 8 IDC samples from patients without lymph node metastasis, 11 IDCs associated with SLN metastases out of which 7 had paired samples of metastases, and 14 samples of lymph node metastases out of which 8 were sentinel‐distal pairs from 4 patients. aCGH data were analyzed by correlation of genomic profiles, cluster analysis, segmentation, and peak identification. Quantitative real‐time PCR was used for data validation. We observed high genomic similarity between primary tumors and their nodal metastases as well as between metastases to the sentinel and distal lymph nodes. Several recurrent alterations were detected preferentially in IDC associated with SLN metastases compared to IDCs without metastasis. Amplification within the 17q24.1‐24.2(59.96–62.76 Mb) region was associated with presence of sentinel or distal lymph node metastases; larger tumor size and higher histological grade. In our samples, there were genomic events associated with metastatic progression, which could be detected in both primary tumors and LN metastases. Gain on 17q24.1‐24.2 is a candidate region for further testing as a predictor of nodal metastasis. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The GRP1 PH domain, like the AKT1 PH domain, possesses a sentry glutamate residue essential for specific targeting to plasma membrane PI(3,4,5)P(3).

During the appearance of the signaling lipid PI(3,4,5)P(3), an important subset of pleckstrin homology (PH) domains target signaling proteins to the plasma membrane. To ensure proper pathway regulation, such PI(3,4,5)P(3)-specific PH domains must exclude the more prevalant, constitutive plasma membrane lipid PI(4,5)P(2) and bind the rare PI(3,4,5)P(3) target lipid with sufficiently high affinity. Our previous study of the E17K mutant of the protein kinase B (AKT1) PH domain, together with evidence from Carpten et al. [Carpten, J. D. , et al. (2007) Nature 448, 439-444], revealed that the native AKT1 E17 residue serves as a sentry glutamate that excludes PI(4,5)P(2), thereby playing an essential role in specific PI(3,4,5)P(3) targeting [Landgraf, K. E. , et al. (2008) Biochemistry 47, 12260-12269]. The sentry glutamate hypothesis proposes that an analogous sentry glutamate residue is a widespread feature of PI(3,4,5)P(3)-specific PH domains, and that charge reversal mutation at the sentry glutamate position will yield both increased PI(4,5)P(2) affinity and constitutive plasma membrane targeting. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the E345 residue, a putative sentry glutamate, of the general receptor for phosphoinositides 1 (GRP1) PH domain. The results show that incorporation of the E345K charge reversal mutation into the GRP1 PH domain enhances PI(4,5)P(2) affinity 8-fold and yields constitutive plasma membrane targeting in cells, reminiscent of the effects of the E17K mutation in the AKT1 PH domain. Hydrolysis of plasma membrane PI(4,5)P(2) releases the E345K GRP1 PH domain into the cytoplasm, and the efficiency of this release increases when Arf6 binding is disrupted. Overall, the findings provide strong support for the sentry glutamate hypothesis and suggest that the GRP1 E345K mutation will be linked to changes in cell physiology and human pathologies, as demonstrated for AKT1 E17K [Carpten, J. D. , et al. (2007) Nature 448, 439-444; Lindhurst, M. J., et al. (2011) N. Engl. J. Med. 365, 611-619]. Analysis of available PH domain structures suggests that a lone glutamate residue (or, in some cases, an aspartate) is a common, perhaps ubiquitous, feature of PI(3,4,5)P(3)-specific binding pockets that functions to lower PI(4,5)P(2) affinity.
Antiestrogenic Glyceollins Suppress Human Breast and Ovarian Carcinoma Tumorigenesis

Purpose: We have identified the phytoalexin compounds glyceollins I, II, and III, which exhibit marked antiestrogenic effects on estrogen receptor function and estrogen-dependent tumor growth in vivo. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interactions among the induced soy phytoalexins glyceollins I, II, and III on the growth of estrogen-dependent MCF-7 breast cancer and BG-1 ovarian cancer cells implanted in ovariectomized athymic mice. Experimental Design: Four treatment groups for each cell line were used: vehicle control, 20 mg/kg/mouse/d glyceollin mixture injection, 0.72 mg estradiol (E2) implant, and E2 implant + 20 mg/kg/mouse/d glyceollin injection. Results: Treatment with glyceollin suppressed E2-stimulated tumor growth of MCF-7 cells (−53.4%) and BG-1 cells (−73.1%) in ovariectomized athymic mice. These tumor-inhibiting effects corresponded with significantly lower E2-induced progesterone receptor expression in the tumors. In contrast to tamoxifen, the glyceollins had no estrogen-agonist effects on uterine morphology and partially antagonized the uterotropic effects of estrogen. Conclusions: These findings identify glyceollins as antiestrogenic agents that may be useful in the prevention or treatment of breast and ovarian carcinoma.
Endogenous tumor necrosis factor (cachectin) is essential to host resistance against Listeria monocytogenes infection

During a sublethal murine infection with Listeria monocytogenes cells, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activity was detectable in neither sera nor spleen homogenates at any stage of the infection when a bioassay with L-929 cells (less than 4 U/ml) was used. However, injecting the mice with an immunoglobulin fraction obtained from a rabbit hyperimmunized with recombinant murine TNF-alpha resulted in acceleration of listeriosis. When 1 mg of anti-TNF antibody was injected per mouse, all the mice died from listeriosis, even though the infectious dose was sublethal for the untreated controls. The antigen-specific elimination of the bacterium from the spleens and livers of anti-TNF antibody-treated mice was delayed, depending on the dose of the antibody injected. Endogenous TNF seemed to be produced early in infection, because suppression of antilisterial resistance was significant when a single injection of anti-TNF antibody was given between day zero and day 2 of infection. The effect of endogenous TNF on antilisterial resistance was due to neither regulation of alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) and IFN-gamma production nor induction of IFN-beta subtype 1 (IFN-beta 1), because anti-TNF antibody treated-mice produced normal levels of IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma in the bloodstream during infection and administration of monoclonal anti-murine IFN-beta 1 antibody had no effect on the development of listeriosis. Alternatively, the listericidal activity of peritoneal macrophages of L. monocytogenes-infected mice could be abrogated by injection of anti-TNF antibody in vivo. These results suggest that the lower level of TNF is produced endogenously in mice that received L. monocytogenes infection and that it plays an essential role in the host defense against L. monocytogenes infection.