Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of surfactant alterations in pigs infected with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

ABSTRACT Purpose/Aim of the study: Surfactant, a surface active complex of phospholipids and proteins located at the inner surface of alveoli and small conducting airways is necessary for breathing. Bacterial respiratory tract infections frequently lead to surfactant alterations and to an increase in surface tension. Pigs, often used in experimental lung research, could suffer from severe pleuropneumonia, a highly contagious disease often characterized by sudden onset, short clinical course, high morbidity, and high mortality. It is caused by the gram-negative bacterium Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (A.pp.). This study tests the hypothesis that also in the subacute stage pathomorphological lung alterations are accompanied with increased inactive surfactant components. Clinical lung scores, functional and ultrastructural analysis of porcine surfactant were performed in pigs before infection and in the subacute state of infection. Clinical signs were determined using inter alia different subscores. Surfactant was isolated from the BALF for functional and quantitative ultrastructural studies. Results: In the subacute stage clinical, ultrosonographic and radiographic scores as well as the overall Respiratory Health Score showed significantly higher values than before infection. However, surfactant surprisingly contained more active surfactant subtypes and significantly less inactive subtypes such as unilamellar vesicles. The quantity of multilamellar vesicles with unclear function did not differ. The minimal surface tension of surfactant before and after infection was comparable. Conclusions: Thus, in spite of continued severe lung tissue alterations the surfactant system show signs of recovery. This may be the result of an effective adaption to inflammatory lung disorders caused by swine-specific pathogens.
On the Nature and Nurture of Intelligence and Specific Cognitive Abilities

To further knowledge concerning the nature and nurture of intelligence, we scrutinized how heritability coefficients vary across specific cognitive abilities both theoretically and empirically. Data from 23 twin studies (combined N = 7,852) showed that (a) in adult samples, culture-loaded subtests tend to demonstrate greater heritability coefficients than do culture-reduced subtests; and (b) in samples of both adults and children, a subtest’s proportion of variance shared with general intelligence is a function of its cultural load. These findings require an explanation because they do not follow from mainstream theories of intelligence. The findings are consistent with our hypothesis that heritability coefficients differ across cognitive abilities as a result of differences in the contribution of genotype-environment covariance. The counterintuitive finding that the most heritable abilities are the most culture-dependent abilities sheds a new light on the long-standing nature-nurture debate of intelligence.
Fen Eğitiminde Alternatif Ölçme Değerlendirme Uygulamaları

Bu arastirma sinif ogretmenleri ile fen bilimleri ogretmenlerinin alternatif olcme degerlendirme tekniklerini hangi siklikta kullandiklarini ve alternatif teknikleri kullanma sikliklarinda cinsiyet, brans, kidem ve mezun olduklari okul turu sikliklarina gore bir farklilik bulunup bulunmadigini belirlemek amaciyla yapilmistir. Calismada ayrica ogretmenlerin alternatif olcme ve degerlendirme teknikleri hakkindaki gorusleri ve olcme degerlendirme sonunda yaptiklari geri bildirim uygulamalarina iliskin bilgiler de toplanmistir. Calisma 2012- 2013 egitim-ogretim yilinda cogunlugu Aksaray ili Merkez ilce ilkogretim okullarindan olmak uzere toplam 75 sinif ogretmeni ile 40 fen bilimleri ogretmeni ile gerceklestirilmistir. Arastirmanin verileri arastirmacilar tarafindan gelistirilen 3 acik uclu soru ve 17 likert tipi sorudan olusan anket formu ile toplanmistir. Gerceklestirilen analiz sonuclarina gore ogretmenlerin alternatif olcme degerlendirme araclarini kullanma sikliklarinin cinsiyete, bransa ve hizmet yilina bagli olarak farklilik gosterdigi tespit edilmistir. Bu bulgular dogrultusunda bazi onerilerde bulunulmustur.
Three single nucleotide polymorphisms of TNFAIP3 gene increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by chronic destructive inflammation in synovial joints. To date, many studies explored the associations between tumor necrosis factor alpha inducible protein 3 (TNFAIP3) gene rs6920220, rs2230926, and rs5029937 polymorphisms and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but with contradictory results. We therefore conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to address the associations. We searched in the databases of PubMed and Embase. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by the Stata 11.0 software. A total of 21 case-control studies for these three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis indicated that TNFAIP3 gene rs6920220, rs2230926, and rs5029937 polymorphisms were associated with the increased risk of RA. Stratification analysis of ethnicity found that rs6920220 and rs5029937 polymorphisms increased the risk of RA among Caucasians, while rs2230926 polymorphism increased the risk of RA among Asians. In summary, this meta-analysis confirms that TNFAIP3 gene polymorphisms may play important roles in the pathogenesis of RA.
Alternative RNA Splicing Generates a Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored Form of Ceruloplasmin in Mammalian Brain*

Ceruloplasmin is a copper-containing ferroxidase that is essential for normal iron homeostasis. Whereas ceruloplasmin in plasma is produced and secreted by hepatocytes, in the brain a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored form of ceruloplasmin is expressed on the surface of astrocytes. By using a cDNA cloning approach, we have now determined that the GPI-anchored form of ceruloplasmin is generated by alternative RNA splicing. The splicing occurs downstream of exon 18 and replaces the C-terminal 5 amino acids of the secreted form with an alternative 30 amino acids that signal GPI anchor addition. RNase protection analysis demonstrates that the GPI-anchored form is the major form in the brain, whereas the secreted form predominates in the liver. Individuals with aceruloplasminemia, a hereditary deficiency of ceruloplasmin, have severe iron deposition in a number of organs, including the brain where it results in neurodegeneration. Therefore, this novel GPI-anchored form of ceruloplasmin is likely to play an important role in iron metabolism in the central nervous system.
Downregulation of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression on human synovial fibroblasts by endothelin-1.

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of endothelin-1 (ET-1) on the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) by synovial fibroblasts derived from individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS The expression of ICAM-1 protein and the abundance of ICAM-1 mRNA in synovial fibroblasts derived from individuals with RA or OA, or healthy controls, was assessed by flow cytometry and Northern blot analysis, respectively. mRNA expression of ET type A (ETA) and ET type B (ETB) receptors was assessed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) increased the expression of ICAM-1 by RA and OA fibroblasts. While ET-1 alone had no significant effect on ICAM-1 expression by either cell type, it inhibited the TNF-alpha induced increase in ICAM-1 expression, and this effect was more marked in RA fibroblasts. TNF-alpha also increased the amount of ICAM-1 mRNA in both cell types, and ET-1 inhibited this increase to a greater extent in RA fibroblasts than in OA fibroblasts. This inhibitory effect of ET-1 was reversed by addition of specific antagonist of ETA receptor. mRNA expression of ETA and ETB receptors was significantly greater in RA fibroblasts stimulated with TNF-alpha or even medium alone than in OA fibroblasts. CONCLUSION These results suggest that ICAM-1 expression by fibroblasts is regulated not only by proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-alpha and interleukin-1beta, but also by the vasoactive peptide ET-1, and that ET-1 may play an important role in inflammatory responses, especially in rheumatoid synovitis.
Achievable throughput in relay-powered RF harvesting cooperative sensor networks

Aiming at uninterrupted sensor network, we consider a radio frequency (RF) harvesting cooperative communication scenario, where the field nodes (information sources) are powered by RF energy transfer (RFET) from a relay. The relay node can be either connected to the power grid or positioned at some ambient energy harvesting favorable location for the desired energy supply. To further reduce the field nodes' energy consumption, the relay node decodes-and-forwards the field data to the information sink in a two-hop half-duplex fashion. In the relay-powered cooperative network (RPCN), we derive closed form expressions of the ergodic capacity and achievable throughput for each source-destination pair. Achievable sum-throughput as a function of different system parameters, e.g., RFET time, RF-to-DC conversion efficiency, relay location, channel conditions, and relay transmit power is numerically evaluated. Significant throughput performance improvement in RPCN over conventional RF-powered communication networks is observed.
Absent IgA and deletions of chromosome 18.

Since extra chromosomal material in humans was first described by Lejeune, Turpin, and Gautier (1959) in association with Down's syndrome, patients with trisomic and partial monosomic conditions have been studied in an attempt to locate specific genetic loci upon specific chromosomes. An individual with a deletion of part of an autosome is hemizygous for genes on the homologue of the deleted fragment. As a result, recessive genes may be uncovered which, in the absence of a deletion, may have been masked by their dominant alleles. This type of 'deletion mapping' may be important in locating genes on autosomes. We here present studies on 4 patients with deletions involving chromosome 18 and discuss the possible relation between this chromosomal aberration and the locus for immunoglobulin A (IgA). Wang et al. (1962) described a boy with multiple congenital anomalies including atretic ear canals, with secondary deafness and mental retardation. Chromosomal analysis revealed a ring 18 chromosome (18r)t in all cells counted. This was the first reported case of a deletion of a portion of chromosome 18. There have been numerous subsequent reports of similar deletions, both as rings (Grouchy, 1965; Genest, Leclerc, and Auger, 1963; Gripenberg, 1967; Gropp, Jussen, and Ofteringer, 1964; Jeune et al., 1967; Lucas et al., 1963; Mikelsaar, Talvik, and Sitska, 1967; Palmer, Fareed, and Merritt, 1967) and as partial deletions of the long arm of chromosome 18 (18q -) (Day et al., 1967; Grouchy, 1965; Insley, 1967; Law and Masterson, 1966; Nance et al., 1968; Wertelecki, Schindler, and Gerald, 1966; Wolf et al., 1967).
Minimalism, subjectivity, and aesthetics: rethinking the anti-aesthetic tradition in late-modern art

Abstract Minimalism, Subjectivity and Aesthetics: Rethinking the Anti-Aesthetic Tradition in Late-modern Art. Minimalism is routinely interpreted as anti-subjective, anti-expressive and anti-aesthetic. This paper challenges this interpretation by closely examining two accounts of minimalism: Rosalind Krauss's article of 1973, “Sense and Sensibility,” and Thierry de Duve's amplification and refutation of aspects of Krauss' argument in his 1983 article, “Performance Here and Now. ” Each believes that minimalism presents a model of subjectivity, and each produces an account of subjectivity that is both embedded in the work and yet produced by the viewer's interaction with it. Krauss and de Duve do not agree on the theory of the subject that Minimalism enacts, despite agreeing that a model of subjectivity is what is at stake in minimalist art. One can clearly see here the revival of Hegel's claim that the task of art is to “present man with himself” as well as a renewed focus on the nature of aesthetic reception. It is my contention that aesthetics allows us to see more clearly what is at stake in the refiguring of art that these two groundbreaking accounts of minimalism trace. Thus, although minimalism is often argued to mark the beginning of an anti-aesthetic tradition in art practice and art criticism, its radical achievements are best understood through aesthetics. This crucial link between subjectivity and late-modern art has been all but lost in the subsequent literature. A phenomenological approach to minimalism, such as Krauss's, is now simply shorthand for attending to the motile and perceptual experience of art and its context. This approach is then neatly historicised and believed to be dispatched by subsequent art with a more politically attuned concern for context. To resuscitate her theoretical concern with models of subjectivity, as De Duve does, upsets this foreclosure, while also creating an opening for other ways to trace the progress of late-modern art—the overall aim of my paper.
End Non-convex greedy compressed sensing for phase contrast MRI

Introduction We propose a novel compressed sensing algorithm for Phase Contrast MRI(PC-MRI) to estimate blood flow velocities. Blood flow velocities provide clinically useful information such as pressure gradients and PC-MRI has become an established technique to measure them. In conventional PC-MRI, velocity information is computed by comparing the phases of the velocity-encoded image and the reference image without velocity encoding. This procedure requires multiple scans of the imaged object, which is time-intensive. For example, it takes about 20 minutes to cover a 3D volume of 16x12x6cm with a previously proposed PC-MRI sequence[1]. We have observed empirically that velocity encoding brings about phase changes only in blood vessel regions, which are sparse in the image domain[2]. Exploiting this sparse phase differences, we developed a non-convex greedy compressed sensing image reconstruction algorithm to accelerate the acquisition of velocity encoded images. Simulation results show that with random k-space sampling, our algorithm can perform well even with a high undersampling factor 15. We have also investigated an alternative convex optimization approach and compared its performance with our greedy algorithm. The simulation results show that our proposed greedy algorithm is more robust in high undersampling factors compared to the convex optimization method. Theory Let xref denote the reference image acquired without velocity encoding. The signal equation for the k-space data, y, of a velocity encoded object in the matrix-vector form can be modeled as ) ( , ] [ ] [ ref i i ref x e e x Diag F A A F y θ θ ⋅ = = ⋅ = where F is a undersampled Fourier encoding matrix, Diag(xref) is a diagonal matrix with entries
Variegated Expression of the Endogenous Immunoglobulin Heavy-Chain Gene in the Absence of the Intronic Locus Control Region

ABSTRACT The expression of chromosomally integrated transgenes usually varies greatly among independent transfectants. This variability in transgene expression has led to the definition of locus control regions (LCRs) as elements which render expression consistent. Analyses of expression in single cells revealed that the expression of transgenes which lack an LCR is often variegated, i.e., on in some cells and off in others. In many cases, transgenes which show variegated expression were found to have inserted near the centromere. These observations have suggested that the LCR prevents variegation by blocking the inhibitory effect of heterochromatin and other repetitive-DNA-containing structures at the insertion site and have raised the question of whether the LCR plays a similar role in endogenous genes. To address this question, we have examined the effects of deleting the LCR from the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus of a mouse hybridoma cell line in which expression of the immunoglobulin μ heavy-chain gene is normally highly stable. Our analysis of μ expression in single cells shows that deletion of this LCR resulted in variegated expression of the μ gene. That is, in the absence of the LCR, expression of the μ gene in the recombinant locus could be found in either of two epigenetically maintained, metastable states, in which transcription occurred either at the normal rate or not at all. In the absence of the LCR, the on state had a half-life of ∼100 cell divisions, while the half-life of the off state was ∼40,000 cell divisions. For recombinants with an intact LCR, the half-life of the on state exceeded 50,000 cell divisions. Our results thus indicate that the LCR increased the stability of the on state by at least 500-fold.
Deploying Mission Critical Learning Management System Using Open Source Software

As more institutions of higher education confront budget cuts and financial crisis, open source Learning Management Systems become increasingly attractive, providing cost effective and efficient alternatives to commercial Learning Management Systems. This interpretive case study investigates the implementation and adoption of an open source based LMS at an university located in California. The research not only examines technical aspects associated with the adoption decision, including motivation, performance, and total cost of ownership, but also explores how IT staff and administrators react to the implemented LMS.
Hybrid Particle-Continuum Simulations of Hypersonic Flow Over a Hollow-Cylinder-Flare Geometry

A modular particle-continuum numerical method is used to simulate steady-state hypersonic flow over a hollow-cylinder-flare geometry. The resulting flowfield involves a mixture of rarefied nonequilibrium flow and high-density continuum flow. The hybrid particle-continuum method loosely couples direct simulation Monte Carlo and Navier-Stokes methods, which operate in different regions, use different mesh densities, and are updated using different-sized time steps. Hybrid numerical results are compared with full particle and full continuum simulations as well as with experimental data. The hybrid particle-continuum simulations are demonstrated to reproduce experimental and full particle simulation results for surface and flowfield properties including velocity slip, temperature jump, thermal nonequilibrium, heating rates, and pressure distributions with high accuracy. The hybrid method, which uses particle simulation next to the surface, is also shown to predict accurate heating rates even when a highly dissipative numerical scheme is used for the continuum solver. For this particular flow, a hybrid simulation is obtained with modest computational savings over full particle simulation.
A Reinforcement Learning Architecture That Transfers Knowledge Between Skills When Solving Multiple Tasks

When humans learn several skills to solve multiple tasks, they exhibit an extraordinary capacity to transfer knowledge between them. We present here the last enhanced version of a bio-inspired reinforcement-learning (RL) modular architecture able to perform skill-to-skill knowledge transfer and called transfer expert RL (TERL) model. TERL architecture is based on a RL actor–critic model where both actor and critic have a hierarchical structure, inspired by the mixture-of-experts model, formed by a gating network that selects experts specializing in learning the policies or value functions of different tasks. A key feature of TERL is the capacity of its gating networks to accumulate, in parallel, evidence on the capacity of experts to solve the new tasks so as to increase the responsibility for action of the best ones. A second key feature is the use of two different responsibility signals for the experts’ functioning and learning: this allows the training of multiple experts for each task so that some of them can be later recruited to solve new tasks and avoid catastrophic interference. The utility of TERL mechanisms is shown with tests involving two simulated dynamic robot arms engaged in solving reaching tasks, in particular a planar 2-DoF arm, and a 3-D 4-DoF arm.
Immediate cytotoxicity of Chlamydia trachomatis for mouse peritoneal macrophages

The toxicity of Chlamydia trachomatis was studied with mouse peritoneal macrophage culture. Inoculation of 30 inclusion-forming units of trachoma B/TW-5/OT organisms and 250 inclusion-forming units of lymphogranuloma venereum L2/434/Bu organisms per cell caused immediated toxicity, with the killing of 40 to 90% of the macrophages within 6 h after inoculation. Inhibition of phagocytosis by adsorption at 0 degrees C or by NaF pretreatment of macrophages prevented the toxicity, indicating that chlamydiae must be phagocytized to induce toxicity. Infectivity and toxicity could be dissociated, since ultraviolet-inactivated chlamydiae were still toxic. However, the toxicity was destroyed by heating the organisms at 56 degrees C for 10 min. Tetracycline, and antichlamydial drug, did not prevent toxicity, indicating that multiplication of the organisms was not required to induce toxicity. Toxicity was not prevented by treatment of macrophages with hydrocortisone. The toxicity of trachoma TW-5 was reduced by the rabbit immune serum of trachoma TW-5 but not by the rabbit immune serum of psittacosis meningopneumonitis.
Insulin resistance is associated with the pathology of Alzheimer disease

Objective: We examined the association between diabetes-related factors and pathology of Alzheimer disease (AD) to evaluate how diabetes affects the pathogenic process of AD. Methods: This study included specimens from a series of 135 autopsies of residents of the town of Hisayama in Fukuoka prefecture (74 men and 61 women) performed between 1998 and 2003, who underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test in clinical examinations in 1988. We measured diabetes-related factors including fasting glucose, 2-hour post-load plasma glucose, fasting insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in 1988. Neuritic plaques (NPs) were assessed according to the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease guidelines and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) were assessed according to Braak stage. The associations between each factor and AD pathology were examined by analysis of covariance and logistic regression analyses. Results: Higher levels of 2-hour post-load plasma glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR were associated with increased risk for NPs after adjustment for age, sex, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, body mass index, habitual smoking, regular exercise, and cerebrovascular disease. However, there were no relationships between diabetes-related factors and NFTs. Regarding the effects of APOE genotype on the risk of AD pathology, the coexistence of hyperglycemia and APOE ε4 increased the risk for NP formation. A similar enhancement was observed for hyperinsulinemia and high HOMA-IR. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia caused by insulin resistance accelerate NP formation in combination with the effects of APOE ε4.
Low cost CD4 enumeration using generic monoclonal antibody reagents and a two‐color user‐defined MultiSET™ protocol

The standard three‐tube, three‐color flow cytometric method utilizing the TriTEST™ reagents in conjunction with the MultiSET™ software commonly used in most laboratories in Thailand for CD4 enumeration is expensive and thus unavailable to most HIV‐infected patients. A more affordable method, i.e., the PanLeucogating protocol using only two monoclonal antibody reagents, has been described but requires the use of the CellQUEST™ software that does not have automatic gating and reporting facilities. We describe a simple protocol that utilizes a two‐color user‐defined protocol with the automated MultiSET™ software for the acquisition, analysis, and reporting of CD4 results.