Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Escherichia coli relBE genes belong to a new toxin–antitoxin gene family

Toxin–antitoxin systems are defined as a group of plasmid‐ and chromosome‐encoded loci that specify a cell toxin and a protein antitoxin. Plasmid‐encoded toxin–antitoxin systems stabilize their replicons by killing plasmid‐free cells. Here, we show that the relBE genes of Escherichia coli K‐12 have all the basic features previously connected with toxin–antitoxin systems: (i) relE encodes a cytotoxin lethal or inhibitory to host cells; (ii) relB encodes an antitoxin that prevents the lethal action of the relE‐encoded toxin; (iii) the relBE genes stabilize a mini‐R1 test plasmid; and (iv) the RelB antitoxin autoregulates the relBEF operon at the level of transcription. Using database searching, we found relBE homologues on the chromosomes of E. coli K‐12, Haemophilus influenzae and Vibrio choleraeA fifth relBE homologue was identified on the enterotoxin encoding E. coli plasmid P307. Indirect evidence suggests that the toxicity of RelE may be related to the inhibition of protein synthesis. Based on these observations, we propose a model that explains the delayed relaxed phenotype associated with mutations in relB.
Alcohol Inhibits the Depolarization‐Induced Stimulation of Oxidative Phosphorylation in Synaptosomes

Abstract: The effects of alcohol and Ca2+ transport inhibitors on depolarization‐induced stimulation of oxidative phosphorylation and free‐Ca2+ concentrations in rat synaptosomes were investigated. Glucose oxidation was stimulated by depolarization with K+ or veratridine and by the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin. The stimulation by K+, veratridine, and ionomycin was correlated with elevation of synaptosomal free Ca2+. Depolarization‐stimulated respiration was inhibited by verapamil, Cd2+, and ruthenium red but not by diltiazem. Synaptosomal Ca2+ elevation was inhibited by verapamil but not by ruthenium red. These results indicate that the stimulation depends on elevation of mitochondrial free Ca2+. Ethanol, at pharmacological concentrations (50–200 mM), inhibited the Ca2+‐dependent stimulation of oxidative phosphorylation. This inhibition resulted, in part, from the inhibition of voltage‐gated Ca2+ channels, which inhibited the elevation of synaptosomal free Ca2+, and, in part, from the stimulation of the mitochondrial Ca2+/Na+ antiporter, which inhibited the elevation of the mitochondrial matrix free Ca2+. The inhibition by ethanol of the excitation‐induced stimulation of oxidative phosphorylation in the synapse may contribute to the depressant and narcotic effects of alcohol and enhance excitotoxicity.
Killer Ig-like receptor ( KIR ) genetic polymorphism in chronic hepatitis B susceptibility in a Chinese population

Natural killer and CD8+ T cells are identified as cleaners to be involved in the immune protection against virus, bacteria and tumor cells. Their function may be regulated by a cohort of receptors such as killer immunogloblinlike receptors (KIRS) and their counterpart HLA class I ligands. In this study, we analyzed the influence of KIR genes and KIR/HLA-Cw combinations on chronia hepatitis B susceptibility in a Han Chinese population. For the purpose, KIR and HLA-C genotyping by PCR-SSP were performed in 175 patients with chronic hepatitis B and 125 patients who cleared HBV spontaneously. The results showed a significantly lower frequency of KIR2DL2 and KIR2DS2 in the case group which named patients with chronic hepatitis B, in who was found a higher frequency of KIR2DL3. However, KIR2DL2, -2DL3 and -2DS2 in the presence of their ligands HLA-C1 were failed to reach significance. In conclusion, the study of KIR genes and HLA ligands may contribute to the genetic susceptibility of chronic hepatitis B, and help in assessing chronic hepatitis B risk and diognosis.
Development and Neighborhood Revitalization: The Effects of Residential Investment on Property Values in Durham, NC

Proponents of urban revitalization assert that neighborhood redevelopment is a win-win proposition for all stakeholders involved, as development creates positive externalities which resonate beyond the scope of each project. Property values for neighborhood residents improve, the local government enjoys the budget boost of a higher tax base, and developers collect well earned profits. This frequently studied and accepted line of thinking supports the use of measures such as tax increment financing, subsidized development, and lighter zoning standards in communities across America. This study examines the view that residential development creates positive externalities through the study of taxable values in the neighborhood surrounding Durham, North Carolina’s Lyon Park. In 2008 a sustained neighborhood revitalization effort led by Self Help, a local non-profit, coincided with a county wide tax reassessment, providing a unique ability to quantify the effects of redevelopment on property values in Lyon Park. The results find no evidence of positive development externalities reflected in improved real estate values for surrounding proper ties, challenging many of the arguments used to champion urban revitalization initiatives.
Chiral recognition of verapamil by cyclodextrins studied with capillary electrophoresis, NMR spectroscopy, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) allows the observation of the opposite affinities of the enantiomers of (+/-)-verapamil [2-isopropyl-2,8-bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-6-methyl-6-azaoctannitrile+ ++, VP] toward beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and heptakis(2,3, 6-tri-O-methyl)-beta-CD (TM-beta-CD). In addition, in the presence of beta-CD in the background electrolyte, longer migration times and lower separation factors were observed compared to TM-beta-CD. The binding constants of (+)- and (-)-VP with beta-CD and TM-beta-CD determined using (13)C NMR spectroscopy explain the results observed in CE. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was used as an alternative technique for the characterization of VP-CD complexes.
An Interactivist-Hermeneutic Metatheory for Positive Psychology

Drawing on Bickhard's interactivism along with philosophical hermeneutics, we outline a plausible ontology of human action and development that might serve as a metatheory for positive psychology. Our nondualistic metatheory rests on a distributed notion of agency. The kinds of morally imbued social practices that are identified by hermeneutic theorists constitute one level of agency. At the first level of agency, persons are already committed, at least by implication, to folk psychologies that cover positive emotion, positive traits, and positive institutions. Higher levels of agency and knowing emerge through the process of development. The higher knowing levels incorporate the capacity for conscious self-reflexive awareness, which permits the person to consciously deliberate and form theories of the good person and the good life. These more consciously formed positive folk psychologies are always in a dialectical relationship with the more implicit and embodied understandings of the good life as manifested in social practices, emotional experiences, and habitual thoughts. We suggest that this framework helps to account for the `diversity of goods' that underlie our lives and to clarify the relationship that the professional positive psychologist will have with his or her native folk psychology.
Endotoxin disrupts the estradiol-induced luteinizing hormone surge: interference with estradiol signal reading, not surge release.

Three experiments were conducted to investigate whether the immune/inflammatory stimulus endotoxin disrupts the estradiol-induced LH surge of the ewe. Ovariectomized sheep were set up in an artificial follicular phase model in which luteolysis is simulated by progesterone withdrawal and the follicular phase estradiol rise is reproduced experimentally. In the first experiment, we tested the hypothesis that endotoxin interferes with the estradiol-induced LH surge. Ewes were either infused with endotoxin (300 ng/kg/h, i.v.) for 30 h beginning at onset of a 48-h estradiol stimulus or sham infused as a control. Endotoxin significantly delayed the time to the LH surge (P < 0.01), but did not alter surge amplitude, duration, or incidence. The second experiment tested the hypothesis that the delaying effects of endotoxin on the LH surge depend on when endotoxin is introduced relative to the onset of the estradiol signal. Previous work in the ewe has shown that a 14-h estradiol signal is adequate to generate GnRH and LH surges, which begin 6-8 h later. Thus, we again infused endotoxin for 30 h, but began it 14 h after the onset of the estradiol signal. In contrast to the first experiment, endotoxin given later had no effect on any parameter of the LH surge. In the third experiment, we tested the hypothesis that endotoxin acts during the first 14 h to disrupt the initial activating effects of estradiol. Estradiol was delivered for just 14 h, and endotoxin was infused only during this time. Under these conditions, endotoxin blocked the LH surge in five of eight ewes. In a similar follow-up study, endotoxin again blocked the LH surge in six of seven ewes. We conclude that endotoxin can disrupt the estradiol-induced LH surge by interfering with the early activating effects of the estradiol signal during the first 14 h (reading of the signal). In contrast, endotoxin does not disrupt later stages of signal processing (i.e. events during the interval between estradiol signal delivery and surge onset), nor does it prevent actual hormonal surge output. Thus, endotoxin appears to disrupt estrogen action per se rather than the release of GnRH or LH at the time of the surge.
"IM here" Reflections on virtual office hours

AOL Instant messenger (IM) was used over four semesters as an additional way for students to contact us during office hours. Since college students primarily use IM as a way to interact socially with their friends and family, we were curious if students would use IM to contact us, who would use it, how often they would use it, and what the content of the IM interactions would be. After two years of collecting all IM exchanges with students, we found that students did use IM to contact us on a regular basis. Both male and female students in roughly equal numbers used IM. In addition, a majority of the exchanges were task related; that is, questions and comments relating to a particular course or assignment. Results, personal reflections, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Vertical velocity and buoyancy characteristics of coherent echo plumes in the convective boundary layer, detected by a profiling airborne radar

Aircraft and airborne millimeter-wave radar observations are used to interpret the dynamics of radar echoes and radar-inferred updrafts within the well-developed, weakly sheared continental convective boundary layer. Vertically pointing radar reflectivity and Doppler velocity data collected above and below the aircraft, flying along fixed tracks in the central Great Plains during the International H 2 O Project (IHOP_2002), are used to define echo plumes and updraft plumes, respectively. Updraft plumes are generally narrower than echo plumes, but both types of plumes have the dynamical properties of buoyant eddies, especially at low levels. This buoyancy is driven both by temperature excess and water vapor excess over the ambient air. Plumes that are better defined in terms of reflectivity or updraft strength tend to be more buoyant.
Analysing Sequences of TV-Frames

A system is being implemented to analyse sequences of TV-frames from real world scenes like a street intersection with cars. A monocular black/white TV-camera will record - without changing its position or viewing direction - a scene in realtime on an AKPEX analog disk . The analysis system must not manipulate objects and their environment by mechanical devices. Changes in color or direction of the illumination as well as laser ranging or slit illumination will be excluded.
Exercise increases adiponectin levels and insulin sensitivity in humans.

Adiponectin is an abundant circulating adipocytokine with anti-inflammatory properties (1) linked to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity (2–5). Numerous reports (3–5), including the present one, confirm plasma adiponectin levels to be inversely related to insulin resistance. Longer term, a rise in adiponectin has been shown to occur in response to weight loss and glitazone therapy, but not after chronic exercise training. However, understanding of the shorter-term regulation of adiponectin in particular remains unclear. As an extension to a previously reported exercise intervention in sedentary males by our group (6), we have now examined the effects of this training intervention on adiponectin levels in overweight males. We demonstrate that the short-term exercise training increased circulating adiponectin levels with accompanied improved insulin sensitivity. Twenty-six overweight males participated in an exercise program, as previously described (6). Full data were available on 19 subjects who completed the entire program. At …
Shareholding preference of institutional investors and the information disclosure quality of listed companies

What both domestic and foreign researchers have been concerned about is that whether institutional investors can make effective shareholding decisions. This paper selects the data of Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2012, and uses static and dynamic model respectively to test the influence of the listed companies' information disclosure quality on the institutional shareholdings. The results of the empirical study show that the institutional holdings are sensitive to the information disclosure quality. On one hand, the institutional investors prefer the companies with higher quality of information disclosure. On the other hand, their response in shareholding decisions according to the quality's annual changes. Therefore, the listed companies making information disclosure policy need to consider the attention of institutional investors, and that using institutions' shareholding decision to promote the building of companies' information disclosure system will contribute to the policy-making in the capital market.
Bioactive Glasses in Dentistry: A Review

Article History Received: 2 October 2014 Accepted: 2 January 2015 Bioactive glasses are silicate-based and can form a strong chemical bond with the tissues. These biomaterials are highly biocompatible and can form a hydroxyapatite layer when implanted in the body or soaked in the simulated body fluid. Due to several disadvantages, conventional glass processing method including melting of glass components, is replaced by sol-gel method with a large number of benefits such as low processing temperature, higher purity and homogeneity and therefore better control of bioactivity. Bioactive glasses have a wide range of applications, particularly in dentistry. These glasses can be used as particulates or monolithic shapes and porous or dense constructs in different applications such as remineralization or hypersensitivity treatment. Some properties of bioactive glasses such as antibacterial properties can be promoted by adding different elements into the glass. Bioactive glasses can also be used to modify different biocompatible materials that need to be bioactive. This study reviews the significant developments of bioactive glasses in clinical application, especially dentistry. Furthermore, we will discuss the field of bioactive glasses from beginning to the current developments, which includes processing methods, applications, and properties of these glasses.
Comparative in vivo and pathological analysis of the blood‐brain barrier in mouse telencephalic transplants

The post‐transplantation status of the blood‐brain barrier (BBB) is still a matter of debate. In an attempt to define BBB properties after neural transplantation in mice of a defined genetic background, we have used two exogenous markers (horseradish peroxidase and Evans blue), one endogenous marker (immunoglobulins), and in vivo contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and compared the results obtained with the different methods. With all four techniques employed, we found the BBB to be reconstituted in 67% of the grafts 3 weeks after grafting, and in more than 90% of all grafts 50 days after grafting. Horseradish peroxidase and contrast enhanced MRI were the most sensitive techniques, the latter offering the unique advantage of repetitive scanning of individual grafts. Our findings provide important information for transplantation studies in mouse models for neurodegenerative diseases.
End-to-End Delay and Network Lifetime Analysis in a Wireless Sensor Network Performing Data Aggregation

Data aggregation is a promising approach for reducing energy consumption and relaying of redundant data in wireless sensor networks for monitoring applications. However data aggregation implies, on the one hand, an increase in network processing at certain nodes, referred to as aggregators, possibly leading to a higher delivery delay to the sink. On the other hand, the advantages of using aggregation are numerous, especially under the perspective of energy consumption reduction and network lifetime increase. In this paper we provide a closed form expression for the end-to-end delay and network lifetime distributions in a wireless sensor network employing aggregation. These derivations can be used to provide some insights on the expected performance in terms of the metrics above mentioned, when data aggregation is used. For example, if a certain constraint on the maximum tolerable delivery delay is given, τ*, this can be useful to characterize what is the probability to satisfy this constraint.
Aerial Photography Applied to Traffic Studies

IN T R O D U C T IO N Within the next decade, more than $30 billion will be spent at the federal, state and local levels for the construction of new roadways in the United States. Additional billions will be allocated for the operation and maintenance of existing facilities. Toward what end is this huge expenditure being made? Most highway officials would agree that it is to promote the efficient flow of the nation’s goods and populations. But what assurance do we have that this program will actually foster efficient transportation ? A frank reply would have to be, “Very little, indeed. ”
The Design and Exogenous Delivery of siRNA for Post-transcriptional Gene Silencing

RNA interference (RNAi) is a natural cellular process that effects post-transcriptional gene silencing in eukaryotic systems. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules are the key intermediaries in this process which when exogenously administered can inhibit or “silence” the expression of any given target gene. Thus, siRNA molecules hold great promise as biological tools and as potential therapeutic agents for targeted inhibition of disease-causing genes. However, key challenges to the effective and widespread use of these polyanionic, macromolecular duplexes of RNA are their appropriate design and efficient delivery to cells in vitro and in vivo. This review highlights the current strategies used in the design of effective siRNA molecules and also summarises the main strategies being considered for the exogenous delivery of siRNA for both in vitro and in vivo applications.
Constitutive expression of nitrate reductase allows normal growth and development of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia plants.

A nitrate reductase (NR) deficient mutant of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia totally impaired in the production of NR transcript and protein was restored for NR activity by transformation with a chimaeric NR gene. This gene was composed of a full‐length tobacco NR cDNA fused to the CaMV 35S promoter and to termination signals from the tobacco NR gene. The transgenic plants we obtained were viable and fertile and expressed from one‐fifth to three times the wild‐type NR activity in their leaves. The analysis of chimeric NR gene expression in these plants showed, by comparison with wild‐type plants, that the regulation of NR gene expression by light, nitrate and circadian rhythm takes place at the transcriptional level. However, unlike nitrate, light was required for the accumulation of NR protein in transgenic plants, suggesting that NR expression is also controlled at the translational and/or post‐translational level.
A comparison of the ability of the Japanese quail and light breed chicken to metabolize and utilize energy.

Abstract IT HAS been suggested by Wilson et al. (1961) that the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) is a suitable research animal for conducting pilot experiments for chickens and turkeys because of its close resemblance to these species. Although the Japanese quail has been used extensively in avian research, there have been few direct comparisons of this species with the more commonly used domestic breeds of chickens and turkeys. In view of the increased interest in the use of the Japanese quail in avian research, the experiments reported in this paper were designed to compare the relative abilities of this species and light breed chickens to metabolize and utilize energy from diets of different energy concentrations. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Two experiments were conducted and, with the exception of the diets, the experimental procedures for both trials were as nearly alike as possible. Chicks of both species were hatched from eggs obtained from .
Plasma Density Distribution in Asymmetric Geometry Capacitive Coupled Plasma Discharge System

In this work, we used the single Langmuir probe to measure the plasma density distribution in an geometrically asymmetric capacitive coupled plasma discharge system. Because of the frame structure of powered electrode, the plasma density was not homogeneous in the discharge volume. It was higher under the frame, but lower in the centre. Finite element simulation results showed a good agreement with the experiment results. To increase the electron density in the central volume and improve the homogeneity of the plasma, we added an auxiliary electrode, powered by DC voltage, in the simulation geometry. The simulation results showed that the auxiliary electrode could alter the potential distribution and improve the density homogeneity effectively. Keywords—Capacitive coupled discharge, asymmetric discharge, homogeneous plasma.
frogs fungal infection in a wild population of Panamanian golden Thermoregulatory behaviour affects prevalence of chytrid

Supplementary data tml http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing. org/content/suppl/2009/10/27/rspb.2009. 1656.DC1. h "Data Supplement" References http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing. org/content/277/1681/519.full. html#ref-list-1 This article cites 68 articles, 9 of which can be accessed free Subject collections (179 articles) health and disease and epidemiology  (1131 articles) ecology  (1009 articles) behaviour  Articles on similar topics can be found in the following collections
Forced degradation of recombinant monoclonal antibodies: A practical guide

ABSTRACT Forced degradation studies have become integral to the development of recombinant monoclonal antibody therapeutics by serving a variety of objectives from early stage manufacturability evaluation to supporting comparability assessments both pre- and post- marketing approval. This review summarizes the regulatory guidance scattered throughout different documents to highlight the expectations from various agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency. The various purposes for forced degradation studies, commonly used conditions and the major degradation pathways under each condition are also discussed.