Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of P. falciparum gametocytes: molecular insight into sex-specific processes and translational repression

Sexual differentiation of malaria parasites into gametocytes in the vertebrate host and subsequent gamete fertilization in mosquitoes is essential for the spreading of the disease. The molecular processes orchestrating these transitions are far from fully understood. Here, we report the first transcriptome analysis of male and female Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes coupled with a comprehensive proteome analysis. In male gametocytes there is an enrichment of proteins involved in the formation of flagellated gametes; proteins involved in DNA replication, chromatin organization and axoneme formation. On the other hand, female gametocytes are enriched in proteins required for zygote formation and functions after fertilization; protein-, lipid- and energy-metabolism. Integration of transcriptome and proteome data revealed 512 highly expressed maternal transcripts without corresponding protein expression indicating large scale translational repression in P. falciparum female gametocytes for the first time. Despite a high degree of conservation between Plasmodium species, 260 of these ‘repressed transcripts’ have not been previously described. Moreover, for some of these genes, protein expression is only reported in oocysts and sporozoites indicating that repressed transcripts can be partitioned into short- and long-term storage. Finally, these data sets provide an essential resource for identification of vaccine/drug targets and for further mechanistic studies.
Charged multiplicity of hadronic events containing heavy-quark jets.

The charged-particle multiplicities of hadronic events deriving from produced bottom or charm quarks have been measured in the Mark II detector at PEP in e+e- annihilation at 29 GeV. For events containing one semileptonic and one hadronic weak decay, we find multiplicities of 15.20. 50.7 for bottom and 13.00. 50.8 for charm. The corresponding multiplicities of charged particles accompanying the pair of heavy hadrons are 5.20. 50.9 for bottom, and 8.10. 50.9 for charm. © 1985 The American Physical Society.
Optimum Output Waveforms in PWM Inverters

A general method is considered for optimizing the output waveform of pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) inverters, whatever load may be supplied. It consists of the minimization of a cost function of operation of the load fed by the inverter. The mathematical tools and the numerical techniques to calculate the optimum switching patterns in the space of PWM inputs are derived using the state variable description of the dynamics of the system. Nonlinear state equations are assumed. Some examples and comparisons are included to show the features of the proposed PWM methods.
A Content Analysis of Protective Factors Within States' Antibullying Laws

State lawmakers have responded to school bullying by crafting antibullying legislation. By July 2011, 47 states enacted such laws, though varied widely in content and scope. This study systematically evaluated each state's antibullying legislation by focusing on the inclusion of individual, parental, and systemic protective factors through analysis of 27 researcher-developed criteria. Although protective factors were often mentioned, overall states' antibullying language lacked clarity. The ambiguity in language and gaps of protection that exist are concerning regarding potential bullying behavior on individual, familial, and school system levels. Results of this content analysis identified areas for improvement in antibullying legislation. For instance, although the majority of states had antibullying legislation, clear guidelines for school officials were often lacking.
Eficacia diferencial de dos programas de prevención escolar sobre el consumo de tabaco, según el tipo de aplicador

Effectiveness of two smoking prevention programs according to type of applicator. Although research on the prevention of drug use has shown that the effectiveness of programs depends partly on who applies them, the results of studies designed to clarify this issue are contradictory. This study compared the effects on smoking, in the short and medium term, of the implementation of two school-based prevention programs, depending on the type of applicator. The sample was made up of 200 seventh-grade students distributed among five experimental conditions: four of intervention, in which the programs were implemented by teachers from the school or by external psychologists, and one of control. The results show that teachers applying the Barbacana program and psychologists applying the Construyendo Salud (Building Health) program succeeded in reducing the incidence of cigarette smoking (BR-teachers 15%; C.S-psychologists 5%) and strengthening attitudes against smoking. An interaction effect between type of program and type of applicators was clearly observed.
Replication at body temperature selects a neurovirulent herpes simplex virus type 2

A prototype strain of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HG-52) replicated at 31 degrees C was avirulent when inoculated intracranially into mice. This property was not altered after serial passage of the agent at 31 degrees C, but the virus became virulent after passage at 37.5 degrees C. The selection was not merely for an agent which replicated more efficiently at the higher temperature, but for viruses with enhanced capacity to replicate in the brains of mice. Virulent descendants of plaque-purified avirulent stocks were obtained in each instance attempted.
Selection Among Benzodiazepines for Alcohol Withdrawal

Four pharmacologic differences among the benzodiazepines, which are the drugs of choice to conduct alcohol withdrawal, guide selection of the appropriate one: chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, oxazepam, or chlorazepate. Bases for selection include: (1) availability of other than oral dosage forms; (2) differences in additive effect with alcohol in producing central nervous system depression; (3) differences in anticonvulsant effect; and (4) differences in duration of effect in the body (ie, half-life). Decreasing dosage schedules are preferred to a steady dosage. Illustrative dosage schedules for using chlordiazepoxide and diazepam to conduct alcohol withdrawal are given.
Plant root proliferation in nitrogen–rich patches confers competitive advantage

Plants respond strongly to environmental heterogeneity, particularly below ground, where spectacular root proliferations in nutrient–rich patches may occur. Such ‘foraging’ responses apparently maximize nutrient uptake and are now prominent in plant ecological theory. Proliferations in nitrogen–rich patches are difficult to explain adaptively, however. The high mobility of soil nitrate should limit the contribution of proliferation to N capture. Many experiments on isolated plants show only a weak relation between proliferation and N uptake. We show that N capture is associated strongly with proliferation during interspecific competition for finite, locally available, mixed N sources, precisely the conditions under which N becomes available to plants on generally infertile soils. This explains why N–induced root proliferation is an important resource–capture mechanism in N–limited plant communities and suggests that increasing proliferation by crop breeding or genetic manipulation will have a limited impact on N capture by well–fertilized monocultures.
Answering My Sister's Question: The Critical Importance of Education for Diversity in Those Spaces Where We Think We Are All the Same.

This essay is a response to a question about school desegregation in Nova Scotia, Canada posed by my sister in 2008. I argue that the question itself illustrates the extent to which critical analysis of the politics of race in Canadian schools, particularly in rural areas, is seldom taken up. This feeds into a persistent mythology of a racially integrated, benevolent Nova Scotia where nasty problems of race were taken care of in the historic past. The reality in many rural regions of Canada is, I argue, quite the opposite and it may be precisely the friendly, homespun imagery which support the persistence of exclusive educational and social practices, as well as persistent regional economic disadvantage. It is in these apparently non-diverse places that diversity education is perhaps most desperately needed. Recently my Canadian-born sister completed a law degree at college in the southern United States. In the course of her studies she was introduced to equity issues by one of her professors and class discussions comparisons were drawn between the Canadian and American legal system particularly with respect to school desegregation. Unlike the situation in the United States where it is well understood that official desegregation of schools in the 1950s did not end racial discrimination in schools and in society, this is not so much the case in Canada where racial politics have tended to be buried beneath a veneer of alleged tolerance. So it is not surprising that my sister had little understanding around the questions of school desegregation in her home province of Nova Scotia. Her question was simple: When were schools desegregated in Nova Scotia? She wanted to know about segregated schooling in Canada and in Nova Scotia particularly. When did it end? I am going to try and answer that question here.
The Parametric t-test ’ s Latent Weakness

When a latent class structure is present, parametric t-tests conducted on the observed continuous variable data can be anti-conservative. This problem is exacerbated by: A) test multiplicity across large numbers of manifest assays, each with a plausible latent structure, and B) increased accuracy of the manifest assays to discriminate underlying latent structures. This result is relevant in many modern experimental settings where an underlying latent structure is either known to be true (e.g., methylation and array CGH) or plausible (e.g., down/up-regulated gene networks). In such settings, the discrepancy between the actual null distribution and the commonly assumed null t-distribution can lead to a breakdown in the type I error control and gross overstatements of statistical significance.
Altered Lipid Metabolism in Preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome: Links to Enhanced Platelet Reactivity and Fetal Growth

Normal pregnancy is a physiological condition of balanced hypercoagulability. However, in preeclamptic pregnancies, the coagulation and fibrinolytic cascades are highly activated, accompanied by pathological blood rheology and endothelial dysfunction. This may result in disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Atherosclerosis research showed that lipids may interfere with coagulation and cause endothelial dysfunction. Therefore, we analyzed the lipoprotein distribution and platelet counts in uncomplicated preeclamptic and HELLP syndrome pregnancies. In addition, a correlation between the fetal circulation determined by Doppler velocimetry and the maternal lipid metabolism was investigated. Fasting serum was collected from 24 women in the third trimester of uncomplicated pregnancies, 9 women with severe preeclampsia, and 6 women with HELLP syndrome. Cholesterol (CH), triglycerides (TGs), and apolipoproteins were analyzed in serum and in very-low-density (VLDL), intermediate-density (IDL), low-density (LDL), and high-density (HDL) lipoproteins separated by ultra-centrifugation. Compared with normal pregnancies, TGs in serum, VLDL, IDL, LDL, and HDL were significantly increased in preeclampsia; no difference in CH concentrations was observed. During HELLP syndrome, IDL-TGs were increased compared with normal pregnancies. There was no clear correlation between fetal hemodynamics and maternal lipid metabolism, but there was a significant negative correlation between maternal platelet counts and serum TG levels. Because TG-rich particles may play an important role in thrombin generation and may induce platelet aggregation, the observed changes in lipoprotein metabolism in preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome may contribute to the coagulopathy seen in these conditions.
Determination of tin in canned foods by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

Most foods contain very low concentrations of tin, usually below 10 mg/kg, although canned foods may contain higher concentrations as a result of the slow dissolution of the tin coating used on the inside of some food cans to protect the steel body of the can from corrosion. An inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method following microwave digestion was developed and evaluated to determine levels of dissolved tin in canned foods. Accuracy of the method was tested by analyzing analytical standards containing tin at 2 levels (0.5 and 5 ppm). Amounts of tin found for the 0.5 and 5 ppm standards were 0.505 and 5.12 ppm, while repeatability relative standard deviations (RSD) were 2.42 and 1.87%, respectively. Recoveries of tin from spiked products with two levels of tin ranged from 91.3 to 105.2%. The detection limit for tin standard solution was about 0.01 ppb. The developed method was used to determine levels of tin in several kinds of canned foods from the present market. Samples of canned pineapple, mandarins, fruit cocktail, carrots, mushrooms, peas, beans, corn, peeled tomatoes, and tuna were evaluated. The relationships between tin concentrations and time periods after opening were studied.
A Model of Chinese Adolescents' Creative Personality

Since the 1950s, there has been a systemic development of research on creative personality. Three themes are apparent in this literature: individual differences of creative people, the construct of creative personality, and longitudinal studies about creative personality. However, little research has been conducted in any of these areas with Chinese samples, and the purpose of this study is to study the construct of Chinese adolescents' creative personality. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted with data from 1,300 Chinese adolescents. The results provide evidence that adolescents' creative personality consists of three largely independent dimensions: Internal, External, and Self. The internal factor includes self-confidence, norm-doubt, internal motivation, and persistence; the external factor includes curiosity, risk-taking, openness and independence; the self factor pertains to self-acceptance.
Treatment of Pre-eclampsia: Implementing Research Findings

Pre-eclampsia is a complex disease that affects both mother and their developing fetus. Due to the multifactorial nature of the disease and its undeciphered etiology, we explore the possibility of improving intrinsic vasodilatory mechanisms as a method of treatment. Reduced utero-placental blood flow seems to be central in the manifestation of this disease leading to the secretions of various factors that maintain and/or worsen the condition. We and various other researchers have showed that improved placental perfusion shows promise in alleviating many symptoms of the disease. This serves as an excellent option at reducing both perinatal and maternal morbidity and mortality irrespective of the predisposing factors for the disease.
Corporate Strategy, Organizations, and Subjectivity: A Critique

This paper attempts to develop a new approach to the study of corporate strategy. It draws on the methodology of Michel Foucault to suggest that corporate strategy can be seen as a discourse which has its own specific conditions of possibility. These are traced historically to various exercises of power within the conduct of war and the development of business organizations. Strategy is located as an emergent set of practices which has distinctive power effects on organizations and subjectivity. Analyses of strategy cannot be reduced either to rationalist accounts of markets and environments nor interpretive understandings of actors' frames of reference. The emergence and reproduction of 'strategy' as an essential element in managerial discourse needs to be located in specific changes in organizations and managerial subjectivity, because it is a mechanism of power that transforms individuals into particular kinds of subjects who secure a sense of well-being through participation in strategic practices. Conflict over 'strategy' is therefore more than just a question of career politics and market competition. It touches on the very sense of what it is to be human as well as having effects that readily legitimize prevailing relations of inequality and privilege in contemporary organizations and institutions.
The role and impact of affect in the process of resistance to persuasion

This investigation dealt with the role and impact of affect in the process of resistance. A total of 597 participants took part in the study in 4 phases spanning 6 weeks. Initial results indicated that the cognitive, affective-anger, and affective-happiness inoculation treatments all conferred resistance to persuasive attacks. Structural equation analyses were conducted on the cognitive, affective-anger, and affective-happiness experimental inoculation conditions in order to examine the process of resistance. The results across all 3 conditions revealed a direct path in which inoculation treatments directly induced resistance to persuasive attacks. However, indirect paths to resistance varied across the 3 experimental conditions. Cognitive inoculation treatments contributed to receiver threat and counterarguing output, which, in turn, enhanced resistance. Thus, the cognitive inoculation treatments triggered a process that is consistent with McGuire's theoretical explanation for resistance. By contrast, both affective-anger and affective-happiness inoculation treatments relied more heavily on elicited emotional responses. Finally, the results indicated that greater receiver involvement was positively associated with experienced anger and, therefore, indirectly contributed to resistance, whereas greater receiver self-efficacy tended to dampen resistance.
A cross-national analysis of physical intimate partner violence against women

This study investigates the cross-national correlates of intimate partner violence against women with a sample of 40 developed and less developed countries. Specifically, we analyze physical intimate partner violence against women during the 12 months prior to data collection, using data from nationally representative surveys. In the process, we examine the evidence for three explanations we discern from the literature: empowerment of women, cultural context (i.e. religion, institutions), and globalization. The results of our analyses provide strong support for the empowerment of women explanation, which draws from feminist concerns regarding socio-economic status of women, and reveal some effect of cultural context and globalization. Female labor force participation in non-agricultural sectors and women’s secondary school enrollment decrease the likelihood of intimate partner violence while increasing total fertility rate signals more partner violence. Religious fractionalization and dependence on high-income countries as export partners also increase the likelihood of intimate partner violence against women.
Rab2a and Rab27a cooperatively regulate the transition from granule maturation to exocytosis through the dual effector Noc2

ABSTRACT Exocytosis of secretory granules entails budding from the trans-Golgi network, sorting and maturation of cargo proteins, and trafficking and fusion to the plasma membrane. Rab27a regulates the late steps in this process, such as granule recruitment to the fusion site, whereas Rab2a functions in the early steps, such as granule biogenesis and maturation. Here, we demonstrate that these two small GTPases simultaneously bind to Noc2 (also known as RPH3AL) in a GTP-dependent manner, although Rab2a binds only after Rab27a has bound. In pancreatic β-cells, the ternary Rab2a–Noc2–Rab27a complex specifically localizes on perinuclear immature granules, whereas the binary Noc2–Rab27a complex localizes on peripheral mature granules. In contrast to the wild type, Noc2 mutants defective in binding to Rab2a or Rab27a fail to promote glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Although knockdown of any component of the ternary complex markedly inhibits insulin secretion, only knockdown of Rab2a or Noc2, and not that of Rab27a, impairs cargo processing from proinsulin to insulin. These results suggest that the dual effector, Noc2, regulates the transition from Rab2a-mediated granule biogenesis to Rab27a-mediated granule exocytosis. Summary: Although regulated exocytosis comprises several sequential steps, the mechanisms coordinating each step are poorly understood. These findings suggest that Noc2 regulates the transition between Rab2a- and Rab27a-mediated exocytosis.
Huddling behavior as critical phase transition triggered by low temperatures

Huddling is a grouping behavior where animals maintain close bodily contact and save energy. We tested the hypothesis that this thermoregulatory behavior behaves as a system with continuous (second-order phase) transition called critical when the environmental temperature (driving parameter) is near a critical value. To do so, we followed theoretical and experimental approaches, examining data from geometrical models, metabolic rate during huddling in small mammals, and also conducting an experiment on thermoregulatory huddling behavior with white mice. Our results support all predictions for systems under continuous-phase transition triggered by low temperatures, a phenomenon reported for first time in a biological system. We suggest that huddling behavior in social animals, a recognized adaptive behavior, may be considered a self-organized system coupled with an external driving parameter. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2011 © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Metabolomics to Decipher the Chemical Defense of Cereals against Fusarium graminearum and Deoxynivalenol Accumulation

Fusarium graminearum is the causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) and Gibberella ear rot (GER), two devastating diseases of wheat, barley, and maize. Furthermore, F. graminearum species can produce type B trichothecene mycotoxins that accumulate in grains. Use of FHB and GER resistant cultivars is one of the most promising strategies to reduce damage induced by F. graminearum. Combined with genetic approaches, metabolomic ones can provide powerful opportunities for plant breeding through the identification of resistant biomarker metabolites which have the advantage of integrating the genetic background and the influence of the environment. In the past decade, several metabolomics attempts have been made to decipher the chemical defense that cereals employ to counteract F. graminearum. By covering the major classes of metabolites that have been highlighted and addressing their potential role, this review demonstrates the complex and integrated network of events that cereals can orchestrate to resist to F. graminearum.
Detection of Edges Using Two-Way Nested Design

This paper implements a novel approach of identifying edges in images using a two-way nested design. The test comprises of two steps. First step is based on an F-test. The sums of square (SS) of various effects are used to extract the mean square (MS) effect of respective effects and the unknown effect considered as noise. The mean square value has a chi-square distribution. The ratio of two chi-square distributions has an F-distribution. The final decision is based on testing a hypothesis for the presence or absence of an effect. The second step is based on contrast function (CF). This test identifies the presence or absence of an edge in four directions that are horizontal, vertical, and the two diagonal directions. The test is based on Tukey’s T-test. The performance of nested design is compared with the edge detection using Sobel filter. A rigorous testing reveals that the nested design yields comparable results for images that are either free of noise or corrupted with light noise. The nested design however outperforms the Sobel filter in situations where the images are corrupted with heavy noise.