Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence that cytotoxic T cells are part of the host's response to influenza pneumonia

Cytotoxic T cells were detected in the cervical lymph nodes, lungs, spleen, and peripheral blood of mice with influenza. Lymphocytes decreased in the peripheral circulation and increased in the lung during the period of acute inflammation and pneumonia. Peak cytotoxic T- cell activity was present at the time of marked pulmonary infiltration, and it decreased with resolution of the pneumonia. The cytotoxic T cells in the lung were shown to be H-2 restricted and specific for the hemagglutinin of the infecting virus. The results indicate that hemagglutinin specific cytotoxic T cells are (a) induced during influenza infection; (b) they circulate in the blood; (c) they are present in greatest number; and (d) they have their peak cytotoxic effect when pneumonia is most marked. We interpret the results to indicate that specific cytotoxic T cells in the infected target organ are part of the immunological and pathological response to virus infection.
Processo seletivo público para escolha de secretário municipal: análise da experiência da cidade de Londrina, PR

This project discusses the experience of the public selection for the title of Municipal Secretary of Education of Londrina, state of Parana, emphasizing the relevance of two main aspects: the topic of the high public administration, still little explored by the country’s literature, and the success of the establishment of a selection model, based on the previous assessment of the management competencies as material to finance political appointments of discretionary nature. In our analysis of this pioneer initiative, we will demonstrate the dialog existing between the Londrina’s experience and literature about the topic of high public administration, exploring three dimensions: the concept of director and public leader, the characterization of the institutional spaces where they act and the role of managerial competencies as central axis for the realization of the selection processes of these professionals. The project also details the steps that had formed the selection process in Londrina and indicates who are the actors involved with this process. Next, it relates the main advances and challenges that characterize a selection process of this nature and offers recommendations destined to public managers that want to replicate this initiative. The methodology adopted for the case analysis was the participant observation, considering the involvement of the authors in this experience’s conception and deployment. Keywords: Human resources management. Selection. Selection process. Competencies. Public officials.
Extent With Modification: Leg Patterning in the Beetle Tribolium castaneum and the Evolution of Serial Homologs

Serial homologs are similar structures that develop at different positions within a body plan. These structures share some, but not all, aspects of developmental patterning, and their evolution is thought to be constrained by shared, pleiotropic gene functions. Here we describe the functions of 17 developmental genes during metamorphic development of the legs in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. This study provides informative comparisons between appendage development in Drosophila melanogaster and T. castaneum, between embryonic and adult development in T. castaneum, and between the development of serially homologous appendages. The leg gap genes Distal-less and dachshund are conserved in function. Notch signaling, the zinc-finger transcription factors related to odd-skipped, and bric-à-brac have conserved functions in promoting joint development. homothorax knockdown alters the identity of proximal leg segments but does not reduce growth. Lim1 is required for intermediate leg development but not distal tarsus and pretarsus development as in D. melanogaster. Development of the tarsus requires decapentaplegic, rotund, spineless, abrupt, and bric-à-brac and the EGF ligand encoded by Keren. Metathoracic legs of T. castaneum have four tarsomeres, whereas other legs have five. Patterns of gene activity in the tarsus suggest that patterning in the middle of the tarsal region, not the proximal- or distal-most areas, is responsible for this difference in segment number. Through comparisons with other recent studies of T. castaneum appendage development, we test hypotheses for the modularity or interdependence of development during evolution of serial homologs.
Rainfed Areas and Animal Agriculture in Asia: The Wanting Agenda for Transforming Productivity Growth and Rural Poverty

The importance of rainfed areas and animal agriculture on productivity enhancement and food security for economic rural growth in Asia is discussed in the context of opportunities for increasing potential contribution from them. The extent of the rainfed area of about 223 million hectares and the biophysical attributes are described. They have been variously referred to inter alia as fragile, marginal, dry, waste, problem, threatened, range, less favoured, low potential lands, forests and woodlands, including lowlands and uplands. Of these, the terms less favoured areas (LFAs), and low or high potential are quite widely used. The LFAs are characterised by four key features: i) very variable biophysical elements, notably poor soil quality, rainfall, length of growing season and dry periods, ii) extreme poverty and very poor people who continuously face hunger and vulnerability, iii) presence of large populations of ruminant animals (buffaloes, cattle, goats and sheep), and iv) have had minimum development attention and an unfinished wanting agenda. The rainfed humid/sub-humid areas found mainly in South East Asia (99 million ha), and arid/semi-arid tropical systems found in South Asia (116 million ha) are priority agro-ecological zones (AEZs). In India for example, the ecosystem occupies 68% of the total cultivated area and supports 40% of the human and 65% of the livestock populations. The area also produces 4% of food requirements. The biophysical and typical household characteristics, agricultural diversification, patterns of mixed farming and cropping systems are also described. Concerning animals, their role and economic importance, relevance of ownership, nomadic movements, and more importantly their potential value as the entry point for the development of LFAs is discussed. Two examples of demonstrated success concern increasing buffalo production for milk and their expanded use in semi-arid AEZs in India, and the integration of cattle and goats with oil palm in Malaysia. Revitalised development of the LFAs is justified by the demand for agricultural land to meet human needs e.g. housing, recreation and industrialisation; use of arable land to expand crop production to ceiling levels; increasing and very high animal densities; increased urbanisation and pressure on the use of available land; growing environmental concerns of very intensive crop production e.g. acidification and salinisation with rice cultivation; and human health risks due to expanding peri-urban poultry and pig production. The strategies for promoting productivity growth will require concerted R and D on improved use of LFAs, application of systems perspectives for technology delivery, increased investments, a policy framework and improved farmer-researcher-extension linkages. These challenges and their resolution in rainfed areas can forcefully impact on increased productivity, improved livelihoods and human welfare, and environmental sustainability in the future.
Multipath Matching Pursuit

In this paper, we propose an algorithm referred to as multipath matching pursuit (MMP) that investigates multiple promising candidates to recover sparse signals from compressed measurements. Our method is inspired by the fact that the problem to find the candidate that minimizes the residual is readily modeled as a combinatoric tree search problem and the greedy search strategy is a good fit for solving this problem. In the empirical results as well as the restricted isometry property-based performance guarantee, we show that the proposed MMP algorithm is effective in reconstructing original sparse signals for both noiseless and noisy scenarios.
Domain and basement membrane specificity of a monoclonal antibody against chicken type IV collagen

A monoclonal antibody, IV-IA8, generated against chicken type IV collagen has been characterized and shown to bind specifically to a conformational-dependent site within a major, triple helical domain of the type IV molecule. Immunohistochemical localization of the antigenic determinant with IV-IA8 revealed that the basement membranes of a variety of chick tissues were stained but that the basement membrane of the corneal epithelium showed little, if any, staining. Thus, basement membranes may differ in their content of type IV collagen, or in the way in which it is assembled. The specificity of the antibody was determined by inhibition ELISA using purified collagen types I-V and three purified molecular domains of chick type IV collagen ([F1]2F2, F3, and 7S) as inhibitors. Only unfractionated type IV collagen and the (F1)2F2 domain bound the antibody. Antibody binding was destroyed by thermal denaturation of the collagen, the loss occurring at a temperature similar to that at which previous optical rotatory dispersion studies had shown melting of the triple helical structure of (F1)2F2. Such domain-specific monoclonal antibodies should prove to be useful probes in studies involving immunological dissection of the type IV collagen molecule, its assembly within basement membranes, and changes in its distribution during normal development and in disease.
Massive Urinary Protein Excretion Associated with Greater Neonatal Risk in Preeclampsia

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to compare clinical outcomes of preeclamptic pregnancies according to the proteinuria level. Study Design Secondary analysis of a multicenter prospective cohort study of women with preeclampsia (PE) symptomatology. Nonproteinuria, mild-proteinuria, and massive-proteinuria PEs were defined as: < 165 mg in 12 hours or < 300 mg in 24 hours, 165 mg to 2.69 g in 12 hours or 300 mg to 4.99 g in 24 hours, and ≥ 2.7 g in 12 hours or ≥ 5.0 g in 24 hours, respectively. Individual and composite maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes were compared among the PE groups. Results Of the 406 analyzed pregnancies, 36 (8.8%) had massive-proteinuria PE, 268 (66.0%) mild-proteinuria PE, and 102 (25.1%) nonproteinuria PE. Compared with the other groups, massive-proteinuria PE women had significantly higher blood pressures (p < 0.001), epigastric pain (p = 0.007), and uric acid serum levels (p < 0.001) prior to delivery. Composite maternal morbidity was similar across the groups. Delivery < 340/7 weeks occurred in 80.6, 49.3, and 22.5% of massive-proteinuria, mild-proteinuria, and nonproteinuria PE groups, respectively (p < 0.0001). Composite adverse neonatal outcomes were significantly higher in the massive-proteinuria PE compared with the other groups (p = 0.001). Conclusion While potentially not important diagnostically, massive proteinuria is associated with more severe clinical manifestations of PE prompting earlier delivery.
Use of Multiple Regression and Use-Availability Analyses in Determining Habitat Selection by Gray Squirrels ( Sciurus Carolinensis )

-Multiple regression and use-availability analyses are two methods for examining habitat selection. Use-availability analysis is commonly used to evaluate macrohabitat selection whereas multiple regression analysis can be used to determine microhabitat selection. We compared these techniques using behavioral observations (n = 5534) and telemetry locations (n = 2089) of gray squirrels (Sciuru.s carolinensis) on the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge (PNWR) in Georgia. Use-availability analysis of stands classified according to their composition of pine and hardwood basal area produced inconsistent results; no pattern of selection was evident because similarly classified stands (e.g. pine/ hardwood) received differing levels of use. In multiple regression analysis, tree species that predicted relative use by gray squirrels differed by season. Deciduous holly (flex deciduaj, sweetgum (Licpidumbar styrucQ7ua), water oak (Quercxs nigra), willow oak (Q. @es none of the 17 structural variables measured contributed significantly to predictive models. We found poor to moderate concordance (14.3 71.4”/0) between stand use predicted from multiple regression analysis and stand use determined by use-availability analysis. Our findings suggest that examinations of selection at different scales may result in differing interpretations of habitat use and erroneous inferences regarding habitat selection.
IDS Evaluation Approach Based on MLE-ROC

the measures of Intrusion Detection System (IDS) in special threshold-value are derived from the contingency table. ROC curve facilitates to evaluate general performance of Intrusion Detection System (IDS). In practice, ROC convex hull (ROCCH) method which combines techniques from computational geometry is used, but it maximizes the area under the ROC curve (AUC). In order to maximum likelihood estimation of value of AUC, We propose MLE-ROC, a new algorithm depending on monotonic regression.
Compressive Sensing Based Opportunistic Protocol for Throughput Improvement in Wireless Networks

A key feature in the design of any MAC protocol is the throughput it can provide. In wireless networks, the channel of a user is not fixed but varies randomly. Thus, in order to maximize the throughput of the MAC protocol at any given time, only users with large channel gains should be allowed to transmit. In this paper, compressive sensing based opportunistic protocol for throughput improvement in wireless networks is proposed. The protocol is based on the traditional protocol of R-ALOHA which allows users to compete for channel access before reserving the channel to the best user. We use compressive sensing to find the best user, and show that the proposed protocol requires less time for reservation and so it outperforms other schemes proposed in literature. This makes the protocol particularly suitable for enhancing R-ALOHA in fast fading environments. We consider both analog and digital versions of the protocol where the channel gains sent by the user are analog and digital, respectively.
A comparative analysis of R & D in public and private organizations and the effects of recent public policy activity in U . S .

The goal of this paper is to analyze and highlight the nature of R&D and the fundamental analogies and differences surrounding the organization of R&D in different institutions such as Universities, National Labs and corporate Laboratories. Based on this analysis we evaluate the matching between desired objectives and empirical effects of the most important public policies aimed to improve U.S. industry competitiveness. The analysis is performed within the framework of dynamic capabilities. Finally, we highlight the major findings and we address the problem of better policy design.
Characterization of Hypovirus-Derived Small RNAs Generated in the Chestnut Blight Fungus by an Inducible DCL-2-Dependent Pathway

ABSTRACT The disruption of one of two dicer genes, dcl-2, of the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica was recently shown to increase susceptibility to mycovirus infection (G. C. Segers, X. Zhang, F. Deng, Q. Sun, and D. L. Nuss, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104:12902-12906, 2007). We now report the accumulation of virus-derived small RNAs (vsRNAs) in hypovirus CHV1-EP713-infected wild-type and dicer gene dcl-1 mutant C. parasitica strains but not in hypovirus-infected dcl-2 mutant and dcl-1 dcl-2 double-mutant strains. The CHV1-EP713 vsRNAs were produced from both the positive and negative viral RNA strands at a ratio of 3:2 in a nonrandom distribution along the viral genome. We also show that C. parasitica responds to hypovirus and mycoreovirus infections with a significant increase (12- to 20-fold) in dcl-2 expression while the expression of dcl-1 is increased only modestly (2-fold). The expression of dcl-2 is further increased (∼35-fold) following infection with a hypovirus CHV1-EP713 mutant that lacks the p29 suppressor of RNA silencing. The combined results demonstrate the biogenesis of mycovirus-derived small RNAs in a fungal host through the action of a specific dicer gene, dcl-2. They also reveal that dcl-2 expression is significantly induced in response to mycovirus infection by a mechanism that appears to be repressed by the hypovirus-encoded p29 suppressor of RNA silencing.
A Hierarchically Differential P 2 P Storage Architecture

Availability is one of the most important properties of a storage system. However, it is very difficult to guarantee availability in P2P storage system because of peer churn. This paper argues that it is unfeasible to provide the same availability level to all peers, so it presents a novel P2P storage architecture which builds on the basis of hierarchical management and differentiated service. This architecture has two important characters: first it uses a hierarchical organization according to peers’ character instead of organization as a whole; second, it provides different availability according to peer’s contribution instead of an unbiased service. This not only simplifies the organization of large-scale peers, but also provides good incentive mechanism. In this paper, we firstly presents a more precise peer behavior model, and then propose three peer organization strategies and examine their efficiency on different hierarchy in order to study their applicable scopes. Finally, we summarize the strategies of keeping availability in different hierarchies.
Exploring the use of Enterprise Content Management Systems in replication types of organizations

Depending on the nature of businesses, the use of ECMS can be very different from one organization to another. However, current understanding on why and how such variation exists is limited. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to better understand how highly standardized businesses known as replication organizations use ECMS to support their business processes. This research takes a view that there is an interaction between organizational context, ECMS technologies and users that shaped the ways ECMS are used. A case study approach was used to study this interaction in two replication organizations. Arising from these case studies are insights into the differing interactions that occur between institutional, interpretive and technological conditions that shaped ECMS-use. Based on the comparisons of the two cases, this study has concluded that replication organizations may use ECMS in three ways, for: (1) information sharing that supports a standardized process structure, (2) building custom workflows that support standardized processes, and (3) analysis and decision making. These findings make a significant contribution in such that there is a guide for organizations that are highly standardized to support employees in achieving their intended ECMS-use, to understand reasons for ECMS failures and underutilization and to exploit technologies investments.
Generation of Five Human Lactoferrin Transgenic Cloned Goats Using Fibroblast Cells and Their Methylation Status of Putative Differential Methylation Regions of IGF2R and H19 Imprinted Genes

Background Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a promising technique to produce transgenic cloned mammalian, including transgenic goats which may produce Human Lactoferrin (hLF). However, success percentage of SCNT is low, because of gestational and neonatal failure of transgenic embryos. According to the studies on cattle and mice, DNA methylation of some imprinted genes, which plays a vital role in the reprogramming of embryo in NT maybe an underlying mechanism. Methodology/Principal Findings Fibroblast cells were derived from the ear of a two-month-old goat. The vector expressing hLF was constructed and transfected into fibroblasts. G418 selection, EGFP expression, PCR, and cell cycle distribution were applied sequentially to select transgenic cells clones. After NT and embryo transfer, five transgenic cloned goats were obtained from 240 cloned transgenic embryos. These transgenic goats were identified by 8 microsatellites genotyping and southern blot. Of the five transgenic goats, 3 were lived after birth, while 2 were dead during gestation. We compared differential methylation regions (DMR) pattern of two paternally imprinted genes (H19 and IGF2R) of the ear tissues from the lived transgenic goats, dead transgenic goats, and control goats from natural reproduction. Hyper-methylation pattern appeared in cloned aborted goats, while methylation status was relatively normal in cloned lived goats compared with normal goats. Conclusions/Significance In this study, we generated five hLF transgenic cloned goats by SCNT. This is the first time the DNA methylation of lived and dead transgenic cloned goats was compared. The results demonstrated that the methylation status of DMRs of H19 and IGF2R were different in lived and dead transgenic goats and therefore this may be potentially used to assess the reprogramming status of transgenic cloned goats. Understanding the pattern of gene imprinting may be useful to improve cloning techniques in future.
Galactomannan in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid: a tool for diagnosing aspergillosis in intensive care unit patients.

RATIONALE Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is an important cause of mortality in patients with hematologic malignancies. However, IA appears to be gaining a foothold in the intensive care unit (ICU) in patients without classical risk factors. A recent study described 89 cases of IA in patients in a medical ICU without leukemia or cancer. The diagnosis of IA remains difficult and is often established too late. Galactomannan (GM) is an exo-antigen released from Aspergillus hyphae while they invade host tissue. OBJECTIVES This prospective single-center study was conducted to investigate the role of GM in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid as a tool for early diagnosis of IA in the ICU. METHODS All patients with risk factors identified in our earlier study were evaluated. BAL for culture and GM detection, serum GM levels, and computed tomography scan were obtained for all included patients with signs of pneumonia. Patients were classified as having proven, probable, or possible IA. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS A total of 110 patients out of 1,109 admissions were eligible. There were 26 proven IA cases. Using a cutoff index of 0.5, the sensitivity and specificity of GM detection in BAL fluid was 88 and 87%, respectively. The sensitivity of serum GM was only 42%. In 11 of 26 proven cases, BAL culture and serum GM remained negative, whereas GM in BAL was positive. CONCLUSIONS IA is common in immunocompromised, critically ill patients. GM detection in BAL fluid seems to be useful in establishing or excluding the diagnosis of IA in the ICU.
Time Course of Error Detection and Correction in Humans: Neurophysiological Evidence

Using event-related brain potentials, the time course of error detection and correction was studied in healthy human subjects. A feedforward model of error correction was used to predict the timing properties of the error and corrective movements. Analysis of the multichannel recordings focused on (1) the error-related negativity (ERN) seen immediately after errors in response- and stimulus-locked averages and (2) on the lateralized readiness potential (LRP) reflecting motor preparation. Comparison of the onset and time course of the ERN and LRP components showed that the signs of corrective activity preceded the ERN. Thus, error correction was implemented before or at least in parallel with the appearance of the ERN component. Also, the amplitude of the ERN component was increased for errors, followed by fast corrective movements. The results are compatible with recent views considering the ERN component as the output of an evaluative system engaged in monitoring motor conflict.