Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heme oxygenase-1 affords protection against noncerebral forms of severe malaria

Infection by Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, is associated with hemolysis and therefore with release of hemoglobin from RBC. Under inflammatory conditions, cell-free hemoglobin can be oxidized, releasing its heme prosthetic groups and producing deleterious free heme. Here we demonstrate that survival of a Plasmodium-infected host relies strictly on its ability to prevent the cytotoxic effects of free heme via the expression of the heme-catabolyzing enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1; encoded by the Hmox1 gene). When infected with Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi (Pcc), wild-type (Hmox1+/+) BALB/c mice resolved infection and restored homeostasis thereafter (0% lethality). In contrast, HO-1 deficient (Hmox1−/−) BALB/c mice developed a lethal form of hepatic failure (100% lethality), similar to the one occurring in Pcc-infected DBA/2 mice (75% lethality). Expression of HO-1 suppresses the pro-oxidant effects of free heme, preventing it from sensitizing hepatocytes to undergo TNF-mediated programmed cell death by apoptosis. This cytoprotective effect, which inhibits the development of hepatic failure in Pcc-infected mice without interfering with pathogen burden, is mimicked by pharmacological antioxidants such as N-acetylcysteine (NAC). When administered therapeutically, i.e., after Pcc infection, NAC suppressed the development of hepatic failure in Pcc-infected DBA/2 mice (0% lethality), without interfering with pathogen burden. In conclusion, we describe a mechanism of host defense against Plasmodium infection, based on tissue cytoprotection against free heme and limiting disease severity irrespectively of parasite burden.
Ferric saccharate induces oxygen radical stress and endothelial dysfunction in vivo

Background Intravenous iron supplementation is used widely in haemodialysis patients. However, nontransferrin‐bound iron (NTBI), which increases after intravenous supplementation of ferric saccharate, has been suggested to act as a catalytic agent in oxygen radical formation in vitro and may thus contribute to endothelial impairment in vivo.
The Sensory Biology of the Red Fox - Hearing, Vision, Magnetoreception

This study deals with the sensory systems of the red fox, more specifically with audition, vision, and magnetoreception. In the first chapter, I present the behavioural audiograms of three red fox specimens obtained by psychoacoustic procedures. The hearing range of the red fox covers 9.84 octaves ranging from 51 Hz to 48 kHz. The absolute sensitivity (-15 dB SPL at 4 kHz) of the red fox auditory sense is extraordinary, even exceeding that of the domestic cat. Complementary, I describe in detail the morphology of the red fox auditory system, including functionally relevant parameters of the outer, middle and inner ear, such as ossicle measurements and weight, acoustic membrane areas, sensory hair cell densities, and cochlear fine morphology. Subsequently, I demonstrate that the hearing sensitivity of the red fox is well reflected in the measurements and can be predicted with good accuracy on the morphological basis alone. The second chapter is a treatise of some morphological aspects of the visual system of the red fox. By means of Nissl staining and immunohistochemistry, I map the distribution of retinal ganglion cells and short (S) as well as long (M/L) wavelength photoreceptors over the fox retina. Based on the retinal ganglion cell maps the visual acuity of the red fox is assumedly 6.3 cy-cles/degree and the sound localization ability within the range of 3-4 degrees, thus, within the range of other carnivores. The same holds true for the cone distribution, with a centroperipheral decreasing gradient of M/L cones and a dorsoventral increasing density of S cones. The third chapter deals with the sense of magnetoreception. Foxes have been postulated to be magnetosensitive as that might help them during capture of small rodents. As prey capture is mainly auditorily guided, one hypothesis states an influence of magnetic fields on hearing sensitivity. Therefore, I determine the auditory sensitivity of red foxes in different magnetic fields and show that no influence I detectable, making the hypothesis unlikely. However, I show histological evidence in support of an alternative hypothesis which assumes a visual-magnetic system aiding prey capture, similar to the magnetosensitive system in birds: Red foxes, but not rodents, possess the potential magnetosensor of birds, cryptochrome 1 in the S cones of their retina. As an additional part of this chapter I present the results of nest building experiments with wood mice that demonstrates the existence of a magnetic sense and furthermore suggests sensitivity to very weak radiofrequency fields, characteristic for a radical-pair based system of magnetoreception. This is the first strong evidence for such a system in mammals.
Optimization for Grain Gradation of Monolithic Refractory Based on Ant Colony Algorithm

An optimization model for grain gradation of monolithic refractory is purposed on the basis of close packing theory and field production situation. Through applying ant colony algorithms, an optimization strategy concerning grain gradation of monolithic refractory is presented. The simulation results show that our method conforms to the requirements of actual productive technology, and the optimized results are very close to their theoretic values of the grain size distribution calculated by using.
Mental Disorder Detection and Measurement Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation and SentiWordNet

Due to the emergence of social platforms, people tend to posting their diaries and feeling online for sharing with others. In this paper, we aim to predict whether a user is getting depressed or not through his blog posts on the Internet. For this purpose, we use Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to find out top frequency words appearing in a user's diaries and use SentiWordNet to calculate the emotion score of the user. Experimental results show that our method is useful in the diagnosis of mental disorder detection in social platforms.
Effect of long-term treatment with raloxifene on mammary density in postmenopausal women

Objective: To evaluate in a group of postmenopausal women the effects of long-term raloxifene treatment on breast density using a digitized analysis of mammograms and on insulinlike growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulinlike growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) plasma levels. Design: Seventy healthy postmenopausal women with normal body weight were enrolled in this study and were divided into two groups based on their bone status, evaluated by dual-energy x-ray at the lumbar spine (L2-4). Fifty women (chronological age 52.4 ± 4.1 y, menopausal age 42.1 ± 3.9 y), in whom the L2-4 T score was less than −2.5 SD, were treated with raloxifene HCl 60 mg/day orally for 2 years. The other 20 women (chronological age 53.6 ± 3.5 y, age at menopause 43.1 ± 3.6 y), in whom the L2-4 T score ranged between −1 and −2.5 SD, were enrolled as controls. All 70 women received calcium (1 g/d orally) and cholecalciferol (880 UI/d orally) supplementation. Moreover, all women followed a normocaloric and personalized diet. All women had mammography at baseline and after 2 years of therapy. The mammographic images on traditional support (radiography) were acquired by using a film scanner and were then elaborated by means of ad hoc software. Moreover, assessments of IGF-1, IGFBP-3, and SHBG plasma levels were obtained at baseline and after 24 months. Results: After 24 months of therapy, there was a significant variation in the raloxifene-treated group with respect to baseline in the distribution of gray classes of radiographic images. In particular, an attenuation of graphic trace with a reduction of the areas with the lowest and most elevated gray classes was observed. In the control group, no significant variations of graphic traces were observed. Moreover, raloxifene treatment significantly reduced IGF-1 and increased IGFBP-3 and SHBG plasma levels at 24 months. During follow-up, IGF-1, IGFPB-3, and SHBG levels did not change significantly in the control group. Conclusions: Long-term treatment with raloxifene in a population of postmenopausal women is able to reduce breast density. Such an effect could perhaps explain the reduction in the incidence of mammary carcinoma observed in the Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation study probably due to the direct antiestrogenic activity of raloxifene on mammalian tissue and/or its indirect activity increasing SHBG levels or modifying the IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio.
Zu neueren Entwicklungen bei der Einbeziehung privater Akteure in Prozesse der öffentlichen Verwaltung: Einige Bemerkungen

More recently, new modes of collaboration between private and public agents have been developed which provide new possibilities for private interests to influence political processes. These are: (i) intermediate institutions, (ii) direct involvement of private agents in preparing legislative proposals, (iii) invention of new rights to sue for private interests against states which are clandestinely negotiated between bureaucrats and interest groups representatives as parts of international treaties, and (iv) sale to and re-leasing from private investors of public infrastructure. Common to these new modes of collaboration is that the corresponding negotiations are largely secret; even parliaments are often excluded. This can lead to a dramatic reduction of basic democratic rights. The best way to counteract this might be the extension of direct popular rights, in particular the optional and mandatory referendum.
Frequent emergence of porin-deficient subpopulations with reduced carbapenem susceptibility in ESBL-producing Escherichia coli during exposure to ertapenem in an in vitro pharmacokinetic model.

OBJECTIVES Ertapenem resistance is increasing in Enterobacteriaceae. The production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and reduced expression of outer membrane porins are major mechanisms of resistance in ertapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. Less is known of ertapenem resistance in Escherichia coli. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of ESBL production in E. coli on the antibacterial activity of ertapenem. METHODS Two E. coli strains, with and without ESBL production, were exposed to ertapenem in vitro for 48 h at concentrations simulating human pharmacokinetics with conventional and higher dosages. RESULTS Isolates with non-susceptibility to ertapenem (MICs 0.75-1.5 mg/L) were detected after five of nine time-kill experiments with the ESBL-producing strain. All of these isolates had ompR mutations, which reduce the expression of outer membrane porins OmpF and OmpC. Higher dosage did not prevent selection of porin-deficient subpopulations. No mutants were detected after experiments with the non-ESBL-producing strain. Compared with other experiments, experiments with ompR mutants detected in endpoint samples showed significantly less bacterial killing after the second dose of ertapenem. Impaired antibacterial activity against E. coli with ESBL production and ompR mutation was also demonstrated in time-kill experiments with static antibiotic concentrations. CONCLUSIONS The combination of ESBL production and porin loss in E. coli can result in reduced susceptibility to ertapenem. Porin-deficient subpopulations frequently emerged in ESBL-producing E. coli during exposure to ertapenem at concentrations simulating human pharmacokinetics. Inappropriate use of ertapenem should be avoided to minimize the risk of selection of ESBL-producing bacteria with reduced susceptibility to carbapenems.
The role of cytokine‐induced neutrophil chemoattractant‐1 in neutrophil‐mediated remote lung injury after intestinal ischaemia/reperfusion in rats

Remote lung injury is induced by ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) of the gastrointestinal tract and the liver following hypovolaemic shock. In the present study, the role of cytokine‐induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC), a member of the interleukin (IL)‐8 family, in neutrophil‐mediated remote lung injury following intestinal I/R was investigated in anaesthetized rats.
A Fault Correlation Approach to Detect Performance Anomalies in Virtual Network Function Chains

Network Function Virtualization is an emerging paradigm to allow the creation, at software level, of complex network services by composing simpler ones. However, this paradigm shift exposes network services to faults and bottlenecks in the complex software virtualization infrastructure they rely on. Thus, NFV services require effective anomaly detection systems to detect the occurrence of network problems. The paper proposes a novel approach to ease the adoption of anomaly detection in production NFV services, by avoiding the need to train a model or to calibrate a threshold. The approach infers the service health status by collecting metrics from multiple elements in the NFV service chain, and by analyzing their (lack of) correlation over the time. We validate this approach on an NFV-oriented Interactive Multimedia System, to detect problems affecting the quality of service, such as the overload, component crashes, avalanche restarts and physical resource contention.
Public Employees’ Well-Being When Having Long Working Hours and Low-Salary Working Conditions

The present study explored the effects of long working hours and low salary on public employees’ well-being indicators, such as job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and self-rated health. Results showed that having long working hours was not significantly and negatively related to public employee wellness, whereas having a higher salary was significantly and positively associated with employee well-being. Finally, the interaction effects of working hours and salary on job satisfaction and life satisfaction were not supported; however, the interaction effects of working hours and salary on self-rated health were found.
Role of tectonic denudation in warping and uplift of low-angle normal faults

Large displacement on a low-angle normal fault results in isostatic uplift of the lower plate in response to tectonic denudation. Simple models of the denudation process predict warping of the lower plate into a broad antiform, or antiform-synform pair, with axes perpendicular to the direction of extension. The amount of warping is strongly influenced by initial fault geometry, surface topography, the amount of extension, and the distribution of extension within the upper plate. Late-stage processes that augment antiform growth include one-sided denudation of the antiform, reverse faulting due to concave-upward flexure, and wholesale detachment and reverse-drag folding of the antiform. Antiformal uplifts, now exhumed by erosion, form mountain ranges in the southwestern United States where conditions were favorable for warping during mid-Tertiary crustal extension. Four major structural domains are apparent in transects across these uplifts and adjacent areas: (1) unextended area, (2) synformal upper plate, (3) antiformal uplift, and (4) wedge-shaped upper plate. Each domain is separated from adjacent domains by the traces of a master low-angle normal fault.
Properties of Unpaired DNA Required For Efficient Silencing in Neurospora crassa

The presence of unpaired copies of a gene during meiosis triggers silencing of all copies of the gene in the diploid ascus cell of Neurospora. This phenomenon is called meiotic silencing and on the basis of genetic studies appears to be a post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) mechanism. Previously, meiotic silencing was defined to be induced by the presence of a DNA region lacking an identical segment in the homologous chromosome. However, the determinants of unpaired DNA remained a mystery. Using the Ascospore maturation-1 (Asm-1) gene, we defined what needs to be “unpaired” to silence a gene. For efficient silencing, an unpaired region of DNA needs to be of a sufficient size and contain homology to the reporter transcript. The greater the size of the loop and the larger the homology to the reporter transcript, the better the resulting meiotic silencing is. Conversely, regions not containing homology to the transcript, e.g., intergenic regions, did not silence the reporter. Surprisingly, unpaired fragments lacking a canonical promoter silenced the reporter. Additionally, we detected the unpairing-dependent loss of a transcript during meiotic silencing. Our observations further support a PTGS mechanism for meiotic silencing and offer insight into the evolutionary consequences resulting from this novel meiotic checkpoint.
Alpha‐smooth‐muscle actin and desmin expressions in human neuroblastoma cell lines

The neural crest gives rise to a variety of tissues, including peripheral neurons, Schwann cells, melanocytes and ectomes‐enchymal cells, which include the smooth‐muscle cells of large arteries. Cell lines derived from neuroblastoma (a neural‐crest tumor) exhibit at least 2 distinct morphological cell types, a neuroblastic phenotype (N‐type) and an epithelial‐like phenotype (S‐type) with characteristics of substrate‐adhesiveness. We have analyzed 17 human neuroblastoma cell lines using a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against cytoskeletal proteins. Three neuroblastoma cell lines (KP‐N‐SI, KP‐N‐YN and SMS‐KCN) bound an α‐smooth‐muscle actin antibody. In addition, one of these lines (KP‐N‐SI) bound anti‐desmin MAbs as determined by indirect immunofluorescence. A total of 8 cioned cell lines were obtained from the above parent cell lines. These were composed of either N‐or 5‐type cells and were confirmed to have the same neuroblastoma origin as each parent cell line by chromosomal analysis. Alpha‐smooth‐muscle actin and desmin were demonstrated In the 5‐type cloned cells by indirect immunofluorescence, as well as by 2‐dimensional Western blot analysis. These results were confirmed by Northern blot analysis using a specific probe (pSHαSMA‐3′UT) to human α‐smooth‐muscle actin mRNA. These ascertain the presence of α‐smooth‐muscle actin and desmin in neuroblastoma cell lines. These data show that, in addition to giving rise to cells with neural, Schwann‐cell and melanocyte markers, neuroblastoma can also give rise to the cells expressing smooth‐muscle cell markers.
AN INQUIRY INTO CONTAGION TRANSMISSION AND SPILLOVER EFFECTS IN STOCK MARKETS

This paper represents a theoretical enquiry in contagion and its transmission mechanism. Our main purpose in to present the different views regarding contagion as a mechanism, correlated with interdependence, a state of markets. We present numerous theories about the definition and the transmission of shocks. But As Rigobon (2002) states, the main problem of the theoretical literature of contagion is that the measurable events are more rare that the number of possible hypothesis. So the only aspect on which everybody agrees is that there is no unanimously accepted interpretation of contagion. The channels of contagion, according to our reasoning and based on the directions pointed out by theoretical literature, can be divided into channels which act in interdependent markets, and channels which can be attributed to investors behavior. In this case the cause of propagating the shock becomes the criterion upon which the transmissions of channels are classified. In this paper we present these channels together with their characteristics.
Pulmonary tuberculosis: diagnostic delay in Ghanaian adults.

SETTING Department of Medicine, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa. OBJECTIVE To determine the factors affecting the delay from the onset of symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis until the initiation of treatment. DESIGN A retrospective questionnaire survey of 100 adults with newly diagnosed smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis. RESULTS The median total delay in diagnosis was 4 months (mean = 7.7), and total delay exceeded 6 months in 44% of patients. Total delay was strongly associated with rural residence (P = 0.001). The median doctor delay from the first consultation until diagnosis was double the median patient delay in initial presentation (8 weeks versus 4 weeks). Doctor delay was significantly increased in females, rural patients, and among those needing hospital admission. Increased doctor delay was strongly correlated with rates of failure to perform sputum microscopy (r = 0.99), low rates of diagnosis, and was seen particularly among private practitioners and rural government institutions. CONCLUSION Delays in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis are prolonged in Kumasi, Ghana, with a frequently lengthy doctor delay. The new National Tuberculosis Programme is decentralising the diagnosis and management of tuberculosis, with the introduction of widely available sputum microscopy and rigorous training of health personnel. This should help to reduce doctor delay and thereby improve tuberculosis control.
Exchange rate dynamics, structural breaks, and central bank interventions in Colombia

We evaluate the effectiveness of the Colombian Central Bank´s interventions in the foreign exchange market during the period 2000 to 2014. We examine the stochastic process that describes the exchange rate, with a focus on the detection of structural breaks or unit roots in the data to determine whether the Central Bank´s interventions were effective. We find that the exchange rate can be described either by a random walk or by a trend-stationary model with multiple breaks. In neither cases do we find any evidence that the exchange rate was affected by the Central Bank interventions.
Supporting faculty mentoring through the use of creative technologies: There’s an app for that

Purpose – Mentoring of junior faculty members (i.e. professors) in higher education has been documented to be critical to their academic success which most often takes the form of receiving tenure and/or promotion to higher academic ranks at universities in the USA. A “junior faculty member” would be defined as someone who has not yet been tenured or promoted and is usually within the first five years of their academic appointment. However, mentoring relationships can sometimes be difficult to build and momentum for continuous mentoring throughout the pre-tenure period can be a challenge to maintain. One of the concerns identified by mentees is the importance of regular meetings with mentors and the concomitant difficulty of knowing what to address in these meetings so as to make them productive and helpful. Mentors, most often senior faculty members, note that they do not always know the most relevant issues to discuss with junior faculty during mentoring meetings. The paper aims to discuss these issues.