Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EseG, an Effector of the Type III Secretion System of Edwardsiella tarda, Triggers Microtubule Destabilization

ABSTRACT Edwardsiella tarda is a Gram-negative enteric pathogen that causes hemorrhagic septicemia in fish and both gastrointestinal and extraintestinal infections in humans. A type III secretion system (T3SS) was recently shown to contribute to pathogenesis, since deletions of various T3SS genes increased the 50% lethal dose (LD50) by about 1 log unit in the blue gourami infection model. In this study, we report EseG as the first identified effector protein of T3SS. EseG shares partial homology with two Salmonella T3SS effectors (SseG and SseF) over a conserved domain (amino acid residues 142 to 192). The secretion of EseG is dependent on a functional T3SS and, in particular, requires the chaperone EscB. Experiments using TEM-1 β-lactamase as a fluorescence-based reporter showed that EseG was translocated into HeLa cells at 35°C. Fractionation of infected HeLa cells demonstrated that EseG was localized to the host membrane fraction after translocation. EseG is able to disassemble microtubule structures when overexpressed in mammalian cells. This phenotype may require a conserved motif of EseG (EseG142-192), since truncated versions of EseG devoid of this motif lose their ability to cause microtubule destabilization. By demonstrating the function of EseG, our study contributes to the understanding of E. tarda pathogenesis. Moreover, the approach established in this study to identify type III effectors can be used to identify and characterize more type III and possible type VI effectors in Edwardsiella.
Self-Organized Energy Efficient Scheduling in LTE-A

Traditional packet scheduling is mainly designed for increasing spectral efficiency (SE) but not for the energy efficiency (EE). Self-organized network (SON) has prospective for self- configuring, self-optimizing self-healing and minimizes the energy consumption in the network. We consider self-optimizing and self-healing property of SON and investigate a novel energy efficient scheduling algorithm for LTEA. We first compare the state the of art scheduling in view of energy efficiency, then explain the tradeoff between EE and SE. System level simulation (SLS) analysis shows that the investigated SON approach achieves notable energy gain over traditional scheduling algorithm.
Wireless technologies for distributed sensor networks used in measurement and automation systems

In this paper we present the modern wireless technologies for realization of distributed measurement and automation systems. The new radio transmission technologies and protocols like Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Bluetooth offer facile way for connections between sensors and devices from a complex measurement system. The first part of the paper contains a general overview of these techniques, making a comparatively analysis of their performances and facilities, useful in the design and implementation of measurement systems. In the last part of the paper we present an application for temperature measurement and monitoring with ZigBee communication. The measurement system was implemented with MegaAVR development board.
Receptor mapping: architecture of the human cerebral cortex

Purpose of reviewCytoarchitectonical brain mapping is of growing interest as a powerful tool for localization of activated brain regions in functional neuroimaging. Mapping of neurotransmitter receptors can provide novel molecular and functionally relevant information to the available cytoarchitectonical brain maps, because receptors are key molecules of neurotransmission. This review highlights the relation between cytoarchitectonical parcellations and the regionally inhomogeneous distribution of receptors. It will demonstrate the potential of receptor mapping for novel and functionally relevant insights into the regional organization of the human cortex. Recent findingsMapping of a single receptor type can already reveal borders of functionally and cytoarchitectonically distinct cortical regions. The combined mapping of various receptors in each cortical area (receptor fingerprint) represents the balance between different neurotransmitter systems and often reveals hitherto unknown parcellations. Different brain regions are identified as parts of distinct functional systems. SummaryReceptor mapping of the human brain, particularly multireceptor mapping, provides a novel and multimodal view of its anatomical, functional and molecular organization. It reveals organizational principles of the segregation of cortical and subcortical structures. It improves our understanding of the brain's architecture beyond the limits of cytoarchitectonics and serves as a basis for clinical and pharmacological studies of brain diseases.
Contracting for Social Services: Process Management and Resource Dependencies

A new interorganizational environment has emerged as nongovernmental organizations have increasingly been used to implement public policy in the social services. As yet, there is a paucity of appropriate concepts, models, and data to describe the organizational consequences of separating governmental funding from service delivery as found in purchase of service contracting. Drawing mainly on three recent studies of contracting in the San Francisco Bay Area, this paper employs a political economy model to analyze the choices and constraints faced by local governmental agencies and nonprofit service providers as they move through the five stages of the contract management process. The strategies used by provider agencies to cope with their dependencies on government for funds and clients are then described. A series of questions is identified for policymakers interested in improving the contracting process.
The Spanish flu--part II: the second and third wave.

The second wave of influenza pandemic of 1918 represents a period in which the Spanish Flu showed its full deadly potential. It is usually said that this wave struck in autumn 1918, although the disease had spread even before this time. A U.S. naval intelligence officer received a telegram on August 3, 1918 which he immediately stamped as a secret and classified document. While indicating that his source was reliable, he reported to the competent authorities: „I am confidentially advised . that the disease now epidemic throughout Switzerland is what is commonly known as the black plague, although it is designated as Spanish sickness and grip“ . The comparison of the Spanish Flu with plague was not a rarity already at the beginning of the second wave of the pandemic . Doctors reached this conclusion, that it was a question of plague, based on the appearance of the lungs in autopsy. Until then, flu did not leave this kind of a picture, thus many believed that it was a question or either a new disease or lung plague. An increase in the frequency of the illstricken with flu occurred in some places with mutual distances of thousands of kilometers in August 1918, but this time with a large number of severe cases. An epidemiological study, written in the States, relatively shortly after the pandemic, indicated that a progressive increase in the number of flu cases was observed in the American military bases in the week ending August 4, 1918, whereas pneumonia cases started appearing in the week ending August 18, 1918 .
Perception of Subjective Contours in Fish

The ability of fish to perceive subjective (or illusory) contours, ie contours that lack a physical counterpart in terms of luminance contrast gradients, was investigated. In the first experiment, redtail splitfins (Xenotoca eiseni), family Goodeidae, were trained to discriminate between a geometric figure (a triangle or a square) on various backgrounds and a background without any figure. Thereafter, the fish performed test trials in which illusory squares or triangles were obtained by (i) interruptions of a background of diagonal lines, (ii) phase-shifting of a background of diagonal lines, and (iii) pacmen spatially arranged to induce perception of Kanizsa subjective surfaces. In all three conditions, fish seemed to generalise their responses to stimuli perceived as subjective contours by humans. Fish chose, correctly, squares or triangles made of interrupted or phase-shifted diagonal lines from uniform backgrounds of diagonal lines, as well as illusory square or triangle Kanizsa figures from figures in which the inducing pacmen were scrambled. In the second experiment, fish were trained to discriminate between a vertical and a horizontal bar with luminance contrast gradients, and then tested with vertically and horizontally oriented illusory bars, created either through interruption or spatial phase-shift of inducing diagonal lines. Fish appeared to be able to generalise the orientation discrimination to illusory contours. These results demonstrate that redtail splitfins are capable of perceiving illusory contours.
The dynamic relationship between asylum applications and recognition rates in Europe (1987–2010)

The intensity of asylum flows over the last 20 years represents a significant challenge to national and European policy making. This article studies the dynamic reciprocal effects between asylum applications and recognition rates in 29 European countries over 24 years. Furthermore, it explores the impact of the national economic and political context on these two aspects of asylum policy. Using a wide range of statistical models and approaches, the article reveals that asylum applications exert a negative effect on recognition rates, and recognition rates exert a positive effect on applications. However, despite their statistical significance, the effects are rather small and mostly related to between-country rather than within-country variation, which implies that they are of limited practical significance. Unemployment is only weakly related to recognition rates and not at all to application shares, while government positions favoring immigration and multiculturalism have no effect on asylum application shares and recognition rates.
Epidemic influenza and vitamin D

In 1981, R. Edgar Hope-Simpson proposed that a ‘seasonal stimulus’ intimately associated with solar radiation explained the remarkable seasonality of epidemic influenza. Solar radiation triggers robust seasonal vitamin D production in the skin; vitamin D deficiency is common in the winter, and activated vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2D, a steroid hormone, has profound effects on human immunity. 1,25(OH)2D acts as an immune system modulator, preventing excessive expression of inflammatory cytokines and increasing the ‘oxidative burst’ potential of macrophages. Perhaps most importantly, it dramatically stimulates the expression of potent anti-microbial peptides, which exist in neutrophils, monocytes, natural killer cells, and in epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract where they play a major role in protecting the lung from infection. Volunteers inoculated with live attenuated influenza virus are more likely to develop fever and serological evidence of an immune response in the winter. Vitamin D deficiency predisposes children to respiratory infections. Ultraviolet radiation (either from artificial sources or from sunlight) reduces the incidence of viral respiratory infections, as does cod liver oil (which contains vitamin D). An interventional study showed that vitamin D reduces the incidence of respiratory infections in children. We conclude that vitamin D, or lack of it, may be Hope-Simpson's ‘seasonal stimulus’.
Past Pain Experience and Experimentally induced Pain Perception

ABSTRACT Many intercurrent factors may be involved in the modulation of the pain message and its expression, such as the previous experience of pain built along the life. In this study, we aimed to determine whether susceptibility to experimentally induced pain is differentially influenced by the individual previous painful experience in subjects with schizophrenia (SC) major depression (MD), and controls (C). Methods: The SC (30), MD (32) and C (30) groups participated in experimental pain tests (application of pressure and induction of ischemia) after a semi-structured interview to make an inventory of the previous painful experiences, and the evaluation of anxiety either with autonomic (heart rate, blood pressure) or psychological (Hospital Anxiety Depression scale HAD) measures, and catastrophism. Results: The reported pain intensities, severities, duration, of the previous pain events, and the number of previous painful events were equivalent in the three groups, except for the number of painful events experimented before the last six months which was lower in the MD group. Experimental pain sensitivity was influenced by the diagnosis, the HAD scores or the number and intensities of previous lived painful events. Conclusion: The lack of a past experience of pain was comparable for the different groups, suggesting that psychiatric disorders do not affect the experience of pain associated with daily life or past events. For each subject, the reported previous experience of pain influences the present feeling of pain.
Cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induced by oxaliplatin (L-OHP) on four human cancer cell lines.

BACKGROUND The effects of oxaliplatin (L-OHP) on cell cycle and apoptosis were examined. MATERIALS AND METHODS The HT29, MCF7, Hela and A549 cell lines were treated and dual parameter flow cytometry BrdU/PI was then performed to monitor cell cycle modifications. Annexin V-FITC and PI probes were used for the detection of apoptosis. RESULTS The cells were treated for 3 h followed or not by 24 and 72 h of post-incubation. No changes were observed after 3 h of treatment, while after 24 h of post-incubation, all the cells except A549 were predominantly accumulated in the G2/M-phase; this accumulation was time-dependent. Apoptosis induction was late and moderate and was observed only after 12 h of treatment and 24 h of post-incubation. CONCLUSION L-OHP induced cell cycle arrest and moderate apoptosis; these two activities were time-dependent. These findings warrant further investigation into the potential antitumour activity of L-OHP in MCF7 and Hela cells and in lengthening the infusion duration in order to achieve the acquired cellular modifications.
Cognitive test to forecast unsafe driving in older drivers: meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES This study performed meta-analysis on the literatures that surveyed cognitive test to forecast unsafe driving by older drivers and identified objective and consistent cognitive test for predicting unsafe driving of older drivers. SELECTION CRITERIA The study of RCT (Randomized Control Trial) that conducted cognitive test by classifying older drivers into safe-drivers and unsafe-drivers was done and a total of nine studies suitable for the selection criteria were chosen. SEARCH STRATEGY To meet subject selection, online search was performed by keyword such as "Older", "Driving", "Safe", "Cognition", etc. Qualitative analysis of the study was conducted using Jadad evaluation. Quantitative analysis also conducted statistical heterogeneity, effect size, sensitivity and publication bias every cognitive assessment tool. RESULT The Jadad evaluation grade of the studies was assessed on papers of a high quality - all study received over 3 points. The result of the effect sizes was that TMT-B, TMT-A, UFOV-subtest 2 and MMSE were statistically significant (P < .05). As a result, TMT-B was "Big effect size", TMT-A and UFOV-subtest 2 were "Medium effect sizes" and MMSE was "Small effect size. " CONCLUSION TMT-A, TMT-B and UFOV-subtest 2 were found to be useful as cognitive test tools to forecast unsafe driving of older drivers.
Acid-sensing ion channel 1a is a postsynaptic proton receptor that affects the density of dendritic spines

Extracellular proton concentrations in the brain may be an important signal for neuron function. Proton concentrations change both acutely when synaptic vesicles release their acidic contents into the synaptic cleft and chronically during ischemia and seizures. However, the brain receptors that detect protons and their physiologic importance remain uncertain. Using organotypic hippocampal slices and biolistic transfection, we found the acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a), localized in dendritic spines where it functioned as a proton receptor. ASIC1a also affected the density of spines, the postsynaptic site of most excitatory synapses. Decreasing ASIC1a reduced the number of spines, whereas overexpressing ASIC1a had the opposite effect. Ca2+-mediated Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) signaling was probably responsible, because acid evoked an ASIC1a-dependent elevation of spine intracellular Ca2+ concentration, and reducing or increasing ASIC1a levels caused parallel changes in CaMKII phosphorylation in vivo. Moreover, inhibiting CaMKII prevented ASIC1a from increasing spine density. These data indicate that ASIC1a functions as a postsynaptic proton receptor that influences intracellular Ca2+ concentration and CaMKII phosphorylation and thereby the density of dendritic spines. The results provide insight into how protons influence brain function and how they may contribute to pathophysiology.
Did the Sky Really Fall? Ten Years after California's Proposition 209

Discrimination and preferential treatment based on immutable characteristics, such as race and sex, are hotly contested issues in the courts and among the general public. By adopting Proposition 209, California voters amended the California State Constitution, the organic law that determines the state's governing principles, to eliminate race and sex based discrimination and preferential treatment. California's approach is effective at eliminating discrimination and preferential treatment in public contracting, education, and employment without negatively impacting the position of women and minorities. It is unnecessary for governmental entities to discriminate or grant preferential treatment as minorities and women are able to maintain their levels of employment, education, and contracting without being granted preferential treatment. Comparing the pre- and post-Proposition 209 statistics by race and gender demonstrates that women and minorities have not lost any ground in employment, education, or public contracting as a result of Proposition 209's prohibition of discrimination and preferential treatment. Although the state of Washington has successfully passed similar legislation, other states have not yet been as successful. If discrimination and preferential treatment based on race and sex are to be eliminated, it is important for citizens and states to use California's Proposition 209 as a model.
Dual-stage model predictive control of modular multilevel converter

The control of modular multilevel converter (MMC) is quite challenging and demands a flexible approach to achieve multiple control objectives. The model predictive control (MPC) is highly effective and suitable to control the MMC. The control objectives are included in a single cost function and evaluated for all possible switching states. The switching state which minimizes cost function is selected and applied to converter. In MMC, the number of available switching states are quite high and drastically increase with number of submodules per arm. Therefore, the implementation of conventional MPC is difficult and contributes to unwanted switching of submodules. This paper proposes a less computational, dual-stage MPC with common-mode voltage injection for MMC. In this approach, the overall MMC control objectives are categorized into primary and secondary group. The primary group objectives are evaluated in first-stage and secondary group of control objectives are evaluated in second-stage of MPC. By doing so, the computational complexity can be significantly minimized without affecting the dynamic response of MPC. The proposed approach avoids unwanted switching of submodules and, minimizes the output voltage harmonic distortion and ripple in output current. The simulation study is conducted to verify the effectiveness of proposed approach and corresponding results are compared with standard MPC.
Parental Altruism and Self-Interest: Child Labor among Late Nineteenth-Century American Families

Intergenerational relationships within late nineteenth-century industrial families are analyzed using several large-scale, contemporary household surveys. Nonaltruistic behavior by parents was pervasive. Even among families with positive assets, child labor was common in certain industrial settings, suggesting that child labor (or nonschooling) did not simply reflect parental borrowing constraints. Neither did physical asset transfers offset human capital losses among working youth. A quantitative estimate of parental nonaltruism is derived from an equilibrium labor market model: approximately 90 percent of all child earnings was implicitly competed away through lower adult wages as families migrated to areas with abundant child labor opportunities. Copyright 1989 by Oxford University Press.
Health‐Related Quality of Life and Functional Outcome in Cardiac Surgical Patients Aged 80 Years and Older: A Prospective Single Center Study

An increasing number of octogenarians are referred for cardiac surgical procedures. In this subset of patients, information on the health‐related quality of life (HrQoL) is critical for decision making. However, there is a paucity of prospective data. Thus, we sought to prospectively evaluate the HrQoL in octogenarians undergoing cardiac surgery.
A conserved mitochondrial surveillance pathway is required for defense against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

All living organisms exist in a precarious state of homeostasis that requires constant maintenance. A wide variety of stresses, including hypoxia, heat, and infection by pathogens perpetually threaten to imbalance this state. Organisms use a battery of defenses to mitigate damage and restore normal function. Previously, we described a Caenorhabditis elegans-Pseudomonas aeruginosa assay (Liquid Killing) in which toxicity to the host is dependent upon the secreted bacterial siderophore pyoverdine. Although pyoverdine is also indispensable for virulence in mammals, its cytological effects are unclear. We used genetics, transcriptomics, and a variety of pathogen and chemical exposure assays to study the interactions between P. aeruginosa and C. elegans. Although P. aeruginosa can kill C. elegans through at least 5 different mechanisms, the defense responses activated by Liquid Killing are specific and selective and have little in common with innate defense mechanisms against intestinal colonization. Intriguingly, the defense response utilizes the phylogenetically-conserved ESRE (Ethanol and Stress Response Element) network, which we and others have previously shown to mitigate damage from a variety of abiotic stresses. This is the first report of this networks involvement in innate immunity, and indicates that host innate immune responses overlap with responses to abiotic stresses. The upregulation of the ESRE network in C. elegans is mediated in part by a family of bZIP proteins (including ZIP-2, ZIP-4, CEBP-1, and CEBP-2) that have overlapping and unique functions. Our data convincingly show that, following exposure to P. aeruginosa, the ESRE defense network is activated by mitochondrial damage, and that mitochondrial damage also leads to ESRE activation in mammals. This establishes a role for ESRE in a phylogenetically-conserved mitochondrial surveillance system important for stress response and innate immunity.