Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DICTYOSTELIUM DISCOIDEUM , A NEW SPECIES OF SLIME MOLD FROM DECAYING FOREST LEAVES ' By

In the course of studies made in this laboratory on the amoeboid population of soil and decaying vegetable matter, myxamoebae in large numbers have been regularly encountered. Thom and Raper (8) ^ reported that the amoeboid stage of some Myxomycètes formed a normal part of the microbiological population of field soil and decomposing crop residues, and could readily be isolated and grown in artificial culture. Following this, Raper and Thom (6) studied the distribution of the Acrasieae in soil and reported Dictyostelium as a common component of the soil population from widely scattered areas and from many types of soil, while Polysphondylium was repeatedly isolated from vegetable remains, particularly forest litter, and occasionally from soil. These results were in close agreement with earlier work by Krzemieniewski (3) and extended her observations in this field. It was reported previously (6) that the vast majority of cultures of Dictyostelium isolated apparently belonged to the single species D. mucoroides Bref. Continued studies and isolations since that time have shown an equally large proportion belonging to that species and support the writer^s earlier findings. However, not all cultures isolated could be identified with D. mucoroides. A form closely agreeing with the description of D. sphaerocephalum (Oud.) Sacc. and March. , as given by Olive (4) in his comprehensive study of the group, has been occasionally obtained from decaying forest litter. D. purpureum Olive has been isolated once, from decaying sphagnum. Still another form has been isolated that does not agree with the description of any published species and differs fundamentally in some respects from the other members of the genus. It has seemed desirable, therefore, to describe it as a new species, to review briefly its life cycle, and to discuss at some length the formation and behavior of certain structures not seen in other species.
The Fate and Function of Therapeutic Antiaddiction Monoclonal Antibodies across the Reproductive Cycle of Rats

During preclinical development of neuroprotective antiaddiction therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against phencyclidine (PCP) and (+)-methamphetamine, we discovered novel, gestation stage-specific changes in mAb disposition spanning the entire reproductive cycle of female rats. Each pharmacological change was independent of mAb dose and antigen target but was precisely coincident with transitions between the gestational trimesters, parturition, and lactation periods of the female reproductive cycle. Whereas anti-PCP mAb6B5 terminal elimination half-life (t1/2λz) in nonpregnant females was 6.6 ± 1.6 days, the mAb6B5 t1/2λz significantly changed to 3.7 ± 0.4 days, then 1.4 ± 0.1 days, then 3.0 ± 0.4 days in the second trimester, third trimester, and postpartum periods, respectively (p < 0.05 for each change). Initially, these evolving changes in mAb6B5 clearance (3.3-fold), distribution volume (1.8-fold), and elimination half-life (4.7-fold) affected our ability to sustain sufficient mAb6B5 levels to sequester PCP in the bloodstream. However, understanding the mechanisms underlying each transition allowed development of an adaptive mAb-dosing paradigm, which substantially reduced PCP levels in dam brains and fetuses throughout pregnancy. These mAb functional studies also revealed that antidrug mAbs readily cross the placenta before syncytiotrophoblast barrier maturation, demonstrating the dynamic nature of mAb pharmacokinetics in pregnancy and the importance of maintaining maternal mAb levels. These studies provide the first preclinical pregnancy model in any species for chronic mAb dosing and could have important implications for the use of antibody therapies involving blood organ barriers (such as addiction) or other chronic diseases in women of childbearing age (e.g., irritable bowel diseases, multiple sclerosis, breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis).
A Comparison of Life Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Pregnant Taiwanese and Immigrant Women

Background: An increasing number of women from other countries, mostly Mainland China and Southeast Asia, are marrying Taiwanese husbands and settling in Taiwan. Immigration, marriage abroad, and pregnancy may be stressful and adversely affect maternal health. Relatively little research has compared the life stress and depressive symptoms of pregnant women of different ethnic groups living in nonmetropolitan areas in Taiwan. Purpose: This study investigates the levels of life stress and depressive symptoms in pregnant Taiwanese women and Vietnamese “foreign brides” currently living in southern Taiwan. Methods: Eligible women in their last trimester of pregnancy who attended their local antenatal clinic were recruited for the study. Participants completed standardized measures, including the Difficult Life Circumstances Scale, Social Support APGAR Scale, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Results: Two hundred thirty-six Taiwanese women and 44 Vietnamese women participated. Major life difficulties for both groups of women were related to their marital relationship, housing, or health problems. Taiwanese participants reported perceiving financial strain more often than their Vietnamese peers, whereas Vietnamese participants reported perceiving greater concerns regarding their children’s development and about recent physical abuse than their Taiwanese peers. Furthermore, the Vietnamese participants reported less social support and higher rates of antenatal depression than Taiwanese participants. Conclusions/Implications for Practice: Clinical nurses and midwives should be sensitive to the particular difficulties and insufficient social support faced by pregnant women from different backgrounds in Taiwan. Women from foreign countries or those under unique challenging circumstances may face a particular risk of adverse outcomes. Identifying stresses informs the development of effective nursing interventions and support activities for new mothers and their families.
2. The Logic

Recently Lakemeyer and Levesque proposed the logic , which amalgamates both the situation calculus and Levesque’s logic of only knowing. While very expressive the practical relevance of the formalism is unclear because it heavily relies on second-order logic. In this paper we demonstrate that the picture is not as bleak as it may seem. In particular, we show that for large classes of knowledge bases and queries, including epistemic ones, query evaluation requires first-order reasoning only. We also provide a simple semantic definition of progressing a knowledge base. For a particular class of knowledge bases, adapted from earlier results by Lin and Reiter, we show that progression is first-order representable and easy to compute.
Computer-aided classification of Alzheimer's disease based on support vector machine with combination of cerebral image features in MRI

Several studies have differentiated Alzheimer's disease (AD) using cerebral image features derived from MR brain images. In this study, we were interested in combining hippocampus and amygdala volumes and entorhinal cortex thickness to improve the performance of AD differentiation. Thus, our objective was to investigate the useful features obtained from MRI for classification of AD patients using support vector machine (SVM). T1-weighted MR brain images of 100 AD patients and 100 normal subjects were processed using FreeSurfer software to measure hippocampus and amygdala volumes and entorhinal cortex thicknesses in both brain hemispheres. Relative volumes of hippocampus and amygdala were calculated to correct variation in individual head size. SVM was employed with five combinations of features (H: hippocampus relative volumes, A: amygdala relative volumes, E: entorhinal cortex thicknesses, HA: hippocampus and amygdala relative volumes and ALL: all features). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the method. AUC values of five combinations were 0.8575 (H), 0.8374 (A), 0.8422 (E), 0.8631 (HA) and 0.8906 (ALL). Although “ALL” provided the highest AUC, there were no statistically significant differences among them except for “A” feature. Our results showed that all suggested features may be feasible for computer-aided classification of AD patients.
A systematic review of the mortality of depression.

OBJECTIVE The literature on the mortality of depression was assessed with respect to five issues: 1) strength of evidence for increased mortality, 2) controlling for mediating factors, 3) the contribution of suicide, 4) variation across sample types, and 5) possible mechanisms. METHOD All relevant English language databases from 1966 to 1996 were searched for reviews and studies that included 1) a formal assessment of depressive symptoms or disorders, 2) death rates or risks, and 3) an appropriate comparison group. RESULTS There were 57 studies found; 29 (51%) were positive, 13 (23%) negative, and 15 (26%) mixed. Twenty-one studies (37%) ranked among the better studies on the strength of evidence scale used in this study, but there are too few comparable, well-controlled studies to provide a sound estimate of the mortality risk associated with depression. Only six studies controlled for more than one of the four major mediating factors. Suicide accounted for less than 20% of the deaths in psychiatric samples, and less than 1% in medical and community samples. Depression seems to increase the risk of death by cardiovascular disease, especially in men, but depression does not seem to increase the risk of death by cancer. Variability in methods prevents a more rigorous meta-analysis of risk. CONCLUSION The studies linking depression to early death are poorly controlled, but they suggest that depression substantially increases the risk of death, especially death by unnatural causes and cardiovascular disease. Future well-controlled studies of high risk groups may guide efforts to develop treatments that reduce the mortality risk of depression.
A hierarchical, distributed PEV charging control in low voltage distribution grids to ensure network security

Eight representative low voltage distribution networks in the city of Zurich are modeled including detailed data on individual consumer loads. Subsequently, the impacts of large scale plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) deployment on the particular networks are simulated. The spatial and temporal PEV transportation behavior is determined using an agent based model which makes use of an energy consumption model for individual vehicles. The different distribution networks, which are scattered over the metropolitan area of Zurich, are mapped to the transportation network. Case studies show that uncontrolled recharging leads to a variety of undesired effects such as asset overloading and excessively low voltages. A distributed, hierarchical demand management scheme is integrated into each distribution network and proves to mitigate the undesired effects, suggesting that an intelligent grid architecture can cope with a large number of PEVs while the infrastructure as it is cannot.
Microprobe Array with Low Impedance Electrodes and Highly Flexible Polyimide Cables for Acute Neural Recording

This paper reports on a novel type of silicon- based microprobes with linear, two and three dimensional (3D) distribution of their recording sites. The microprobes comprise either single shafts, combs with multiple shafts or 3D arrays combining two combs with 9, 36 or 72 recording sites, respectively. The electrical interconnection of the probes is achieved through highly flexible polyimide ribbon cables attached using the MicroFlex Technology which allows a connection part of small lateral dimensions. For an improved handling, probes can be secured by a protecting canula. Low-impedance electrodes are achieved by the deposition of platinum black. First in vivo experiments proved the capability to record single action potentials in the motor cortex from electrodes close to the tip as well as body electrodes along the shaft.
Triterpenoid Saponins from the Stem Barks of Schefflera heptaphylla

Abstract Nine new triterpenoid saponins, including four ursane-type triterpenoid saponins named heptursosides A–D (1–4), four oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins named heptoleosides A–D (5–8), and one dammarane-type triterpenoid saponin, heptdamoside A (9), along with two known saponins, asiaticoside D (10) and scheffoleoside B (11), were isolated from the stem barks of Schefflera heptaphylla. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and chemical methods. It is noteworthy in this study that the aglycone of 1–6 is reported for the first time, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report for the presence of the tetracyclic triterpenoid saponin from Schefflera. All the saponins were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 cells, and 2, 6, 7, and 10 showed anti-inflammatory activities under their noncytotoxic concentrations.
On complex domain decision feedback equalizer based on Bell-Sejnowski neuron

This paper considers the complex domain Bell- Sejnowski class neuron in the self-optimized decision feedback equalizer structure where an appropriate nonlinearity responds with the maximum entropy signal. The presented simulation results have proved the stability of the joint entropy maximization algorithm during the blind acquisition mode and also its ability to mitigate the error propagation effects that emerge when the cascade of linear components switches into the decision feedback mode.
Bacterial Primary Colonization and Early Succession on Surfaces in Marine Waters as Determined by Amplified rRNA Gene Restriction Analysis and Sequence Analysis of 16S rRNA Genes

ABSTRACT The nearly universal colonization of surfaces in marine waters by bacteria and the formation of biofilms and biofouling communities have important implications for ecological function and industrial processes. However, the dynamics of surface attachment and colonization in situ, particularly during the early stages of biofilm establishment, are not well understood. Experimental surfaces that differed in their degrees of hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity were incubated in a salt marsh estuary tidal creek for 24 or 72 h. The organisms colonizing these surfaces were examined by using a cultivation-independent approach, amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis. The goals of this study were to assess the diversity of bacterial colonists involved in early succession on a variety of surfaces and to determine the phylogenetic affiliations of the most common early colonists. Substantial differences in the representation of different cloned ribosomal DNA sequences were found when the 24- and 72-h incubations were compared, indicating that some new organisms were recruited and some other organisms were lost. Phylogenetic analyses of the most common sequences recovered showed that the colonists were related to organisms known to inhabit surfaces or particles in marine systems. A total of 22 of the 26 clones sequenced were affiliated with theRoseobacter subgroup of the α subdivision of the divisionProteobacteria (α-Proteobacteria), and most of these clones were recovered at a high frequency from all surfaces after 24 or 72 h of incubation. Two clones were affiliated with the Alteromonas group of the γ-Proteobacteriaand appeared to be involved only in the very early stages of colonization (within the first 24 h). A comparison of the colonization patterns on the test surfaces indicated that the early bacterial community succession rate and/or direction may be influenced by surface physicochemical properties. However, organisms belonging to the Roseobacter subgroup are ubiquitous and rapid colonizers of surfaces in coastal environments.
IMMUNE STATUS OF AIDS PATIENTS IN FRANCE: RELATIONSHIP WITH LYMPHADENOPATHY ASSOCIATED VIRUS TROPISM a

Laboratoire d ’Immunologie Niphrologique et de Transplantation UER de Midecine Piti&Salpktri&e 75013 Paris, France Direction Ginirale de la Sand Ministire de la Sante 75007 Paris, France Dkpartement de Sonti Publique et Midecine Tropicale Hzpital de La Piti&Salpitriire 75651 Paris cedex 13, France Institut de Midecine et d’Epid6miologie Tropicale Hzpital Claude Bernard 7501 9 Paris, France ’ Unit6 d’Oncologie Virale Dipartement de Virologie Institut Pasteur 75724 Paris Cedex 1.5. France
The Epstein-Barr Virus Alkaline Exonuclease BGLF5 Serves Pleiotropic Functions in Virus Replication

ABSTRACT The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) alkaline exonuclease BGLF5 has previously been recognized to contribute to immune evasion by downregulating production of HLA molecules during virus replication. We have constructed a BGLF5-null virus mutant to determine BGLF5's functions during EBV viral replication. Quantification of virus production in permissive 293 cells carrying a ΔBGLF5 genome identified a 17- to 21-fold reduction relative to complemented or wild-type controls. Detailed monitoring of ΔBGLF5 replication evidenced an impaired virus nucleocapsid maturation, a reduced primary egress and a 1.4-fold reduction in total viral DNA synthesis. ΔBGLF5 single-unit-length viral genomes were not only less abundant but also migrated faster than expected in gel electrophoresis. We concluded that BGLF5 pertained both to the generation and to the processing of viral linear genomes. ΔBGLF5 phenotypic traits were reminiscent of those previously identified in a mutant devoid of UL12, BGLF5's homolog in herpes simplex virus type 1, and indeed UL12 was found to partially complement the ΔBGLF5 phenotype. However, BGLF5-specific functions could also be identified; the nuclear membrane of replicating cells displayed images of reduplication and complex folding that could be completely corrected by BGLF5 but not UL12. Similar nuclear abnormalities were previously observed in cells transfected with BFLF2 and BFRF1, two viral proteins crucial for EBV nuclear egress. Interestingly, ΔBGLF5 cells produced more BFLF2 than wild-type or complemented counterparts. The present study provides an overview of BGLF5's functions that will guide future molecular studies. We anticipate that the 293/ΔBGLF5 cell line will be instrumental in such developments.
470 million years of conservation of microsatellite loci among fish species

Primers for 18 microsatellite loci originally isolated from whiting (6), stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus, n — 5) and cod (Gadus morhua, n = 7) were tested across a panel of diverse fish species, representing the three principal superclasses and most principal superorders of fish, to examine conservation of microsatellite regions across distantly related taxa. Three methods were used. First, amplified fragments were analysed by Southern blotting using the relevant microsatellite motif probes. A total of 17 of the tested primer pairs gave a product in the expected size range in at least four of 11 tested species. Second, for two study loci the amplified polymerase chain reaction products were cloned and sequenced in five fish species to reveal a high level of conservation of the flanking and microsatellite sequences. Finally, the 17 loci successfully amplified in non-source species were tested for polymorphism in groups of unrelated individuals from nine species, in several cases revealing extensive polymorphism. Levels of polymorphism were generally high in species from which the loci were derived or among closely related species. The conservation of flanking sequences for particular microsatellite motifs over the span of fish evolution represented in the test species (470 million years) far exceeds that hitherto reported and lends support to the suggestion (derived from studies of whales and marine turtles) that the rate of base substitution in nuclear and mitochondrial sequences is lower in aquatic than terrestrial organisms. A further explanation could be that these sequences, although generally considered neutral, may play an important role in eukaryotic genomes, and may be under strong selective constraints. The study suggests that heterologous primers will be a ready source of polymorphic markers among fish species, but also indicates that caution should be used in cross-species comparisons of variability.
Atypical Effect of Displacement Damage on LM124 Bipolar Integrated Circuits

LM124 operational amplifiers from three different manufacturers are irradiated with 60Co gamma rays and neutrons. During neutrons irradiation, one of the three integrated circuits exhibits an unexpected slew rates increase while its open loop gain and supply bias current follow the usual monotonic decrease as described in the literature. Analysis at circuit level shows that this phenomenon is due to an increase in the radiation-induced base current of the transistor used as buffer stage in the amplification chain. It is then demonstrated that a slight modification of the buffer transistor design, which is not implemented on the two other devices, enhances this phenomenon. Finally, the impact of the buffer transistor design on displacement damage and total ionizing dose response is investigated.
Validation of an HPLC assay for determination of Telazol in pregnant pigs: application to placental transfer study

Anesthetics utilized for the immobilization of pregnant mammals are prone to crossing the placental barrier and cause adverse effects to the fetuses. In this study, we develop a facile method employing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the study of Telazol crossing the placental barrier of pregnant pigs. The method mainly relies on the efficient extraction strategy that includes the mobile phase composed of 10 mM ammonium acetate aqueous solution-acetonitrile (1:4, v/v). When the injected dose of Telazol is 10 mg/kg (5 mg/kg of each constituent drug, zolazepem and tiletamine), zolazepam can cross the placental barrier as it is detected in both uterus and umbilical cord with approximately the same content. Conversely, tiletamine is detected in neither uterus nor umbilical cord, indicating the absence of placental transfer of tiletamine. The different absorption rates of the two dosage-equal compounds by pigs are found to be the main cause of their different abilities to cross the placental barrier.
Estimating the service time of web clients using server logs

This article proposes and evaluates measures for estimating the service time of a web client using server logs, only from the server side without introducing traffic into the network. The HTTP protocol is described as well as the different interactions between the web server, the communication components, and the web client application. The first measure is based on the time it takes for the web server application to deliver an object to its operating system, keeping in mind the buffer effect of the server network. The second measure also considers the inter-arrival times to the server application of the GET requests for the objects that are part of a web page. We propose formulas, validated experimentally, that relate the proposed measurements in the server with the different components that take part in a web transaction and the service time experienced by clients. We have carried out several experiments to evaluate the validity of the proposed measurements and the best measure estimates the service time of the client with an error below 20% for 90% of the requests. We observed a cyclic component in the measurements of the server that can simplify the estimation of future values. For this reason, the proposed measures may be used to know what is the service time the client perceives in each visit to a server. It can also be used by content distribution networks to choose between several replica located in different places in the Internet.