Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms in soilless cultures

Soilless cultures were originally developed to control soilborne diseases. Soilless cultures provide several advantages for growers such as greater production of crops, reduced energy consumption, better control of growth and independence of soil quality. However, diseases specific to hydroponics have been reported. For instance, zoospore-producing microorganisms such as Pythium and Phytophthora spp. are particularly well adapted to aquatic environments. Their growth in soilless substrates is favoured by the recirculation of the nutrient solution. These pathogenic microorganisms are usually controlled by disinfection methods but such methods are only effective as a preventive measure. Contrary to biofiltration, active treatments such as UV, heat and ozonisation have the disadvantage of eliminating not only the harmful microorganisms but also the beneficial indigenous microorganisms. Here, we review microbial populations that colonise ecological niches of hydroponic greenhouse systems. Three topics are discussed: (1) the general microflora; (2) the pathogenic microflora that are typical to hydroponic systems; and (3) the non-pathogenic and possibly beneficial microflora, and their use in the control of plant diseases in soilless greenhouse systems. Technical, economic and environmental concerns are forcing the adoption of new sustainable methods such as the use of microbial antagonists. Thus, increased attention is now focused on the role of natural microflora in suppressing certain diseases. Managing disease suppression in hydroponics represents a promising way of controlling pathogens. Three main strategies can be used: (1) increasing the level of suppressiveness by the addition of antagonistic microorganisms; (2) using a mix of microorganisms with complementary ecological traits and antagonistic abilities, combined with disinfection techniques; and (3) amending substrates to favour the development of a suppressive microflora. Increasing our knowledge on beneficial microflora, their ecology and treatments that influence their composition will help to commercialise new, ready-to-use substrates microbiologically optimised to protect plants in sustainable management systems.
Subsurface imaging by modified migration for irregular GPR data

Handheld ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system is one of a number of technologies that has been researched as a means of improving landmine detection efficiency. However, as the measurement points are random and data are irregular for the human operator, it is difficult to display subsurface visualization imaging. Also detection of buried landmines by GPR normally suffers from very strong clutter that will decrease the image quality. To solve the problem, a modified migration algorithm was proposed to process irregular GPR data, which has both the advantage of migration that can improve signal-clutter ratio and the advantage of interpolation that produces the grid data set for visualization. An application to field data acquired in Afghanistan shows clear landmine image in both vertical profile and horizontal slice.
Delusion of Pregnancy in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration with Motor Neurone Disease (FTLD/MND)

Psychotic phenomena such as delusions and hallucinations are rare in frontotemporal dementia syndromes but have recently been recognised as an early feature in some cases of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with motor neurone disease (FTLD/MND). A patient with delusion of pregnancy as an early feature of FTLD/MND is presented to illustrate the need to consider neurodegenerative disease as well as primary psychiatric disorder as the underlying cause of this striking symptom.
Non-motor symptoms in a Flanders-Belgian population of 215 Parkinson's disease patients as assessed by the Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND Non-motor symptoms (NMS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) are frequent, increase the patients' disability and have an important negative impact on their quality of life. METHODS We used a Dutch translation of the Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire (NMSQuest) to identify NMS in a population of 215 Belgian PD patients. RESULTS A median number of 8 NMS was reported per patient. Urinary urgency (59.2 %), nocturia (56.9 %), insomnia (45.8 %), attention problems (45.5 %) and orthostatism (41.2 %) were the most frequently denoted NMS. A higher number of NMS was present with more severe Hoehn and Yahr stages. Longer disease duration was associated with more NMS. Furthermore, clinical markers of disease progression were also associated with a higher number of NMS. However, early-onset patients (< 50 years) reported less NMS than late-onset patients after correction for disease duration. Interestingly, in early-onset patients we observed more unexplained pain and more hyperhydrosis. CONCLUSION We confirm the high prevalence of NMS in PD patients. A long disease duration and more severe disease are associated with a higher number of NMS. Importantly, even if late-onset patients generally report more NMS, unexplained pain and hyperhydrosis are more frequent in early-onset patients.
The vasopressin mRNA poly(A) tract is unusually long and increases during stimulation of vasopressin gene expression in vivo

We developed a method, termed an H-blot, by which the poly(A) tract of any specific mRNA may be detected by RNA filter hybridization after its removal from the body of the mRNA by a RNase H-catalyzed endonucleolytic cleavage in the 3' untranslated region. Using this method, we studied the modulation of the length of the poly(A) tract of rat vasopressin mRNA in vivo during changes in the levels of this mRNA resulting from a physiologic stimulus, osmotic stress. The poly(A) tract of hypothalamic vasopressin mRNA in hydrated rats was, quite remarkably, approximately 250 nucleotides in length, in contrast to that of somatostatin mRNA, which was approximately 30 nucleotides long. Vasopressin mRNA poly(A) tail length increased progressively from approximately 250 to approximately 400 nucleotides with the application of the hyperosmotic stimulus and declined to base line after its removal; somatostatin mRNA poly(A) tail length did not change during osmotic stress. The poly(A) tract length of total hypothalamic mRNA was between 35 and 140 nucleotides and also did not change with osmotic stress. Modulation of poly(A) tract length of specific mRNAs during stimulation of gene expression may provide an additional level of genetic regulation.
A Universally Applicable 68Ga-Labeling Technique for Proteins

Although protein-based PET imaging agents are projected to become important tracer molecules in the future, the labeling of complex biomolecules with PET radionuclides is inexpedient and, most of the time, challenging. Methods: Here we present a straightforward labeling chemistry to attach the versatile radionuclide 68Ga to proteins. Introducing the 68Ga chelating agent NODA-GA-T (2,2′-(7-(1-carboxy-4-(2-mercaptoethylamino)-4-oxobutyl)-1,4,7-triazonane-1,4-diyl)diacetic acid) by reaction with proteins chemically processed with sulfo-SMCC (4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylic acid 3-sulfo-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester sodium salt) results in labeling precursors, enabling a simple and rapid kit-labeling procedure that requires no workup of the radiolabeled proteins. Various 68Ga- proteins were labeled using this method, and the radiochemical yields and specific activities of the labeled proteins were determined. To show that the radiotracers are applicable for in vivo studies, proof-of-concept small-animal PET images were acquired in healthy rats using 68Ga rat serum albumin for blood-pool imaging and 68Ga-annexin V for apoptosis imaging in mice with a left ventricular myocardial infarction. Results: The proteins could be modified, yielding 1.2–1.7 68Ga-labeling sites per protein molecule. All investigated proteins could be labeled in high radiochemical yields of 95% or more in less than 10 min in 1 step, using acetate-buffered medium (pH 3.5–4.0) at room temperature without any further purification. The labeled proteins displayed specific activities of 20–45 GBq/μmol (540–1,200 Ci/mmol). In the proof-of-concept in vivo studies, 68Ga rat serum albumin and 68Ga-annexin V were successfully used for in vivo imaging. Both radiotracers showed a favorable biodistribution in the animal models, thus demonstrating the usefulness of the developed approach for the kit 68Ga labeling of proteins. Conclusion: The preprocessing of proteins proceeds in high chemical yields and with high protein recovery rates after purification. These precursors can be stored for several months at −20°C without degradation, and 68Ga labeling can be performed in a 1-step kit-labeling reaction in high radiochemical yields. Two of the derivatized model proteins were successfully used in proof-of-concept in vivo imaging studies to prove the applicability of this kit 68Ga-labeling technique.
Active Efflux and Diffusion Are Involved in Transport of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cell-to-Cell Signals

ABSTRACT Many gram-negative bacteria communicate by N-acyl homoserine lactone signals called autoinducers (AIs). InPseudomonas aeruginosa, cell-to-cell signaling controls expression of extracellular virulence factors, the type II secretion apparatus, a stationary-phase sigma factor (ςs), and biofilm differentiation. The fact that a similar signal,N-(3-oxohexanoyl) homoserine lactone, freely diffuses through Vibrio fischeri and Escherichia colicells has led to the assumption that all AIs are freely diffusible. In this work, transport of the two P. aeruginosa AIs,N-(3-oxododecanoyl) homoserine lactone (3OC12-HSL) (formerly called PAI-1) andN-butyryl homoserine lactone (C4-HSL) (formerly called PAI-2), was studied by using tritium-labeled signals. When [3H]C4-HSL was added to cell suspensions ofP. aeruginosa, the cellular concentration reached a steady state in less than 30 s and was nearly equal to the external concentration, as expected for a freely diffusible compound. In contrast, [3H]3OC12-HSL required about 5 min to reach a steady state, and the cellular concentration was 3 times higher than the external level. Addition of inhibitors of the cytoplasmic membrane proton gradient, such as azide, led to a strong increase in cellular accumulation of [3H]3OC12-HSL, suggesting the involvement of active efflux. A defined mutant lacking themexA-mexB-oprM-encoded active-efflux pump accumulated [3H]3OC12-HSL to levels similar to those in the azide-treated wild-type cells. Efflux experiments confirmed these observations. Our results show that in contrast to the case for C4-HSL, P. aeruginosa cells are not freely permeable to 3OC12-HSL. Instead, themexA-mexB-oprM-encoded efflux pump is involved in active efflux of 3OC12-HSL. Apparently the length and/or degree of substitution of the N-acyl side chain determines whether an AI is freely diffusible or is subject to active efflux byP. aeruginosa.
Evaluating a New Paradigm for Comparing Surface Disinfection in Clinical Practice

Background. Despite an increasing understanding of the importance of near-patient surfaces in the transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens, there remains a need to define the relative clinical effectiveness of disinfection interventions Design. A serial 2-phase evaluation of the clinical effectiveness of 2 surface disinfectants. Setting. A general acute care hospital. Methods. A unique system for quantifying bioburden reduction while monitoring the possible impact of differences in cleaning thoroughness was used to compare the clinical effectiveness of a traditional quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) and a novel peracetic acid/hydrogen peroxide disinfectant (ND) as part of terminal room cleaning. Results. As a result of QAC cleaning, 93 (40%) of 237 cleaned surfaces confirmed by fluorescent marker (DAZO) removal were found to have complete removal of aerobic bioburden. During the ND phase of the study, bioburden was removed from 211 (77%) of 274 cleaned surfaces. Because there was no difference in the thoroughness of cleaning with either disinfectant (65.3% and 66.4%), the significant (P > .0001) difference in bioburden reduction can be attributed to better cleaning efficacy with the ND. Conclusions. In the context of the study design, the ND was 1.93 times more effective in removing bacterial burden than the QAC (P > .0001). Furthermore, the study design represents a new research paradigm in which 2 interventions can be compared by concomitantly and objectively analyzing both the product and process variables in a manner that can be used to define the relative effectiveness of all disinfection cleaning interventions. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35(11):1349–1355
DE-cadherin-mediated cell adhesion is essential for maintaining somatic stem cells in the Drosophila ovary

Evidence from many systems has shown that stem cells are maintained in “niches” or specific regulatory microenvironments formed by stromal cells. The question of how stem cells are maintained in their niches is important, and further studies will lead to a better understanding of stem cell regulation and enhance the future use of stem cells in regenerative medicine. Here we show that cadherin-mediated cell adhesion is required for anchoring somatic stem cells (SSCs) to their niches in the Drosophila ovary. DE-cadherin and Armadillo/β-catenin accumulate in the junctions between SSCs and their neighboring cells, inner germarial sheath cells. Removal of DE-cadherin from SSCs results in stem cell loss in the adult ovary. Furthermore, the cadherin-mediated adhesion is also important for maintaining SSCs in their niches before adulthood. This study provides further support that SSCs are located in a niche formed by their neighboring cells. We have previously shown that DE-cadherin-mediated cell adhesion is essential for anchoring germ-line stem cells to their niches in the Drosophila ovary. This study further implicates cadherin-mediated cell adhesion as a general mechanism for anchoring stem cells to their niches in a variety of systems.
Co-occurrence of bipolar and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders in children.

OBJECTIVES Pediatric bipolar disorder (BPD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) co-occur more frequently than expected by chance. In this review, we examine 4 potential explanations for the high rate of this common co-occurrence: (i) BPD symptom expression leads to overdiagnosis of ADHD in BPD youth; (ii) ADHD is a prodromal or early manifestation of pediatric-onset BPD; (iii) ADHD and associated factors (e.g., psychostimulants) lead to the onset of pediatric BPD; and (iv) ADHD and BPD share an underlying biological etiology (i.e., a common familial or genetic risk or underlying neurophysiology). METHODS Peer-reviewed publications of studies of children and adolescents with comorbid BPD and ADHD were reviewed. RESULTS There is a bidirectional overlap between BPD and ADHD in youth, with high rates of ADHD present in children with BPD (up to 85%), and elevated rates of BPD in children with ADHD (up to 22%). Phenomenologic, genetic, family, neuroimaging, and treatment studies revealed that BPD and ADHD have both common and distinct characteristics. While there are data to support all 4 explanations postulated in this paper, the literature most strongly suggests that ADHD symptoms represent a prodromal or early manifestation of pediatric-onset BPD in certain at-risk individuals. Bipolar disorder with comorbid ADHD may thus represent a developmentally specific phenotype of early-onset BPD. CONCLUSIONS The etiology of comorbid BPD and ADHD is likely multifactorial. Additional longitudinal and biological studies are warranted to clarify the relationships between BPD and ADHD since they may have important diagnostic and treatment implications.
The protein expression of TRP-1 and galectin-1 in cutaneous malignant melanomas.

BACKGROUND Patients with metastazing malignant melanoma have a poor outcome and determination of thickness of the primary tumor remains as the most important prognostic predictor. The aim of this study was to use an antibody-based proteomics strategy to search for new molecular markers associated with melanoma progression. Two proteins, TRP-1 and galectin-1, were identified as proteins with enhanced expression in cells from the melanocytic lineage. PATIENTS AND METHODS Protein profiling of TRP-1 and galectin-1 together with proliferation marker Ki-67 and melanocyte marker Melan-A was performed in normal tissues from 144 individuals and in 216 different tumors using tissue microarrays and immunohistochemistry. The protein expression pattern was further analyzed in a defined cohort of 157 patients diagnosed with invasive cutaneous malignant melanoma. RESULTS Both TRP-1 and galectin-1 were highly expressed in normal melanocytes and melanoma. The expression of TRP-1 was inversely correlated with tumor stage (p=0.002, (R=-0.28)). Neither TRP-1 or galectin-1 was associated with overall or disease free survival (p>0.14, p>0.46 respectively). Ki-67 was associated with tumor stage and survival (p<0.001). CONCLUSION TRP-1 and galectin-1 protein expression patterns were determined in normal and cancer tissues and both proteins were expressed in the majority of the malignant melanomas. There was no correlation between TRP-1 or galectin-1 expression and survival.
The cosmic infrared background experiment (CIBER): instrumentation and first results

Ultraviolet emission from the first generation of stars in the Universe ionized the intergalactic medium in a process which was completed by z ~ 6; the wavelength of these photons has been redshifted by (1 + z) into the near infrared today and can be measured using instruments situated above the Earth's atmosphere. First flying in February 2009, the Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment (CIBER) comprises four instruments housed in a single reusable sounding rocket borne payload. CIBER will measure spatial anisotropies in the extragalactic IR background caused by cosmological structure from the epoch of reionization using two broadband imaging instruments, make a detailed characterization of the spectral shape of the IR background using a low resolution spectrometer, and measure the absolute brightness of the Zodiacal light foreground with a high resolution spectrometer in each of our six science fields. The scientific motivation for CIBER and details of its first and second flight instrumentation will be discussed. First flight results on the color of the zodiacal light around 1 μm and plans for the future will also be presented.
Cu low k device wire bonding process modeling

As semiconductor industry reaches 90 nm technology node and below, Cu low k technology has been widely used in integrated circuits to further reduce RC delay and power dissipation. Due to the intrinsic properties of low K material (poor adhesion with metal layer, lower modulus and higher CTE), wire bond process window gets narrowed. Crack/peeling between low k ILD layer and metal (barrier) layer are common wire bond defects which cause both packaging manufacturability and product reliability issues. In this paper, physical and mathematical models of wire bonding process were established. The regression equation of impact force and C/V (contact velocity) was obtained through simulation and actual wire bonding data. A Cu low k CMOS 90 nm test vehicle was chosen for the modeling. The bonding impact load curve was obtained through the regression of modeling and actual bonding response. The effect of impact force on the formation of smashed ball as well as the mechanical deformation imposed to the bond pad was studied. Through simulation, capillary dimension - ICA (inner chamfer angle) was found critical to achieve 25% BBR (ball height to ball size ratio) with 40 um BPO (bond pad opening) which is important for consistent IMC formation and stronger IMC integrity over heat excursion. Through the bond pad deformation simulation under different metal structure design, it is found local low K dielectric design can effectively reduce the bond pad deformation & cupping, thus widen the wire bond process window.
Prejudices in Cultural Contexts: Shared Stereotypes (Gender, Age) Versus Variable Stereotypes (Race, Ethnicity, Religion)

Some prejudices share cross-cultural patterns, but others are more variable and culture specific. Those sharing cross-cultural patterns (sexism, ageism) each combine societal status differences and intimate interdependence. For example, in stereotypes of sex and age, lower status groups—women and elders—gain stereotypic warmth (from their cooperative interdependence) but lose stereotypic competence (from their lower status); men and middle-aged adults show the opposite trade-off, stereotypically more competent than warm. Meta-analyses support these widespread ambivalent (mixed) stereotypes for gender and age across cultures. Social class stereotypes often share some similarities (cold but competent rich vs. warm but incompetent poor). These compensatory warmth versus competence stereotypes may function to manage common human dilemmas of interacting across societal and personal positions. However, other stereotypes are more variable and culture specific (ethnicity, race, religion). Case studies of specific race/ethnicities and religions reveal much more cultural variation in their stereotype content, supporting their being responses to particular cultural contexts, apparent accidents of history. To change stereotypes requires understanding their commonalities and differences, their origins and patterns across cultures.
Antibody Binding Is a Dominant Determinant of the Efficiency of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Neutralization

ABSTRACT Primary and laboratory-adapted variants of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) exhibit a wide range of sensitivities to neutralization by antibodies directed against the viral envelope glycoproteins. An antibody directed against an artificial FLAG epitope inserted into the envelope glycoproteins of three HIV-1 isolates with vastly different neutralization sensitivities inhibited all three viruses equivalently. Thus, naturally occurring HIV-1 isolates that are neutralization resistant are not necessarily more impervious to the inhibitory consequences of bound antibody. Moreover, the binding affinity of the anti-FLAG antibody correlated with neutralizing potency, underscoring the dominant impact on neutralization of antibody binding to the envelope glycoproteins.