Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DECOLOURIZATION OF PAPER MILL EFFLUENT BY IMMOBILIZED CELLS OF PHANEROCHAETE

Paper and pulp industrial waste waters are a major environmental concern. As the treatment of these effluents is a major problem, exploring novel and feasible biotechnological interventions is very important. Utilization of white rot fungi as a means of biological treatment seems to be a viable option. The study was undertaken to use immobilization technique and Phanerochaete chrysosporium, a commonly used white rot fungus for decolourization. The optimum conditions under which significant decolourization observed were temperature (30-35 C), agitation (125rpm), sucrose (0.25 – 1.0%), ammonium chloride (0.25 – 1.0%), pH and duration 24-96 hrs. The addition of 1g/ L sucrose and 1g/L ammonium chloride has significant effect on the degradation of lignin by the whiterot fungi as immobilized cells. Reduction of lignin, phenol, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) from paper mill effluents using different concentration of carbon and nitrogen (0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.0 %) was investigated. Maximum decolourization of 83% was achieved when 1% sucrose and 1% ammonium chloride was added the effluent containing immobilized cells of P. chrysosporium. Significant reduction in BOD, and COD of the effluent was observed in the presence of P. chrysosporium respectively. A pH shift of 7.0 to 6.3 had the significant effect (83%) on biological decolourization process.
Interleukin‐1‐induced neurotoxicity is mediated by glia and requires caspase activation and free radical release

Interleukin (IL)‐1 expression is induced rapidly in response to diverse CNS insults and is a key mediator of experimentally induced neuronal injury. However, the mechanisms of IL‐1‐induced neurotoxicity are unknown. The aim of the present study was to examine the toxic effects of IL‐1 on rat cortical cell cultures. Treatment with IL‐1β did not affect the viability of pure cortical neurones. However, IL‐1 treatment of cocultures of neurones with glia or purified astrocytes induced caspase activation resulting in neuronal death. Neuronal cell death induced by IL‐1 was prevented by pre‐treatment with the IL‐1 receptor antagonist, the broad spectrum caspase inhibitor Boc‐Asp‐(OMe)‐CH2F or the antioxidant α‐tocopherol. The NMDA receptor antagonist dizolcipine (MK‐801) attenuated cell death induced by low doses of IL‐1β but the α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methylisoxazole‐4‐propionic acid receptor antagonist 2,3‐dihydroxy‐6‐nitro‐7‐sulfamoyl‐benzo(F)quinoxaline (NBQX) had no effect. Inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase with N(ω)‐nitro‐l‐arginine methyl ester had no effect on neuronal cell death induced by IL‐1β. Thus, IL‐1 activates the IL‐1 type 1 receptor in astrocytes to induce caspase‐dependent neuronal death, which is dependent on the release of free radicals and may contribute to neuronal cell death in CNS diseases.
Effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on bone density in men and women 65 years of age or older.

BACKGROUND Inadequate dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D may contribute to the high prevalence of osteoporosis among older persons. METHODS We studied the effects of three years of dietary supplementation with calcium and vitamin D on bone mineral density, biochemical measures of bone metabolism, and the incidence of nonvertebral fractures in 176 men and 213 women 65 years of age or older who were living at home. They received either 500 mg of calcium plus 700 IU of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) per day or placebo. Bone mineral density was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, blood and urine were analyzed every six months, and cases of nonvertebral fracture were ascertained by means of interviews and verified with use of hospital records. RESULTS The mean (+/-SD) changes in bone mineral density in the calcium-vitamin D and placebo groups were as follows: femoral neck, +0.50+/-4.80 and -0.70+/-5.03 percent, respectively (P=0.02); spine,+2.12+/-4.06 and +1.22+/-4.25 percent (P=0.04); and total body, +0.06+/-1.83 and -1.09+/-1.71 percent (P<0.001). The difference between the calcium-vitamin D and placebo groups was significant at all skeletal sites after one year, but it was significant only for total-body bone mineral density in the second and third years. Of 37 subjects who had nonvertebral fractures, 26 were in the placebo group and 11 were in the calcium-vitamin D group (P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS In men and women 65 years of age or older who are living in the community, dietary supplementation with calcium and vitamin D moderately reduced bone loss measured in the femoral neck, spine, and total body over the three-year study period and reduced the incidence of nonvertebral fractures.
Nerve Growth Factor Released by CD 40 Ligand-Transfected L Cells : Implications for Functional and Phenotypic Studies on CD 40 1 Cells

Invest 87:2169, 1991 4. Wilmotte R, Maréchal J, Morlé L, Baklouti F, Philippe N, Kastally R, Kotula L, Delaunay J, Alloisio N: Low expression allele aLELY of red cell spectrin is associated with mutations in exon 40 ( aV/41 polymorphism) and intron 45 and with partial skipping of exon 46. J Clin Invest 91:2091, 1993 5. Parquet N, Devaux I, Boulanger L, Galand C, Boivin P, Lecomte MC, Dhermy D, Garbarz M: Identification of three novel spectrin aI/74 mutations in hereditary elliptocytosis: Further support for a triplestanded folding unit model of the spectrin heterodimer contact site. Blood 84:303, 1994 6. Coetzer T, Palek J, Lawler J, Liu SC, Jarolim P, Lahav M, Prchal JT, Wang W, Alter BP, Schewitz G, Mankad V, Gallanello R, Cao A: Structural and functional heterogeneity of a spectrin mutations involving the spectrin heterodimer self-association site: Relationships to hematologic expression of homozygous hereditary elliptocytosis and hereditary pyropoikilocytosis. Blood 75:2235, 1990 7. Sahr FE, Coetzer TL, Moy LS, Derick LH, Chishi AH, Jarolim P, Lorenzo F, Miraglia del Giudice M, Iolascon A, Gallanello R, Cao A, Delaunay J, Liu SC, Palek J: Spectrin Cagliari. An ALA = GLY substitution in helix 1 ofb spectrin repeat 17 that severely disrupts the structure and self-association of the erythrocyte spectrin heterodimer. J Biol Chem 268:22656, 1993 8. Randon J, Boulanger L, Marechal J, Garbarz M, Vallier A, Ribeiro L, Tamagnini G, Dhermy D: A variant of spectrin low-expression allele aLELY carrying a hereditary elliptocytosis mutation in codon 28. Br J Haematol 88:534, 1994 9. Dalla Venezia N, Wilmotte R, Morlé L, Forissier A, Parquet N, Garbarz M, Rousset T, Dhermy D, Alloisio N, Delaunay J: An a-spectrin mutation responsible for hereditary elliptocytosis associated in ciswith theaV/41 polymorphism. Hum Genet 90:641, 1993 10. Lux SE, Palek J: Disorders of the red cell membrane, in Handin RI, Lux SE, Stossel TP (eds): Blood: Principles and Practice of Hematology. Philadelphia, PA, Lippincott, 1995, p 1701 11. Tse WT, Lecomte MC, Costa FF, Garbarz M, Feo C, Boivin P, Dhermy D, Forget BG: Point mutation in the beta-spectrin gene associated with alpha I/74 hereditary elliptocytosis. Implications for the mechanism of spectrin dimer self-association. J Clin Invest 86:909, 1990
Gr upSM Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Metabolic Syndrome , Epidemiology and Pathogenesis

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome varies according to sex, age and demographic situations,being linked to sociocultural, environmental and genetic factors. Central obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension are widely known risk factors in patients with this syndrome, representing more than one clinical diagnosis, being a pre-morbid condition with a high rate of cardiovascular, renal and hepatic complications. The nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been considered the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome, which may progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, being associated with greater cardiovascular and endocrine-metabolic risk. Thus, it becomes necessary to expand the knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in its genesis and progression. Hepatic steatosiscan progress to more advanced forms of the disease from the greater absorption and synthesis of fatty acids, de novo lipogenesis, reduction of the hydrolysis of triglycerides and mitochondrial betaoxidation of fatty acids, contributing to increased production of free radicals and reactive oxygen species, with the release of many inflammatory mediators. Many cytokines and inflammatory mediators are involved in the pathophysiology of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the most advanced form of hepatic steatosis. However, the most widely studied and described cytokines are adiponectin, leptin, TNF-α, Il-6, which are essential for the understanding and development of new diagnostic modalities and therapeutic strategies. Aluiziane Rhaízia Borges Gomes1, Arthur Wagner Pimentel de Sousa2 and Mônica Souza de Miranda Henriques3* 1General practitioner, Resident of internal Medicine 2Medicine student 3Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology researcher *Corresponding author: Mônica Souza de Miranda Henriques, Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology researcher, Federal University of Paraiba, Brazil, Tel: +55 83 21064777, Fax: +55 83 21064777, E-Mail: mrsmonicca@gmail.com Published Date: November 23, 2016
Prestenting improves ureteroscopic stone-free rates.

PURPOSE Although the use of stents after ureteroscopy has been studied extensively, relatively little has been published about stent placement before complicated ureteroscopic procedures. In this study, we examined our experience with stent placement before ureteroscopic management of renal and ureteral stone disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 90 patients underwent ureteroscopic surgery on 115 renal units by a single surgeon from 2001 to 2006. All patients had documented follow-up with imaging either by CT or intravenous urography (IVU) with tomography. Patients were classified into two groups depending on whether they had a stent placed before ureteroscopy. Baseline characteristics, operative indications for stent placement, stone-free rates, and complications were compared between groups. RESULTS Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups. The majority of patients received stents before stone management because of technical considerations during surgery (17/36, 47%) or infection (13/36, 37%). Strict stone-free rates after ureteroscopic treatment were 47% in the 79 procedures without previous stents, compared with 67% in the 36 procedures with prestenting (P < 0.05). Including small fragments (2 mm or smaller), stone-free rates improved to 54% v 78%, respectively (P < 0.02). Complications were not significantly different in the two groups (P = 0.70). CONCLUSION Although routine stent placement is not necessary before all ureteroscopic procedures, we demonstrate that it is associated with good stone-free rates and few complications. In this retrospective cohort, prestenting was associated with significantly higher stone-free rates. Prestenting should be considered in challenging cases.
SPRAM (SPin-transfer torque RAM) Technology for Green IT World

In Green IT world, we could enjoy our daily life with immersed digital equipments that have perfect normally OFF and instant ON functions resulting from environment-conscious technologies. For achieving this, firstly we need a non-volatile RAM technology, namely endowed with non-volatility, infinite number of write cycles, and fast operation at the same time. SPRAM is the most promising solution for this demand.
Pneumonia in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected children in developing countries: epidemiology, clinical features, and management

Purpose of review Pneumonia is a leading cause of illness and death in children younger than 5 years in developing countries, accounting for approximately 20% of childhood deaths. The HIV epidemic has sharply increased the incidence, severity, and mortality of childhood pneumonia in the developing world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This article reviews recent findings on the epidemiology, clinical features, and management of HIV-infected and -uninfected children with pneumonia in developing countries. Recent findings Bacterial infection remains a major cause of pneumonia mortality; in HIV-infected children, a broader spectrum of pathogens including gram-negative infections and Pneumocystis jiroveci occurs. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an important cause of acute pneumonia among children from high tuberculosis prevalence areas. Use of case management guidelines substantially reduces neonatal, infant, and under-5 mortality and pneumonia-specific mortality in developing countries. New advances in therapy include the use of short-course antibiotics and high-dose amoxicillin twice daily for ambulatory treatment of HIV-negative children with pneumonia. New preventive interventions include the development of conjugate vaccines against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, but these are not widely affordable nor available in developing countries. Despite a lower efficacy in HIV-infected children, these vaccines still protect against disease in a significant proportion of children. Available preventive interventions including micronutrient supplementation with zinc and vitamin A, and immunization as contained in the WHO Expanded Program of Immunization can substantially reduce the burden of childhood pneumonia. Summary Urgent measures to implement existing available, effective interventions for prevention and treatment of childhood pneumonia and achieve high coverage rates in developing countries are needed.
Measuring Dispositional Humility: A First Approximation

Humility is a psychological construct that has not received much empirical attention until recently. This new emphasis on positive psychology and humility has been both conceptual and empirical. The present study had two objectives: to review the literature briefly to verify the importance of humility and its positive perception by others, and to begin to develop a preliminary measure of humility. Results indicated that humility is held in high regard by others. Two factors emerged from exploratory factor analysis that appear to converge on measuring humility, with acceptable convergent and divergent validity and internal consistency reliability. These results are discussed in terms of the expected relationships among humility and other constructs (e.g., social desirability, narcissism, self-esteem).
Permissive and Protective Factors Associated With Presence, Level, and Longitudinal Pattern of Cervicovaginal HIV Shedding

Background:Cervicovaginal HIV level (CV-VL) influences HIV transmission. Plasma viral load (PVL) correlates with CV-VL, but discordance is frequent. We evaluated how PVL, behavioral, immunological, and local factors/conditions individually and collectively correlate with CV-VL. Methods:CV-VL was measured in the cervicovaginal lavage fluid (CVL) of 481 HIV-infected women over 976 person-visits in a longitudinal cohort study. We correlated identified factors with CV-VL at individual person-visits and detectable/undetectable PVL strata by univariate and multivariate linear regression and with shedding pattern (never, intermittent, persistent ≥3 shedding visits) in 136 women with ≥3 visits by ordinal logistic regression. Results:Of 959 person-visits, 450 (46.9%) with available PVL were discordant, 435 (45.3%) had detectable PVL with undetectable CV-VL, and 15 (1.6%) had undetectable PVL with detectable CV-VL. Lower CV-VL correlated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) usage (P = 0.01). Higher CV-VL correlated with higher PVL (P < 0.001), inflammation-associated cellular changes (P = 0.03), cervical ectopy (P = 0.009), exudate (P = 0.005), and trichomoniasis (P = 0.03). In multivariate analysis of the PVL-detectable stratum, increased CV-VL correlated with the same factors and friability (P = 0.05), while with undetectable PVL, decreased CV-VL correlated with HAART use (P = 0.04). In longitudinal analysis, never (40.4%) and intermittent (44.9%) shedding were most frequent. Higher frequency shedders were more likely to have higher initial PVL [odds ratio (OR) = 2.47/log10 increase], herpes simplex virus type 2 seropositivity (OR = 3.21), and alcohol use (OR = 2.20). Conclusions:Although PVL correlates strongly with CV-VL, discordance is frequent. When PVL is detectable, cervicovaginal inflammatory conditions correlate with increased shedding. However, genital shedding is sporadic and not reliably predicted by associated factors. HAART, by reducing PVL, is the most reliable means of reducing cervicovaginal shedding.
Optical bistability, photonic logic, and optical computation.

This paper presents new results and reviews the latest state of research in all-optical nonlinear logic switches, amplifiers, and memories. Optical circuit elements that perform the logic functions of the electronic computer are described. Switching speed on a picosecond time scale, the availability of fast high bandwidth consistent communication, and the application of optical parallelism in free space optical wiring are some advantages of the optical computing elements.
Testing feeding tube placement during continuous tube feedings.

URSING PROTOCOLS for the care of tubefed patients usually require that correct feeding tube placement be confirmed at least once a shift during continuous feedings. However, there are few guidelines available to assist nurses in making this assessment. The usual distinction to be made is whether the tube’s ports are in the stomach or small bowel (duodenum or jejunum). Ruling out inadvertent placement in the respiratory tract is not an issue during continuous feedings because it is extremely unlikely that a feeding tube positioned in the gastrointestinal tract could dislocate into the respiratory tract. Regular assessment of feeding tube placement is important because a tube can be partially pulled out during movement or when tugged at by a confused patient. Also a tube’s distal tip can spontaneously shift upward or downward fromits original correct position, even when the external portion of the tube remains taped in place. For example, the distal tip of a tube can shift upward from the duodenum into the stomach; if this occurs in a patient with an atonic stomach, the risk of aspiration is increased. Downward displacement of a feeding tube’s ports from the stomach into the duodenumincreases the risk for feeding intolerance if the formula or medications given through the tube are inappropriate for the small bowel.
The Foreign Language Effect in Risk Decision-Making: A Cross-Country Review of Brazilians and Poles Behavior in a Loss Aversion Experiment

In a globalized world, executives and managers face daily the inevitability task of making risky decisions involving different sums of money. In many cases, these decisions arise in a foreign language environment. One main question is to what extent can foreign language change the course of action in decision-making at risk? This study aimed to investigate two effects, the influence of Foreign Language Effect (FLe) in decision-making behavior to analyze Brazilians' and Poles' choices in a loss aversion bet game and to compare the risk acceptance level among groups using English as a foreign language and native languages. Additionally, we compare Brazilians and Poles acceptance level in their mother tongue. Results from 150 people living in Poland and 83 people living in Brazil indicated that both groups are less risk averse in almost all levels of bets, showing that the FLe could reduce, to some extent, the loss aversion on risk aversion bias, and, although native Brazilian participants were more risk averse in both high and low-stakes, it was not possible to verify the relationship between the country of origin and the change in the betting acceptance pattern between these two groups.
Cytogenetic and Sequence Analyses of Mitochondrial DNA Insertions in Nuclear Chromosomes of Maize

The transfer of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) into nuclear genomes is a regularly occurring process that has been observed in many species. Few studies, however, have focused on the variation of nuclear-mtDNA sequences (NUMTs) within a species. This study examined mtDNA insertions within chromosomes of a diverse set of Zea mays ssp. mays (maize) inbred lines by the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization. A relatively large NUMT on the long arm of chromosome 9 (9L) was identified at approximately the same position in four inbred lines (B73, M825, HP301, and Oh7B). Further examination of the similarly positioned 9L NUMT in two lines, B73 and M825, indicated that the large size of these sites is due to the presence of a majority of the mitochondrial genome; however, only portions of this NUMT (∼252 kb total) were found in the publically available B73 nuclear sequence for chromosome 9. Fiber-fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis estimated the size of the B73 9L NUMT to be ∼1.8 Mb and revealed that the NUMT is methylated. Two regions of mtDNA (2.4 kb and 3.3 kb) within the 9L NUMT are not present in the B73 mitochondrial NB genome; however, these 2.4-kb and 3.3-kb segments are present in other Zea mitochondrial genomes, including that of Zea mays ssp. parviglumis, a progenitor of domesticated maize.
Histone H2B Deubiquitination Is Required for Transcriptional Activation of FLOWERING LOCUS C and for Proper Control of Flowering in Arabidopsis1[C][W][OA]

The spectrum of histone modifications at a given locus is a critical determinant for the correct output of gene expression. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), many studies have examined the relationship between histone methylation and gene expression, but few studies exist on the relationship between other covalent histone modifications and gene expression. In this work, we describe the role of histone H2B deubiquitination in the activation of gene expression and the consequence of a perturbation of histone H2B deubiquitination in the timing of the floral transition in Arabidopsis. A mutation in a H2B deubiquitinase, UBIQUITIN-SPECIFIC PROTEASE26 (UBP26), results in an early-flowering phenotype. In the ubp26 mutant, mRNA levels of the floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and other related family members is decreased. Furthermore, this mutant accumulates H2B monoubiquitination, and has decreased levels of H3K36 trimethylation and increased levels of H3K27 trimethylation at the FLC locus. Thus, UBP26 is required for transcriptional activation of FLC through H2B deubiquitination and is consistent with a model in which deubiquitination is necessary for the accumulation of H3K36 trimethylation and the proper level of transcriptional activation.
Contributions of mitochondria to animal physiology: from homeostatic sensor to calcium signalling and cell death

Over recent years, it has become clear that mitochondria play a central role in many key aspects of animal physiology and pathophysiology. Their central and ubiquitous task is clearly the production of ATP. Nevertheless, they also play subtle roles in glucose homeostasis, acting as the sensor for substrate supply in the transduction pathway that promotes insulin secretion by the pancreatic β‐cell and that modulates the excitability of the hypothalamic glucose‐sensitive neurons involved in appetite control. Mitochondria may also act as sensors of availability of oxygen, the other major mitochondrial substrate, in the regulation of respiration. Mitochondria take up calcium, and the high capacity mitochondrial calcium uptake pathway provides a mechanism that couples energy demand to increased ATP production through the calcium‐dependent upregulation of mitochondrial enzyme activity. Mitochondrial calcium accumulation may also have a substantial impact on the spatiotemporal dynamics of cellular calcium signals, with subtle differences of detail in different cell types. Recent work has also revealed the centrality of mitochondrial dysfunction as an irreversible step in the pathway to both necrotic and apoptotic cell death. This review looks at recent developments in these rapidly evolving areas of cell physiology in an attempt to draw together disparate areas of research into a common theme.