Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of dietary buffers on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and stomach morphology in finishing pigs.

The effects of supplemental alkaline salts on growth performance, blood chemistry, and stomach morphology were determined in two experiments using 248 finishing pigs fed finely ground diets. In Exp. 1, 128 pigs (56 kg average initial BW) were fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet (488-microns mean particle size) for 66 d. Treatments were control and 1, 2, or 3% added NaHCO3 in a randomized complete block design. Average daily gain (linear effect, P < .005), dressing percentage (linear effect, P < .04), and plasma urea N concentration (linear effect, P < .004) decreased as the concentration of NaHCO3 in the diet was increased, but primarily at the 2 and 3% additions. Feed intake, gain/feed, backfat thickness, stomach ulceration score, blood gases (pCO2 and HCO3), and plasma Na and K were not affected by treatment (P > .11). In Exp. 2, 120 pigs (55 kg average initial BW) were fed a pelleted wheat-soybean meal-based diet (355-microns mean particle size) during a 64-d growth assay. Treatments were 1) control, 2) 1% NaHCO3, and 3) 1% KHCO3. Average daily gain, ADFI, gain/feed, backfat thickness, stomach keratinization score, blood pCO2, plasma urea N, and digestibilities of DM and N were not affected by treatment (P < .15). However, addition of NaHCO3 and KHCO3 tended to decrease (P < .10) the incidence of ulcers and increased (P < .05) the concentration of blood HCO3- and digestibility of GE. These data indicate that 1% addition of either NaHCO3 or KHCO3 may help to reduce the severity of gastric ulcers in finishing pigs without adversely affecting growth performance or nutrient digestibility.
Differential response of Porphyromonas gingivalis to varying levels and duration of hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress.

Porphyromonas gingivalis, an anaerobic oral pathogen implicated in adult periodontitis, can exist in an environment of oxidative stress. To evaluate its adaptation to this environment, we have assessed the response of P. gingivalis W83 to varying levels and durations of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-induced stress. When P. gingivalis was initially exposed to a subinhibitory concentration of H(2)O(2) (0.1 mM), an adaptive response to higher concentrations could be induced. Transcriptome analysis demonstrated that oxidative stress can modulate several functional classes of genes depending on the severity and duration of the exposure. A 10 min exposure to H(2)O(2) revealed increased expression of genes involved in DNA damage and repair, while after 15 min, genes involved in protein fate, protein folding and stabilization were upregulated. Approximately 9 and 2.8% of the P. gingivalis genome displayed altered expression in response to H(2)O(2) exposure at 10 and 15 min, respectively. Substantially more genes were upregulated (109 at 10 min; 47 at 15 min) than downregulated (76 at 10 min; 11 at 15 min) by twofold or higher in response to H(2)O(2) exposure. The majority of these modulated genes were hypothetical or of unknown function. One of those genes (pg1372) with DNA-binding properties that was upregulated during prolonged oxidative stress was inactivated by allelic exchange mutagenesis. The isogenic mutant P. gingivalis FLL363 (pg1372 : : ermF) showed increased sensitivity to H(2)O(2) compared with the parent strain. Collectively, our data indicate the adaptive ability of P. gingivalis to oxidative stress and further underscore the complex nature of its resistance strategy under those conditions.
Binding between the par region of plasmids R1 and pSC101 and the outer membrane fraction of the host bacteria.

The binding between par+ and par plasmid DNA to different membrane fractions of Escherichia coli was investigated. Membrane material from cells carrying different Par+ and Par‐ derivatives of plasmids R1 and pSC101 was isolated and fractionated into an outer and a cytoplasmic membrane fraction. The presence of plasmid DNA in the two membrane fractions was measured either by nick‐translation of the membrane‐bound DNA, followed by filter‐hybridization to homologous DNA, or by filter‐hybridization of the membrane‐bound DNA to nick‐translated homologous purified plasmid DNA. The DNA of par derivatives of plasmids R1 and pSC101 could be detected only in the cytoplasmic membrane fraction, whereas the corresponding par+ plasmid DNA also appeared in the outer membrane material, indicating a specific binding between the R1 and pSC101 partition loci and the bacterial outer membrane. The experiment was then modified by fractionation of the membrane material from cells carrying hybrids between the vector pSF2124 and the par region or the basic replicon region of plasmid R1. The DNA of the membrane fractions were filter‐hybridized to nick‐translated probes. Again, the par+ region caused hybridization to the outer membrane material. Therefore, we may conclude that controlled partitioning involves binding of DNA to membrane material that has the same density as the outer membrane of the host bacteria. This finding offers a biochemical ‘assay’ for studies of the molecular biology of plasmid partitioning.
HIV fusion and its inhibition in antiretroviral therapy

The end of the twentieth century saw dramatic improvements in the prognosis of HIV infection brought about by the introduction of new agents (the protease inhibitors and the non‐nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors) and their use in highly active combinations. However, the durability of these combination treatments is limited by a number of factors including adverse effects and extensive intra‐class cross‐resistance so that new antiretrovirals acting on alternative targets and having improved systemic tolerability profiles are required. The HIV binding and entry process offers several potential targets for antiviral interaction. These include gp120 binding to CD4 and to chemokine co‐receptor molecules as well as the fusion process itself, which involves interactions between two leucine zipper‐like 4‐3 repeat regions within gp41 known as heptad repeat (HR)1 and HR2. Peptides such as enfuvirtide (formerly DP178 or T‐20), that mimic the HR2 region of gp41, inhibit HIV‐1 by a mechanism that is thought to involve competitive binding to HR1. This review summarises the clinical development of enfuvirtide, providing an overview of the pharmacokinetic, efficacy and safety data in various patient populations, and also considers the evidence for the key role of genotypic changes in the HR1 region (amino acids 36–45) in determining viral susceptibility to inhibition by enfuvirtide. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tracheal mucus clearance in high-frequency oscillation: effect of peak flow rate bias.

We have reported previously that high-frequency oscillation of the chest wall (HFO/CW) enhances the tracheal mucus clearance rate (TMCR) in dogs. This enhancement of TMCR may be due in part to the expiratory bias in peak flow rate (VE/VI greater than 1) that occurs during HFO/CW. We examined this factor in 8 anaesthetized, spontaneously breathing dogs by comparing TMCR during the following manoeuvers: 1) HFO/CW, applied by means of a thoracic cuff; 2) symmetric high-frequency oscillation via the airway opening (HFO/AO), applied by means of a piston pump driven by sinusoidal signal; 3) HFO/AO with an expiratory bias in peak flow, and 4) HFO/AO with an inspiratory bias in peak flow. All manoeuvers were of 5 min duration and were performed at 13 Hz and an oscillatory tidal volume of 1.5 ml.kg-1. In the latter two manoeuvers, the piston pump was driven by a nonsinusoidal signal such that peak VE/VI was greater than and less than unity, respectively. A high-impedance, cross-current flow of warmed, humidified air was provided at the tracheal tube. The order of manoeuvers 2, 3 and 4 was randomized, while manoeuver 1 was repeated at the end. TMCR was determined by direct bronchoscopic visualization of charcoal particle transport. Each HFO manoeuver was bracketed by a control period of spontaneous breathing. We found that TMCR during HFO/CW was 2.4 x control (p less than 0.001), in line with previous results. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Effects of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells implantation in canine model of pulmonary hypertension.

BACKGROUND We investigated the safety and feasibility of intratracheal administration of autologous bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (ABM-MNCs) and observed the effects in a canine model of pulmonary hypertension (PH). METHODS AND RESULTS The PH model was induced by intravenous injection of 3mg/kg dehydromonocrotaline (DMCT) via the right atrium. Two weeks after DMCT administration, the animals received 4 different treatments (n=10 in each group): (I) negative control group; (II): ABM-MNCs group; (III) PH group; (IV) PH+ABM-MNCs group. Six weeks after injection of cells (10⁷), the hemodynamic data were significantly improved in group IV compared with group III (P<0.05). The ratio of right ventricular weight to left ventricular plus septal weight was significantly decreased in group IV compared with group III (P<0.05). The mRNA levels of vascular endothelial growth factor, preproendothelin-1, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α were significantly improved in group IV compared with group III (P<0.05). The immunofluorescence result showed that 6 weeks after administration ABM-MNCs could differentiate into pulmonary vascular endothelial cells. CONCLUSIONS Six weeks after intratracheal administration, ABM-MNCs significantly improved the impairment caused by DMCT in a canine model of PH (ie, decreased pulmonary arteriolar narrowing, alveolar septum thickening and right ventricular hypertrophy, enhanced angiogenesis) and this provides a firm foundation for a clinical trial.
Webaffix : une boîte à outils d’acquisition lexicale à partir du Web

Nous presentons ici Webaffix, un outil qui permet de constituer et d’enrichir semi-automatiquement des donnees lexicales en utilisant le Web comme corpus. Il permet de detecter et d’analyser morphologiquement des unites lexicales nouvelles (c’est-a-dire absentes de listes de reference telles que les dictionnaires) construites par suffixation ou prefixation. Nous presentons les techniques utilisees par Webaffix, en declinant les differents modes d’utilisation que nous avons envisages et mis en pratique, ainsi que des exemples de resultats produits par diverses campagnes de collecte. Les donnees ainsi recueillies constituent des ressources lexicales pour differentes applications en traitement automatique des langues, mais egalement pour l’etude a grande echelle de la morphologie derivationnelle.
An intravenous formulation of Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol using a non‐ionic surfactant

The suitability of a mixed solvent system of ethanol-polyethoxylated vegetable oil (PEVO)* and physiological saline (5 :5 :90) previously used for the solubilization of two antineoplastic nitrosources (Davignon, Wood & Cradock, 1972), has been evaluated for solubilization of A$-tetrahydrocannabinol (As-THC). Appropriate amounts of Ag-THC (as a 10 mg ml-I solution in ethanol, stored at 4") were evaporated to dryness under nitrogen in the dark. Equal volumes of ethanol and PEVO were added either sequentially or as a mixed solvent and then agitated and the solution further diluted with 9 volumes of physiological saline. The resulting solutions were clear, tan coloured and contained 0.5-10 mg of Ag-THC ml-l. The utility of this formulation depends to a large extent on the pharmacological effects of PEVO and ethanol. Haemolysis and hypotension have been associated with Tween-type surfactants (Krantz, Carr & others, 1948). Tween-induced hypotension is a serious problem in canines and appears related to histamine release. In other animals and man this effect is slight or absent (Krantz & others, 1948). Although PEVO is essentially not haemolytic (Macek, 1963), similar species differences in susceptibility to hypotension have been observed (Schaeppi & Phelan, 1972). We administered the vehicle alone and with A$-THC intravenously to New Zealand rabbits (1.3-1-6 kg). Two of three rabbits died during injection of A$-THC 100 mg kg-l as a 14 mg ml-l formulation. The rabbits exhibited convulsions, twitches, and striking vasodilation and went through a period of rapid deep breathing followed by shallow intermittent breathing before death. At 40 mg kg-l Ag-THC (as 7 mg ml-l solution) all (4) animals were hyperactive, exhibited mild tonic extensions of hind limbs and survived a 24 h observation period. All A$-THC-treated rabbits at both dose levels exhibited marked miosis. These effects are attributed at least in part to As-THC since equal volumes of vehicle alone produced none of these effects. Only slight ataxia and depression were evident in control animals.
Quo vadis ? Quel futur pour l’histoire économique en France. Réflexions et recommandations par deux économistes

Cet article vise a analyser l’evolution de la discipline « histoire economique », qui se situe aux frontieres de deux disciplines aux preoccupations, methodes et objectifs de plus en plus divergents. Si la science economique se situe – ou souhaite se situer – de plus en plus dans le pole des sciences exactes en privilegiant l’analyse mecanique (erklaren), l’histoire tend, quant a elle, a se situer dans le pole des humanites dans une vision interpretative (verstehen). Nous constatons, malgre cela, le maintien, voire le developpement d’un champ de recherche a l’intersection de ces deux mondes. Nous identifions, plus precisement, une histoire economique d’historiens, differente de celle des economistes d’inspiration cliometrique. Nous nous interrogeons sur la place de cette derniere et son utilite, d’une part pour maintenir une place pour l’interrogation historique en science economique, d’autre part pour permettre a l’histoire de se legitimer dans le cadre d’evaluations de la recherche aux criteres fortement inspires des pratiques des sciences exactes.
Athmos: Focus+Context for Browsing in Mobile Thumbnail Collections

Smartphones are already common tools for presenting photos to family, friends and colleagues. However, browsing and searching through collections of photos can be a tedious repetitive task. In order to facilitate fast and convenient browsing we propose a novel interface that is based on the focus+context approach and tries to eliminate the need for scrolling. Furthermore the possibilities of touch-based devices are taken into account to provide a simple and productive interaction design. In general, the interface minimizes the need for zooming into photos to reveal details and offers a contextual overview at any given time. A first small evaluation proves the suitability of the presented design and brought up interesting suggestions for future work.
Trained 3D Models for CNN based Object Recognition

We present a method for 3D object recognition in 2D images which uses 3D models as the only source of the training data. Our method is particularly useful when a 3D CAD object or a scan needs to be identified in a catalogue form a given query image; where we significantly cut down the overhead of manual labeling. We take virtual snapshots of the available 3D models by a computer graphics pipeline and fine-tune existing pretrained CNN models for our object categories. Experiments show that our method performs better than the existing local-feature based recognition system in terms of recognition recall.
Different alleles of the response regulator gene bldM arrest Streptomyces coelicolor development at distinct stages

whiK was one of five new whi loci identified in a recent screen of NTG‐induced whi mutants and was defined by three mutants, R273, R318 and R655. R273 and R318 produce long, tightly coiled aerial hyphae with frequent septation. In contrast, R655 shows a more severe phenotype; it produces straight, undifferentiated aerial hyphae with very rare short chains of spores. Subcloning and sequencing showed that whiK encodes a member of the FixJ subfamily of response regulators, with a C‐terminal helix–turn–helix DNA‐binding domain and an apparently typical N‐terminal phosphorylation pocket. Unexpectedly, a constructed whiK null mutant failed to form aerial mycelium, showing that different alleles of this locus can arrest Streptomyces coelicolor development at very distinct stages. As a consequence of the null mutant phenotype, whiK was renamed bldM. The bldM null mutant fits into the extracellular signalling cascade proposed for S. coelicolor and is a member of the bldD extracellular complementation group. The three original NTG‐induced mutations that defined the whiK/bldM locus each affected the putative phosphorylation pocket. The mutations in R273 and in R318 were the same, replacing a highly conserved glycine (G‐62) with aspartate. The more severe mutant, R655, carried a C‐7Y substitution adjacent to the highly conserved DD motif at positions 8–9. However, although BldM has all the highly conserved residues associated with the phosphorylation pocket of conventional response regulators, aspartate‐54, the putative site of phosphorylation, is not required for BldM function. Constructed mutant alleles carrying either D‐54N or D‐54A substitutions complemented the bldM null mutant in single copy in trans, and strains carrying the D‐54N or the D‐54A substitution at the native chromosomal bldM locus sporulated normally. BldM was not phosphorylated in vitro with either of the small‐molecule phosphodonors acetyl phosphate or carbamoyl phosphate under conditions in which a control response regulator protein, NtrC, was labelled efficiently.
Characterization of Raphanus sativus Pentatricopeptide Repeat Proteins Encoded by the Fertility Restorer Locus for Ogura Cytoplasmic Male Sterility[W]

Cytoplasmic male sterility is a maternally inherited trait in higher plants that prevents the production of functional pollen. Ogura cytoplasmic male sterility in radish (Raphanus sativus) is regulated by the orf138 mitochondrial locus. Male fertility can be restored when orf138 accumulation is suppressed by the nuclear Rfo locus, which consists of three genes putatively encoding highly similar pentatricopeptide repeat proteins (PPR-A, -B, and -C). We produced transgenic rapeseed (Brassica napus) plants separately expressing PPR-A and PPR-B and demonstrated that both encoded proteins accumulated preferentially in the anthers of young flower buds. Immunodetection of ORF138 showed that, unlike PPR-B, PPR-A had no effect on the synthesis of the sterility protein. Moreover, immunolocalization experiments indicated that complete elimination of ORF138 from the tapetum of anthers correlated with the restoration of fertility. Thus, the primary role of PPR-B in restoring fertility is to inhibit ORF138 synthesis in the tapetum of young anthers. In situ hybridization experiments confirmed, at the cellular level, that PPR-B has no effect on the accumulation of orf138 mRNA. Lastly, immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that PPR-B, but not PPR-A, is associated with the orf138 RNA in vivo, linking restoration activity with the ability to directly or indirectly interact with the orf138 RNA. Together, our data support a role for PPR-B in the translational regulation of orf138 mRNA.
The small GTPase CDC42 regulates actin dynamics during porcine oocyte maturation

The mammalian oocyte undergoes an asymmetric division during meiotic maturation, producing a small polar body and a haploid gamete. This process involves the dynamics of actin filaments, and the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) protein superfamily is a major regulator of actin assembly. In the present study, the small GTPase CDC42 was shown to participate in the meiotic maturation of porcine oocytes. Immunofluorescent staining showed that CDC42 was mainly localized at the periphery of the oocytes, and accumulated with microtubules. Deactivation of CDC42 protein activity with the effective inhibitor ML141 caused a decrease in actin distribution in the cortex, which resulted in a failure of polar body extrusion. Moreover, western blot analysis revealed that besides the Cdc42-N-WASP pathway previously reported in mouse oocytes, the expression of ROCK and p-cofilin, two molecules involved in actin dynamics, was also decreased after CDC42 inhibition during porcine oocyte maturation. Thus, our study demonstrates that CDC42 is an indispensable protein during porcine oocyte meiosis, and CDC42 may interact with N-WASP, ROCK, and cofilin in the assembly of actin filaments during porcine oocyte maturation.
Ecological Interface Design for Pasteurizer II: A Process Description of Semantic Mapping

Ecological interface design (EID) is proving to be a promising approach to the design of interfaces for complex dynamic systems. Although the principles of EID and examples of its effective use are widely available, few readily available examples exist of how the individual displays that constitute an ecological interface are developed. This paper presents the semantic mapping process within EID in the context of prior theoretical work in this area. The semantic mapping process that was used in developing an ecological interface for the Pasteurizer II microworld is outlined, and the results of an evaluation of the ecological interface against a more conventional interface are briefly presented. Subjective reports indicate features of the ecological interface that made it particularly valuable for participants. Finally, we outline the steps of an analytic process for using EID. The findings presented here can be applied in the design of ecological interfaces or of configural displays for dynamic processes.
The depth of tumor invasion beyond the outer border of the muscularis propria as a prognostic factor for T3 rectal/rectosigmoid cancer.

UNLABELLED The distance of tumor invasion beyond the outer border of the muscularis propria (DBM) was measured whether it would be useful as a prognostic factor of the locally advanced rectal and rectosigmoid cancer was analyzed. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred patients with rectal and rectosigmoid cancer invaded beyond muscularis propria who underwent surgery between 1996 and 2000 were included in this study. Patients who died due to other disease were excluded. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the risk factors including DBM for disease-free and cancer-related survival after surgery were performed. RESULTS The median DBM was 4,000 microm and patients were thus classified into 2 groups by DBM (<4,000 microm and > or =4,000 microm). In univariate analysis, patients with a DBM of > or =4000 microm had a significantly poorer prognosis both for cancer-related survival (CRS) (p=0.004) and disease-free survival (DFS) (p=0.0025). Within many prognostic factors, lymphatic invasion (p=0.025), venous invasion (p=0.0402) and pattern of tumor infiltration (p=0.043) significantly correlated with DBM. In multivariate analysis with other factors including histology (p=0.0403), node status (p=0.0003), lymphatic invasion (p=0.0004), venous invasion (p<0.0001), tumor budding (p=0.0343) and pattern of tumor infiltration (p=0.0160), DBM was selected as the most significant prognostic factor for both CRS (hazard ratio (HR): 2.1682, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3606-3.8097, p=0.0019) and DFS (HR: 2.0654, 95% CI: 1.2696-3.8257, p=0.0075). CONCLUSION Since DBM was the most significant prognostic factor, it could be used to categorize T-factor in clinical staging of advanced rectal and rectosigmoid cancer.