Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New vaccines for infectious diseases : immunological targeting of the quorum sensing system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen of animals and humans causing medical complications in burns, wounds, and cystic fibrosis. P. aeruginosa is efficient at adapting its virulence phenotype depending on the site of infection. Emerging multi-drug resistant strains and a limited number of effective anti-pseudomonal antibiotics renders P. aeruginosa infections increasingly difficult to treat. To address this need, this thesis considers targeting bacterial quorum sensing, which regulates the production of virulence factors, as an alternative prophylactic strategy. The P. aeruginosa quorum sensing system is compromised of three interlinked but independent systems, Las, Rhl and Pqs, which produce and utilise quorum sensing system molecules, 3OC12-HSL, C4-HSL and PQS respectively. Immunological targeting of the quorum sensing system molecule 3OC12-HSL, through active immunisation (vaccines), inhibits the Las system, resulting in a longer life expectancy in mice infected with P. aeruginosa in vivo. However, P. aeruginosa has the capacity to develop resistance, through compensatory mechanisms, towards quorum sensing inhibition that targets the Las system only. This emphasises the need to target all three quorum sensing systems, Las, Rhl, and the Pqs, in order to inhibit quorum sensing. The present study focuses particularly on the development of a multi-component anti-quorum sensing system vaccine that would target the three main quorum sensing system molecules, effectively compromising the quorum sensing system and minimising compensatory mechanisms. This involved the synthesis of haptens based on the quorum sensing system molecules, which were used to haptenise the immunogenic carrier keyhole limpet haemocyanin. Syntheses of the haptens, AP1 (derivative of 3OC8-HSL) and AP2 (derivative of PQS), were conducted using adapted published methods. The resulting conjugates, AP1-keyhole limpet haemocyanin and AP2-keyhole limpet haemocyanin were immunogenic in mice and rabbits. The specific anti-hapten polyclonal antibodies that were generated demonstrated cross-reactivity with the natural quorum sensing system molecules of P. aeruginosa that translated in significant and specific anti-quorum sensing system molecule activity in bioluminescence reporter assays. Anti-AP1 polyclonal antibodies were able to reduce biofilm formation at high concentrations, however, significant reduction of biofilm formation was seen when the anti-hapten antibodies were used in combination. In this study, it has been demonstrated that the inhibition of the quorum sensing system should include the three systems, Las, Rhl and PQS, and that this can be done by a multi-component anti-quorum sensing system vaccine. These data suggest that a multi-component anti-quorum sensing system vaccine takes us a step forward to a viable prophylaxis against P. aeruginosa for susceptible patients.
Comparison of suckling frequency of red and F1 wapiti-red calves reared on red hinds

In New Zealand venison production systems crossbreeding red hinds with wapiti stags is very common. The resultant wapiti-red crossbred offspring is a larger, faster growing animal than its red counterpart. How do these crossbred progeny grow faster on a red hind? We hypothesised that the crossbred progeny would have increased milk intakes, which would be reflected in increased suckling of their red hind dams. A pasture based lactation experiment was conducted over the 'natural' (non-weaned) suckling period (birth Nov/Dec. to Sep.) with F1 wapiti-red crossbred single and twin calves (n=11) naturally reared by red hinds (n=9), and red calves (n=8) naturally reared by red hinds (n=8). Suckling behaviour was observed at least one day per month between dawn and dusk. Suckling bout frequency, duration and time of day were recorded for all calves and any allosuckling was also noted. We found no significant differences (p >0.05) in suckling bout time, frequency or total time spent suckling between red or wapiti crossbred offspring. The only confirmed allosuckling was between individuals from different sets of twins. The F1 wapiti-red crossbred offspring were 30% heavier, with growth rates up to 39% greater than their red cohorts. These results have interesting implications for the red hind crossbred calf venison production system; do the wapitired crossbred calves consume more milk? If so how do they influence the hind’s milk production? Do they consume more pasture and/or substitute it for milk? Better understanding of these factors should help increase calf growth rates during lactation.
A Recipe for State-and-Effect Triangles

In the semantics of programming languages one can view programs as state transformers, or as predicate transformers. Recently the author has introduced state-and-effect triangles which capture this situation categorically, involving an adjunction between state- and predicate-transformers. The current paper exploits a classical result in category theory, part of Jon Beck's monadicity theorem, to systematically construct such a state-and-effect triangle from an adjunction. The power of this construction is illustrated in many examples, covering many monads occurring in program semantics, including (probabilistic) power domains.
Determination Sun Protecting Factor (SPF) Of Krokot Herbs Extract (Portulacaoleracea L.)

Purslane is a plant that thrives in open areas and has a fairly high water content. Hereditary purslane plant has been used for skin protection from the sun. The aim of this study is to determine the value of Sun Protecting Factor (SPF) of ethanol extracts, soluble and insoluble fractions of ethyl acetate from purslane herb.Extraction using maceration method by ethanol 90%. Fractionation process is the partition obtained soluble and insoluble fractions of ethyl acetate. Absorbance values read using UV-VIS spectrophotometry at a wavelength of 290-320 nm. SPF value is obtained for the ethanol extract 19.495, 20.829 for the soluble fraction of ethyl acetate and 30.055 for an insoluble fraction of ethyl acetate.
Impacts of rotations and crop residue treatments on soil organic matter content in two Swedish long-term experiments

Abstract In two long-term field experiments started in 1951 in south Sweden, impacts of crop residue treatments in four course rotations were compared. The rotations included sugar beets, cereals, oil seeds and clover/grass. Crops were grown after each other. Effects on soil carbon (C) and yields from manuring, straw burning, removing or returning straw were studied. Yields of winter wheat were negatively affected in the rotation with manure, while sugar beet yields reacted positively. Soil C content averaged 0.1 – 0.2 percentage units higher in treatments with manure application than those without. Soil C differences between burning/removing or return of straw were not observed. There were considerable differences in soil C between the sites at the experimental start. A rapid decline in soil C took place where the C values were the highest. With low initial values only minor changes over time were observed. Assuming a steady-state situation, 15% of the applied organic C was accounted for as humified in the rotation with manure. Where crop residues were returned, only 2% of applied C was humified.
Mathematical modelling of metabolism and acidity in cancer

Human cancers exhibit the common phenotype of elevated glycolytic metabolism, which causes acidification of the tissue microenvironment and may facilitate tumour invasion. In this thesis, we use mathematical models to address a series of open problems underlying the glycolytic tumour phenotype and its attendant acidity. We first explore tissue-scale consequences of metabolically-derived acid. Incorporating more biological detail into a canonical model of acidity at the tumour-host interface, we extend the range of tumour behaviours captured by the modelling framework. We then carry out an asymptotic travelling wave analysis to express invasive tumour properties in terms of fundamental parameters, and find that interstitial gaps between an advancing tumour and retreating healthy tissue, characteristic of aggressive invasion and comprising a controversial feature of the original model, are less significant under our generalised formulation. Subsequently, we evaluate a potential role of lactate---historically assumed to be a passive byproduct of glycolytic metabolism---in a perfusion-dependent metabolic symbiosis that was recently proposed as a beneficial tumour behaviour. Upon developing a minimal model of dual glucose-lactate consumption in vivo and employing a multidimensional sensitivity analysis, we find that symbiosis may not be straightforwardly beneficial for our model tumour. Moreover, new in vitro experiments, carried out by an experimental collaborator, place U87 glioblastoma tumours in a weakly symbiotic parameter regime despite their clinical malignancy. These results suggest that intratumoural metabolic cooperation is unlikely to be an important role for lactate. Finally, we examine the complex pH regulation system that governs expulsion of metabolically derived acid loads across tumour cell membranes. This system differs from the healthy system by expression of only a few key proteins, yet its dynamics are non-intuitive in the crowded and poorly perfused in vivo environment. We systematically develop a model of tumour pH regulation, beginning with a single-cell scenario and progressing to a spheroid, within a Bayesian framework that incorporates information from in vitro data contributed by a second experimental collaborator. We predict that a net effect of pH regulation is a straightforward transmembrane pH gradient, but also that existing treatments are unable to disrupt the system strongly enough to cause tumour cell death. Taken together, our models help to elucidate previously unresolved features of glycolytic tumour metabolism, and illustrate the utility of a combined mathematical, statistical, and experimental approach for testing biological hypotheses. Opportunities for further investigation are discussed.
Relative importance of mangroves as feeding habitat for juvenile fish: a comparative study on mangrove habitats with different settings

The importance of mangroves as feeding grounds for fish and other macrozoob-enthos in the Indian Ocean and elsewhere has been a subject of debate. This could partly be due to the fact that studies describing this role have been conducted in mangrove systems that differed in their settings. By using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen, we investigated two different settings of mangroves along the Tanzanian coast, to establish if mangrove setting influences the extent to which this habitat is utilized as a potential feeding ground by fish. The two mangrove settings were: mangrove-lined creeks which retain water during low tides and fringing mangroves that drain completely during low tides. The δ13C signatures of most fishes from the mangrove-lined creeks were similar to those of food items from the mangrove habitat, which suggests that these fishes feed from the mangrove habitats. In contrast, the overlap in δ13C of some food items from the fringing mangroves with those from adjacent habitats, and the more enriched δ13C signatures of fishes from the fringing mangroves with respect to most typical food items from the mangrove habitat could be an indication that these fishes feed from both habitats but to a lower extent from the fringing mangroves. The results suggest that fishes feed more from the mangrove-lined creeks as compared to fringing mangroves which is probably related to differences in the degree of mangrove inundation. The more or less continuous access provided more time for fishes to stay and feed in the mangrove-lined creeks compared to fishes from the fringing mangroves, which have access to these mangroves only during high tide and have to migrate to adjacent habitats with the ebbing tide.
Phytochemical profile and antibacterial activity of crude extracts of the pod of Aframomum angustifolium (Sonn.) K. Schum.

Aframomum angustifolium (Sonn.) K. Schum. , is a perennial herb indigenous to Uganda and is widely used for medicinal and ethnodietary purposes. The ether and methanol extracts of the ripe pod of A. angustifolium were screened for antibacterial activity against; Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 43300), Staphylococcus aureus ( ATCC 25923), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and clinical isolates of Escherichia coli . The plant extracts were also analysed for their phytochemical constituents. The Agar-well diffusion assay was carried out to measure the antibacterial activity. The Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the extracts was determined using serial dilution method. The phytochemical analysis of the extracts was done using standard procedures. The MIC of the extracts was 125 mg/ml. The methanol extract showed the strongest antibacterial activity against S. aureus (ATCC 25923) of 18.5 mm. Both the methanol and ether extracts tested positive for various phytochemicals especially flavonoids and terpenoids which are known to have antibacterial activity. The ether and methanol extracts of the ripe pod of Aframomum angustifolium possess antibacterial activity, justifying the use of the fruit in ethnomedicine.
EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVE AGGREGATES ON CONCRETE STRENGTH

Worldwide, large quantities of solid waste are generated by construction and demolition (C&D) activities and the car industry. At the same time, the availability of landfill space is diminishing, and most industrialized nations are actively promoting recycling procedures to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. Governments have also set up regulatory bodies to provide standards and protocols for these procedures. Environmental benefits and reduced concrete production costs are some of the advantages of using recycled materials. Given these worldwide trends, it is essential to consider recycling some of the solid waste from the construction industry and used tires from the car industry to supplement natural aggregates in the production of concrete for the construction industry. This papers discusses the on-going research at La Trobe University on the use of recycled aggregates such as crushed concrete, crushed brick and rubber chips in the production of concrete. The effects of partial or total replacement of normal-weight aggregates with recycled aggregates on the strength of concrete were investigated. Different types and proportions of aggregate replacements were studied to establish which protocols provided the best options. It was found that concrete mixes produced with recycled aggregates produced acceptable concrete with reduced production costs.
Recent Advances in the Study of Bats

A light beam scanner unit includes a light beam generating unit for generating light beams at a fixed power, a polygon mirror for reflecting light beams generated from the light beam generating means toward a surface to be scanned, thereby scanning it, and a light beam power sensing unit for sensing light beam power for scanning a surface to be scanned with the polygon mirror. This light beam scanner unit further has a mirror contamination sensing unit for sensing contamination of the polygon mirror by comparing a sensing result obtained from the light beam power sensing unit when light beams are emitted by the light beam generating unit with a preset reference value.
Analisis Mimo untuk Peningkatan Kapasitas Sistem Seluler 4g Lte pada Sistem Komunikasi High Altitude Platform Station

The development of technology has opened up a new wireless infrastructure to complement the satellite and terrestrial networks. High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) is a communications infrastructure that uses air balloon as a solution between terrestrial and satellite communications systems with medium coverage and low cost o f launching and maintenance. HAPs can be joined with a Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). LTE uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology for downlink. OFDM technology is a technology that uses multicarrier and bring the data in parallel and the bandwidth is divided into several subcarrier. To improve the performance of LTE in an increase in capacity, coverage, and speed of data, then it can use MIMO techniques. MIMO is a technique using multiple antenna transmitter and receiver antennas that are used to overcome the problem of multipath fading and increase the capacity of the system to be serviced. MIMO support the achievement of high transmission speed. In the simulation, signals generated by the modified jakes model into a ricean channel using the K factor 1.41, 1.99, 2.33, 2.66, 4.61, 6.35, 9.21, 12.15, 16.77 dB with elevation angle of 1 0 ° to 90°. The larger the K factor, the smaller the shift doppler at each speed. Elevation angle have a relationship to the coverage area of HAPs, the smaller the elevation angle of the wider the coverage area, and the higher the position, the wider HAPs coverage area too. In ergodic capacity, the smaller the K factor, the smaller the elevation angle so that the capacity is also greater. System without estimation for the K factor o f 1.41dB and K 9.21dB is necessary for channel estimation and the Bit Error Rate (BER) o f the same system that made channel estimation has a better performance compared with the existing channel without estimation with the SNR improvement o f about 18 dB.
Post-Transcriptional Regulatory Mechanisms in the Control of Cell Identity

Cell identity is shaped by complex gene expression programs, at the core of which lies the set of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) expressed in a given cell. While there is considerable knowledge about the involvement of mRNA transcription in cell fate control, the role of posttranscriptional mechanisms – which are governed by various RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) – is less well understood. By focusing on specific RBPs, the stem cell factor LIN28 and the terminal uridylyltransferases (TUTases) ZCCHC6/11, this dissertation explores novel post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that contribute to the control of cell identity. Chapter 2 addresses the question of how signaling and post-transcriptional regulation are integrated to influence cell fate. In particular, we investigated the role of LIN28 phosphorylation in pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). We found that MAPK/ERK, a central signaling regulator of pluripotency, phosphorylates LIN28 to increase its protein stability and thereby enhance LIN28’s translational regulation of its mRNA targets, which contributes to the control of pluripotency transitions. These findings establish a novel link between extracellular cues, mRNA translation, and cell fate regulation. Chapter 3 examines the role of ZCCHC6/11-mediated mRNA uridylation, a recently appreciated mechanism for promoting global mRNA decay, in the control of cell identity. In particular, we explored the functions of these TUTases in cancer cells, PSCs and muscle progenitors. We found that ZCCHC6/11 contribute to oncogenic transformation and support the growth and tumorigenicity of cancer cell lines. Mechanistically, these effects were associated
Conhecimento teórico dos enfermeiros de hospital público sobre reanimação cardiopulmonar = Nurses' theoretical knowledge of public hospital on cardiopulmonary resuscitation

O sucesso e a sobrevida na parada cardiorrespiratoria dependem da qualidade do atendimento prestado. Quanto mais precoce a realizacao das manobras de reanimacao cardiorrespiratoria, sera possivel preservar mais eficientemente as funcoes neurofisiologicas do paciente. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar o conhecimento teorico sobre parada cardiorrespiratoria dos enfermeiros assistencialistas de um hospital publico de Minas Gerais. Trata-se de um estudo transversal, aprovado pelo comite de etica local. Aplicou-se um questionario contendo questoes objetivas do atendimento a parada cardiorrespiratoria realizado pelos enfermeiros. Os resultados mostraram que os enfermeiros tiveram dificuldades no atendimento, sobretudo no reconhecimento dos ritmos eletrocardiograficos e aos medicamentos utilizados. Os setores de internacao tiveram discreta superioridade de acertos comparados as unidades de urgencia e emergencia. O estudo demonstrou que os enfermeiros estao preparados para oferecer o atendimento inicial, porem apresentaram dificuldades no suporte avancado de vida, o que reflete a necessidade de treinamentos e atualizacoes periodicas.
ROLE DE L'EXOENZYME S DE PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA DANS LA VIRULENCE BACTERIENNE : ETUDE FONCTIONNELLE DU DOMAINE GAP ET DE SES CIBLES SUR LA REPONSE IMMUNITAIRE CHEZ DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

L'exoenzyme S, \Ille toxine de type III, de Pseudomonas aeruginosa possede W1 domaine GAP (GTPase Adivating Protein) (ExoSGAP) inhibant les Rho GTPases (Rho, Rac, Cdc42) et la phagocytose dans les cellules de Mammiferes en culture. J'ai utilise une approche de transgenese chez Drosopbila melanogaster en utilisant un systeme d'expression tissu-specifique inductible (U AS-GaJ4) afm d'exprimer ExoSGAP. Nous avons montre qu'ExoSGAP cible in vivo les Rho GTPases Rho, Rac1, Rac2 et Cdc42. ExoSGAP affecte la resistence des mouches aux infections en inhibant la phagocytose des bacteries par les plasmatocytes, des cellules de type macrophage, mais n'a pas d'effet sur les voies NF-kB. Une approche genetique a permis d'identifier de nouvelles cibles de la toxine, en recherchant des genes dont la dereguIation modifie le phendype d' œil ou d'aile induit par l'expression d'ExoSGAP. Nous avons identifie plusieurs genes pouvant avoir un role dans les voies des JNK et NF-kB Ces resultats valident une strategie d'etude des toxines de type III par transgenese chez la drosophile. J'ai pa. RaIIelement momre la specificite de la GTPase Ra. C2 dans la resistance des mouches aux infections bacteriennes. Rac2 participe notamment a la phagocytose. Les travaux du Dr. H. Tricoire ont permis d'identifier 180 genes dont la deregulation modifie la reponse des mouches a un stress oxydant. J'ai teste 105 de ces lignees pour leur resistance aux infections, afin d'etudier une correlation possible entre la reponse aux stress oxydant et infectieux. Ce crible a permis de montrer l'implication d'une proteine a domaine lectine PSLR (Pseudomonas Sensitive Lectin Receptor) dans la reponse imnmnitaire de la drosophile.
Effect of steroid hormones on the in vitro antifungal activity of itraconazole on Fonsecaea pedrosoi

The in vitro antifungal activity of itraconazole, combined with oestradiol, testosterone or progesterone, on the growth of Fonsecaea pedrosoi was evaluated. Fonsecaea pedrosoi was cultured in Sabouraud supplemented with dimethyl sulphoxide dilutions in β-oestradiol (0.04 μg/mL and 0.04 mg/mL), progesterone (0.06 μg/mL and 0.06 mg/mL) or testosterone (1.2 μg/mL and 1.2 mg/mL) combined with 0.01 to 1 μg/mL of itraconazole. The sex steroid hormones did not modify the growth pattern of F. pedrosoi when they were in the presence itraconazole. The absence of synergistic or antagonistic activity of oestradiol, progesterone, testosterone and itraconazole on the growth of F. pedrosoi observed in this work does not rule out in vivo factors related to the development of the disease and to the success of an antifungal treatment.