Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of surface layer proteins from different Clostridium difficile clinical isolates.

In a previous study we suggested that two surface proteins of a Clostridium difficile strain were involved in the formation of a regularly assembled surface layer (S-layer) external to the cell wall. In the present paper six C. difficile strains isolated from cases and healthy carriers were studied. By using freeze-etching and negative staining techniques two superimposed structurally different lattices were detected on the cell surface of the different C. difficile strains. In each strain, the outer S-layer lattice was arranged in a square symmetry and the inner S-layer lattice in hexagonal symmetry. The S-layer proteins from the different strains were isolated and characterized. Each strain showed two distinct S-layer glycoproteins ranging in molecular mass 36-56 kDa. Antigenic cross-reactivity among the S-layer proteins of higher molecular masses extracted from each strain was demonstrated whereas no antigenic relationship was observed among the different S-layer proteins of lower molecular masses. N-terminal sequence analysis showed the presence of common structural motifs conserved among the high S-layer proteins as well as among the low S-layer proteins. These data indicate that the presence of S-layer on C. difficile strains is common and that its glycoprotein subunits show a certain degree of heterogeneity.
Cellular immunity in depressed, conduct disorder, and normal adolescents: role of adverse life events.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether adolescents with major depressive disorder have disturbances in their cellular immunity and to study whether the immunological changes detected are specific to depression or are general responses to stress. METHOD Twenty subjects with major depressive disorder, 17 nondepressed subjects with conduct disorder, and 17 normal adolescents were recruited. Subjects were assessed with a clinical interview for DSM-III-R and a modified version of the Coddington Life Events Checklist. Blood samples were drawn for total white blood cells, lymphocytes subsets, natural killer cell activity, lymphocyte proliferation response to phytohemagglutinin, and cortisol plasma levels. RESULTS Overall, there were no significant between-group differences in any of the cellular immune measurements. Natural killer cell activity was significantly negatively correlated with past year and lifetime adverse life events across all effector-target cell ratios. Controlling for diagnoses and socioeconomic status yielded similar results. There were no significant effects of age, sex, race, sleep, nutrition, cigarette use, menstrual cycle, or cortisol on any of the immunological variables. CONCLUSIONS In this sample of adolescents, we found that independent of the diagnoses and socioeconomic status, increases in adverse life events were associated with low natural killer cell activity.
The causal link between human papillomavirus and invasive cervical cancer: A population‐based case‐control study in colombia and spain

To evaluate the association between human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer, we performed a population‐based case‐control study in Colombia and Spain, the former country having an incidence rate of cervical cancer about 8 times higher than the latter. It included 436 cases of histologically confirmed invasive cervical cancer and 387 randomly selected population controls. Information on demographic variables, sexual behaviour and other risk factors was obtained by interview. HPV‐DNA was measured in cervical‐swab specimens with 3 hybridization assays: ViraPap™, Southern hybridization (SH) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The presence of HPV‐DNA and detection of types 16, 18, 31, 33 and 35 were strongly associated with cervical cancer in each country regardless of the assay used. For both countries combined the adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were: ViraPap OR = 25.9 (10.0–66.7); SH OR = 6.8 (3.4–13.4); and PCR OR = 28.8 (15.7–52.6). HPV‐16 was the most common type detected in both cases and controls. Our results indicate that there is a very strong association between HPV 16, 18, 31, 33 and 35 and invasive cervical cancer and that this association is probably causal. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Lending to the Poorest Countries: A New Counter-cyclical Debt Instrument

One of the particular features of poor countries’ economies is their volatility, due mostly to their dependence on commodities. The paper shows that this volatility is a prime factor behind the debt crises of the poorest countries. It advocates the adoption by donors of a new lending instrument: the countercyclical loan (CCL). The key idea is to reduce the grace period of a typical concessional loan, from 10 to 5 years, and to keep the remaining grace periods as an asset that the country can draw upon, when a bad shock occurs. If no such bad shocks happen, or infrequently enough, the “floating grace” is redeemed to the country at the end of the loan as a repayment in advance without penalties. Une des caracteristiques des pays les plus pauvres est leur volatilite. Cet article montre que ce risque est l’un des facteurs essentiels qui explique les crises de dette de ces pays. A partir de ces resultats, l’article plaide en faveur de l’adoption par les bailleurs de fond d’un nouvel instrument de pret : le pret contra-cyclique (PCC). L’idee principale est de reduire la periode de grâce d’un pret concessionnel typique de 10 a 5 ans, et de garder les annees de grâce restantes pour les utiliser en cas de mauvais choc. Si le pays ne subit aucun choc ou trop peu, cette « grâce flottante » est rendue au pays avant la fin du pret, sous forme de remboursement anticipe sans penalite.
The Effect of Betamethasone on Neonatal Neutrophil Chemotaxis

ABSTRACT. Antenatal maternal glucocorticoid administration has been widely used to accelerate fetal lung maturation. Glucocorticoids have also been used postnatally selected neonates as antiinflammatory agents. Numerous studies have shown that glucocorticoids inhibit multiple components of the immune system including neutrophil (PMN) function in children and adults. Since PMNs are of critical importance in host defense against bacterial infection, impaired PMN function in newborn infants is thought to be an important cause of their increased morbidity and mortality from bacterial infection. Further compromise of neonatal PMN function by exogenous factors such as glucocorticoids may therefore be of significant clinical importance. A micropore filter chemotactic assay used to determine the in vitro effect of betamethasone on the random migration and directed migration (chemotaxis) of PMNs from 18 neonates. The addition of a concentration of betamethasone (0.01 μg/ml) similar to that found in cord blood following a standard dose administered to the mother resulted in a significant (p < 0.01) inhibition in mean neonatal PMN random migration (–15.0 ± 0.8%) and chemotaxis (–23.5 ± 3.0%). A similar inhibition was not found when PMNs from 14 adults were exposed to the same concentrations of betamethasone. Betamethasone administration to pregnant women or their newborn infants may further impair PMN motility to an increased morbidity and mortality from bacterial infection in neonates.
X‐Linked Hypophosphatemia: A Clinical, Biochemical, and Histopathologic Assessment of Morbidity in Adults

Research and management of XLH have concentrated on the disease in childhood, and the natural history and morbidity of XLH in adult life are thus poorly understood. We have studied 22 adults (6 men) with XLH to clarify these aspects of this most common inherited form of rickets and osteomalacia. Most study participants had presented with rickets in early childhood and had undergone tibial osteotomies on at least 1 occasion. Seventeen individuals had genu varum, 1 had genu valgum, and 4 had straight legs, attributable to successful osteotomies in 2. Five subjects reported increasing lower limb deformity in the late teens or subsequently. Eight subjects complained of bone pain, 6 of whom had radiologic evidence of pseudofractures; pseudofractures were found in 4 additional asymptomatic individuals. None of 16 subjects who underwent transiliac bone biopsy had normal double tetracycline labeling; accordingly, all were considered to have osteomalacia. Bone pain was associated with a relative osteoid volume in excess of 25%. Relative osteoid volume was inversely related to serum 1,25(OH)2D concentration (r = -0.74, p less than 0.02), but unrelated to serum concentrations of calcium and phosphate or their product. Eighteen participants complained of joint pain, predominantly in the knees and ankles. The severity of joint pain correlated with the degree of lower limb deformity (p = 0.011) which, in turn, was related to fasting serum phosphate concentration (r = -0.56, p less than 0.025) and TmP/GFR (r = -0.70, p less than 0.005). Enthesopathy affected 33% of those younger than 30 years, and all those above this age. Nineteen individuals had experienced significant dental problems, most commonly abscess formation. Eight had required complete dental clearance. Twelve women from the group had a total of 22 live births. Fifteen of these were by cesarean section, although radiologic evidence of pelvic narrowing was not found in any subject. Serum ALP was elevated in all but 3 of the 18 untreated subjects. Levels correlated with those of other indices of bone turnover (BGP r = 0.82, p less than 0.005; urine total HP r = 0.60, p less than 0.025; urine free HPr = 0.78, p less than 0.005), but were not related to the degree of osteomalacia found on bone biopsy. Serum levels of iPTH, 25(OH)D, 1,25(OH)2D, and thyroid hormones were generally normal in the untreated patients. We conclude that adults with untreated XLH have osteomalacia that is frequently symptomatic. Even greater morbidity is caused by degenerative joint disease arising from lower limb deformities. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Antecedents, Consequences, and Mechanisms: On the Longitudinal Interplay Between Academic Self-Enhancement and Psychological Adjustment.

We investigated the reciprocal associations between academic self-enhancement and key indicators of intra- and interpersonal adjustment as well as the role of self-esteem as a mediator. This longitudinal study involved three assessments in a sample of 709 German children and adolescents (Mage = 11.83; 54% female) over the course of one academic year. We assessed self-reported subjective well-being as an indicator of intrapersonal adjustment and peer-reported popularity as an indicator of interpersonal adjustment. We computed cross-lagged and longitudinal mediational analyses. Academic self-enhancement prospectively predicted high subsequent well-being and popularity. Vice versa, well-being and popularity prospectively predicted high subsequent levels of self-enhancement. High self-esteem mediated the longitudinal associations between self-enhancement and well-being in both directions, but not the links between self-enhancement and popularity. Self-enhancement and adjustment are bidirectionally linked: Self-enhancement entails intrapersonal and interpersonal benefits; at the same time, adjustment in both domains fosters self-enhancement. In terms of intrapersonal, but not interpersonal adjustment, self-esteem seems to serve as a linchpin, accounting for all longitudinal associations. Furthermore, we present evidence indicating that self-enhancement indicators that are based on difference scores (instead of residuals) are problematic and might have led to negatively biased results in the literature.
Modeling provenance in marine survey project

Marine survey provides many kinds of oceanic samples and large volume of corresponding data, which are treasurable materials for further scientific researches, and should be shared among scientists, agents or organizations from different areas. In this paper, we contribute to the design of a domain-specific provenance model based on the PROV-DM model for Marine survey project. We start from an analysis of marine survey workflow, followed by an investigation of the provenance requirements. After determine what provenance information to represent, we introduce the W3C PROV family and model domain provenance by extending it. Finally, we make a conclusion and prospect future work.
Intertidal population genetic dynamics at a microgeographic seascape scale

The intertidal community is among the most physically harsh niches on earth, with highly heterogeneous environmental and biological factors that impose strong habitat selection on population abundance, genetic connectivity and ecological adaptation of organisms in nature. However, most genetic studies to date have concentrated on the influence of basin‐wide or regional marine environments (e.g. habitat discontinuities, oceanic currents and fronts, and geographic barriers) on spatiotemporal distribution and composition of intertidal invertebrates having planktonic stages or long‐distance dispersal capability. Little is known about sessile marine organisms (e.g. seaweeds) in the context of topographic tidal gradients and reproductive traits at the microgeographic scale. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Krueger‐Hadfield et al. ( ) implemented an elaborate sampling strategy with red seaweed (Chondrus crispus) from a 90‐m transect stand near Roscoff and comprehensively detected genome‐scale genetic differentiation and biases in ploidy level. This study not only revealed that tidal height resulted in genetic differentiation between high‐ and low‐shore stands and restricted the genetic exchange within the high‐shore habitat, but also demonstrated that intergametophytic nonrandom fertilization in C. crispus can cause significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Such new genetic insights highlight the importance of microgeographic genetic dynamics and life history characteristics for better understanding the evolutionary processes of speciation and diversification of intertidal marine organisms.
High‐resolution two‐photon excitation microscopy of ocular tissues in porcine eye

Two‐photon excitation laser scanning microscopy (TPM), based on nonlinear optical (NLO) response under high irradiance, is currently being extensively employed for diagnostic purposes in biomedical fields and becomes more and more an interesting imaging technique in the intact bulk tissue examination. In this study, this nonlinear‐excitation imaging technique including two‐photon‐mediated autofluorescence (2PF) and second harmonic generation (SHG) was employed to investigate the microstructures in the whole‐mount scleral, retinal, and corneal tissues of porcine eyes with intracellular spatial resolution and high signal‐to‐noise ratio.
Overview of Licensing and Legal Issues for Digital Forensic Investigators

Digital forensic examiners face challenges outside the technical aspects of collecting, investigating, and storing digital information. Rules about admissibility and the licensing requirements for forensic professionals must also be taken into account. The use of digital data in an expanding number of US court cases and business investigations has precipitated changes in evidence handling and admissibility requirements, most notably in the 2006 changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Knowledge of these rules and the ensuing case law is an essential component of any examiner's toolkit because improper evidence handling can lead to inadmissible evidence. The court's acceptance of such evidence is also greatly affected by the examiner's proper licensure. Unfortunately, these requirements vary by state (sometimes even by city) and are constantly changing. Therefore, digital forensic investigators must heed both the court's rules regarding evidence handling and the state's rules for licensing in order to be most effective.
TIMP-1 as a tumor marker in breast cancer – An update

Improvement of the management of breast cancer patients has high priority. In this regard, prognostic stratification needs to be improved in order to ensure proper medical treatment of all patients and furthermore predictors of response to chemotherapy are urgently needed. As new treatment opportunities emerge in the future this need will continue to grow. Thus, the search for molecular markers of prognosis and prediction is ongoing. Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) has been suggested as a marker of both prognosis and response to treatment. Several studies have demonstrated the association between TIMP-1 and prognosis in breast cancer and new studies within this area have focused on the possibility of using blood samples or paraffin embedded tissue instead of tumor tissue extracts for measurements of TIMP-1. Interestingly, recent studies have investigated the association between TIMP-1 and response to treatment showing that TIMP-1 may also carry predictive information on response to treatment. In this regard, results from studies of the molecular functions of TIMP-1 point to a role of TIMP-1 in the inhibition of tumor cell apoptosis as an explanation for the clinical findings. This review gives an update on the ongoing investigation of the potential role of TIMP-1 as a tumor marker in breast cancer. Furthermore, we link the clinical findings with studies of the molecular actions of the TIMP-1 protein, raising hypotheses that may explain why TIMP-1 could play an important role in future management of breast cancer patients.
Pore Size Dependence on Growth Temperature Is a Common Characteristic of the Major Outer Membrane Protein OprF in Psychrotrophic and Mesophilic Pseudomonas Species

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas species adapt well to hostile environments, which are often subjected to rapid variations. In these bacteria, the outer membrane plays an important role in the sensing of environmental conditions such as temperature. In previous studies, it has been shown that in the psychrotrophic strain P. fluorescens MF0, the major porin OprF changes its channel size according to the growth conditions and could affect outer membrane permeability. Studies of the channel-forming properties of OprFs from P. putida 01G3 and P. aeruginosa PAO1 in planar lipid bilayers generated similar results. The presence of a cysteine- or proline-rich cluster in the central linker region is not essential for channel size modulations. These findings suggest that OprF could adopt two alternative conformations in the outer membrane and that folding is thermoregulated. In contrast, no difference according to growth temperature was observed for structurally different outer membrane proteins, such as OprE3 from the Pseudomonas OprD family of specific porins. Our results are consistent with the fact that the decrease in channel size observed at low growth temperature is a particular feature of the OprF porin in various psychrotrophic and mesophilic Pseudomonas species isolated from diverse ecological niches. The ability to reduce outer membrane permeability at low growth temperature could provide these bacteria with adaptive advantages.
Comparison of workers’ perceptions toward work climate and health symptoms between ceramic and iron foundry workers

Background: Workers exposed to heavy manual material handling (MMH) in a hot working environment succumb to severe physical stress and psychological stress. Aims: (1) Recognize the heat load at workplaces of ceramic industry and iron industry, and (2) comparatively examine the characteristics of self-reported physiological responses and heat-health perception among these workers. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional prospective study. Materials and Methods: Workplace microclimate in the ceramic industry and iron industry was monitored. An ergonomic checklist and a questionnaire was used to record self-reported workers′ perceptions toward heat stress at workplace (ceramic workers N = 321, iron foundry workers N = 253). The prevalence rates of subjective symptoms among workers of both the industries were compared. Statistical Analysis: Chi-square test was used to examine the association between stressors and health complaints at a significance level set at P < 0.05. Results: Iron foundries recorded higher mean ambient temperature (43.4 ± 3.7°C) and wet-bulb globe temperature (WGBT) index (31.5 ± 0.7°C) as compared to ceramic industries (39.9 ± 3.3°C and 28 ± 1.5°C, respectively). Heavy sweating, elevated body temperature, sleeplessness, excessive thirst, muscular discomforts, and fatigue were prime symptoms recorded among workers of both industries. Skin-related disorders (red face, dry skin, bumps, itching) were significantly higher among iron foundry workers, whereas sleeplessness, high blood pressure, heavy sweating, kidney stone, decreased urination, muscular discomforts, and fatigue were significantly more among ceramic workers. Young workers reported more sweating and fatigue than older workers. Conclusions: A hot work climate and heavy manual labor designate ceramic and iron industries as arduous. Direct contact with hot surface and continuous MMH in tandem with the mechanical pace of production process makes work in ceramic industries more difficult than iron foundries.
Future Directions in the Study of Early-Life Stress and Physical and Emotional Health: Implications of the Neuroimmune Network Hypothesis

Early-life stress is associated with increased vulnerability to physical and emotional health problems across the lifespan. The recently developed neuroimmune network hypothesis proposes that one of the underlying mechanisms for these associations is that early-life stress amplifies bidirectional crosstalk between the brain and the immune system, contributing to several mental and physical health conditions that have inflammatory underpinnings, such as depression and coronary heart disease. Neuroimmune crosstalk is thought to perpetuate inflammation and neural alterations linked to early-life stress exposure, and also foster behaviors that can further compromise health, such as smoking, drug abuse and consumption of high-fat diets. The goal of the present review is to briefly summarize the neuroimmune network hypothesis and use it as a starting point for generating new questions about the role of early-life stress in establishing a dysregulated relationship between neural and immune signaling, with consequences for lifespan physical and emotional health. Specifically, we aim to discuss implications and future directions for theory and empirical research on early-life stress, as well as for interventions that may improve the health and well-being of children and adolescents living in adverse conditions.
Reliable data delivery in MANETs using PGF and VH scheme

This paper addresses the issue of reliable data delivery in highly dynamic Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs). Most existing MANET routing protocols are susceptible to data delivery in reliable and timely manner. To counter this problem, Position-based Greedy Forwarding protocol (PGF), a novel GR protocol which takes advantage of greedy forwarding and opportunistic routing is proposed. In PGF, the best forwarding candidate is used to forward the data packets. If the best forwarding candidate is not available to transmit packets, then the suboptimal candidates will take a chance to forward the packets and thus, data reliability is achieved. To enhance PGF's robustness and to deal with the communication voids, VH (Void Handling) scheme based on a virtual destination is proposed. Here, the packets are rerouted to reach the destination. Both simulation and theoretical results show that PGF leads to excellent improvement in packet delivery ratio with reduced Packet Forwarding Times per Hop (FTH) and Packet Forwarding Times per Packet (FTP) even under high node mobility.