jimnoneill/paper-to-field-training huggingface dataset:
Host Cells Upregulate Phosphate Transporter PIT1 to Inhibit Ehrlichia chaffeensis Intracellular Growth

Field: Immunology and Microbiology (Life Sciences)

Ehrlichia chaffeensis infects and proliferates inside monocytes or macrophages and causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), an emerging life-threatening tick-borne zoonosis. After internalization, E. chaffeensis resides in specialized membrane-bound inclusions, E. chaffeensis-containing vesicles (ECVs), to evade from host cell innate immune responses and obtain nutrients. However, mechanisms exploited by host cells to inhibit E. chaffeensis growth in ECVs are still largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that host cells recognize E. chaffeensis Ech_1067, a penicillin-binding protein, and then upregulate the expression of PIT1, which is a phosphate transporter and transports phosphate from ECVs to the cytosol to inhibit bacterial growth. We found that host cells upregulate the PIT1 expression upon E. chaffeensis infection using transcriptome sequencing, qRT-PCR and Western blotting, and PIT1 is localized on the ECV membrane in infected THP-1 cells using confocal microscopy. Silence of PIT1 using shRNA enhances E. chaffeensis intracellular growth. Finally, we found that E. chaffeensis Ech_1067 induces the upregulation of PIT1 expression through the MyD88-NF-κB pathway using recombinant protein for stimulation and siRNA for silence. Our findings deepen the understanding of the innate immune responses of host cells to inhibit bacterial intracellular growth and facilitate the development of new therapeutics for HME.
Hydroxyapatite-doped polycaprolactone nanofiber membrane improves tendon–bone interface healing for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

Fei Han,1,* Peng Zhang,2,* Yaying Sun,2 Chao Lin,1 Peng Zhao,1 Jiwu Chen2 1Shanghai East Hospital, The Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Nanoscience, Tongji University School of Medicine, Tongji University, 2Department of Sports Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Hamstring tendon autograft is a routine graft for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. However, ways of improving the healing between the tendon and bone is often overlooked in clinical practice. This issue can be addressed by using a biomimetic scaffold. Herein, a biomimetic nanofiber membrane of polycaprolactone/nanohydroxyapatite/collagen (PCL/nHAp/Col) is fabricated that mimics the composition of native bone tissue for promoting tendon–bone healing. This membrane has good cytocompatibility, allowing for osteoblast cell adhesion and growth and bone formation. As a result, MC3T3 cells reveal a higher mineralization level in PCL/nHAp/Col membrane compared with PCL membrane alone. Further in vivo studies in ACL reconstruction in a rabbit model shows that PCL/nHAp/Col-wrapped tendon may afford superior tissue integration to nonwrapped tendon in the interface between the tendon and host bone as well as improved mechanical strength. This study shows that PCL/nHAp/Col nanofiber membrane wrapping of autologous tendon is effective for improving tendon healing with host bone in ACL reconstruction. Keywords: nanohydroxyapatite, polycaprolactone, nanofiber, tissue engineering, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
Risk of Ixodes ricinus Bites in a Population of Forestry Workers in an Endemic Region in France

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

The progressing worldwide increases in tick occurrence and tick-borne diseases calls for the development of new prevention strategies to reduce their impact on human and animal health. Defining the risk of exposure to tick bites is therefore essential. Forestry workers are at high risk of tick bites. We set up an explorative study among forestry workers in the Alsace region in eastern France to measure the different factors affecting the risk of Ixodes ricinus tick bites during their activities in forests. For one year, forestry workers recorded the presence of ticks on their clothes and tick bites every time they were working in teams in different forest ecosystems. Questions about the prevention measures they followed were also noted. Among the 32 participants, we were able to differentiate between groups having a high, neutral, or low risk of being bitten. The median tick bite number per year was 4 (0–8). We tried to identify individual as well as environmental factors affecting the risk of tick bites. Factors influencing the risk were the seasonal peak of tick activity in May and June, the time of exposure, and the forest ecosystems visited during the year. Additional factors potentially affecting the risk were also identified.
DIFFERENCES IN ONSET OF GREENNESS: A MULTITEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF GRASS AND WHEAT IN KANSAS*

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

The time when vegetation emerges (begins active photosynthesis) each year can be monitored using remotely sensed data obtained from Earth observation satellites. This measurement, called the onset of greenness, can be calculated using time series data sets of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a ratio of red and near infra-red (NIR) light that is strongly correlated to plant biomass. The date at which the onset of greenness occurs varies depending on the region, type of vegetation present, weather conditions, land management practices, and other factors. Time series NDVI data are proving useful for a wide variety of applications including vegetation mapping, crop monitoring, and yield modeling. The onset of greenness metric values were extracted from bi-weekly AVHRR satellite data over the state of Kansas from 1989 through 2000. Four different locations in Kansas were sampled: 1) winter wheat from Sumner County, 2) winter wheat from Thomas County, 3) tall grass rangeland from Chase County, and 4) short grass rangeland from Logan County. The onset date was recorded from 20 AVHRR pixels from each location for each year of data. Samples from the same location were analyzed to detect differences in onset date between years and samples from different locations were compared to identify differences in onset date within the same year. Results show a significant difference in the onset of greenness date between cover types and a significant difference in onset dates between years for the same cover type at the same location. Regression analysis shows that the grasslands and wheat of northwestern Kansas have a negative slope (earlier onset), while the lines of best fit for grasslands and wheat in south central Kansas did not indicate a substantial change in onset date.
Foliar Fungicide Comparison for Southern Rust Management, Stay Green, Push Lodging, and Yield in Nebraska, 2015

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

The objective of the trial was to compare foliar fungicides for southern rust (SR) efficacy. Irrigated corn was grown based on Nebraska Extension irrigation recommendations at the South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center, NE. Soils were a silt loam with 6.7 pH and 1.8 % OM and the previous crop was soybean. Reduced tillage was performed to the field prior to planting. Corn (DKC 65-79 RIB, tolerant to gray leaf spot (GLS)) was planted at approximately 34,000 seed/A on 26 May. Eight treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with six replications. . . . Stalk lodging was significantly less in plots treated with fungicides versus the nontreated check. Priaxor significantly reduced stalk lodging versus the other fungicides; however, Priaxor was similar to Fortix. Grain moisture was significantly greater in fungicide treated plots versus the nontreated check. Grain test weight was significantly less in all fungicide treated plots versus the nontreated check, with the exception of Stratego YLD. Yield differences were nonsignificant between fungicide treated plots and the nontreated check.
[Plasma levels of cyclic nucleotides, phosphodiesterase, thyroid hormones and insulin in patients with ischemic stroke].

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

The content of cyclic nucleotides (cAMP and cGMP), hormones (T3, T4, insulin, protein-bound iodine and thyroid-stimulating hormone) and phosphodiesterase activity were examined in the acute period and over time in blood plasma of patients with ischemic stroke. The parameters under study were found to be interrelated. Also, it has been established that the T4/T3 and cAMP/cGMP ratios and the content of insulin may serve as important biochemical criteria for the gravity of ischemic stroke.
The urban slave in Spain and New Spain

Field: Arts and Humanities (Social Sciences)

Book synopsis: This volume explores the imagery of slaves and enslavement – white as well as black – in early modern Europe.

Long before the abolitionist movement took up the theme, European art abounded in images of slaves – chained, subjected, subdued figures. Often these enslaved figures were meant to be symbolic, for slavery was widely invoked as a metaphor in both religious and secular contexts. The ancient Roman iconography of triumphalism, with its trophies and caryatids, provided a crucial impetus to this imagery, particularly for Renaissance artists who developed their own variations. Here the use of classical models had a peculiar force, since nudity, the attribute of antique heroes and idealized abstractions, was the mark of the Mediterranean galley slave. It was also to become the condition of the enslaved and transported African.

The poignant sculptures of naked black Africans on Italian monuments of the seventeenth century are Ottoman galley slaves, representatives of the Islamic enemy along with their Turkish companions. But with the expansion and extension of the trade in enslaved Africans among the nations of Europe, African blackness became in itself a sign of slavery in European art. Fashionable portraits increasingly showed young and servile blacks, sometimes wearing silver slave collars, paying tribute to the status or supposed beauty of their masters and mistresses. This imagery often presents itself as playfully metaphorical, even though the slavery of Africans so portrayed could be literal enough. Unsurprisingly, there was little demand for representations of the slave trade. In the few cases in which African slaves in colonial situations became the subject-matter of paintings, they were generally depicted as part of an imperialist and ‘civilizing’ mission, or accommodated to picturesque formulae, distant from the uncomfortable realities of life on the plantation. Indeed – as the case of Spain especially demonstrates – the representation of slaves in art is never proportionate to their numerical presence in slave-owning societies. It is only with abolitionism that the slave trade and its injustices becomes an artistic theme, provoking the visual counter-propaganda that is charted in the coda to this collection.
Lack of specificity for AT1 angiotensin receptor antibodies in Western blot analysis

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Life Sciences)

The angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) mediates the classical actions of angiotensin II (Ang II). In rodents, there are two AT1R, AT1a and AT1b, which are highly homologous (>90% at the amino acid level) and encoded by different genes. Detection of AT1R protein is important for a broad range of experimental approaches to understand molecular mechanisms of disease. While several anti AT1R antibodies are available commercially and used by investigators for these purposes, we have had concerns about their specificity. To address this, we examined the specificity of a panel of commercial anti AT1R antibodies (Santa Cruz 1173, AbCam 18801, Alomone AAR 011) for Western blot analysis. For these studies, we used kidney tissue from wild type mice and mice with genetic deficiencies of AT1a receptors (AT1a KO) or combined deficiency of AT1a and AT1b receptors (AT1ab KO), which completely lack AT1. For all three antibodies tested, a ~42 kDa band consistent with the predicted size of the AT1 was detected in tissues from WT mice. However, identical bands were also detected in tissues from the AT1a KO and AT1ab KO mice (n=3). Along with genotyping, we verified the absence of mRNA for the AT1a and AT1b receptors in KO mice and confirmed the absence of pressor responses to Ang II. We conclude that many of the available anti‐AT1R antibodies exhibit non‐specific binding that may lead to anomalous results.
False Positive Reactions in the Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test for Legionnaires' Disease Eliminated by Use of Formolised Yolk-Sac Antigen

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

The indirect fluorescent antibody (FA) technique for the diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease was used to investigate an outbreak of respiratory disease in a military population. The outbreak was later shown to be caused by an adenovirus. High titres were obtained using the ether-killed antigen supplied by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Atlanta, but not with a formolised yolk-sac antigen prepared in out laboratory. The reactivity of these sera with the CDC antigen was removed by absorption with a partly identified gram-positive bacterium, whereas sera from persons with true Legionnaires' disease were unaffected by such treatment, suggesting that such reactivity is not specific for Legionnaires' disease. The lack of reactivity with negative control sera and strong reactivity from a small group of patients in whom seroconversion was demonstrated has led us to conclude that formolised yolk-sac antigen is a reliable antigen for the diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease by the FA method. Measurement of the sensitivity and specificity of the formolised yolk-sac antigen is still in progress.
Differences in Attitudes towards Immigration between Australia and Germany: The Role of Immigration Policy

Field: Social Sciences (Social Sciences)

This paper investigates the connection between national immigration policy and a society’s attitudes towards immigration. It argues that a country’s immigration policy framework plays an important role in the formation of attitudes towards immigration by shaping the local national context of the receiving country. It examines the influence of a country’s immigration policy framework by contrasting two countries – Australia and Germany – that developed remarkably different immigration policies in response to large immigration movements during the post-war period. We explore attitudes towards immigration on four dimensions: (1) the national economy, (2) the labour market, (3) the national culture, and (4) the level of immigrant influx. The analyses reveal three main findings. First, people in Australia tend to display more positive attitudes towards immigration than in Germany. Second, in both countries, attitudes towards immigration tend to be influenced in a similar way by an individual’s socio-economic background and feelings of national identity (in the form of nationalism and patriotism). Third, immigration policy represents a strong indicator of attitudes towards immigration. We found that the planned integrative immigration policy in Australia supports the formation of more positive attitudes towards immigration by influencing people’s perception on the economic and socio-cultural impacts of immigration.
The embroidered musical ball

Field: Computer Science (Physical Sciences)

In this paper, we describe the Embroidered Musical Ball, a soft, tactile computer/MIDI musical instrument, that lets untrained children, novices and/or professionals perform and manipulate expressive and detailed music with simple everyday physical hand gestures such as squeezing and stretching. Our new embroidered pressure sensors replace the hard, bulky and awkward continuous control sensors common in most computer instruments, i.e., sliders, knobs and buttons. The combination of this light and easily physically manipulated instrument with a new, immersive approach to musical software allows players to expressively explore music with an immediacy not experienced in traditional instruments, which emphasize years of training to learn the precise control of pitches, timing, levels and various expression instructions. Instead, the musical ball lets players manipulate and explore a complete musical composition that has been mapped to different embroidered sensors. This allows players to immediately squeeze and mold the ball to perform the pre-composed music in an expressive manner.
Biochemical Characterization of a Mitochondrial Mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Affecting the Mitochondrial Ribosome by Conferring Resistance to Aminoglycoside Antibiotics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Life Sciences)

Summary. An examination of the effect of the aminoglycoside antibiotics paromomycin and neomycin on mitochondrial ribosome function in yeast has been made. Both antibiotics are potent inhibitors of protein synthesis in isolated mitochondria. With isolated mitochondrial ribosomes programmed with polyuridylic acid (poly U), the drugs are shown to inhibit polyphenylalanine synthesis at moderately high concentrations (above 100 gg/ml). At lower concentrations (about 10 gg/ml), paromomycin and neomycin cause a 2 3 fold stimulation in the extent of misreading of the UUU codons in poly U, over and above the significant level of misreading catalyzed by the ribosomes in the absence of drugs. Comparative studies have been made between a paromomycin sensitive strain D585-11C and a mutant strain 4810P carrying the parl-r mutation in mtDNA, which leads to high resistance to both paromomycin and neomycin in vivo. A high level of resistance to these antibiotics is observed in strain 4810P at the level of mitochondrial protein synthesis in vitro. Whilst the degree of resistance of isolated mitochondrial ribosomes from strain 4810P judged by the inhibition of polyphenylalanine synthesis by paromomycin and neomycin is not extensive, studies on misreading of the poly U message promoted by these drugs demonstrate convincingly the altered properties of mitochondrial ribosomes from the mutant strain 4810P. These ribosomes show resistance to the stimulation of misreading of the codon UUU brought about by paromomycin and neomycin in wild-type mitochondrial ribosomes. Although strain 4810P was originally isolated as being resistant to paromomycin, in all the in vitro amino acid incorporation systems tested here, the 4810P mitochondrial ribosomes show a higher degree of resistance to neomycin than to paromomycin.
Evaluation of Wastewater Suitability for Domestic Purposes in Ajegunle Community, Ogun State, Nigeria

Field: Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)

The suitability of ten (10) wastewater samples for domestic purposes in Ajegunle community, Yewa South, Ogun State, Nigeria, was assessed. Wastewater samples were collected from one source, abattoirs in the Ajegunle community around the Papalanto environ, Yewa South, Ogun State, Nigeria. These were analyzed for physiochemical property determination. The parameters used for the evaluations include pH, nitrate (NO3), total dissolved solids (TDS), total solids (TS), and electrical conductivity (EC) using WHO (2004) standard guideline procedures. The wastewater samples (AJ1-AJ10) analyzed contained a reasonable degree of contamination, which showed that the wastewater is polluted for domestic purposes in the study area. The results for the wastewater samples indicated that the pH ranged from 5.38 to 7.68, Electrical Conductivity ranged from 741 to 928µs/cm, Total Dissolved Solid ranged from 1153 to 5143 mg/, Total Solid ranged from 1057 to 1725 mg/L, and Nitrate ranged from 4.32-18.1 mg/L. Most of the physiochemical parameter values were above the maximum permissible levels of WHO standards for domestic purposes. It is therefore recommended that wastewater treatment is required to achieve a minimum acceptable level for domestic reuse; public awareness on the dangers inherent in the possible re-use of the wastewater for domestic purposes needs to be carried out.
Effect of grain refinement on mechanical and electrochemical properties of severely deformed pure copper through equal channel angular pressing

Field: Materials Science (Physical Sciences)

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) not only affects the mechanical properties of pure copper but also the electrochemical behavior of copper. Thus, it would be interesting to perform a comprehensive analysis from a practical perspective. A three-dimensional (3D) simulation is carried out to reveal the strain distribution and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) is employed to investigate the microstructural evolution of copper in the course of six ECAP passes. It is found that the ECAP must be repeated enough times to bring about a significant grain refinement. This processing route will lead to observation of an ascending trend in all mechanical properties of copper except total elongation. The dislocation density shows the same ascending trend before it becomes saturated at the sixth pass. In order for copper to regain the usual homogeneity with respect to hardness, six ECAP passes are necessary. On the other hand, potentiodynamic polarization tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are all employed to understand the electrochemical behavior of ECAPed copper when immersed in 0.1 M NaOH solution. After the sixth pass, copper shows its best passive and protective behavior in this solution. Furthermore, Mott–Schottky analysis indicates that although the passive film of ECAPed copper still behaves as a p-type semiconductor, it becomes less defective or less conductive as the number of applied ECAP passes increase. Consequently, the most stable passive film forms on a copper sample that has gone through six passes of ECAP.
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF THE COMPLEX DISEASE OF Rhizoctonia solani AND ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE Meloidogyne javanica ON CHICKPEA BY Glomus spp. AND Pseudomonas sp.

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

Rhizoctonia-Meloidogyne complex disease is a serious problem facing legume production in many countries. The infection of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) by pathogens Rhizoctonia solani (R) and Meloidogyne javanica (M) in a single infection or combination causes severe damage to plant growth. The effect of using Glomus spp. (G) and Pseudomonas sp. (P) as a biological control agent against Rhizoctonia- Meloidogyne complex disease was tested and assessed by comparing the growth and disease parameters in infected and control plants. Chickpea growth parameters are characterized by measuring shoot and root length, and fresh and dry weight. The results of using (G) and (P) in a single treatment or in combination showed a decrease in the root gall index and in root rot disease severity when compared to the infected and healthy control treatments. The (M+ R+ G) and (M + R + G + P) combination treatment increased polyphenol oxidase (POD) and peroxidase (PPO) enzyme activity value as well as the total phenols content in treated chickpea roots. The combined effects of (G) and (P) on the pathogens’ progression and the positive effects on chickpea growth parameters are suggested to be involved in efficient disease control.
Prevalence of severe pelvic inflammatory disease and endometriotic ovarian cysts: a 7-year retrospective study.

Field: Medicine (Health Sciences)

Endometriosis and PID are two conditions that can easily confuse the physician in setting the diagnosis, especially in the situation where they co-exist. In our study we report that the prevalence of PID in women with endometriosis is sufficiently higher than the prevalence in the general population.
Analysis and design of 4-bit magnitude comparator

Field: Computer Science (Physical Sciences)

This project involves the analysis and design of 4-bit Magnitude Comparator. This chip is available commercially as SN5485, SN54L85, SN54LS85, SN54S85 or SN7485, SN74L85, SN74LS85, SN74S85. The Data sheet is obtained and attached in Appendix A.