Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intracellular Signaling Pathways Integrating the Pore Associated with P2X7R Receptor with Other Large Pores

The purinergic P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) is a member of the family of ligand-gated ion channels composed of seven subtypes, P2X1–7. These receptors possess three subunits assembled as homoor heterotrimers to make functional receptors (Nicke et al., 1998, 2005), which has been confirmed by atomic force microscopy (Barrera et al, 2005) and by crystallography (Kawate et al, 2009). The P2X7R shares an overall membrane topology with the other members of this family of receptors; it contains two putative pore forming transmembrane segments, a large cysteine-rich ligand-binding extracellular domain, and intracellularly located N and C termini (Surprenant et al, 1996). This subtype is structurally distinguished from other members of P2XRs by its long intracellular C-terminal tail with multiple protein and lipid interaction motifs, besides a cysteine-rich 18 – amino acid segment. From a pharmacological point of view, the P2X7R requires at least a 100-fold higher ATP concentration for activation compared to other P2XRs (North, 2002). Extracellular divalent cation reduction increases agonist potency (Hibell et al, 2001; Michel et al, 1999). Moreover, extracellular cations and chloride have important effects on the channel gating (Gudipaty et al., 2001; Li et al., 2003, 2008, 2010; Riedel et al., 2007b; Virginio et al., 1997). In this context, P2X7R activation can sustainably induce a wide range of different intracellular signaling responses (Dubyak, 2007; North, 2002).
A Diverse Dirichlet Process Ensemble for Unsupervised Induction of Syntactic Categories

We address the problem of unsupervised tagging of phrase structure trees with phrase categories (parse tree nonterminals). Motivated by the inability of a range of direct clustering approaches to improve over the current leading algorithm, we propose a mixture of experts approach. In particular, we tackle the difficult challenge of producing a diverse collection of useful tagging experts, which can then be aggregated into a final high-quality tagging. To do so, we use the particular properties of the Dirichlet Process mixture model. We evaluate on English, German and Chinese corpora and demonstrate both a substantial and consistent improvement in overall performance over previous work, as well as empirical justification of our algorithmic choices.
Bayesian Inference of Online Social Network Statistics via Lightweight Random Walk Crawls

Online social networks (OSN) contain extensive amount of information about the underlying society that is yet to be explored. One of the most feasible technique to fetch information from OSN, crawling through Application Programming Interface (API) requests, poses serious concerns over the the guarantees of the estimates. In this work, we focus on making reliable statistical inference with limited API crawls. Based on regenerative properties of the random walks, we propose an unbiased estimator for the aggregated sum of functions over edges and proved the connection between variance of the estimator and spectral gap. In order to facilitate Bayesian inference on the true value of the estimator, we derive the asymptotic posterior distribution of the estimate. Later the proposed ideas are validated with numerical experiments on inference problems in real-world networks.
Glycemic control in Intensive Care Unit

415 The ideal glycemic control in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) whether medical, surgical, or cardiac is controversial. It has been subject to many discussions and the final word has not been said. In early 2001, Van den Berghe et al.[1,2] studied patients and found that an intensive glycemic control was important to reduce the mortality and morbidity both in medical and surgical ICU; however, more recent studies have not been able to substantiate the results. The NICE‐SUGAR[3] showed very contrary results that a very tight control might actually be detrimental to the outcome of patients in the medical ICU. Other studies such as ACCORD[4] though not in ICU setting also showed that very tight blood glucose may actually not be beneficial in the outcome of cardiac patients. There were speculations as to whether this was due to drug interactions, weight gain, or hypoglycemia. The strong message that it gave was that very tight control in high‐risk individuals was not of benefit.
The influence of management structure on the performance of fund of funds

A rapidly growing mutual fund category is Fund of Funds (FOFs), which invest in other mutual funds instead of individual securities. This study reports on FOFs’ characteristics and performance relative to traditional equity mutual funds and finds that FOFs compare favorably. In particular, FOFs with identified managers outperform their unidentified counterparts, and FOFs that invest in-family outperform both traditional equity funds and those FOFs investing out-of-family. Finally, replicating FOFs’ holdings can be prohibitively expensive since they commonly hold funds with high minimum initial investments, closed funds and/or funds that are restricted to a particular investor type.
Development of a cell-based high-throughput peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) screening model and its application for evaluation of the extracts from Rhizoma Coptis

To date, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are becoming the new therapeutic targets for the treatment of metabolic diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. In this study, a cell-based high-throughput PPARs (PPARα/β/γ) model was developed for the screening of PPARs agonists. The screening conditions were evaluated through analyzing the expression value of luciferase. Finally, 24 h of drug acting time, 5 times of the dilution factor of luciferase zymolyte, and about 2 × 104 cells/ well on HeLa cells in 96-well plates were used, respectively. Furthermore, the quality of high-throughput screening (HTS) in stability and reliability was evaluated by the Z′-factor. Additionally, different extracts of Rhizoma Coptis and berberine were tested by the developed method. The results suggested that both the EtOAc extract and berberine were able to activate PPARα/β/γ, and Rhizoma Coptis contains potential natural agonists of PPARs besides berberine. In conclusion, the developed HTS assay is a simple, rapid, stable, and specific method for the screening of PPARs natural agonists.
Increasing antimicrobial resistance of campylobacter jejuni isolated from paediatric diarrhea cases in a tertiary care hospital of new delhi, India.

INTRODUCTION The resistance to the clinically important antimicrobial agents, particularly the fluoroquinolones and the macrolides, is increasing among the Campylobacter isolates. Only limited data is available regarding the changing antimicrobial resistance pattern in the Indian scenario. METHODOLOGY Three hundred fifty cases (ages ≤12years) of acute diarrhoea, who were admitted to a tertiary-care hospital, were investigated for Campylobacter spp. The antimicrobial susceptibilities of all the C. jejuni isolates were assessed by the disk diffusion method according to the CLSI guidelines. RESULTS A total of 36 isolates of C. jejuni were tested for their antimicrobial susceptibilities. A high degree of resistance to the fluoroquinolones (100% to Nalidixic acid and 86.66% to Ciprofloxacin) was detected in the Campylobacter isolates. The frequency of resistance against Tetracycline was 33.33% and that against Erythromycin was 22.2%. Fifteen (41.66%) isolates were multiresistant, being resistant to 3 or more antimicrobial agents. CONCLUSIONS An increased resistance to the quinolones and the macrolides and multidrug resistance warrant a reconsideration of their use as the drugs of choice in patients with severe gastroenteritis when Campylobacter is the presumed cause.
Rutting and Moisture Resistance of Asphalt Mixtures Containing Polymer and Polyphosphoric Acid Modified Bitumen

ABSTRACT Initial engineering properties of materials as well as mechanical and environmental conditions governs the behaviour of asphalt pavements in service. To enable pavements to accommodate increasing traffic intensity and axle loads in varying climate environments, high quality bitumen is required. Special binders are also needed for other applications, such as bridges and airport runways. These examples suggest the necessity of bitumen modification. While modification of bitumen may be carried out via other methods, the most promising has been polymer modification This paper discusses the performance of high grade bituminous binders modified via synthetic polymers, polyphosphoric acid and combinations thereof, and their performance in asphalt mixtures in subsequent laboratory evaluation of moisture and mechanical damage (rutting). The effect of polyamine antistrip addition to asphalt mixtures modified with polymer and polyphosphoric acid is discussed.
Th 1 inflammatory response with altered expression of profibrotic and vasoactive mediators in AT 1 A and AT 1 B double-knockout mice

Xiaosen Ouyang, Thu H. Le, Carlos Roncal, Christine Gersch, Jaime Herrera-Acosta, Bernardo Rodriguez-Iturbe, Thomas M. Coffman, Richard J. Johnson, and Wei Mu Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida; Department of Medicine, Duke University, and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, Durham, North Carolina; Department of Nephrology, Ignacio Chavez, Mexico City, Mexico; and Nephrology Service, Hospital Universitario, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Pultrusion of Thermoplastic Composites-Process Optimization and Mathematical Modeling

Polybutyleneterephthalate (PBT) powder-impregnated and sheathsurrounded glass fiber bundles (GF/PBT) have been pultruded to a profile with a cross section of 3.5 x 10 mm2. The aim was to study separately the influence of various processing parameters on the properties of pultruded beams, in particular, the effects of the temperature within the preheating zone, temperature and pressure profile within the heated forming die, cooling conditions, and pulling speed. The quality of the pultruded specimens was determined by measurements of the density, the dynamic flexural modulus, and the shear strength. Finally, an impregnation model was developed, which helped to design an optimum processing window.
Measuring eco-innovation

In this paper we offer a discussion of eco-innovation and methods for measuring it. Eco-innovation is a new concept of great importance to business and policy makers, covering many innovations of environmental benefit. Past research and measurement activity primarily focused on pollution control and abatement activities or on the environmental goods and services sector. We argue that eco-innovation research and data collection should not be limited to such environmentally motivated innovations, but should encompass all products, processes, or organizational innovations with environmental benefits. Attention should be broadened to include innovation in or oriented towards resource use, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas reduction, waste minimization, reuse and recycling, new materials (for example nanotechnology-based) and eco-design. Research should cover the drivers, patterns, and benefits of eco-innovation for each of these applications, since these factors are likely to differ. For measuring eco-innovation, no single method or indicator is likely to be sufficient. In general, one should therefore apply different methods for analyzing eco-innovation, to see the "whole elephant" instead of just a part. More effort should be devoted towards direct measurement of eco-innovation outputs using documentary and digital sources to complement the current emphasis on innovation inputs such as R&D or patents. Innovation can also be measured indirectly from changes in resource efficiency and productivity. These two avenues are underexplored and should be given more attention in order to augment our rather narrow knowledge basis.
Frequency domain averaging for channel estimation in OQAM-OFDM systems

In this paper, we analyze the noise distribution and correlation characteristic on each subcarrier in OQAM-OFDM systems, and present a method based on the maximum likelihood (ML) criterion to improve the channel estimation. Then, the performance results are obtained by considering an IEEE 802.22 channel model and the proposed method is compared to the conventional frequency domain averaging (FDA) method. Simulation results show that the proposed method is an efficient method to improve the channel estimation.
Fibroblast growth factor, estrogen, and prolactin receptor features in different grades of prostatic adenocarcinoma in elderly men

The objective was to characterize and associate the receptor reactivities of fibroblastic growth factor (FGF)‐2, FGF‐7, FGF‐8, epidermal growth factor (EGF), α‐actin and vimentin in relation to the androgen receptor (AR), α and β estrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ), and prolactin receptor in the prostate of elderly men showing low‐ and high‐grade adenocarcinoma. Thirty prostatic samples were taken from 60‐ to 90‐year‐old patients without prostatic lesions and with low‐grade cancer and high‐grade cancer, from the University Hospital, School of Medicine, the State University of Campinas. The results showed that increased FGF‐2, FGF‐7, and FGF‐8 receptor reactivities and decreased AR reactivity were verified in both high‐ and low‐grade cancer. However, the FGF‐8 receptor showed greater involvement at the beginning of the malignancy alterations. Increased EGF receptor (EGFR) reactivity and diminished α‐actin immunohistochemistry were identified in both cancer groups. Also, increased ERα, PR, and vimentin receptors were verified in both cancer groups. To conclude, the ERα involvement in the reactive stroma activation led to a microenvironment, which was favorable to cancer progression, due to maximizing stromal imbalance. The prolactin could be related to cancer progression due to its interaction with ERα action, indicating that this hormone could be a relevant target to prevent the estrogenic effects in the prostatic lesions. Both FGF receptor (FGFR)‐2 and FGFR‐8 play a fundamental role in the early stages of prostate cancer, suggesting that these molecules could be a promising therapeutic target. The differential localization of the fibroblastic factors between the prostatic epithelium and stroma of elderly men, who presented prostate cancer, could indicate a favorable distinction for tumoral progression. Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:321–330, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cell Surface Proteoglycans Are Necessary for A27L Protein-Mediated Cell Fusion: Identification of the N-Terminal Region of A27L Protein as the Glycosaminoglycan-Binding Domain

ABSTRACT We previously showed that vaccinia virus infection of BSC40 cells was blocked by soluble heparin, suggesting that cell surface heparan sulfate mediates vaccinia virus binding (C.-S. Chung, J.-C. Hsiao, Y.-S. Chang, and W. Chang, J. Virol. 72:1577–1585, 1998). In this study, we extended our previous work and demonstrated that soluble A27L protein bound to heparan sulfate on cells and interfered with vaccinia virus infection at a postbinding step. In addition, we investigated the structure of A27L protein that provides for its binding to heparan sulfate on cells. A mutant of A27L protein, named D-A27L, devoid of a cluster of 12 amino acids rich in basic residues, was constructed. In contrast to the soluble A27L protein, purified D-A27L protein was inactive in all of our assays, including binding to heparin in vitro, binding to heparan sulfate on cells, and the ability to block virus infection. These data demonstrated that the N-terminal region acts as a glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-binding domain critical for A27L protein binding to cells. Previously A27L protein was thought to be involved in fusion of virus-infected cells induced by acid treatment. When we investigated whether cell surface GAGs also participate in A27L-dependent fusion, our results indicated that soluble A27L protein blocked cell fusion, whereas D-A27L protein did not. Taken together, the results therefore demonstrated that A27L-mediated cell fusion is triggered by its interaction with cell surface GAGs through the N-terminal domain.
Pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin: rate of clearance from the circulation of sheep.

The process involved in the disappearance of PMSG from the blood of sheep, following a single intravenous injection, has been separated into two exponential components. Values (mean plus or minus S.E.) calculated from experiments on five animals were: metabolic clearance rate (37.8 plus or minus 1.6 ml hr-minus 1); rate constant of disposal (0.0315 plus or minus 0.0016 hr-minus 1); half-time of disposal (21.2 plus or minus 1.1 hr). The stage of the oestrous cycle, ovariectomy and the dose of PMSG used had no apparent effect on these values.
Universal Entropy of Word Ordering Across Linguistic Families

Background The language faculty is probably the most distinctive feature of our species, and endows us with a unique ability to exchange highly structured information. In written language, information is encoded by the concatenation of basic symbols under grammatical and semantic constraints. As is also the case in other natural information carriers, the resulting symbolic sequences show a delicate balance between order and disorder. That balance is determined by the interplay between the diversity of symbols and by their specific ordering in the sequences. Here we used entropy to quantify the contribution of different organizational levels to the overall statistical structure of language. Methodology/Principal Findings We computed a relative entropy measure to quantify the degree of ordering in word sequences from languages belonging to several linguistic families. While a direct estimation of the overall entropy of language yielded values that varied for the different families considered, the relative entropy quantifying word ordering presented an almost constant value for all those families. Conclusions/Significance Our results indicate that despite the differences in the structure and vocabulary of the languages analyzed, the impact of word ordering in the structure of language is a statistical linguistic universal.
Photosystem II Excitation Pressure and Development of Resistance to Photoinhibition (I. Light-Harvesting Complex II Abundance and Zeaxanthin Content in Chlorella vulgaris)

The basis of the increased resistance to photoinhibition upon growth at low temperature was investigated. Photosystem II (PSII) excitation pressure was estimated in vivo as 1 - qp (photochemical quenching). We established that Chlorella vulgaris exposed to either 5[deg]C/150 [mu]mol m-2 s-1 or 27[deg]C/2200 [mu]mol m-2 s-1 experienced a high PSII excitation pressure of 0.70 to 0.75. In contrast, Chlorella exposed to either 27[deg]C/150 [mu]mol m-2 s-1 or 5[deg]C/20 [mu]mol m-2 s-1 experienced a low PSII excitation pressure of 0.10 to 0.20. Chlorella grown under either regime at high PSII excitation pressure exhibited: (a) 3-fold higher light-saturated rates of O2 evolution; (b) the complete conversion of PSII[alpha] centers to PSII[beta] centers; (c) a 3-fold lower epoxidation state of the xanthophyll cycle intermediates; (d) a 2.4-fold higher ratio of chlorophyll a/b; and (e) a lower abundance of light-harvesting polypeptides than Chlorella grown at either regime at low PSII excitation pressure. In addition, cells grown at 5[deg]C/150 [mu]mol m-2 s-1 exhibited resistance to photoinhibition comparable to that of cells grown at 27[deg]C/2200 [mu]mol m-2 s-1 and were 3- to 4-fold more resistant to photoinhibition than cells grown at either regime at low excitation pressure. We conclude that increased resistance to photoinhibition upon growth at low temperature reflects photosynthetic adjustment to high excitation pressure, which results in an increased capacity for nonradiative dissipation of excess light through zeaxanthin coupled with a lower probability of light absorption due to reduced chlorophyll per cell and decreased abundance of light-harvesting polypeptides.
A Review on Using Crumb Rubber in Reinforcement of Asphalt Pavement

An immense problem affecting environmental pollution is the increase of waste tyre vehicles. In an attempt to decrease the magnitude of this issue, crumb rubber modifier (CRM) obtained from waste tyre rubber has gained interest in asphalt reinforcement. The use of crumb rubber in the reinforcement of asphalt is considered as a smart solution for sustainable development by reusing waste materials, and it is believed that crumb rubber modifier (CRM) could be an alternative polymer material in improving hot mix asphalt performance properties. In this paper, a critical review on the use of crumb rubber in reinforcement of asphalt pavement will be presented and discussed. It will also include a review on the effects of CRM on the stiffness, rutting, and fatigue resistance of road pavement construction.
Resource tracking within and across continents in long-distance bird migrants

Migrant birds track seasonally available resources on a continental scale across the annual cycle. Migratory birds track seasonal resources across and between continents. We propose a general strategy of tracking the broad seasonal abundance of resources throughout the annual cycle in the longest-distance migrating land birds as an alternative to tracking a certain climatic niche or shorter-term resource surplus occurring, for example, during spring foliation. Whether and how this is possible for complex annual spatiotemporal schedules is not known. New tracking technology enables unprecedented spatial and temporal mapping of long-distance movement of birds. We show that three Palearctic-African species track vegetation greenness throughout their annual cycle, adjusting the timing and direction of migratory movements with seasonal changes in resource availability over Europe and Africa. Common cuckoos maximize the vegetation greenness, whereas red-backed shrikes and thrush nightingales track seasonal surplus in greenness. Our results demonstrate that the longest-distance migrants move between consecutive staging areas even within the wintering region in Africa to match seasonal variation in regional climate. End-of-century climate projections indicate that optimizing greenness would be possible but that vegetation surplus might be more difficult to track in the future.
Rees algebras of square-free monomial ideals

We study the defining equations of the Rees algebra of square-free monomial ideals in a polynomial ring over a field. We determine that when an ideal $I$ is generated by $n$ square-free monomials of the same degree then $I$ has relation type at most $n-2$ as long as $n \leq 5$. In general, we establish the defining equations of the Rees algebra in this case. Furthermore, we give a class of examples with relation type at least $n-2$, where $n=\mu(I)$. We also provide new classes of ideals of linear type. We propose the construction of a graph, namely the generator graph of an ideal, where the monomial generators serve as vertices for the graph. We show that when $I$ is a square-free monomial ideal generated in the same degree that is at least 2 and the generator graph of $I$ is the graph of a disjoint union of trees and graphs with unique odd cycles then $I$ is an ideal of linear type.