Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pyrophosphate-Dependent Fructose-6-Phosphate 1-Phosphotransferase Induction and Attenuation of Hsp Gene Expression during Endosperm Modification in Quality Protein Maize1[C][W][OA]

Quality Protein Maize (QPM) is a hard-endosperm version of the high-lysine opaque2 (o2) maize (Zea mays) mutant, but the genes involved in modification of the soft o2 endosperm are largely unknown. Pyrophosphate-dependent fructose-6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase (PFP) catalyzes the ATP-independent conversion of fructose-6-phosphate to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate in glycolysis. We found a large increase in transcript and protein levels of the α-regulatory subunit of PFP (PFPα) in QPM endosperm. In vitro enzyme assays showed a significant increase in forward PFP activity in developing endosperm extracts of QPM relative to the wild type and o2. An expressed retrogene version of PFPα of unknown function that was not up-regulated in QPM was also identified. The elevated expression levels of a number of ATP-requiring heat shock proteins (Hsps) in o2 endosperm are ameliorated in QPM. PFPα is also coinduced with Hsps in maize roots in response to heat, cold, and the unfolded protein response stresses. We propose that reduced ATP availability resulting from the generalized Hsp response in addition to the reduction of pyruvate, orthophosphate dikinase activity in o2 endosperm is compensated in part by increased PFP activity in QPM.
Improving dimensional stability of injection molded wood plastic composites using cold and hot water extraction methods

Dimensional stability of wood plastic composites (WPCs) made from polypropylene and pine wood flour with and without coupling agent was investigated. The pine wood flour was prepared from wood chips which had been immersed, respectively, in boiling water for 1 h, 3 h, and 5 h or in distilled water for 1 day, 3 days, and 5 days at room temperature. It was found that thickness swelling (TS) and water absorption (WA) of the WPCs made using extracted wood were lower than those of WPCs produced with unextracted wood. The TS and WA values of WPCs decreased with extraction duration both for cold and hot water extraction. The effect of hot water extraction on the TS and WA properties of the WPCs was more pronounced than cold water extraction.
Neuroprotective effects of treadmill exercise on BDNF and PI3-K/Akt signaling pathway in the cortex of transgenic mice model of Alzheimer’s disease

(AD). Although physical exercise and AD have received attention in the scientific literature, the mechanism through which treadmill exercise may impact the brain insulin signaling of AD has not been elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of treadmill exercise on apoptotic factors (Bcl-2/Bax ratio, caspase-3), HSP70, COX-2, BDNF and PI3-K/Akt signaling pathway in the cortex of NSE/hPS2m transgenic mice model of AD. Treadmill exercise ameliorated cognitive function in water maze test and significantly increased the level of Bcl-2/Bax ratio and HSP-70 in Tg-exe group compared to Tg-con group; on the other hand, it significantly decreased the expression of caspase-3 and COX-2 in Tg-exe group compared to Tg-con group. In addition, treadmill exercise significantly increased the expression of BDNF and PI3K/Akt in Tg-exe group compared to Tg-con group. Consequently, treadmill exercise improves cognitive function possibly via activating neurotrophic factor, BDNF and PI3k/Akt signaling pathway, and Aβ-induced neuronal cell death in the cortex of Tg mice was markedly suppressed following treadmill exercise. These results suggest that treadmill exercise may be beneficial in preventing or treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Inferring friendship from check-in data of location-based social networks

With the ubiquity of GPS-enabled devices and location-based social network services, research on human mobility becomes quantitatively achievable. Understanding it could lead to appealing applications such as city planning and epidemiology. In this paper, we focus on predicting whether two individuals are friends based on their mobility information. Intuitively, friends tend to visit similar places, thus the number of their co-occurrences should be a strong indicator of their friendship. Besides, the visiting time interval between two users also has an effect on friendship prediction. By exploiting machine learning techniques, we construct two friendship prediction models based on mobility information. The first model focuses on predicting friendship of two individuals with only one of their co-occurred places' information. The second model proposes a solution for predicting friendship of two individuals based on all their co-occurred places. Experimental results show that both of our models outperform the state-of-the-art solutions.
Delineating morbillivirus entry, dissemination and airborne transmission by studying in vivo competition of multicolor canine distemper viruses in ferrets

Identification of cellular receptors and characterization of viral tropism in animal models have vastly improved our understanding of morbillivirus pathogenesis. However, specific aspects of viral entry, dissemination and transmission remain difficult to recapitulate in animal models. Here, we used three virologically identical but phenotypically distinct recombinant (r) canine distemper viruses (CDV) expressing different fluorescent reporter proteins for in vivo competition and airborne transmission studies in ferrets (Mustela putorius furo). Six donor ferrets simultaneously received three rCDVs expressing green, red or blue fluorescent proteins via conjunctival (ocular, Oc), intra-nasal (IN) or intra-tracheal (IT) inoculation. Two days post-inoculation sentinel ferrets were placed in physically separated adjacent cages to assess airborne transmission. All donor ferrets developed lymphopenia, fever and lethargy, showed progressively increasing systemic viral loads and were euthanized 14 to 16 days post-inoculation. Systemic replication of virus inoculated via the Oc, IN and IT routes was detected in 2/6, 5/6 and 6/6 ferrets, respectively. In five donor ferrets the IT delivered virus dominated, although replication of two or three different viruses was detected in 5/6 animals. Single lymphocytes expressing multiple fluorescent proteins were abundant in peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues, demonstrating the occurrence of double and triple virus infections. Transmission occurred efficiently and all recipient ferrets showed evidence of infection between 18 and 22 days post-inoculation of the donor ferrets. In all cases, airborne transmission resulted in replication of a single-colored virus, which was the dominant virus in the donor ferret. This study demonstrates that morbilliviruses can use multiple entry routes in parallel, and co-infection of cells during viral dissemination in the host is common. Airborne transmission was efficient, although transmission of viruses expressing a single color suggested a bottleneck event. The identity of the transmitted virus was not determined by the site of inoculation but by the viral dominance during dissemination.
Preparation of Dense BaTiO3 Ceramics with Submicrometer Grains by Spark Plasma Sintering

Dense BaTiO3 ceramics consisting of submicrometer grains were prepared using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. Hydrothermally prepared BaTiO3 (0.1 and 0.5 µm) was used as starting powders. The powders were densified to more than similar/congruent95% of the theoretical X-ray density by the SPS process. The average grain size of the SPS pellets was less than similar/congruent1 µm, even by sintering at 1000-1200°C, because of the short sintering period (5 min). Cubic-phase BaTiO3 coexisted with tetragonal BaTiO3 at room temperature in the SPS pellets, even when well-defined tetragonal-phase BaTiO3 powder was sintered at 1100° and 1200°C and annealed at 1000°C, signifying that the SPS process is effective for stabilizing metastable cubic phase. The measured permittivity was similar/congruent7000 at 1 kHz at room temperature for samples sintered at 1100°C and showed almost no dependence on frequency within similar/congruent100-106 Hz; the permittivity at 1 MHz was 95% of that at 1 kHz.
Properties of extracellular neuraminidase produced by group A streptococcus

Extracellular neuraminidase production by group A streptococci was examined in 92 strains. Fourteen of these strains produced appreciable amounts of enzyme; 12 of the neuraminidase-producing strains belonged to T types 1, 4, and 12. Production of the enzyme paralleled bacterial growth in culture and was maximal in medium containing 0.2% glucose. The enzyme produced by one of these strains was partially purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation and filtration on G-200 Sephadex. Its molecular weight was estimated at 90,000. Activity was optimal at pH 5.7 and in the presence of 0.01 to 0.03 M calcium and magnesium cations. The enzyme was stable at temperatures of 4 and 37 degrees C for at least 24 h but was inactivated within 10 min at temperatures of 50 and 65 degrees C. The enzyme hydrolyzed 40% of the sialic acid in bovine submaxillary mucin, but was inactive on sialyl-lactose, porcine submaxillary mucin, oligosaccharides derived from porcine mucin, or human orosomucoid. The Km value for this enzyme with bovine submaxillary mucin as substrate was in the order of 3.6 x 10(-4) M.
The effects of breast cancer diagnosis and surgery on cognitive functions

Abstract Background. Women with breast cancer (BC) report cognitive impairment. Receiving a BC diagnosis may have a negative psychological impact. We sought to determine whether a diagnosis of BC and subsequent surgical treatment reduced cognitive function. Material and methods. We recruited women, who had a positive radiographic finding, consecutively from the mammography screening program at Stockholm South General Hospital. All subjects completed the Headminder Web-based neuropsychological battery Cognitive Stability Index (CSI) for response speed, processing speed, memory, and attention at enrolment (T1, Baseline). CSI was administered again, after BC was ruled out, or after sector resection or mastectomy, if BC was confirmed by cytology or biopsy (T2, Retest). Results and conclusion. Of the 148 women approached, 146 were enrolled; 69 were healthy and 77 had BC. Comparison between groups at baseline, according to independent t-test, showed significant differences in response speed and processing speed. Cognitive abilities did not decline in either group on any of the measured domains. Our results suggest that a diagnosis of BC and subsequent surgery is not associated with substantial cognitive decline at retest. However, the lack of improvement in attention at retest among BC patients may be suggestive of a decline.
Quantifying Dispersal of Southern Pine Beetles with Mark-Recapture Experiments and a Diffusion Model.

Pest management decisions should take into consideration quantitative information on dispersal of insect pests, but such information is often lacking. The goal of this study was to measure intraforest dispersal in the southern pine beetle (SPB). We developed an analytical formula for interpreting data from mark-recapture studies of insect dispersal. The formula is obtained by postulating a simple model of diffusion with disappearance (e.g., as a result of death) for the spread of marked insects from the release point. Parameters of the model (assumed to be invariant in space) are estimated by fitting the curve to the cumulative number of recaptured insects as a function of the distance from release. We also derived an expression for the distribution of dispersal distances in terms of the fitted parameters. The proposed methodology was applied to a mark-recapture study of SPB dispersal Statistical analysis of recaptures-with-distance curves obtained in 11 replicate releases indicated that the proposed formula provided an accurate description of the data. There were no systematic departures from the functional relationship prescribed by the formula, and the model consistently outperformed another commonly used formula for fitting data on dispersal distances, the exponential curve. We explored the effect of spatial heterogeneity in the host distribution on SPB movement by regressing the deviation from the recapture rate predicted by the model in each trap on the pine basal area around the trap. This correlation was significantly greater than zero, indicating that beetles tended to aggregate in localities where pines were dense. This result suggests that a diffusion model with spatially varying parameters may provide a more accurate description of the redistribution process in the SPB. Quantitative results on SPB intraforest dispersal were summarized by calculatingradii of circles enclosing a given proportion of SPB dispersal distances. For example, we estimated that one half of released beetles dispersed >0.69 km. This result has important implications for evaluating the area-wide consequences of current or novel control tactics that rely on disrupting SPB movements, e.g., cut-and-leave and treatments with anti-congregation pheromone.
Analysis and Estimates of the Attributable Risk for Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors in Gastric Cancer in a Chinese Population

Development of gastric cancer is a multistage, multifactorial process. This study determined the population attributable risk for environmental and genetic risk factors in development of gastric cancer. A 1:1 cancer case-control study was undertaken in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. A conditional-logistic regression model was used to determine environmental and genetic risk factors and calculate attributable risk (AR%) for each environmental and genetic risk factor in gastric cancer. In addition, the summary attributable risk (sAR) for all of the risk factors among 503 cases of gastric cancer patients and controls was determined. The environmental risk factors for gastric cancer in the Nanjing area were family history of tumor, consumption of pickled food, engorgement after hunger, irregular dietary habits, and lack of fruit intake. The genetic risk factors included the following genotypes: CYP2E1 wild, NAT2 M1 mutation, NAT2 slow-acetylators, XRCC1 194 mutation, MTHFR A1298C mutation, and IL-1B mutation. Combining environmental and genetic risk factors, sAR was 76.34%. Data suggest that genetic polymorphisms and environmental risk factors play concurrent roles in the development of gastric cancer. The results of this study indicate preventive strategies to avoid development of gastric cancer based on identified genetic polymorphisms and control of environmental risk factors.
Effect of in-plane residual stresses on the post-deflection behaviour of a T-shaped deflected crack in layered systems

Post-deflection behaviour of a T-shaped crack in a bilayer material system under the presence of in-plane residual stress was investigated for a four-point bending configuration. Non-dimensional parameters for generalization of the residual stress state in a bilayer system were defined using globally measurable quantities such as curvatures and axial strains. It was predicted that the residual stress varying from tension at the outer edge to compression at the interface was beneficial to prevent kinking of the T-shaped crack out of the interface and therefore to toughening of the layered composites. However, it was expected that appreciable improvement in toughness properties was possible only when the intact layer is stiffer than the cracked layer. Further, incorporation of residual stresses higher than a certain level did not result in a further improvement in the toughness properties. Criteria for crack deflection-induced toughening of layered composites were derived from these predictions.
Thyroid Function in Pregnancy and Its Influences on Maternal and Fetal Outcomes

Background: Maternal thyroid function alters during pregnancy. Inadequate adaptation to these changes results in thyroid dysfunction and pregnancy complications. Objectives: This prospective study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of thyroid diseases in pregnancy and its outcomes in south of Iran. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 600 healthy singleton pregnant women who aged 18 to 35 years old at 15 to 28 weeks of gestation. We investigated the prevalence of thyroid dysfunctions in women. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine the effect thyroid dysfunction on obstetric and neonatal outcome. Results: Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels of 0.51, 1.18, 1.68, 2.4, and 4.9 mIU/L were at 2.5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 97.5th percentile in our population. The prevalence of clinical hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, overt hyperthyroidism, and subclinical hyperthyroidism in all pregnant women was 2.4%, 11.3%, 1.2%, and 0.3%, respectively. In addition, 1.4% of patients had isolated hypothyroxinemia. Clinical hypothyroidism was associated with increased risk of preterm delivery (P = 0.045). Subclinical hypothyroidism had a significant association with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) (P = 0.028) as well as low Apgar score at first minute (P = 0.022). Maternal hyperthyroidism was associated with IUGR (P = 0.048). Conclusions: We revealed that thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy was associated with IUGR and low Apgar score even in subclinical forms. Further studies are required to determine whether early diagnosis and treatment of thyroid diseases, even in subclinical form, can prevent their adverse effect on fetus.
Evaluation of the effect of an orange oil based soil Ameliorant on selected soil physical properties

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A new orange oil based soil ameliorant is available on the market. Apart from the orange oil, the other main constituents of the product are a nonionic surfactant and an anionic surfactant. Surfactants are used in the agricultural sector, amongst others, as a countermeasure for soil with poor infiltrability or with hydrophobic characteristics. Farmers who applied the orange oil based soil ameliorant to the soil observed a positive growth response by the crop. However, the main concern about surfactants is that it can cause the soil to disperse and thereby decrease the infiltration and saturated hydraulic conductivity thereof. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the effect which this product might have on the following selected soil physical properties: bulk density, aggregate stability, soil strength and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The product was applied on four farms on soils with different textures: Dublin Farm (22% clay), Wansbek (20% clay), Toitskraal (7% clay) and Two Rivers (3% clay). Field studies were repeated at Dublin Farm and Toitskraal to study the longevity effect of the product. Differences in bulk density were not attributed to the effect of the product, but to spatial variation. The aggregate stability at the 50 mm depth tended to decrease after application of the product at Dublin Farm trial 1, Toitskraal trial 1 and at Wansbek. At Dublin Farm trial 2 and Toitskraal trial 2 the application of the product tended to increase the aggregate stability. For Dublin Farm trial 2 and Wansbek the shear strength at the 50 mm depth tended to increase with increased application rates. The opposite was observed at Toitskraal and Two Rivers. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity tended to be higher at the 0 mm depth for the treated soils at all of the trials except Toitskraal trial 2. From the aggregate stability results it is clear that the initial effect of the product was detrimental which can be attributed to the anionic surfactant. The long term effect can be attributed to the effect of the nonionic surfactant. The differences in shear strength can be attributed to aggregate stability (for Dublin Farm trial 2) and bulk density (for Two Rivers). There is however no explanation for the results found at Toitskraal and Wansbek. From the linear regression of bulk density against unsaturated hydraulic conductivity for Wansbek and Two Rivers it is clear that the application of the product definitely had an influence on the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. For both farms, the correlation between bulk density and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity was better for the control than for the treated soils. To conclude with, the application of the product according to the recommended application rate, resulted in a slightly detrimental effect to the soil on the short term, but on the long term it tended to have a slightly positive effect on the soils. %%%%AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ‘n Nuwe grondverbeteringsproduk met lemoenolie as ‘n basis en ‘n nie-ioniese en ‘n anioniese…
Recursive Least Squares Run-to-Run Control with Time-Varying Metrology Delays

This article investigates how to adaptively predict the time-varying metrology delay that could realistically occur in the semiconductor manufacturing practice. Metrology delays pose a great challenge for the existing run-to-run (R2R) controllers, driving the process output significantly away from target if not adequately predicted. First, the expected asymptotic double exponentially weighted moving average (DEWMA) control output, by using the EWMA and recursive least squares (RLS) prediction methods, is derived. It has been found that the relationships between the expected control output and target in both estimation methods are parallel, and six cases are addressed. Within the context of time-varying metrology delay, this paper presents a modified recursive least squares-linear trend (RLS-LT) controller, in combination with runs test. Simulated single input-single output (SISO) R2R processes subject to various time-varying metrology delay scenarios are used as a test-bed to evaluate the proposed algorithms. The simulation results indicate that the modified RLS-LT controller can yield the process output more accurately on target with smaller mean squared error (MSE) than the original RLSLT controller that only deals with constant metrology delays.
mHealth: A Strategic Field without a Solid Scientific Soul. A Systematic Review of Pain-Related Apps

Background Mobile health (mHealth) has undergone exponential growth in recent years. Patients and healthcare professionals are increasingly using health-related applications, at the same time as concerns about ethical issues, bias, conflicts of interest and privacy are emerging. The general aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of development of mHealth. Methods and Findings To exemplify the issues, we made a systematic review of the pain-related apps available in scientific databases (Medline, Web of Science, Gale, Psycinfo, etc.) and the main application shops (App Store, Blackberry App World, Google Play, Nokia Store and Windows Phone Store). Only applications (designed for both patients and clinicians) focused on pain education, assessment and treatment were included. Of the 47 papers published on 34 apps in scientific databases, none were available in the app shops. A total of 283 pain-related apps were found in the five shops searched, but no articles have been published on these apps. The main limitation of this review is that we did not look at all stores in all countries. Conclusions There is a huge gap between the scientific and commercial faces of mHealth. Specific efforts are needed to facilitate knowledge translation and regulate commercial health-related apps.