Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Magnesium on Intact Chloroplasts : II. CATION SPECIFICITY AND INVOLVEMENT OF THE ENVELOPE ATPase IN (SODIUM) POTASSIUM/PROTON EXCHANGE ACROSS THE ENVELOPE.

Addition of exogenous Mg(2+) (2 millimolar) to illuminated intact spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts caused acidification of the stroma and a 20% decrease in stromal K(+). Addition of K(+) (10-50 millimolar) reversed both stromal acidification and K(+) efflux from the chloroplast caused by Mg(2+). These data suggested that Mg(2+) induced reversible H(+)/K(+) fluxes across the chloroplast envelope. Ca(2+) and Mn(2+) (2 millimolar) were as effective as 4 millimolar Mg(2+) in causing K(+) efflux from chloroplasts and inhibition of O(2) evolution. In contrast, 10 millimolar Ba(2+) induced only a small amount of inhibition. The lack of strong inhibition by Ba(2+) indicated that the effects of divalent cations such as Mg(2+) cannot be attributed to generalized electrostatic interactions of the cation with the chloroplast envelope. With the chloroplasts used in this study, stromal acidification caused by 2 millimolar Mg(2+) was small (0.07 to 0.15 pH units), but sufficient to account for the inhibition of O(2) evolution (43%) induced by Mg(2+). A variety of ATPase inhibitors were tested for effects on Mg(2+)-induced H(+)/K(+) fluxes. Oligomycin was the only ATPase inhibitor which specifically inhibited photosynthesis in the presence of Mg(2+) + K(+), but had little or no effect in the absence of these cations. In the presence of oligomycin, much higher concentrations (50 millimolar) of exogenous K(+) were required to reverse Mg(2+)-induced acidification and inhibition of O(2) evolution than in its absence. Oligomycin (in the absence of divalent cations) increased the inhibition of photosynthesis caused by sodium acetate, which acts by causing stromal acidification. In addition, the chloroplast envelope ATPase was inhibited partially (45%) by oligomycin. These results suggested that H(+) fluxes across the chloroplast envelope are regulated by two mechanisms: (a) an active, oligomycin-sensitive H(+) efflux and (b) a reversible, Mg(2+)-dependent, oligomycin-insensitive H(+)/K(+) exchange.
PREDICTIVE VALUE OF OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHIC FEATURES IN THE BEVACIZUMAB AND RANIBIZUMAB IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA (BRDME) STUDY

Purpose: To establish the predictive value of specific optical coherence tomography retinal features on visual outcomes and retinal thickness during anti–vascular endothelial growth factor treatment in patients with diabetic macular edema. Methods: Post hoc analysis of compound data of a prospective, 6-month, multicenter, randomized controlled trial of 119 patients with diabetic macular edema receiving either intravitreal bevacizumab or ranibizumab were analyzed to assess the associations between baseline retinal morphologic parameters and change in best-corrected visual acuity and central subfield thickness. Based on the study protocol of the core study, best-corrected visual acuity and central subfield thickness were obtained before each mandatory monthly injection during 6 months. Results: The presence of serous retinal detachment at baseline was associated with significant improvement in best-corrected visual acuity letter score at Month 3 and Month 6 (P < 0.001 and P = 0.01, respectively). In addition, the presence of disorganization of retinal inner layers was associated with lower best-corrected visual acuity letter score at Month 3 and Month 6 (P < 0.05 and P = 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: This study found that serous retinal detachment and disorganization of retinal inner layers were associated with different treatment responses to anti–vascular endothelial growth factor therapy in patients with diabetic macular edema.
Convexity of graph-restricted games induced by minimum partitions

We consider restricted games on weighted graphs associated with minimum partitions. We replace in the classical definition of Myerson restricted game the connected components of any subgraph by the sub-components corresponding to a minimum partition. This minimum partition 𝒫min is i nduced by the deletion of the minimum weight edges. We provide five necessary conditions on the graph edge-weights to have inheritance of convexity from the underlying game to the restricted game associated with 𝒫min. Then, we establish that these conditions are also sufficient for a weaker condition, called ℱ-convexity, obtained by restriction of convexity to connected subsets. Moreover, we prove that inheritance of convexity for Myerson restricted game associated with a given graph G is equivalent to inheritance of ℱ-convexity for the 𝒫min-restricted game associated with a particular weighted graph G′ built from G by adding a dominating vertex, and with only two different edge-weights. Then, we prove that G is cycle-complete if and only if a specific condition on adjacent cycles is satisfied on G′.
A Molecular Analysis Provides Novel Insights into Androgen Receptor Signalling in Breast Cancer

Background Androgen Receptor (AR) is an essential transcription factor for the development of secondary sex characteristics, spermatogenesis and carcinogenesis. Recently AR has been implicated in the development and progression of breast and prostate cancers. Although some of the functions of the AR are known but the mechanistic details of these divergent processes are still not clear. Therefore understanding the regulatory mechanisms of the functioning of the AR in ER-/AR+ breast cancer will provide many novel targets for the purpose of therapeutic intervention. Methods/Results Using bioinformatics tools, we have identified 75 AR targets having prominent roles in cell cycle, apoptosis and metabolism. Herein, we validated 10 genes as AR targets by studying the regulation of these genes in MDA-MB-453 cell line on stimulation by androgens like 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), using RT-qPCR and ChIP assay. It was observed that all the identified genes involved in cell cycle except MAD1L1 were found to be up regulated whereas expression of apoptosis related genes was decreased in response to DHT treatment. We performed an exhaustive, rigid-body docking between individual ARE and DNA binding domain (DBD) of the AR protein and it was found that novel residues K567, K588, K591 and R592 are involved in the process of DNA binding. To verify these specific DNA-protein interactions electrostatic energy term calculations for each residue was determined using the linearized Poisson–Boltzmann equation. Our experimental data showed that treatment of breast cancer cells with DHT promotes cell proliferation and decreases apoptosis. It was observed that bicalutamide treatment was able to reverse the effect of DHT. Conclusion Taken together, our results provide new insights into the mechanism by which AR promotes breast cancer progression. Moreover our work proposes to use bicalutamide along with taxanes as novel therapy for the treatment of TNBCs, which are positive for downstream AR signalling.
Selection outweighs drift at a fine scale: Lack of MHC differentiation within a family living lizard across geographically close but disconnected rocky outcrops

The highly polymorphic genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are involved in disease resistance, mate choice and kin recognition. Therefore, they are widely used markers for investigating adaptive variation. Although selection is the key driver, gene flow and genetic drift also influence adaptive genetic variation, sometimes in opposing ways and with consequences for adaptive potential. To further understand the processes that generate MHC variation, it is helpful to compare variation at the MHC with that at neutral genetic loci. Differences in MHC and neutral genetic variation are useful for inferring the relative influence of selection, gene flow and drift on MHC variation. To date, such investigations have usually been undertaken at a broad spatial scale. Yet, evolutionary and ecological processes can occur at a fine spatial scale, particularly in small or fragmented populations. We investigated spatial patterns of MHC variation among three geographically close, naturally discrete, sampling sites of Egernia stokesii, an Australian lizard. The MHC of E. stokesii has recently been characterized, and there is evidence for historical selection on the MHC. We found E. stokesii MHC weakly differentiated among sites compared to microsatellites, suggesting selection, acting similarly at each site, has outweighed any effects of low gene flow or of genetic drift on E. stokesii MHC variation. Our findings demonstrate the strength of selection in shaping patterns of MHC variation or consistency at a fine spatial scale.
Towards monochiral carbon nanotubes: a review of progress in the sorting of single-walled carbon nanotubes

The discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) revealed that this new form of carbon can challenge traditional materials on many fronts. Remarkable electrical, thermal, mechanical and optical properties of individual CNTs have attracted significant attention, and so scientists have begun to consider their implementation in everyday life. Unfortunately, CNT aggregates are composed of a wide range of CNT types, which has a strongly negative influence on the observed performance of macroscale devices made from them. Recently, however, it has become evident that different CNT types can be sorted according to length, diameter, electrical character, chiral angle and even handedness, which reignited interest in them. This review aims to demonstrate the state-of-the-art of all the mainstream methods of sorting CNTs (preferential synthesis, selective destruction, (di)electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation, chromatography, (co)polymer isolation and aqueous two-phase extraction). It is concluded with an overview of already tested applications using sorted CNTs and gives an overlook of the field for the future.
Iodine Deficiency in a Study Population of Norwegian Pregnant Women—Results from the Little in Norway Study (LiN)

Iodine sufficiency is particularly important in pregnancy, where median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in the range of 150–250 µg/L indicates adequate iodine status. The aims of this study were to determine UIC and assess if dietary and maternal characteristics influence the iodine status in pregnant Norwegian women. The study comprises a cross-sectional population-based prospective cohort of pregnant women (Little in Norway (LiN)). Median UIC in 954 urine samples was 85 µg/L and 78.4% of the samples (n = 748) were ≤150 µg/L. 23.2% (n = 221) of the samples were ≤50 µg/L and 5.2% (n = 50) were above the requirements of iodine intake (>250 µg/L). Frequent iodine-supplement users (n = 144) had significantly higher UIC (120 µg/L) than non-frequent users (75 µg/L). Frequent milk and dairy product consumers (4–9 portions/day) had significantly higher UIC (99 µg/L) than women consuming 0–1 portion/day (57 µg/L) or 2–3 portions/day (83 µg/L). Women living in mid-Norway (n = 255) had lowest UIC (72 µg/L). In conclusion, this study shows that the diet of the pregnant women did not necessarily secure a sufficient iodine intake. There is an urgent need for public health strategies to secure adequate iodine nutrition among pregnant women in Norway.
Mindfulness meditation–based pain relief: a mechanistic account

Pain is a multidimensional experience that involves interacting sensory, cognitive, and affective factors, rendering the treatment of chronic pain challenging and financially burdensome. Further, the widespread use of opioids to treat chronic pain has led to an opioid epidemic characterized by exponential growth in opioid misuse and addiction. The staggering statistics related to opioid use highlight the importance of developing, testing, and validating fast‐acting nonpharmacological approaches to treat pain. Mindfulness meditation is a technique that has been found to significantly reduce pain in experimental and clinical settings. The present review delineates findings from recent studies demonstrating that mindfulness meditation significantly attenuates pain through multiple, unique mechanisms—an important consideration for the millions of chronic pain patients seeking narcotic‐free, self‐facilitated pain therapy.
Emotional Distress as a Predictor of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disordersin Malaysian Nursing Professionals

Background: Emotional distress is becoming a great concern and is more common in both developed and developing countries. It is associated with several disease conditions. Objective: To determine the prevalence of self-perceived emotional distress and its relation to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) in nurses. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out on 660 female nurses working in public hospitals in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The validated Malay version of the standardized Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (M-SNMQ) was used to identify the annual prevalence of WRMSDs; perceived emotional distress was assessed using the validated Malay short version, depression, anxiety, and stress (M-DASS) instrument. In addition, socio-demographic and occupational profiles of the participants were considered. Factors associated with WRMSDs were identified using logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 376 nurses completed the survey (response rate 83.3%). 73.1% of the nursing staffs experienced WRMSDs in at least one anatomical site 12 months prior to the study. 75% of nurses expressed emotional distress. Of these, over half also reported anxiety and stress. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that stress and anxiety significantly increased the risk of WRMSDs by approximately twofold. Conclusion: There were significant associations between emotional distress and WRMSDs. Future longitudinal studies are therefore needed to investigate and identify the sources of emotional distress (non-occupational and occupational) to be used to establish preventive strategies to reduce the risk of WRMSDs.
Analysis of the stress intensity factor along the thickness: The concept of pivot node on straight crack fronts

This paper focuses on calculating and analysing the thickness and load level influence on the stress intensity factor distribution along the thickness, both individually and together. The main objective is improving the knowledge about the small region existing near the surface where the stress intensity factor results remain independent of external factor as load level or thickness. It is found that this phenomenon occurs around a pivot node within the crack front (PI) that presents advantages for the correlation of numerical and experimental studies. The work evaluates the finite element model of an Al 2024-T35 compact tension specimen with no plastic wake effect introduced. The three-dimensional behaviour near the crack front is simulated through numerical analysis with ANSYS code, and J-integral method is used to determinate the curves of K evolution along the thickness. The results are studied according to a series of parameters that characterize the curves. Conclusions are presented on the areas of influence of each factor involved.
Risk Factors Associated with Needlestick Injuries among Health Care Workers in Menoufia Governorate, Egypt

Background: Health care workers are at high risk of job-related blood-borne diseases due to needlestick injuries (NSIs). Objective: To assess the risk factors associated with NSIs among health care workers in Menoufia governorate, Egypt. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 2260 health care workers of 4 randomly chosen hospitals in Menoufia governorate. Using a predesigned data collection sheet, all staff members were asked about the occurrence of NSIs in the previous 3 months. The response rate was 95.3%. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the factors associated with NSIs. Results: The risk of NSIs significantly increased with duration of work <15 years (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.81 to 2.66), being female (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.56 to 2.29), working as a para-medic (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.25), working in surgical ward (OR 4.11, 95% CI 1.71 to 9.88), having more than 2 night shifts/month (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.39), absence of educational sessions (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.45 to 2.73), absence of hospital policies for NSIs (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.99 to 2.49), absence of universal precautions (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.50), recapping the needle after use (OR 2.63, 95% CI 2.12 to 3.26), recapping the needle with two hands (OR 3.08, 95% CI 2.04 to 4.65), not using protective clothes (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.85), and increased working hours—8–12 hours (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.34 to 3.44) and >12 hours (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.17 to 4.44). Conclusion: The risk of NSIs is still high among health care workers that underlines the importance of comprehensive educational sessions to decrease the risk of job-related blood-borne diseases.
Effects of xylem pH on transpiration from wild-type and flacca tomato leaves. A vital role for abscisic acid in preventing excessive water loss even from well-watered plants

The pH of xylem sap from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) plants increased from pH 5.0 to 8.0 as the soil dried. Detached wild-type but not flacca leaves exhibited reduced transpiration rates when the artificial xylem sap (AS) pH was increased. When a well-watered concentration of abscisic acid (0.03 &mgr;m) was provided in the AS, the wild-type transpirational response to pH was restored to flacca leaves. Transpiration from flacca but not from wild-type leaves actually increased in some cases when the pH of the AS was increased from 6.75 to 7.75, demonstrating an absolute requirement for abscisic acid in preventing stomatal opening and excessive water loss from plants growing in many different environments.
Fully Automated Segmentation of Fluid/Cyst Regions in Optical Coherence Tomography Images With Diabetic Macular Edema Using Neutrosophic Sets and Graph Algorithms

This paper presents a fully automated algorithm to segment fluid-associated (fluid-filled) and cyst regions in optical coherence tomography (OCT) retina images of subjects with diabetic macular edema. The OCT image is segmented using a novel neutrosophic transformation and a graph-based shortest path method. In neutrosophic domain, an image <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$g$</tex-math></inline-formula> is transformed into three sets: <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T$</tex-math></inline-formula> (true), <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$I$</tex-math></inline-formula> (indeterminate) that represents noise, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$F$</tex-math></inline-formula> (false). This paper makes four key contributions. First, a new method is introduced to compute the indeterminacy set <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$I$</tex-math> </inline-formula>, and a new <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lambda$</tex-math></inline-formula> -correction operation is introduced to compute the set <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T$</tex-math> </inline-formula> in neutrosophic domain. Second, a graph shortest-path method is applied in neutrosophic domain to segment the inner limiting membrane and the retinal pigment epithelium as regions of interest (ROI) and outer plexiform layer and inner segment myeloid as middle layers using a novel definition of the <italic>edge weights </italic>. Third, a new cost function for cluster-based fluid/cyst segmentation in ROI is presented which also includes a novel approach in estimating the number of clusters in an automated manner. Fourth, the final fluid regions are achieved by ignoring very small regions and the regions between middle layers. The proposed method is evaluated using two publicly available datasets: Duke, Optima, and a third local dataset from the UMN clinic which is available online. The proposed algorithm outperforms the previously proposed Duke algorithm by 8% with respect to the dice coefficient and by 5% with respect to precision on the Duke dataset, while achieving about the same sensitivity. Also, the proposed algorithm outperforms a prior method for Optima dataset by 6%, 22%, and 23% with respect to the dice coefficient, sensitivity, and precision, respectively. Finally, the proposed algorithm also achieves sensitivity of 67.3%, 88.8%, and 76.7%, for the Duke, Optima, and the university of minnesota (UMN) datasets, respectively.
Researcher Perspectives on Publication and Peer Review of Data

Data “publication” seeks to appropriate the prestige of authorship in the peer-reviewed literature to reward researchers who create useful and well-documented datasets. The scholarly communication community has embraced data publication as an incentive to document and share data. But, numerous new and ongoing experiments in implementation have not yet resolved what a data publication should be, when data should be peer-reviewed, or how data peer review should work. While researchers have been surveyed extensively regarding data management and sharing, their perceptions and expectations of data publication are largely unknown. To bring this important yet neglected perspective into the conversation, we surveyed ∼ 250 researchers across the sciences and social sciences– asking what expectations“data publication” raises and what features would be useful to evaluate the trustworthiness, evaluate the impact, and enhance the prestige of a data publication. We found that researcher expectations of data publication center on availability, generally through an open database or repository. Few respondents expected published data to be peer-reviewed, but peer-reviewed data enjoyed much greater trust and prestige. The importance of adequate metadata was acknowledged, in that almost all respondents expected data peer review to include evaluation of the data’s documentation. Formal citation in the reference list was affirmed by most respondents as the proper way to credit dataset creators. Citation count was viewed as the most useful measure of impact, but download count was seen as nearly as valuable. These results offer practical guidance for data publishers seeking to meet researcher expectations and enhance the value of published data.
Exact controllability of scalar conservation laws with strict convex flux

We consider the scalar conservation law with strict convex flux in one space dimension. In this paper we study the exact controllability of entropy solution by using initial or boundary data control. Some partial results have been obtained in [5],[23]. Here we investigate the precise conditions under which, the exact controllability problem admits a solution. The basic ingredients in the proof of these results are, Lax-Oleinik [15] explicit formula and finer properties of the characteristics curves.