Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plastidic Phosphoglucose Isomerase Is an Important Determinant of Starch Accumulation in Mesophyll Cells, Growth, Photosynthetic Capacity, and Biosynthesis of Plastidic Cytokinins in Arabidopsis

Phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) catalyzes the reversible isomerization of glucose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate. It is involved in glycolysis and in the regeneration of glucose-6-P molecules in the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (OPPP). In chloroplasts of illuminated mesophyll cells PGI also connects the Calvin-Benson cycle with the starch biosynthetic pathway. In this work we isolated pgi1-3, a mutant totally lacking pPGI activity as a consequence of aberrant intron splicing of the pPGI encoding gene, PGI1. Starch content in pgi1-3 source leaves was ca. 10-15% of that of wild type (WT) leaves, which was similar to that of leaves of pgi1-2, a T-DNA insertion pPGI null mutant. Starch deficiency of pgi1 leaves could be reverted by the introduction of a sex1 null mutation impeding β-amylolytic starch breakdown. Although previous studies showed that starch granules of pgi1-2 leaves are restricted to both bundle sheath cells adjacent to the mesophyll and stomata guard cells, microscopy analyses carried out in this work revealed the presence of starch granules in the chloroplasts of pgi1-2 and pgi1-3 mesophyll cells. RT-PCR analyses showed high expression levels of plastidic and extra-plastidic β-amylase encoding genes in pgi1 leaves, which was accompanied by increased β-amylase activity. Both pgi1-2 and pgi1-3 mutants displayed slow growth and reduced photosynthetic capacity phenotypes even under continuous light conditions. Metabolic analyses revealed that the adenylate energy charge and the NAD(P)H/NAD(P) ratios in pgi1 leaves were lower than those of WT leaves. These analyses also revealed that the content of plastidic 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP)-pathway derived cytokinins (CKs) in pgi1 leaves were exceedingly lower than in WT leaves. Noteworthy, exogenous application of CKs largely reverted the low starch content phenotype of pgi1 leaves. The overall data show that pPGI is an important determinant of photosynthesis, energy status, growth and starch accumulation in mesophyll cells likely as a consequence of its involvement in the production of OPPP/glycolysis intermediates necessary for the synthesis of plastidic MEP-pathway derived hormones such as CKs.
Reducing Biogenic-Amine-Producing Bacteria, Decarboxylase Activity, and Biogenic Amines in Raw Milk Cheese by High-Pressure Treatments

ABSTRACT Biogenic amines may reach concentrations of public health concern in some cheeses. To minimize biogenic amine buildup in raw milk cheese, high-pressure treatments of 400 or 600 MPa for 5 min were applied on days 21 and 35 of ripening. On day 60, counts of lactic acid bacteria, enterococci, and lactobacilli were 1 to 2 log units lower in cheeses treated at 400 MPa and 4 to 6 log units lower in cheeses treated at 600 MPa than in control cheese. At that time, aminopeptidase activity was 16 to 75% lower in cheeses treated at 400 MPa and 56 to 81% lower in cheeses treated at 600 MPa than in control cheese, while the total free amino acid concentration was 35 to 53% higher in cheeses treated at 400 MPa and 3 to 15% higher in cheeses treated at 600 MPa, and decarboxylase activity was 86 to 96% lower in cheeses treated at 400 MPa and 93 to 100% lower in cheeses treated at 600 MPa. Tyramine, putrescine, and cadaverine were the most abundant amines in control cheese. The total biogenic amine concentration on day 60, which reached a maximum of 1.089 mg/g dry matter in control cheese, was 27 to 33% lower in cheeses treated at 400 MPa and 40 to 65% lower in cheeses treated at 600 MPa. On day 240, total biogenic amines attained a concentration of 3.690 mg/g dry matter in control cheese and contents 11 to 45% lower in cheeses treated at 400 MPa and 73 to 76% lower in cheeses treated at 600 MPa. Over 80% of the histidine and 95% of the tyrosine had been converted into histamine and tyramine in control cheese by day 60. Substrate depletion played an important role in the rate of biogenic amine buildup, becoming a limiting factor in the case of some amino acids.
A Limit Law of Almost l-partite Graphs

Abstract For integers l ≥ 1, d ≥ 0 we study (undirected) graphs with vertices 1, …, n such that the vertices can be partitioned into l parts such that every vertex has at most d neighbours in its own part. The set of all such graphs is denoted P n (l, d). We prove a labelled first-order limit law, i.e., for every first-order sentence φ, the proportion of graphs in P n (l, d) that satisfy φ converges as n → ∞. By combining this result with a result of Hundack, Prömel and Steger [12] we also prove that if 1 ≤ s 1 ≤ … ≤ sl are integers, then Forb () has a labelled first-order limit law, where Forb () denotes the set of all graphs with vertices 1, …, n, for some n, in which there is no subgraph isomorphic to the complete (l + 1 )-partite graph with parts of sizes 1, s 1, …, sl . In the course of doing this we also prove that there exists a first-order formula ξ, depending only on l and d, such that the proportion of ∈ P n (l, d) with the following property approaches 1 as n → ∞: there is a unique partition of {1, …, n} into l parts such that every vertex has at most d neighbours in its own part, and this partition, viewed as an equivalence relation, is defined by ξ.
Use of Smokeless Tobacco by Indian Women Aged 18–40 Years during Pregnancy and Reproductive Years

Objectives This paper discusses patterns of daily smokeless tobacco (SLT) use and correlates of poly SLT use among married women aged 18–40 years in a Mumbai slum community with implications for tobacco control. Methods Using a mixed methods approach, the study included a structured survey with 409 daily SLT users and in-depth interviews with 42 women. Participants for the survey were selected using a systematic sampling procedure (one woman in every fourth eligible household). Univariate and bivariate analysis, and multiple logistic regressions were conducted to identify demographic and social factors associated with women’s use of poly SLT products. To illustrate survey results, in-depth interviews were analyzed using Atlas ti software. Results Sixty-four percent of the women surveyed used only one type of SLT; of these, 30% used mishri, 32% used pan with tobacco and the rest used chewed tobacco (11%), gul (17%) or gutkha (10%). Thirty-six percent used more than one type of SLT. Poly SLT users chewed or rubbed 50% more tobacco as compared to single users (mean consumption of tobacco per day: 9.54 vs. 6.49 grams; p<0.001). Women were more likely to be poly SLT users if they were illiterate as compared to literate (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.67; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.07-2.71), if they had lived in Mumbai for 10 years or more, versus less than ten years (AOR=1.67, 95% CI=1.03-2.71); and if their husband was a poly SLT user as compared to a non SLT user (AOR=2.78, 95% CI=1.63-4.76). No differences were noted between pregnant and non-pregnant women in SLT consumption patterns. Conclusions Tobacco control policies and programs must focus specifically on both social context and use patterns to address SLT use among women of reproductive age with special attention to poly SLT users, an understudied and vulnerable population.
Human Vagus Nerve Branching in the Cervical Region

Background Vagus nerve stimulation is increasingly applied to treat epilepsy, psychiatric conditions and potentially chronic heart failure. After implanting vagus nerve electrodes to the cervical vagus nerve, side effects such as voice alterations and dyspnea or missing therapeutic effects are observed at different frequencies. Cervical vagus nerve branching might partly be responsible for these effects. However, vagus nerve branching has not yet been described in the context of vagus nerve stimulation. Materials and Methods Branching of the cervical vagus nerve was investigated macroscopically in 35 body donors (66 cervical sides) in the carotid sheath. After X-ray imaging for determining the vertebral levels of cervical vagus nerve branching, samples were removed to confirm histologically the nerve and to calculate cervical vagus nerve diameters and cross-sections. Results Cervical vagus nerve branching was observed in 29% of all cases (26% unilaterally, 3% bilaterally) and proven histologically in all cases. Right-sided branching (22%) was more common than left-sided branching (12%) and occurred on the level of the fourth and fifth vertebra on the left and on the level of the second to fifth vertebra on the right side. Vagus nerves without branching were significantly larger than vagus nerves with branches, concerning their diameters (4.79 mm vs. 3.78 mm) and cross-sections (7.24 mm2 vs. 5.28 mm2). Discussion Cervical vagus nerve branching is considerably more frequent than described previously. The side-dependent differences of vagus nerve branching may be linked to the asymmetric effects of the vagus nerve. Cervical vagus nerve branching should be taken into account when identifying main trunk of the vagus nerve for implanting electrodes to minimize potential side effects or lacking therapeutic benefits of vagus nerve stimulation.
The Response of Farmland Bird Communities to Agricultural Intensity as Influenced by Its Spatial Aggregation

The shape of the relationship between biodiversity and agricultural intensity determines the range of intensities that should be targeted by conservation policies to obtain the greatest environmental benefits. Although preliminary evidence of this relationship exists, the influence of the spatial arrangement of intensity on biodiversity remains untested. We conducted a nationwide study linking agricultural intensity and its spatial arrangement to a farmland bird community of 22 species. Intensity was described with a continuous indicator based on Input Cost per hectare, which was relevant for both livestock and crop production. We used the French Breeding Bird Survey to compute several descriptors of the farmland bird community along the intensity gradient and tested for the significance of an interaction effect between intensity and its spatial aggregation on these descriptors. We found that the bird community was comprised of both winner and loser species with regard to intensity. The community composition descriptors (trophic level, specialisation, and specialisation for grassland indices) displayed non-linear relationships to intensity, with steeper slopes in the lower intensity range. We found a significant interaction effect between intensity and its spatial aggregation on the grassland specialisation index of the bird community; the effect of agricultural intensity was strengthened by its spatial aggregation. We suggest that an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of conservation policies exists by targeting measures in areas where intensity is moderate to low and aggregated. The effect of the aggregation of agricultural intensity on biodiversity should be considered in other scales and taxa when developing optimal policy targeting and intensity allocation strategies.
Heel Lesions of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Two lesions affecting the heel in rheumatoid arthritis have received little or no attention of recent years: one involves the plantar surface of the calcaneus and the calcaneal spur, and the other the synovial bursa between the insertion of the Achilles tendon into the calcaneus and the calcaneus itself. This note is designed primarily to draw attention to the sub-Achilles lesion, since it may be the presenting sign of rheumatoid arthritis and is often a major complaint: secondarily, to point out that the plantar surface of the calcaneus is often actively involved in rheumatoid arthritis and to indicate the nature of the involvement.
The antioxidant effects of pumpkin seed oil on subacute aflatoxin poisoning in mice

This study was aimed at the investigation of the antioxidant effect of pumpkin seed oil against the oxidative stress‐inducing potential of aflatoxin. For this purpose, 48 male BALB/c mice were used. Four groups, each comprising 12 mice, were established. Group 1 was maintained as the control group. Group 2 was administered with pumpkin seed oil alone at a dose of 1.5 mL/kg.bw/day (∼1375mg/kg.bw/day). Group 3 received aflatoxin (82.45% AFB1, 10.65% AFB2, 4.13% AFG1, and 2.77% AFG2) alone at a dose of 625 μg/kg.bw/day. Finally, group 4 was given both 1.5 mL/kg.bw/day pumpkin seed oil and 625 μg/kg.bw/day aflatoxin. All administrations were oral, performed with the aid of a gastric tube and continued for a period of 21 days. At the end of day 21, the liver, lungs, kidneys, brain, heart, and spleen of the animals were excised, and the extirpated tissues were homogenized appropriately. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px) activities were determined in tissue homogenates. In conclusion, it was determined that aflatoxin exhibited adverse effects on most of the oxidative stress markers. The administration of pumpkin seed oil diminished aflatoxin‐induced adverse effects. In other words, the values of the group, which was administered with both aflatoxin and pumpkin seed oil, were observed to have drawn closer to the values of the control group. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 28: 681–688, 2013.
BMC Genomics BioMed Central

Putative cold acclimation pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana identified by a combined analysis of mRNA co-expression patterns, promoter motifs and transcription factors Abstract Background: With the advent of microarray technology, it has become feasible to identify virtually all genes in an organism that are induced by developmental or environmental changes. However, relying solely on gene expression data may be of limited value if the aim is to infer the underlying genetic networks. Development of computational methods to combine microarray data with other information sources is therefore necessary. Here we describe one such method.
Finite-element modelling of elastic wave propagation and scattering within heterogeneous media

The scattering treated here arises when elastic waves propagate within a heterogeneous medium defined by random spatial fluctuation of its elastic properties. Whereas classical analytical studies are based on lower-order scattering assumptions, numerical methods conversely present no such limitations by inherently incorporating multiple scattering. Until now, studies have typically been limited to two or one dimension, however, owing to computational constraints. This article seizes recent advances to realize a finite-element formulation that solves the three-dimensional elastodynamic scattering problem. The developed methodology enables the fundamental behaviour of scattering in terms of attenuation and dispersion to be studied. In particular, the example of elastic waves propagating within polycrystalline materials is adopted, using Voronoi tessellations to randomly generate representative models. The numerically observed scattering is compared against entirely independent but well-established analytical scattering theory. The quantitative agreement is found to be excellent across previously unvisited scattering regimes; it is believed that this is the first quantitative validation of its kind which provides significant support towards the existence of the transitional scattering regime and facilitates future deployment of numerical methods for these problems.
Privatization, Political Risk and Stock Market Development in Emerging Economies

This paper investigates whether privatization in emerging economies has a significant indirect effect on local stock market development through the resolution of political risk. We argue that a sustained privatization program represents a major political test which gradually resolves uncertainty over political commitment to a market-oriented policy as well as to regulatory and private property rights. We present evidence suggesting that progress in privatization is correlated with improvements in perceived political risk and that these improvements are significantly larger in privatizing countries than in non-privatizing countries, indicating that the resolution of such risk is endogenous to the privatization process. Our analysis further shows that changes in political risk in general tend to have a strong effect on local stock market development and excess returns in emerging economies, suggesting that political risk is a priced factor. We conclude that the resolution of political risk resulting from successful privatization has been an important source for the rapid growth of stock markets in emerging economies.
A rare combination of variations in renal vascular anatomy: embryological perspective and clinical importance

Renal vascular variations are frequent but they are usually asymptomatic and diagnosed accidently during angiography or surgery leading into severe complications. Thus knowledge of renal angioarchitecture, whether usual or variant, is considered prerequisite for successful and uncomplicated surgeries and interventional radiology. This case report describes one of such varying branching pattern of in which right kidney was supplied by three renal arteries and drained by a pair of tributaries of renal vein. An inferior polar renal artery and an accessory renal artery were encountered along with main renal artery on the right side. Variant hilar branching pattern of left renal artery as triplicate variety was also found on left side in the same case. Awareness of such variations would certainly be helpful in various renal surgeries and radiological procedures. © Int J Anat Var (IJAV). 2013; 6: 228-230.
Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase-independent Non-genomic Signals Transit from the Androgen Receptor to Akt1 in Membrane Raft Microdomains*

The serine-threonine kinase, Akt1/protein kinase Bα is an important mediator of growth, survival, and metabolic signaling. Recent studies have implicated cholesterol-rich, lipid raft microdomains in survival signals mediated by Akt1. Here we address the role of lipid raft membranes as a potential site of intersection of androgenic and Akt1 signaling. A subpopulation of androgen receptor (AR) was found to localize to a lipid raft subcellular compartment in LNCaP prostate cancer cells. Endogenous AR interacted with endogenous Akt1 preferentially in lipid raft fractions and androgen substantially enhanced the interaction between the two proteins. The association of AR with Akt1 was inhibited by the anti-androgen, bicalutamide, but was not affected by inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K). Androgen promoted endogenous Akt1 activity in lipid raft fractions, in a PI3K-independent manner, within 10 min of treatment. Fusion of a lipid raft targeting sequence to AR enhanced localization of the receptor to rafts, and stimulated Akt1 activity in response to androgen, while reducing the cells' dependence on constitutive signaling through PI3K for cell survival. These findings suggest that signals channeled through AR and Akt1 intersect by a mechanism involving formation within lipid raft membranes of an androgen-responsive, extranuclear AR/Akt1 complex. Our results indicate that cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains play a role in transmitting non-genomic signals involving androgen and the Akt pathway in prostate cancer cells.
Nerve injury proximal or distal to the DRG induces similar spinal glial activation and selective cytokine expression but differential behavioral responses to pharmacologic treatment

The specific mechanisms by which nervous system injury becomes a chronic pain state remain undetermined. Historically, it has been believed that injuries proximal or distal to the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) produce distinct pathologies that manifest in different severity of symptoms. This study investigated the role of injury site relative to the DRG in (1) eliciting behavioral responses, (2) inducing spinal neuroimmune activation, and (3) responding to pharmacologic interventions. Rats received either an L5 spinal nerve transection distal to the DRG or an L5 nerve root injury proximal to the DRG. Comparative studies assessed behavioral nociceptive responses, spinal cytokine mRNA and protein expression, and glial activation after injury. In separate studies, intrathecal pharmacologic interventions by using selective cytokine antagonists (interleukin‐1 [IL‐1] receptor antagonist and soluble tumor necrosis factor [TNF] receptor) and a global immunosuppressant (leflunomide) were performed to determine their relative effectiveness in these injury paradigms. Behavioral responses assessed by mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia were almost identical in the two models of persistent pain, suggesting that behavioral testing may not be a sensitive measure of injury. Spinal IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐10, and TNF mRNA and IL‐6 protein were significantly elevated in both injuries. The overall magnitude of expression and temporal patterns were similar in both models of injury. The degree of microglial and astrocytic activation in the L5 spinal cord was also similar for both injuries. In contrast, the pharmacologic treatments were more effective in alleviating mechanical allodynia for peripheral nerve injury than nerve root injury, suggesting that nerve root injury elicits a more robust, centrally mediated response than peripheral nerve injury. Overall, these data implicate alternate nociceptive mechanisms in these anatomically different injuries that are not distinguished by behavioral testing or the neuroimmune markers used in this study. J. Comp. Neurol. 439:127–139, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sharp Spectral Asymptotics for 2-dimensional Schr\"odinger operator with a strong magnetic field. Note about forgotten generic case

I consider magnetic Schr\"odinger operator in dimension $d=2$ assuming that coefficients are smooth and magnetic field is non-degenerating. Then I extend the remainder estimate $O(\mu^{-1}h^{-1}+1)$ derived in \cite{Ivr1} for the case when $V/F$ has no stationary points to the case when it has non-degenerating stationary points. If some of them are saddles and $\mu^3h\ge 2$ then asymptotics contains correction terms of magnitude $\mu^{-1}h^{-1}|\log \mu^3 h|$.
Control-Lyapunov Universal Formulas for Restricted Inputs

We deal with the question of obtaining explicit feedback control laws that stabilize a nonlinear system, under the assumption that a \control Lyapunov function" is known. In previous work, the case of unbounded controls was considered. Here we obtain results for bounded and/or positive controls. We also provide some simple preliminary remarks regarding a set stability version of the problem and a version for systems subject to disturbances.
Exploring serial vertical interconnects for 3D ICs

Three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs) offer a promising solution to overcome the on-chip communication bottleneck and improve performance over traditional two-dimensional (2D) ICs. Long interconnects can be replaced by much shorter vertical through silicon via (TSV) interconnects in 3D ICs. This enables faster and more power efficient inter-core communication across multiple silicon layers. However, 3D IC technology also faces challenges due to higher power densities and routing congestion due to TSV pads distributed on each layer. In this paper, serialization of vertical TSV interconnects in 3D ICs is proposed as one way to address these challenges. Such serialization reduces the interconnect TSV footprint on each layer. This can lead to a better thermal TSV distribution resulting in lower peak temperatures, as well as more efficient core layout across multiple layers due to the reduced congestion. Experiments with several 3D multi-core benchmarks indicate clear benefits of serialization. For instance, a 4:1 serialization of TSV interconnects can save more than 70% of TSV area footprint at a negligible performance and power overhead at the 65 nm technology node.