Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fatty acid composition of Mediterranean fin whale Balaenoptera physalus blubber with respect to body heterogeneity and trophic interaction

Blubber blocks were collected from both a recently killed (dead whale complete sam- ples; DWCS) and several live (living whale partial samples; WPS) Mediterranean fin whales Bal- aenoptera physalus and analyzed for their lipid and fatty acid (FA) composition. Mean lipid content for the different body parts of DWCS samples ranged from 33 to 69% of the wet weight and triacyl- glycerols (TG) represented 80 to 86% of the total lipids; 36 FAs were observed in all blubber layers in greater than trace amounts (>0.2%). Multivariate correspondence analysis showed that the major variation in FAs structure was related to body position (dorsal versus ventral and lateral) and to a lesser extent to the blubber stratification. Dorsal blubber TG could be distinguished from the other locations by the relative levels of 20:0 and 20:1 FA, whereas polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were the main descriptors of the lateral and ventral blubber. Stratification resulted in a slight increase in monoenoic fatty acid (MUFA) content from the inner to the outer layers and a decreasing PUFA con- tent. The 6 biopsies from living whales showed a similar FA composition and displayed FA profiles similar to those of the dorsal outer blubber blocks. Comparison of blubber FA structure with fin whales from the North Atlantic showed major differences, with a far lower percentage of 22:1 FA for the Mediterranean individuals and smaller differences in long chain MUFA between the inner and outer layer. Fin whales feed on the euphausiid Meganyctiphanes norvegica. Ligurian Sea M. norvegica appeared to have lower percentages of 20:1 and 22:1 FAs than their North Atlantic coun- terparts. Hence, the lower percentages of 20:1 and 22:1 FAs in the inner layer could reflect the struc- ture of the prey assimilated. The slightly higher values in the outer layer could reflect the previous fall and winter feeding periods in Atlantic waters. The relative homogeneity of the blubber through- out the body suggested that sampling live animals to describe trophic interactions may be more realistic in the Mediterranean Sea than in the Atlantic.
Optimisation of electronic device coupled LiBr–H2O absorption heat pump system working at ambient temperature using Taguchi approach

ABSTRACT The study attempts to optimise the parameters of a lithium bromide–water (LiBr–H2O) miniature absorption refrigeration system using Taguchi approach for electronic cooling working at ambient conditions. Thermodynamic optimisation was performed to obtain the optimum coefficient of performance (COP) for heat removal of 100 W by using the Taguchi approach. Three factors were considered: generator temperature (Tg), condenser temperature (Tc) and absorber temperature (Ta), at three different levels. The result showed that the percentage contribution of generator temperature is more on COP. Optimisation of three significant heat exchangers: evaporator, condenser and absorber, was performed by using the Taguchi approach. The study was carried out individually for all the components by varying the hydraulic diameter and aspect ratio at three different levels. The results showed that the hydraulic diameter contributes more than the aspect ratio.
Representations of the braid group B_3 and of SL(2,Z)

We give a complete classification of simple representations of the braid group B_3 with dimension $\leq 5$ over any algebraically closed f ield. In particular, we prove that a simple d-dimensional representation $\rho: B_3 \to GL(V)$ is determined up to isomorphism by the eigenvalues $\lambda_1, \lambda_2, . , \lambda_d$ of the image of the generators for d=2,3 and a choice of a $\delta=\sqrt{\det \rho(\sigma_1)}$ for d=4 or a choice of $\delta=\sqrt[5]{\det \rho(\sigma_1)}$ for d=5. We also s howed that such representations exist whenever the eigenvalues and $\delta$ are not roots of certain polynomials $Q_{ij}^{(d)}$, which are explicitly given. In this case, we construct the matrices via which the generators act on V. As an application of our techniques, we also obtain nontrivial q-versions of some of Deligne's formulas for dimensions of representations of exceptional Lie groups.
Fatigue failure transition analysis in load‐carrying cruciform welded joints based on strain energy density approach

This paper details a study of the application of notch stress intensity theory to the fatigue failure mode analysis of the transition in load-carrying cruciform welded joints. The weldment fatigue crack initiation point is difficult to predict precisely because it usually occurs in the vicinity of the weld toe or weld root. To investigate the relationship between fatigue failure location and the geometry of the weldments, we analysed the weld toe and root asymptotic notch stress fields were analysed using the notch stress intensity factors on the basis of the Williams' solution in Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM). Numerous configurations of cruciform joints of various plate thicknesses, transverse plate thickness, weld sizes and incomplete penetration size were used to investigate the location of the fatigue failure. The strain energy density (SED) surrounding the notch tip was introduced to unify the scalar quantity and preclude the inconsistency of the dimensionality of the notch stress intensity factors for various notch opening angles. The results of the investigation showed that the SED approach can be used to determine the transition zone for a variety of joint geometries. The validity of the SED criteria was verified by comparing the experimental results of this study with the complied results for load-carrying cruciform welded joints reported in literature.
Hypoglycemia Is Independently Associated with Multidimensional Impairment in Elderly Diabetic Patients

Aim. To identify the characteristics associated with multidimensional impairment, evaluated through the Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI), a validated predictive tool for mortality derived from a standardized Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA), in a cohort of elderly diabetic patients treated with oral hypoglycemic drugs. Methods and Results. The study population consisted of 1342 diabetic patients consecutively enrolled in 57 diabetes centers distributed throughout Italy, within the Metabolic Study. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), 65 years old or over, and treatment with oral antidiabetic medications. Data concerning DM duration, medications for DM taken during the 3-month period before inclusion in the study, number of hypoglycemic events, and complications of DM were collected. Multidimensional impairment was assessed using the MPI evaluating functional, cognitive, and nutritional status; risk of pressure sores; comorbidity; number of drugs taken; and cohabitation status. The mean age of participants was 73.3 ± 5.5 years, and the mean MPI score was 0.22 ± 0.13. Multivariate analysis showed that advanced age, female gender, hypoglycemic events, and hospitalization for glycemic decompensation were independently associated with a worse MPI score. Conclusion. Stratification of elderly diabetic patients using the MPI might help to identify those patients at highest risk who need better-tailored treatment.
Evaluation of C4d Deposition and Circulating Antibody in Small Bowel Transplantation

Antibody‐mediated rejection (AMR) consensus criteria are defined in kidney and heart transplantation by histological changes, circulating donor‐specific antibody (DSA), and C4d deposition in affected tissue. AMR consensus criteria are not yet identified in small bowel transplantation (SBTx). We investigated those three criteria in 12 children undergoing SBTx, including one retransplantation and four combined liver‐SBTx (SBTx), with a follow‐up of 12 days to 2 years. All biopsies (91) were evaluated with a standardized grading scheme for acute rejection (AR), vascular lesions and C4d expression. Sera were obtained at day 0 and during the follow‐up. C4d was expressed in 37% of biopsies with or without AR, but in 50% of biopsies with severe vascular lesions. In addition, vascular lesions were always associated with AR and a poor outcome. All children with AR (grade 2 or 3) observed before the third month died or lost the graft. DSA were never found in any studied sera. We found no evidence that C4d deposition was of any clinical relevance to the outcome of SBTx. However, the grading of vascular lesions may constitute a useful marker to identify AR that is potentially resistant to standard treatment, and for which an alternative therapy should be considered.
Characterization of the glutamate transporter in retinal cones of the tiger salamander

L-Glutamate elicits an inwardly rectifying current at hyperpolarized potentials in isolated retinal cones of the tiger salamander, as measured under whole-cell patch clamp. Evidence presented in this article supports the notion that cones possess a high-affinity glutamate transporter. This glutamate-elicited current shows no desensitization over a period of several minutes, and has an affinity (Km) of 10 microM. The inward current is mimicked by the amino acids L- aspartate, D-aspartate, L-cysteate, and to a lesser extent D-glutamate. It is neither blocked by the glutamate receptor antagonists kynurenic acid (1 mM), 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (100 microM), or 2- amino-5-phosphonovalerate (100 microM), nor elicited by the glutamate receptor agonists (100 microM each) kainate, quisqualate, NMDA, or 2- amino-4-phosphonobutyrate. The glutamate-elicited current was reduced by the glutamate transport blockers dihydrokainate (DHKA), DL-threo- beta-hydroxyaspartate (beta HA), and L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4- dicarboxylic acid. When glutamate was present on both sides of the membrane, the blockers reduced both uptake and release; the blocker- sensitive current as a function of membrane potential represents the transport current-voltage relation (I-V), and the reversal potential of the I-V represents the transporter equilibrium potential. This potential was a function of the equilibrium potential for glutamate. DHKA and beta HA depolarized horizontal cells in a retinal slice, and abolished their light responses, suggesting that in the absence of glutamate transport, glutamate concentrations in the cleft rise to a level that saturates the postsynaptic receptors. The high capacity of the cone glutamate transporter is well suited for the rapid removal of glutamate from the synaptic cleft required for the signaling of a light onset to postsynaptic cells.
Chromosome examinations in aged twins.

Since the first report of increasing aneuploidy with increasing age (Jacobs et al. 1961), attempts at replication have met with varied success. While later studies by the Edinburgh group (Jacobs et al. 1963, 1964) and by Hamerton et al. (1965) confirmed the initial findings, Bloom et al. (1967) failed to demonstrate an increase in aneuploidy with age. Further accumulation of data in Edinburgh (Court Brown et al. 1966), as well as a population survey in Buffalo, New York (Sandberg et al. 1967), demonstrated a significant excess hypodiploidy only for older females. Two studies limited to females (Nielsen 1968; Goodman et al. 1969) also recorded a higher percentage of aneuploidy for older than for younger women and, like previous reports, attributed the increase chiefly to the loss of an X chromosome with a consequent surplus of XO cells. The increased hypodiploidy when described in males began only in the seventh decade (Court Brown et al. 1966); yet relatively few persons in the highest age groups have been reported. The mean ages for the oldest men range from 66.5 to 72.8 years. To our knowledge, there are no reports in the literature on chromosome findings in aging twins. The purpose of this communication is to present the results of chromosome examinations of 61 twins (23 males and 38 females) ranging in age from 77 to 93 years with a mean age of 84.5 years for both men and women, and to determine whether, analogous to in vitro aging (Hayflick and Moorhead 1961; Hay-flick 1966), deviations from the diploid chromosome number increase with chronological age as the upper limit of the human life span is approached. For comparison, 30 subjects (15 males and 15 females) between the ages of 17 and 35 years (mean age 25.1 years formen, 27.3 years for women) were also examined.
A Comparison of Superficial Versus Combined (Superficial and Deep) Cervical Plexus Block for Carotid Endarterectomy: A Prospective, Randomized Study

Carotid endarterectomy may be performed by using cervical plexus blockade with local anesthetic supplementation by the surgeon during surgery. Most practitioners use either a superficial cervical plexus block or a combined (superficial and deep) block, but it is unclear which offers the best operative conditions or greatest patient satisfaction. We compared the two techniques in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. Forty patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy were randomized to receive either a superficial or a combined cervical plexus block. Bupivacaine 0.375% to a total dose of 1.4 mg/kg was used. The main outcome measure was the amount of supplemental lidocaine 1% used by the surgeon. Subsidiary outcome measures were postoperative pain score, sedative and analgesic requirements before and during surgery, and postoperative analgesic requirements. Median supplemental lidocaine requirements were 100 mg (range 30–180 mg) in the superficial block group and 115 mg (range 30–250 mg) in the combined block group. These differences were not statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U-test). There was no significant difference in the number of patients needing postoperative analgesia between the groups (11 of 20 in the deep block group versus 8 of 20 in the superficial block group) in the 24 h after surgery. The median time to first analgesia in the superficial block group was 150 min, more than in the combined block group (median time 45 min) but this difference, although large, was not statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U-test). We found no significant differences between the anesthetic techniques studied. All patients reported satisfaction with the techniques. Implications Carotid endarterectomy may be performed satisfactorily by using either superficial or combined block, and it is found that peroperative lidocaine requirements will be the same regardless of which block is used. The decision to use one block or the other might, therefore, reasonably be influenced by the relative safety of the superficial block compared with the combined block, because previous work suggests the deep injection is associated with a more frequent complication rate.
The Search for Common Sense: An Electrophysiological Study of the Comprehension of Words and Pictures in Reading

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) from 26 scalp sites were used to investigate whether or not and, if so, the extent to which the brain processes subserving the understanding of imageable written words and line drawings are identical. Sentences were presented one word at a time to 28 undergraduates for comprehension. Each sentence ended with either a written word (regular sentences) or with a line drawing (rebus sentences) that rendered it semantically congruous or semantically incongruous. For half of the subjects regular and rebus sentences were randomly intermixed whereas for the remaining half the regular and rebus sentences were presented in separate blocks (affording within-subject comparisons in both cases). In both presentation formats, words and line drawings generated greater negativity between 325 and 475 msec post-stimulus in ERPs to incongruous relative to congruous sentence endings (i.e., an N400-like effect). While the time course of this negativity was remarkably similar for words and pictures, there were notable differences in their scalp distributions; specifically, the classic N400 effect for words was larger posteriorly than it was for pictures. The congruity effect for pictures but not for words was also associated with a longer duration (lower frequency) negativity over frontal sites. In addition, under the mixed presentation mode, the N400 effect peaked about 30 msec earlier for pictures than for words. All in all, the data suggest that written words and pictures when they terminate sentences are processed similarly, but by at least partially nonoverlapping brain areas.
eNOS overexpression exacerbates vascular closure in the obliterative phase of OIR and increases angiogenic drive in the subsequent proliferative stage.

PURPOSE In ischemic retinopathies, the misdirection of reparative angiogenesis away from the hypoxic retina leads to pathologic neovascularization. Thus, therapeutic strategies that reverse this trend would be extremely beneficial. Nitric oxide (NO) produced by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is an important mediator of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) function facilitating vascular growth and maturation. However, in addition to NO, eNOS can also produce superoxide (O(2)(-)), exacerbating pathology. Here, our aim was to investigate the effect of eNOS overexpression on vascular closure and subsequent recovery of the ischemic retina. METHODS Mice overexpressing eNOS-GFP were subjected to oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) and changes in retinal vascularization quantified. Background angiogenic drive was assessed during vascular development and in aortic rings. NOS activity was measured by Griess assay or conversion of radiolabeled arginine to citrulline, nitrotyrosine (NT), and superoxide by immunolabeling and dihydroethidium fluorescence and VEGF by ELISA. RESULTS In response to hyperoxia, enhanced eNOS expression led to increased NOS-derived superoxide and dysfunctional NO production, NT accumulation, and exacerbated vessel closure associated with tetrahydrobiopterin (BH₄) insufficiency. Despite worse vaso-obliteration, eNOS overexpression resulted in elevated hypoxia-induced angiogenic drive, independent of VEGF production. This correlated with increased vascular branching similar to that observed in isolated aortas and during development. Enhanced recovery was also associated with neovascular tuft formation, which showed defective NO production and increased eNOS-derived superoxide and NT levels. CONCLUSIONS In hyperoxia, reduced BH₄ bioavailability causes overexpressed eNOS to become dysfunctional, exacerbating vaso-obliteration. In the proliferative phase, however, eNOS has important prorepair functions enhancing angiogenic growth potential and recovery in ischemia.
Solution structure and mutational analysis of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide binding to the extracellular domain of PAC1-RS

The pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) receptor is a class II G protein-coupled receptor that contributes to many different cellular functions including neurotransmission, neuronal survival, and synaptic plasticity. The solution structure of the potent antagonist PACAP (residues 6′–38′) complexed to the N-terminal extracellular (EC) domain of the human splice variant hPAC1-R-short (hPAC1-RS) was determined by NMR. The PACAP peptide adopts a helical conformation when bound to hPAC1-RS with a bend at residue A18′ and makes extensive hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions along the exposed β-sheet and interconnecting loops of the N-terminal EC domain. Mutagenesis data on both the peptide and the receptor delineate the critical interactions between the C terminus of the peptide and the C terminus of the EC domain that define the high affinity and specificity of hormone binding to hPAC1-RS. These results present a structural basis for hPAC1-RS selectivity for PACAP versus the vasoactive intestinal peptide and also differentiate PACAP residues involved in binding to the N-terminal extracellular domain versus other parts of the full-length hPAC1-RS receptor. The structural, mutational, and binding data are consistent with a model for peptide binding in which the C terminus of the peptide hormone interacts almost exclusively with the N-terminal EC domain, whereas the central region makes contacts to both the N-terminal and other extracellular parts of the receptor, ultimately positioning the N terminus of the peptide to contact the transmembrane region and result in receptor activation.
MicroRNA-202-3p Inhibits Cell Proliferation by Targeting ADP-Ribosylation Factor-like 5A in Human Colorectal Carcinoma

Purpose: MicroRNAs (miRNA) that are strongly implicated in carcinogenesis have recently reshaped our understanding of the role of non–protein-coding RNAs. Here, we focused on the function and molecular mechanism of miR-202-3p and its potential clinical application in colorectal cancer. Experimental Design: miR-202-3p expression was determined by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) in 94 colorectal cancer tissues and corresponding noncancerous tissues (NCT). Cell proliferation and colony formation assays in vitro and xenograft experiments in vivo were used to evaluate the effect of miR-202-3p on colorectal cancer cell proliferation. Luciferase assay and Western blot analysis were performed to validate the potential targets of miR-202-3p after the preliminary screening by online prediction and microarray analysis. The mRNA and protein levels of target genes were detected by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining. The copy number of pre-miR-202 was measured by quantitative PCR. Results: First, miR-202-3p was significantly downregulated in 46.7% colorectal cancer samples compared with NCTs. The overexpression of miR-202-3p inhibited colorectal cancer cell growth in vitro and repressed tumorigenesis in nude mice. Then, miR-202-3p downregulated ADP-ribosylation factor-like 5A (ARL5A) protein level by binding to its 3′ untranslated region, and knockdown of ARL5A phenocopied the proliferation inhibition effect of miR-202-3p. Furthermore, both of ARL5A mRNA and protein levels were upregulated in colorectal cancer samples compared with NCTs and high ARL5A protein levels predicted a poor prognosis. Conclusions: miR-202-3p might function as a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer, and ARL5A, the functional target of miR-202-3p in colorectal cancer, is a potential prognostic factor for colorectal cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 20(5); 1146–57. ©2013 AACR.
From TREC to DUC to TREC Again

The Document Understanding Conference (DUC) uses TREC data as a test bed for algorithms for single and multiple document summarization. For the 2003 DUC task of choosing relevant and novel sentences, we tested a system based on a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). In this work, we use variations of this system on the tasks of the TREC Novelty Track for finding relevant and new sentences. Our complete information retrieval system couples a query handler, a document clusterer, and a summary generator with a convenient user interface. For the TREC tasks, we use only the summarization part of the system, based on an HMM, to find relevant sentences in a document and we use linear algebra techniques to determine the new sentences among these. For the tasks in the 2003 TREC Novelty Track we used a simple preprocessing of the data which consisted of term tokenization and SGML DTD processing. Details of each of these methods are presented in Section 2. The algorithms for choosing relevant sentences were tuned versions of those presented by members of our group in the past DUC evaluations (see [5, 8, 15] for more details). The enhancements to the previous system are detailed in Section 3. Several methods were explored to find a subset of the relevant sentences that had good coverage but low redundancy. In our multi-document summarization system, we used the QR algorithm on term-sentence matrices. For this work, we explored the use of the singular value decomposition as well as two variants of the QR algorithm. These methods are defined in Section 4. The evaluation of these methods is discussed in Section 5.