Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extracellular Caspase-8 Dependent Apoptosis on HeLa Cancer Cells and MRC-5 Normal Cells by ICD-85 (Venom Derived Peptides)

Background Our previous studies revealed an inhibitory effect of ICD-85 (venom derived peptides) on MDA-MB231 and HL-60 cell lines, through induction of apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate apoptosis-induced mechanism on HeLa and MRC-5 cells by ICD-85 through activation of caspase-8. Methods Cell viability, cytosolic enzyme Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) and cell morphology were assessed under unexposed and ICD-85 exposed conditions.Caspase-8 activity was assayed by caspase-8 colorimetric assay Kit. Results The results show that Inhibitory Concentration 50% (IC50) value of ICD-85 for HeLa cells at 24 h was estimated and found to be 25.32±2.15 µg/mL. Furthermore, treatment of HeLa cells with ICD-85 at concentrations of 1.6×10 and 2.6×10 µg/mL did not significantly increase LDH release. Morphological changes in HeLa cells on treatment with ICD-85 compared with untreated HeLa cells consistent with an apoptotic mechanism of cell death, such as cell shrinkage which finally results in the generation of apoptotic bodies. However, when MRC-5 cells were exposed to ICD-85, no significant changes in cell morphology and LDH were observed at concentrations below 2.6×10µg/ml. Also, the apoptosis-induction mechanism by ICD-85 on HeLa cells was found through activation of caspase-8 and the activity of caspase-8 in HeLa cells was 1.5 folds more than its activity on MRC-5 cells. Conclusion Therefore, the apoptosis-induced mechanisms by ICD-85 are through activation of caspase-8 and concerning the least cytotoxic effect on MRC-5 cells, ICD-85 may be used as anticancer compound to inhibit growth of cancer cells.
Comparative Analysis of the Peanut Witches'-Broom Phytoplasma Genome Reveals Horizontal Transfer of Potential Mobile Units and Effectors

Phytoplasmas are a group of bacteria that are associated with hundreds of plant diseases. Due to their economical importance and the difficulties involved in the experimental study of these obligate pathogens, genome sequencing and comparative analysis have been utilized as powerful tools to understand phytoplasma biology. To date four complete phytoplasma genome sequences have been published. However, these four strains represent limited phylogenetic diversity. In this study, we report the shotgun sequencing and evolutionary analysis of a peanut witches'-broom (PnWB) phytoplasma genome. The availability of this genome provides the first representative of the 16SrII group and substantially improves the taxon sampling to investigate genome evolution. The draft genome assembly contains 13 chromosomal contigs with a total size of 562,473 bp, covering ∼90% of the chromosome. Additionally, a complete plasmid sequence is included. Comparisons among the five available phytoplasma genomes reveal the differentiations in gene content and metabolic capacity. Notably, phylogenetic inferences of the potential mobile units (PMUs) in these genomes indicate that horizontal transfer may have occurred between divergent phytoplasma lineages. Because many effectors are associated with PMUs, the horizontal transfer of these transposon-like elements can contribute to the adaptation and diversification of these pathogens. In summary, the findings from this study highlight the importance of improving taxon sampling when investigating genome evolution. Moreover, the currently available sequences are inadequate to fully characterize the pan-genome of phytoplasmas. Future genome sequencing efforts to expand phylogenetic diversity are essential in improving our understanding of phytoplasma evolution.
A Method to Compute Multiplicity Corrected Confidence Intervals for Odds Ratios and Other Relative Effect Estimates

Epidemiological studies commonly test multiple null hypotheses. In some situations it may be appropriate to account for multiplicity using statistical methodology rather than simply interpreting results with greater caution as the number of comparisons increases. Given the one-to-one relationship that exists between confidence intervals and hypothesis tests, we derive a method based upon the Hochberg step-up procedure to obtain multiplicity corrected confidence intervals (CI) for odds ratios (OR) and by analogy for other relative effect estimates. In contrast to previously published methods that explicitly assume knowledge of P values, this method only requires that relative effect estimates and corresponding CI be known for each comparison to obtain multiplicity corrected CI.
Paging Schemes Adaptive to Mobile Host Parameters

One of the remaining issues of Mobile IP is a mobile host (MH) needs to update its location each time it moves from one subnet to another, even when it is in dormant mode while roaming. This practice is apparently not efficient in terms of location update cost and power consumption. Recent research works have attempted to address that problem by extending Mobile IP with a layer 3 paging mechanism so-called IP paging. Particularly, IP Individual Paging schemes, which are customized to each MH, have attracted considerable interest of researchers. The employment of adaptability in some manner to MH parameters in order to enhance the efficiency of IP paging schemes is probably a promising approach. In this paper, we present an analysis on the effects of both host-adaptability and time-adaptability to MH parameters in Individual Paging schemes by comparing the signaling cost of an adaptive Individual Paging scheme to that of a non-adaptive counterpart. From our analysis, specifying the optimal paging area (PA) is critical in saving signaling cost of IP paging. Thus, our investigation is focused on the adaptability of PA to maintain its optimality. key words: mobile IP, IP paging, individual paging
Spatial Vector Solitons in Nonlinear Photonic Crystal Fibers

We study spatial vector solitons in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) made of a material with the focusing Kerr nonlinearity. We show that such two‐component localized nonlinear waves consist of two mutually trapped components confined by the PCF linear and the self‐induced nonlinear refractive indices, and they bifurcate from the corresponding scalar solitons. We demonstrate that, in a sharp contrast with an entirely homogeneous nonlinear Kerr medium where both scalar and vector spatial solitons are unstable and may collapse, the periodic structure of PCF can stabilize the otherwise unstable two‐dimensional spatial optical solitons. We apply the matrix criterion for stability of these two‐parameter solitons, and verify it by direct numerical simulations.
Fundamental parameters of Galactic luminous OB stars VI. Temperatures, masses and WLR of Cyg OB2 supergiants ?

We have analyzed six OB supergiants and one giant covering spectral types from O3 to B1 in the Galactic OB as- sociation Cyg OB2 by means of an updated version of FASTWIND (Santolaya-Rey et al. 1997) that includes an approximate treatment of metal line blocking and blanketing. This large coverage in spectral type allows us to derive a new temperature scale for Galactic O supergiants that is lower than the one obtained by using pure H-He models, either plane-parallel and hydrostatic or spherical with mass-loss. The lower temperatures are thus a combined eect of line blanketing and the large mass-loss rates. In some cases, the newly derived eective temperature is reduced by up to 8000 K. Changes are larger for earlier stars with large mass-loss rates. As a consequence, luminosities are modified as well, which results in a lower number of emerging ionizing photons and reduces the mass discrepancy. Although there are still significant dierences between spectroscopic and evolutionary masses, we do not find any obvious systematic pattern of those dierences. We derive mass-loss rates and the corresponding wind momentum-luminosity relation for the analyzed stars. Although consistent with previous results by Puls et al. (1996) for Galactic stars, our relation is better defined due to a reduction of errors related to stellar distances and points to a possible separation between extreme Of stars (Of + ,O f) and stars with more moderate morphologies. However this finding is
A Class of Linear Generalized Equations

Solution stability of a class of linear generalized equations in finite dimensional Euclidean spaces is investigated by means of generalized differentiation. Exact formulas for the Frechet and the Mordukhovich coderivatives of the normal cone mappings of perturbed Euclidean balls are obtained. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the local Lipschitz-like property of the solution maps of such linear generalized equations are derived from these coderivative formulas. Since the trust-region subproblems in nonlinear programming can be regarded as linear generalized equations, these conditions lead to new results on stability of the parametric trust-region subproblems.
Guarding Programs Against Attacks with Dynamic Data Flow Analysis

The defense of computers against malicious attackers is a gr owing challenge. While techniques have been proposed for guardin g programs against specific attacks, such as buffer overruns and f ormat string attacks, few solutions are flexible enough to deal wit h a wide range of attacks. However, most attacks, known and unknown, involve manipulation of input data to the program—a problem we ll suited to data flow analysis. Many data flow analyses can be performed both statically and dynamically, albeit with different semantics. The dyna mic version—known as dynamic data flow analysis—tracks the flow o f abstract properties as the program executes, and is a form of program monitoring. Furthermore, dynamic data flow analysis ca n accurately monitor security-related flow properties that cur rent methods, such as inlined reference monitors, cannot. Unfortuna tely, a straightforward implementation of dynamic data flow analys is can be prohibitively expensive because it attaches extra state to every object and monitors the program at every statement. This paper presents a system for using dynamic data flow analysis to dynamically monitor programs. We argue that data flow analysis is a flexible mechanism for implementing a wide rang e of program monitors, including security-enforcing monitors . We also show how our system unites static and dynamic data flow analys is: the same specification that defines what to dynamically monit or can also be used to drive a static analysis that optimizes the res ulting system. We apply our system to the construction of monitors that guar d programs against format string vulnerabilities. For a set o f five open-source server programs, we find that 80% of the program statements are instrumented in a straightforward implemen tatio of dynamic data flow analysis. When the corresponding static analysis is used, only 0.5% of the statements are instrumented, t hus demonstrating the power of our system.
Increased host aggression as an induced defense against slave-making ants

Slave-making ants reduce the fitness of surrounding host colonies through regular raids, causing the loss of brood and frequently queen and worker death. Consequently, hosts developed defenses against slave raids such as specific recognition and aggression toward social parasites, and indeed, we show that host ants react more aggressively toward slavemakers than toward nonparasitic competitors. Permanent behavioral defenses can be costly, and if social parasite impact varies in time and space, inducible defenses, which are only expressed after slavemaker detection, can be adaptive. We demonstrate for the first time an induced defense against slave-making ants: Cues from the slavemaker Protomognathus americanus caused an unspecific but long-lasting behavioral response in Temnothorax host ants. A 5-min within-nest encounter with a dead slavemaker raised the aggression level in T. longispinosus host colonies. Contrarily, encounters with nonparasitic competitors did not elicit aggressive responses toward non-nestmates. Increased aggression can be adaptive if a slavemaker encounter reliably indicates a forthcoming attack and if aggression increases postraid survival. Host aggression was elevated over 3 days, showing the ability of host ants to remember parasite encounters. The response disappeared after 2 weeks, possibly because by then the benefits of increased aggression counterbalance potential costs associated with it.
Serum Metalloproteinases 2 and 9 as Predictors of Gait Status, Pressure Ulcer and Mortality after Hip Fracture

Introduction The aim of this study is to evaluate the serum activity of metalloproteinases (MMPs) -2 and -9 as predictors of pressure ulcer (PU), gait status and mortality 6 months after hip fracture. Methods Eighty-seven patients over the age of 65 admitted to the orthopedic unit from January to December 2010 with hip fracture were prospectively evaluated. Upon admission, patient demographic information, including age, gender and concomitant diseases, was recorded. Blood samples were taken for analysis of MMP -2 and -9 activity by gel zymography and for biochemical examination within the first 72 hours of the patient’s admission, after clinical stabilization. The fracture pattern (neck, trochanteric or subtrochanteric), time from admission to surgery, surgery duration and length of hospital stay were also recorded. Results Two patients were excluded due to the presence of pathological fractures (related to cancer), and three patients were excluded due to the presence of PU before admission. Eighty-two patients, with a mean age of 80.4 ± 7.3 years, were included in the analysis. Among these patients, 75.6% were female, 59.8% had PU, and 13.4% died 6 months after hip fracture. All patients underwent hip fracture repair. In a univariate analysis, there were no differences in serum MMP activity between hip fracture patients with or without PU. In addition, the multiple logistic regression analysis models, which were adjusted by age, gender, length of hospital stay and C-reactive protein, showed that the pro-MMP-9 complexed with neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin form (130 kDa) was associated with gait status recovery 6 months after hip fracture. Conclusions In conclusion, serum pro-MMP-9 is a predictor of gait status recovery 6 months after hip fracture.
Infrared Surface Brightness Fluctuations of Magellanic Star Clusters

We present surface brightness fluctuations (SBFs) in the near-IR for 191 Magellanic star clusters available in the Second Incremental and All Sky Data releases of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) and compare them with SBFs of Fornax Cluster galaxies and with predictions from stellar population models as well. We also construct color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) for these clusters using the 2MASS Point Source Catalog (PSC). Our goals are twofold. The first is to provide an empirical calibration of near-IR SBFs, given that existing stellar population synthesis models are particularly discrepant in the near-IR. Second, whereas most previous SBF studies have focused on old, metal-rich populations, this is the first application to a system with such a wide range of ages (~106 to more than 1010 yr, i.e., 4 orders of magnitude), at the same time that the clusters have a very narrow range of metallicities (Z ~ 0.0006-0.01, i.e., 1 order of magnitude only). Since stellar population synthesis models predict a more complex sensitivity of SBFs to metallicity and age in the near-IR than in the optical, this analysis offers a unique way of disentangling the effects of age and metallicity. We find a satisfactory agreement between models and data. We also confirm that near-IR fluctuations and fluctuation colors are mostly driven by age in the Magellanic cluster populations and that in this respect they constitute a sequence in which the Fornax Cluster galaxies fit adequately. Fluctuations are powered by red supergiants with high-mass precursors in young populations and by intermediate-mass stars populating the asymptotic giant branch in intermediate-age populations. For old populations, the trend with age of both fluctuation magnitudes and colors can be explained straightforwardly by evolution in the structure and morphology of the red giant branch. Moreover, fluctuation colors display a tendency to redden with age that can be fitted by a straight line. For the star clusters only, ( - s) = (0.21 ± 0.03) log(age) - (1.29 ± 0.22); once galaxies are included, ( - s) = (0.20 ± 0.02) log(age) - (1.25 ± 0.16). Finally, we use for the first time a Poissonian approach to establish the error bars of fluctuation measurements, instead of the customary Monte Carlo simulations.
Trends in Air Pollution and Mortality: An Approach to the Assessment of Unmeasured Confounding

We propose a method for diagnosing confounding bias under a model that links a spatially and temporally varying exposure and health outcome. We decompose the association into orthogonal components, corresponding to distinct spatial and temporal scales of variation. If the model fully controls for confounding, the exposure effect estimates should be equal at the different temporal and spatial scales. We show that the overall exposure effect estimate is a weighted average of the scale-specific exposure effect estimates. We use this approach to estimate the association between monthly averages of fine particles (PM2.5) over the preceding 12 months and monthly mortality rates in 113 US counties from 2000 to 2002. We decompose the association between PM2.5 and mortality into 2 components: (1) the association between “national trends” in PM2.5 and mortality; and (2) the association between “local trends,” defined as county-specific deviations from national trends. This second component provides evidence as to whether counties having steeper declines in PM2.5 also have steeper declines in mortality relative to their national trends. We find that the exposure effect estimates are different at these 2 spatiotemporal scales, which raises concerns about confounding bias. We believe that the association between trends in PM2.5 and mortality at the national scale is more likely to be confounded than is the association between trends in PM2.5 and mortality at the local scale. If the association at the national scale is set aside, there is little evidence of an association between 12-month exposure to PM2.5 and mortality.
Nucleoprotein structure influences the response of the mouse mammary tumor virus promoter to activation of the cyclic AMP signalling pathway

Recent studies have provided evidence of crosstalk between steroid receptors and cyclic AMP (cAMP) signalling pathways in the regulation of gene expression. A synergism between intracellular phosphorylation inducers and either glucocorticoids or progestins has been shown to occur during activation of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) promoter. We have investigated the effect of 8-Br-cAMP and okadaic acid, modulators of cellular kinases and phosphatases, on the hormone-induced activation of the MMTV promoter in two forms: a transiently transfected template with a disorganized, accessible nucleoprotein structure and a stably replicating template with an ordered, inaccessible nucleoprotein structure. Both okadaic acid and 8-Br-cAMP synergize significantly with either glucocorticoids or progestins in activating the transiently transfected MMTV template. In contrast, 8-Br-cAMP, but not okadaic acid, is antagonistic to hormone-induced activation of the stably replicating MMTV template. Nuclear run-on experiments demonstrate that this inhibition is a transcriptional effect on both hormone-induced transcription and basal transcription. Surprisingly, 8-Br-cAMP does not inhibit glucocorticoid-induced changes in restriction enzyme access and nuclear factor 1 binding. However, association of a complex with the TATA box region is inhibited in the presence of 8-Br-cAMP. Thus, cAMP treatment interferes with the initiation process but does not inhibit interaction of the receptor with the template. Since the replicated, ordered MMTV templates and the transfected, disorganized templates show opposite responses to 8-Br-cAMP treatment, we conclude that chromatin structure can influence the response of a promoter to activation of the cAMP signalling pathway.
Joint Phase Noise Estimation and Data Detection in Coded MIMO Systems

In this paper, the problem of joint oscillator phase noise (PHN) estimation and data detection for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems using bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) is analyzed. A new MIMO receiver that iterates between the estimator and the detector, based on the expectation-maximization (EM) framework, is proposed. It is shown that at high signal-to-noise ratios, a maximum a posteriori estimator (MAP) can be used to carry out the maximization step of the EM algorithm. Moreover, to reduce the computational complexity of the proposed EM algorithm, a soft decision-directed extended Kalman filter-smoother (EKFS) is applied instead of the MAP estimator to track the PHN parameters. Numerical results show that by combining the proposed EKFS based approach with an iterative detector that employs low density parity check (LDPC) codes, PHN can be accurately tracked. Simulations also demonstrate that compared to existing algorithms, the proposed iterative receiver can significantly enhance the performance of MIMO systems in the presence of PHN.
The inhomogeneous ISM toward PKS 1830–211 SW: A detailed view of molecular gas at a look-back time of 7.5 Gyr

Based on measurements with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope, a multiline study of molecular species is presented toward the southwestern source of the gravitational lens system PKS 1830–211, which is by far the best known target for studying molecular gas in absorption at intermediate redshift. Determining line parameters and optical depths and performing large velocity gradient radiative transfer calculations, the aims of this study are (1) to evaluate physical parameters of the absorbing foreground gas at z ~ 0.89, in particular its homogeneity; and (2) to monitor the spectroscopic time variability caused by fluctuations in the z ~ 2.5 background continuum source. We find, that the gas is quite inhomogeneous with n(H2) ~ 2 × 103 cm-3 for most molecular species but with higher values for H2CO and lower ones for SO. Measuring the CS J = 1 ← 0 transition during a time interval of more than a decade, from 2001 to 2012, the peak absorption depth of the line remains approximately constant, while the line shape undergoes notable variations. Covering the time between 1996 and 2013, CS, HCO+, and CH3OH data indicate maximum integrated optical depths in ~2001 and 2011/2012. This is compatible with a ~10 yr periodicity, which, however, needs confirmation by substantially longer time monitoring. Comparing molecular abundances with those of different types of Galactic and nearby extragalactic clouds we find that the observed cloud complex does not correspond to one particular type but to a variety of cloud types with more diffuse and denser components as can be expected for an observed region with a transverse linear scale of several parsec and a likely greater depth along the line of sight. A tentative detection of Galactic absorption in the c-C3H2 110−101 line at 18.343 GHz is also reported.
Developing and Assessing a Music Technology and Coding Workshop for Young Women

This paper discusses a program offered at the University of St. Thomas that promoted interest and confidence in the fundamentals of circuitry and computer programming for girls 13-18 years old. The Code + Chords: Teen Tech program aimed to increase knowledge, awareness, and interest in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) concepts by exposing students to principles of coding and a variety of new technologies in combination with aspects of music. The program emphasized the creativity and design aspects of engineering, the A in STEAM, which are often excluded from STEM outreach programs. Data was collected through brief Google Surveys, weekly student journals in SeeSaw