Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles through Reduction with Solanum xanthocarpum L. Berry Extract: Characterization, Antimicrobial and Urease Inhibitory Activities against Helicobacter pylori

A green synthesis route for the production of silver nanoparticles using methanol extract from Solanum xanthocarpum berry (SXE) is reported in the present investigation. Silver nanoparticles (AgNps), having a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band centered at 406 nm, were synthesized by reacting SXE (as capping as well as reducing agent) with AgNO3 during a 25 min process at 45 °C. The synthesized AgNps were characterized using UV–Visible spectrophotometry, powdered X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that the time of reaction, temperature and volume ratio of SXE to AgNO3 could accelerate the reduction rate of Ag+ and affect the AgNps size and shape. The nanoparticles were found to be about 10 nm in size, mono-dispersed in nature, and spherical in shape. In vitro anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of synthesized AgNps was tested against 34 clinical isolates and two reference strains of Helicobacter pylori by the agar dilution method and compared with AgNO3 and four standard drugs, namely amoxicillin (AMX), clarithromycin (CLA), metronidazole (MNZ) and tetracycline (TET), being used in anti-H. pylori therapy. Typical AgNps sample (S1) effectively inhibited the growth of H. pylori, indicating a stronger anti-H. pylori activity than that of AgNO3 or MNZ, being almost equally potent to TET and less potent than AMX and CLA. AgNps under study were found to be equally efficient against the antibiotic-resistant and antibiotic-susceptible strains of H. pylori. Besides, in the H. pylori urease inhibitory assay, S1 also exhibited a significant inhibition. Lineweaver-Burk plots revealed that the mechanism of inhibition was noncompetitive.
Anti-fibrillarin antibodies in systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the nature and extent of organ involvement in anti-fibrillarin antibody (AFA)-positive patients within a UK systemic sclerosis (SSc) population. METHODS We investigated 1026 consecutive patients with SSc. AFA was identified by the characteristic clumpy nucleolar and coilin body pattern of staining in interphase cells and staining of fibrillarin in metaphase cells by indirect immunofluorescence using HEp-2 cells. Identity of the 34-kDa fibrillarin protein was confirmed by immunoprecipitation from [(35)S]methionine-labelled HeLa cell extract. RESULTS AFA was detected in 42 patients (4.1%) with early disease onset (mean age 36 yr). Sixteen (38%) patients had limited cutaneous (lcSSc) and 26 (62%) diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc). All eight Afro-Caribbean patients with AFA had dcSSc whereas the Caucasians were equally divided between dcSSc and lcSSc. Within the dcSSc subgroup, 54% had myositis, 35% had pulmonary hypertension, 15% had cardiac involvement and 23% had renal involvement. CONCLUSIONS AFA identifies young SSc patients with frequent internal organ involvement, especially pulmonary hypertension, myositis and renal disease. In contrast to previous reports, AFA was not restricted to dcSSc patients in Caucasians.
Identified motoneurons and their innervation of axial muscles in the zebrafish

The organization of spinal cord motoneurons and their innervation of axial (white) muscles in the zebrafish were studied. Motoneurons can be divided into 2 classes, primary and secondary, on the basis of their cell-body sizes and positions. Each side of each spinal segment contains 3 primary motoneurons that are uniquely identifiable as individuals by their stereotyped cell-body positions and peripheral branching patterns. Moreover, these motoneurons precisely innervate cell-specific subsets of contiguous muscle fibers in mutually exclusive regions of their own body segment. Individual muscle fibers receive inputs from a single primary motoneuron and, in addition, from up to 3 secondary motoneurons. The results demonstrate that the precision of innervation previously described in invertebrates is also present in some vertebrates.
QUOTE: “Querying” Users as Oracles in Tag Engines a Semi-Supervised Learning Approach to Personalized Image Tagging

Previous work has correctly identified that many of the tags that users provide on images are not visually relevant, and subsequently assume such user generated tags are noise or irrelevant. Another assumption about user generated tags is that the order of these tags provides no useful information for the prediction of tags on future images. We challenge the aforementioned assumptions, and provide a machine learning approach to the problem of personalized image tagging with the following contributions: 1. ) We reformulate the personalized image tagging problem as a search/retrieval ranking problem, 2. ) We leverage the order of tags, which does not always reflect visual relevance, provided by the user in the past as a cue to their tag preferences, similar to click data, 3. ) We propose a technique to augment sparse user tag data (semi-supervision), and 4. ) We demonstrate the efficacy of our method on a subset of Flickr images, showing improvement over our previous methods.
Functional connectivity of the entorhinal–hippocampal space circuit

The mammalian space circuit is known to contain several functionally specialized cell types, such as place cells in the hippocampus and grid cells, head-direction cells and border cells in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC). The interaction between the entorhinal and hippocampal spatial representations is poorly understood, however. We have developed an optogenetic strategy to identify functionally defined cell types in the MEC that project directly to the hippocampus. By expressing channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) selectively in the hippocampus-projecting subset of entorhinal projection neurons, we were able to use light-evoked discharge as an instrument to determine whether specific entorhinal cell groups—such as grid cells, border cells and head-direction cells—have direct hippocampal projections. Photoinduced firing was observed at fixed minimal latencies in all functional cell categories, with grid cells as the most abundant hippocampus-projecting spatial cell type. We discuss how photoexcitation experiments can be used to distinguish the subset of hippocampus-projecting entorhinal neurons from neurons that are activated indirectly through the network. The functional breadth of entorhinal input implied by this analysis opens up the potential for rich dynamic interactions between place cells in the hippocampus and different functional cell types in the entorhinal cortex (EC).
Smart Distribution: Coupled Microgrids

The distribution system provides major opportunities for smart grid concepts. One way to approach distribution system problems is to rethinking our distribution system to include the integration of high levels of distributed energy resources, using microgrid concepts. Basic objectives are improved reliability, promote high penetration of renewable sources, dynamic islanding, and improved generation efficiencies through the use of waste heat. Managing significant levels of distributed energy resources (DERs) with a wide and dynamic set of resources and control points can become overwhelming. The best way to manage such a system is to break the distribution system down into small clusters or microgrids, with distributed optimizing controls coordinating multimicrogrids. The Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTSs) concept views clustered generation and associated loads as a grid resource or a “microgrid. ” The clustered sources and loads can operate in parallel to the grid or as an island. This grid resource can disconnect from the utility during events (i.e., faults, voltage collapses), but may also intentionally disconnect when the quality of power from the grid falls below certain standards. This paper focuses on DER-based distribution, the basics of microgrids, possibility of smart distribution systems using coupled microgrid and the current state of autonomous microgrid technology.
Anti-HIV Double Variable Domain Immunoglobulins Binding Both gp41 and gp120 for Targeted Delivery of Immunoconjugates

Background Anti-HIV immunoconjugates targeted to the HIV envelope protein may be used to eradicate the latent reservoir of HIV infection using activate-and-purge protocols. Previous studies have identified the two target epitopes most effective for the delivery of cytotoxic immunoconjugates the CD4-binding site of gp120, and the hairpin loop of gp41. Here we construct and test tetravalent double variable domain immunoglobulin molecules (DVD-Igs) that bind to both epitopes. Methods Synthetic genes that encode DVD-Igs utilizing V-domains derived from human anti-gp120 and anti-gp41 Abs were designed and expressed in 293F cells. A series of constructs tested different inter-V-linker domains and orientations of the two V domains. Antibodies were tested for binding to recombinant Ag and native Env expressed on infected cells, for neutralization of infectious HIV, and for their ability to deliver cytotoxic immunoconjugates to infected cells. Findings The outer V-domain was the major determinant of binding and functional activity of the DVD-Ig. Function of the inner V-domain and bifunctional binding required at least 15 AA in the inter-V-domain linker. A molecular model showing the spatial orientation of the two epitopes is consistent with this observation. Linkers that incorporated helical domains (A[EAAAK]nA) resulted in more effective DVD-Igs than those based solely on flexible domains ([GGGGS]n). In general, the DVD-Igs outperformed the less effective parental antibody and equaled the activity of the more effective. The ability of the DVD-Igs to deliver cytotoxic immunoconjugates in the absence of soluble CD4 was improved over that of either parent. Conclusions DVD-Igs can be designed that bind to both gp120 and gp41 on the HIV envelope. DVD-Igs are effective in delivering cytotoxic immunoconjugates. The optimal design of these DVD-Igs, in which both domains are fully functional, has not yet been achieved.
A Multiresolution Approach to the Electric Field Integral Equation in Antenna Problems

This paper deals with a multiresolution approach to the finite-element solution of the electric field integral equation (EFIE) formulation of the boundary value problem for Maxwell equations. After defining a multiresolution set of discretized spaces, each of them is first separated into solenoidal and nonsolenoidal complementary spaces. The possibility of obtaining these two spaces with a scalar-to-vector space mapping is used to consider first two separate scalar wavelet decompositions, and then to transform them properly into the two desired vector finite-element sets, finally joined to obtain the complete multiresolution basis. Numerical results, obtained for real life antennas, are presented to verify the actual sparsity of the system matrix and to show the fast convergence behavior of iterative solvers.
Childhood cancer registry of the province of Torino, Italy: Survival, incidence, and mortality over 20 years

Incident childhood cancers in the Province of Torino, Italy (population aged 0 to 14 years averaging 0,5 million) have been registered since 1967. Four population‐based exhaustive surveys have been done to collect cases diagnosed during the periods 1967 to 1969, 1970 to 1975, 1976 to 1981, and 1982 to 1986. For each registered child, vital status on June 30, 1988 was assessed. This article reports incidence, mortality, and survival rates over a 20‐year period. A statistically significant trend toward an increased incidence of soft tissue sarcomas was identified. Statistically insignificant trends included an increased incidence of brain tumors (probably reflecting improved diagnostic procedures) and a decreased incidence of thyroid tumors. Incidence rates of leukemias in the first year of life tended to decrease. As expected, survival rates of some childhood cancers dramatically improved throughout the 20‐year period; this occurred in leukemias, brain tumors, soft tissue sarcomas, and renal tumors. Survival rates are compared with observations in comparable population‐based series.
The Myocardial Energetic Active State: I. Oxygen Consumption during Tetanus of Cat Papillary Muscle

The potential role of active state maintenance as a determinant of myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2) has not been defined. Right ventricular papillary muscles from 15 cats were studied in a polarograpbic myograph at 13°C in a Krebs-Ringer solution containing 7.5 m.M Ca2+ and 10 rnM caffeine. MVO, was determined for isometric tetani at Lmax of 1–5 seconds' duration. Increases in tetanus duration related linearly to increments in both active tension - time (/active tension) and MVO2. In order to examine the oxygen cost of active state maintenance not attributable to associated tension generation, both the same isometric and 2.5- to 10.0-second lightly preloaded isotonic tetani were produced in nine muscles. For each tetanus duration the contribution throughout the contraction of developed force (preload) to MVO, could be subtracted from overall isotonic MVO2. In the absence of The MVO2 associated with force development, the active state duration was related linearly to MVO,, with a mean active state MVO, of 2.42 ± 0.29 nl O2/mg dry muscle/sec of isotonic tetanus; this MVO2 is 68% of the value of 3.58 ± 0.42 nl O2/mg dry musde/sec that was obtained for isometric tetanus at Lmar. This study identifies active state maintenance as the major determinant of MVO2 during myocardial tetanus and, furthermore, suggests the possibility that alterations in active state intensity and duration may be the biochemical mechanism by which other determinants of MVO2 act in a more physiological setting.
Dinosaur diversity and the rock record

Palaeobiodiversity analysis underpins macroevolutionary investigations, allowing identification of mass extinctions and adaptive radiations. However, recent large-scale studies on marine invertebrates indicate that geological factors play a central role in moulding the shape of diversity curves and imply that many features of such curves represent sampling artefacts, rather than genuine evolutionary events. In order to test whether similar biases affect diversity estimates for terrestrial taxa, we compiled genus-richness estimates for three Mesozoic dinosaur clades (Ornithischia, Sauropodomorpha and Theropoda). Linear models of expected genus richness were constructed for each clade, using the number of dinosaur-bearing formations available through time as a proxy for the amount of fossiliferous rock outcrop. Modelled diversity estimates were then compared with observed patterns. Strong statistically robust correlations demonstrate that almost all aspects of ornithischian and theropod diversity curves can be explained by geological megabiases, whereas the sauropodomorph record diverges from modelled predictions and may be a stronger contender for identifying evolutionary signals. In contrast to other recent studies, we identify a marked decline in dinosaur genus richness during the closing stages of the Cretaceous Period, indicating that the clade decreased in diversity for several million years prior to the final extinction of non-avian dinosaurs at the Cretaceous–Palaeocene boundary.
Molecular Characterization and Substrate Specificity of Nitrobenzene Dioxygenase from Comamonas sp. Strain JS765

ABSTRACT Comamonas sp. strain JS765 can grow with nitrobenzene as the sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy. We report here the sequence of the genes encoding nitrobenzene dioxygenase (NBDO), which catalyzes the first step in the degradation of nitrobenzene by strain JS765. The components of NBDO were designated ReductaseNBZ, FerredoxinNBZ, OxygenaseNBZα, and OxygenaseNBZβ, with the gene designations nbzAa, nbzAb, nbzAc, and nbzAd, respectively. Sequence analysis showed that the components of NBDO have a high level of homology with the naphthalene family of Rieske nonheme iron oxygenases, in particular, 2-nitrotoluene dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain JS42. The enzyme oxidizes a wide range of substrates, and relative reaction rates with partially purified OxygenaseNBZ revealed a preference for 3-nitrotoluene, which was shown to be a growth substrate for JS765. NBDO is the first member of the naphthalene family of Rieske nonheme iron oxygenases reported to oxidize all of the isomers of mono- and dinitrotoluenes with the concomitant release of nitrite.
Experimental IUGR and later diabetes

It is widely accepted that an association exists between the intrauterine environment in which a fetus grows and develops and the subsequent development of type 2 diabetes. Any disturbance in maternal ability to provide nutrients and oxygen to the fetus can lead to fetal intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Here we will review IUGR in rodent models, in which maternal metabolism has been experimentally manipulated to investigate the molecular basis of the relationship between IUGR and development of type 2 diabetes in later life, and the identification of the molecular derangements in specific metabolically ‐ sensitive organs/tissues.
Neural Correlates of Single- and Dual-Task Walking in the Real World

Recent developments in mobile brain-body imaging (MoBI) technologies have enabled studies of human locomotion where subjects are able to move freely in more ecologically valid scenarios. In this study, MoBI was employed to describe the behavioral and neurophysiological aspects of three different commonly occurring walking conditions in healthy adults. The experimental conditions were self-paced walking, walking while conversing with a friend and lastly walking while texting with a smartphone. We hypothesized that gait performance would decrease with increased cognitive demands and that condition-specific neural activation would involve condition-specific brain areas. Gait kinematics and high density electroencephalography (EEG) were recorded whilst walking around a university campus. Conditions with dual tasks were accompanied by decreased gait performance. Walking while conversing was associated with an increase of theta (θ) and beta (β) neural power in electrodes located over left-frontal and right parietal regions, whereas walking while texting was associated with a decrease of β neural power in a cluster of electrodes over the frontal-premotor and sensorimotor cortices when compared to walking whilst conversing. In conclusion, the behavioral “signatures” of common real-life activities performed outside the laboratory environment were accompanied by differing frequency-specific neural “biomarkers”. The current findings encourage the study of the neural biomarkers of disrupted gait control in neurologically impaired patients.
Cross-hierarchical communication in Twitter conflicts

Social hierarchy plays an important role in shaping the way individuals interacting with each other. In this study, we propose three metrics: equality, diversity, and reciprocity to evaluate the social hierarchical differences in cross-ideological communication on Twitter. We do this within the context of three diverse conflicts: Israel-Palestine, US Democrats-Republicans, and FC Barcelona-Real Madrid. In all cases, we collect data around a central pair of Twitter accounts representing the two main parties. Our results show in a quantitative manner that social hierarchy can be considered a factor that impacts individual's communication in Twitter conflicts. As one of the first literatures in this area, we demonstrate social hierarchy's effect in online environments.
An “AI readability” Formula for French as a Foreign Language

This paper present a new readability formula for French as a foreign language (FFL), which relies on 46 textual features representative of the lexical, syntactic, and semantic levels as well as some of the speciﬁcities of the FFL context. We report comparisons between several techniques for feature selection and various learning algorithms. Our best model, based on support vector machines (SVM), sig-niﬁcantly outperforms previous FFL formulas. We also found that semantic features behave poorly in our case, in contrast with some previous readability studies on English as a ﬁrst language.
Speech driven trunk motion generating system based on physical constraint

We developed a method to automatically generate humanlike trunk motions (neck and waist motions) of a conversational android from its speech in real time. It is based on a spring-damper dynamical model to simulate a human's trunk movement involved in speech. Differing from the existing methods based on machine learning, our system can easily modulate the motions generated due to speech patterns since the parameters in the model correspond to muscle stiffness. The experimental result showed that the android motions generated by our model could be perceived as more natural and motivate participants to talk with the android more, compared with simple copying of human motions.
Parallel algorithms for standard cell placement using simulated annealing

Parallel Architecture Applications ProperEXT Extraction ProperDRC Layout Verification ProperTEST ATPG ProperGATEST ATPG ProperSYN Synthesis ProperMIS Synthesis ProperPLACE Placement ProperROUTE Routing ProperHITEC ATPG ProperPROOFS Fault Simulation ProperSIM Circuit Simulation ProperVHDL VHDL Simulation MIS/SIS HITEC/PROOFS TimberWolfSC . 6 Existing Serial Algorithms Parallel Application Figure 1.1: An overview of the ProperCAD project. for unstructured problems. ProperCAD II is an object-oriented library supporting the design of actor-based parallel programs [3, 6]. The library easily allows the design of data structures with parallel semantics for use in irregular applications. Because the foundation is based on C++, inheritance mechanisms allow creation of the distributed data structures from standard C++ objects. The major goal of the ProperCAD project [7] is to develop portable parallel algorithms for VLSI CAD applications that will run on a range of parallel machines including shared memory multiprocessors such as the Sun SparcServer 1000E and the SGI Challenge, distributed memory multicomputers such as the Intel Paragon, IBM SP-2, and Thinking Machines CM-5, and networks of workstations (Figure 1.1). The domain of VLSI CAD provides a rich class of irregular problems. With the rapid advances in VLSI process technology, increasingly complex circuit designs are placing ever higher demands on CAD tools. The computational intensity of these tools makes parallel processing an attractive solution [5]. However, most applications in this area are characterized by complex interrelated data structures as well as irregular access patterns across these objects. These
Effect of Melatonin on the Expression of Apoptotic Genes in Vitrified-thawed Spermatogonia Stem Cells Type A of 6-Day-Old Mice

Objective(s): Being secreted by the pineal gland, melatonin induces cell proliferation in normal cells and induced apoptosis in cancer cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of melatonin on main components and the expression of apoptotic genes in vitrified-thawed testicular germ cells of 6- day–old mice. Materials and Methods: Testes of neonate Balb/c mice were vitrified- thawed under standard condition with or without the addition of 100 μM melatonin to both vitrification and thawing solutions. Subsequently, Vitrified-thawed whole testes were digested under standard condition and spermatogonial stem cells type A were separate in the suspension with CD90.1 (Thy1.1+) micro beads. Extraction of RNA and synthesis of cDNA was performed. Expression levels of apoptotic genes (Fas, P53, BCL-2 and BAX) were determined using Real-time PCR. Results : With all genes being expressed, level of expression for Fas was higher and for that of P-53 was lower than the remaining genes. Conclusion : Melatonin may cause apoptosis in cells being damaged under the influence of freezing thawing process. In order to examine the exact effects of melatonin on spermatogonia stem cells apoptosis, additional studies are required.