Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of the substituents of the neighboring ring in the conformational equilibrium of iduronate in heparin-like trisaccharides.

Based on the structure of the regular heparin, we have prepared a smart library of heparin-like trisaccharides by incorporating some sulfate groups in the sequence α-D-GlcNS- (1-4)-α-L-Ido2S-(1-4)-α-D-GlcN. According to the 3D structure of heparin, which features one helix turn every four residues, this fragment corresponds to the minimum binding motif. We have performed a complete NMR study and found that the trisaccharides have a similar 3D structure to regular heparin itself, but their spectral properties are such that allow to extract very detailed information about distances and coupling constants as they are isotropic molecules. The characteristic conformational equilibrium of the central iduronate ring has been analyzed combining NMR and molecular dynamics and the populations of the conformers of the central iduronate ring have been calculated. We have found that in those compounds lacking the sulfate group at position 6 of the reducing end glucosamine, the population of (2)S(0) of the central iduronate residue is sensitive to the temperature decreasing to 19% at 278 K. On the contrary, the trisaccharides with 6-O-sulfate in the reducing end glucosamine keep the level of population constant with temperature circa 40% of (2)S(0) similar to that observed at room temperature. Another structural feature that has been revealed through this analysis is the larger flexibility of the L-IdoAS- D-GlcN glycosidic linkage, compared with the D-GlcNS-L-IdoA. We propose that this is the point where the heparin chain is bended to form structures far from the regular helix known as kink that have been proposed to play an important role in the specificity of the heparin-protein interaction.
Comparison of hemorrhages of different triple antiplatelet therapies in female patients of acute coronary syndrome associated with diabetes after percutaneous coronary intervention

Antiplatelet therapies using aspirin, P2Y12 receptor blockers, and IIb/IIIa receptor blockers have been termed as triple antiplatelet therapies (TAPTs). Female acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients with diabetes have higher incidence of hemorrhages after PCI surgery. In the current study, treatment outcomes and side effects associated with different TAPTs on female ACS patients with diabetes were investigated. Clinicopathological information of 119 female ACS patients with diabetes was collected for the current study. Of the 119 patients, 59 cases received treatment of ticagrelor-based TAPT and 60 cases received treatment of clopidogrel-based TAPT. Moreover, 59 male ACS patients with diabetes, treated with ticagrelor-based TAPT, were used as the control group. Treatment outcomes and side effects of different treatments were assessed by GRACE scores, CRUSADE scores, TIMI grades, TMPG grades, and other parameters. Incidence of pre-infarction angina was significantly higher in male patients, compared with female patients, but the hospitalization duration of females was significantly longer. After PCI surgeries, patients with TMPG level 3 were significantly higher in male patients. Incidence of having angina and arrhythmia in female patients treated with clopidogrel-based TAPT was higher than female patients treated with ticagrelor-based TAPT. However, incidence of hemorrhages in female patients treated with ticagrelor-based TAPT was higher than that of female patients treated with clopidogrel-based or male patients. Ticagrelor-based TAPT has stronger improving effects on ACS but a higher risk of hemorrhaging in female patients with diabetes, compared with clopidogrel-based TAPT.
Comparison of Safety Factor Approaches for UV and Chemical Disinfection

INTRODUCTION The UV Disinfection Guidance Manual (UVDGM) provides test protocols for validating dose delivery and monitoring by UV reactors. Validation involves measuring the dose delivery of the UV reactor under various test conditions of flow, water UV transmittance, and lamp output, and verifying the ability of the reactors monitoring system to indicate that dose delivery. The test conditions should span the operating range of these variables expected at the water treatment plant (WTP) where the reactor will be installed (USEPA, 2003).
A Theoretical Framework of the Impact of Price Transparency on Pricing in the Lodging Industry

Facilitated by electronic market places, price transparency has gained momentum in influencing hotel pricing and aroused heightened stakeholder interest recently in the lodging industry. However, there lacks a theoretical framework that explains the impact of price transparency on pricing and widely different opinions appear to introduce confusions to industry practitioners. Therefore, this study is designed to reveal a theoretical framework of the impact of price transparency on pricing for the lodging industry and offer relevant managerial implications.
1 Effect of feeding frequency and various shelter of blue swimming crab larvae , Portunus pelagicus ( Linnaeus , 1758 )

The objectives of this experiment were to improve blue swimming crab, Portunus pelagicus, rearing techniques by investigating: (1) the applied frequency of feeding and (2) the effect of shelter on crab larvae survival. The results showed that the feeding frequency at 2 times (0900 hrs and 1500 hrs), 4 times (0700 hrs, 1300 hrs, 1900 hrs and 2300 hrs) and 6 times (0700 hrs, 1100 hrs, 1500 hrs, 1900 hrs, 2300 hrs and 0300 hrs) per day did not affect the survival rate of crab larvae from the zoea I (Z1) to first crab (C1) stages. The survival rate of crab larvae from the megalopa (M) to C1 stages with shelter was higher than without shelter, and the type of shelter affected the survival rate of the crab larvae. The survival rate of the C1 stage with artificial seaweed made of plastic shield membrane (36.61±3.64%) and artificial seaweed made of polyvinyl rope (35.79±6.04%) as shelters were not significantly different and higher than for artificial plastic grass as shelter (22.18±4.00%). In addition, the * Corresponding author, E-mail address: toey.oniam@gmail.com
Fatty acid‐binding protein 5 function in hepatocellular carcinoma through induction of epithelial–mesenchymal transition

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly prevalent cancer with poor prognosis. The correlation between overexpression of fatty acid‐binding protein 5 (FABP5) and malignant potential of tumor growth and metastasis in several cancers has been previously reported. However, the correlation between FABP5 expression and HCC malignant behavior remains unknown. We compared FABP5 expression and patient characteristics in paired HCC and adjacent noncancerous liver tissues from 243 patients who underwent surgical resection of primary HCC. Cell proliferation, invasion, and migration assays were performed in HCC cell lines overexpressing FABP5 or downregulated for FABP5. Tumor growths were monitored in xenograft model, and liver and lung metastasis models were established. In the 243 HCC patients, FABP5‐positive staining (n = 139/243, 57.2%) was associated with poor prognosis and recurrence (P < 0.0001) and showed positive correlation with distant metastasis, tumor size and vascular invasion (P < 0.05). Cell proliferation, invasion, and migration in vitro were enhanced by upregulation of FABP5 and decreased by downregulation of FABP5 in HCC cell lines. Similar results in tumor formation and metastasis were obtained through in vivo analyses. PCR array results revealed upregulation of SNAI1 in FABP5‐overexpressing HepG2 cells. Western blot analysis showed significantly increased expression of E‐cadherin and ZO‐1 and decreased SNAI1 expression and nuclear translocation of β‐catenin by knockdown of FABP5. We revealed a significant role for FABP5 in HCC progression and metastasis through the induction of epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition. FABP5 may be a potential novel prognostic biomarker and new therapeutic target for HCC.
Quinolones and coumarins eliminate chloroplasts from Euglena gracilis

Quinolones and coumarins were potent eliminators of chloroplasts from Euglena gracilis. There was a remarkable similarity between antichloroplastic and antibacterial activities of DNA gyrase inhibitors. Quinolones produced 100% chloroplast-free cells in concentrations which do not affect cell viability. Optimal conditions were exponential growth, continuous illumination, and neutral or slightly alkaline pH. Coumarins were more toxic than quinolones. Among the quinolones, ofloxacin was the most potent in eliminating chloroplasts. Among the coumarins, coumermycin A1 was the most potent. New quinolones and coumermycin A1 were able to induce the complete inability of originally green cells to form green colonies after 24 h of drug exposure, while clorobiocin and novobiocin required several days of exposure. Darkness, heat shock (42 degrees C, 10 min), or simultaneous treatment with chloramphenicol or rifampin decreased the potency of DNA gyrase inhibitors for producing chloroplast-free cells. Remarkably, in cells in which division was blocked by three different methods (resting medium, hyperthermic conditions [37 degrees C], or addition of cycloheximide), new quinolones and coumermycin A1 nevertheless eliminated chloroplasts. The antichloroplastic activity of DNA gyrase inhibitors is additional data suggesting an evolutionary relationship between chloroplasts and eubacteria.
Assessing market attractiveness for mergers and acquisitions : The M & A maturity index 1

This paper presents a new scoring methodology designed to measure a country’s capability of attracting and sustaining business investment activity in the form of cross-border inflow and domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&A). We compute a theoretically grounded maturity index for M&A purposes based on groups of country development factors which have been identified as key drivers of corporate investment activity in economics, finance and management literature. By using the index, which has been successfully tested against M&A activity in a time series analysis, we show that the drivers of M&A activity differ significantly at different stages of country maturity. Specifically, for mature countries, the quality of their regulatory systems, political stability, economic and financial health, socio-economic environment and technological developments all determine differences country-level M&A activity. For countries in the transitional stage, it is instead economic and financial health, socio-economic environment, technological developments, quality of infrastructure, and availability of sizeable assets which drive M&A activity. Finally, only the quality of infrastructure and availability of assets are significant factors in explaining the differences in M&A activity in emerging economies.
Inhibition of interferon induction and signaling by paramyxoviruses

Summary: The family Paramyxoviridae comprises a diverse group of viruses that includes several important human and veterinary pathogens. Members of this family have a non‐segmented, single‐stranded, negative sense RNA genome, a conserved gene order, and a similar replication strategy. Paramyxoviruses are divided into two subfamilies, Paramyxovirinae and Pneumovirinae, which comprise five genera and two genera, respectively. Viruses in each genus have developed strategies to circumvent the interferon (IFN) response by using a diverse array of proteins that are encoded within the phosphoprotein genes of the Paramyxovirinae or non‐structural genes of the Pneumovirinae. This review focuses on the specific roles that these viral proteins play in the inhibition of IFN signaling and, to a lesser extent, on the mechanisms by which these proteins inhibit the induction pathways of IFN. An improved understanding of the interactions between viral proteins and the host innate immune response is critical to achieving a thorough comprehension of the pathogenesis of this important group of viruses. Hopefully this knowledge will support the development of more targeted vaccines and therapeutics to better prevent and control viral infection.
Intraspecific variation and new distributional records for Pseudopaludicola species ( Anura , Leptodactylidae , Leiuperinae ) with trilled advertisement call pattern : diagnostic characters revisited and taxonomic implications

Herein, we conduct a comparative study based mainly on the acoustic variation of calls of four Pseudopaludicola species that share a trilled advertisement call pattern, as well as revisit their diagnoses, and update their distribution. Acoustic variation was helpful for species delimitation: two temporal traits distinguished P. facureae from P. hyleaustralis, and both species from P. canga and P. parnaiba, whereas the latter two species could not be distinguished from each other. Therefore, additional evidence is required to establish the taxonomic status of P. parnaiba in relation to P. canga, since neither morphology, body size, color patterns, or bioacoustics supported the separation between these species. This frog genus has a conservative morphology and a great variety of calling patterns. Therefore, the association between specimens and calling patterns is crucial for more reliable species identifications and understanding its distributional patterns and implications for conservation.
Diabetic foot infections: effective microorganisms and factors affecting the frequency of osteomyelitis and amputation

Objectives. Diabetic foot infections are common reason for hospitalization and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. We aimed to evaluate the clinic features and predisposed causes of osteomyelitis and amputation of patients with diabetic foot infections. Methods. Patients with diabetic foot infections who admitted and hospitalized at Infection Diseases and Clinical Microbiology department between January 2012 and July 2014 were included. Osteomyelitis was evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or bone scintigraphy. Microbiological examinations (Gram staining and culture) of the debridement materials and pus aspiration materials of the lesions were performed. Results. Of the seventy-three diabetic foot infected patients, 37 (50.7%) were female, and 36 (49.3%) were male. The mean age of patients was 57±9.8 years. The mean duration of diabetes and HbA1c level were 13.3±5.3 years and 8.17±1.83%; respectively. Soft tissue infection without osteomyelitis was present in only 34 out of 73 (46.5%) patients. A total of 89 pathogens were identified in 52 patients whereas any microorganism was not identified in 28.7%. Polymicrobial infections were detected in 30 (41%) patients. The most common isolated microorganism was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (36.9%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (31.5%) and Enterococcus spp. (13.6%). Of the 37 (50.7%) patients had a history of diabetic foot infection previously, osteomyelitis progression was higher (89.2%) and statistically significant in these patients. Twelve (16.4%) patients underwent amputation. Conclusions. Advanced age and presence of osteomyelitis were found as risk factors for amputation. In the presence of osteomyelitis, treatment of diabetic foot infections is difficult and amputation rate is higher. For this reason, diabetic foot infections should be promptly treated before the development of osteomyelitis, and multidisciplinary approach is needed.
Signs of late radiation-induced genomic instability in persons chronically exposed to radiation

The Techa River Cohort includes about 30,000 individuals exposed to protracted IR resulting from releases of radioactive waste into the Techa River during the initial years (1949-1956) of operation of the Mayak nuclear facility (weapon-grade plutonium production) in the Southern Urals region of Russia. The exposure was of a two-component type: external γ-(contributed by Cs) and internal radiation (mostly due to Sr). The aim of this study was to assess the spectrum of intracellular markers to evaluate the adverse long-term health effects in hematopoietic system at late time after onset of exposure. The study group comprised of 1,117 exposed individuals (the mean cumulative dose to red bone marrow was 1.13 Gy) and 484 unexposed individuals. An increased rates of genetic disorders (CD3-CD4+ lymphocytes, mutations in the Tp53 gene, dicentrics, and micronucleus) and of DNA singleand double-stranded breaks frequency and repair ineffectiveness were detected among residents of the Techa riverside villages at late time after the onset of chronic radiation exposure. Cell Parameters of the cell’s functional status parameters (apoptosis, and cell cycle control) had a peak at small doses (about 0.3 Gy), and a decline at higher doses. Trade-off between decline in frequency of apoptotic lymphocytes and increased fractions of Chk2+ lymphocytes for doses above 1Gy was observed. The oxidation status showed a sharp reduction in the concentration of Cu/ZnSOD (at doses below 0.3 Gy) and re-distribution of free active species in favor of their most aggressive forms. We interpreted these results as a manifestation of radiation induced genomic instability. Genomic instability has developed in a small proportion of subjects who should be assigned to the group at high risk of cancer development. The application of the mechanistic modeling will allow individualization of the radiogenic risk of leukemia based on the results of the study.
Developmental changes in the ability to draw distinctive features of object categories

How do children's visual concepts change across childhood, and how might these changes be reflected in their drawings? Here we investigate developmental changes in children’s ability to emphasize the relevant visual distinctions between object categories in their drawings. We collected over 13K drawings from children aged 2-10 years via a free-standing drawing station in a children's museum. We hypothesized that older children would produce more recognizable drawings, and that this gain in recognizability would not be entirely explained by concurrent development in visuomotor control. To measure recognizability, we applied a pretrained deep convolutional neural network model to extract a high-level feature representation of all drawings, and then trained a multi-way linear classifier on these features. To measure visuomotor control, we developed an automated procedure to measure their ability to accurately trace complex shapes. We found consistent gains in the recognizability of drawings across ages that were not fully explained by children's ability to accurately trace complex shapes. Furthermore, these gains were accompanied by an increase in how distinct different object categories were in feature space. Overall, these results demonstrate that children's drawings include more distinctive visual features as they grow older.
Benzothiadiazole-primed defence responses and enhanced differential expression of defence genes in Vitis vinifera infected with biotrophic pathogens Erysiphe necator and Plasmopara viticola

Benzothiadiazole (BTH), a salicylic acid analogue, strengthens plant defence mechanisms against a broad spectrum of pathogens. The role of pre-treatment with BTH in enhancing resistance against infection with various isolates of downy and powdery mildews (Plasmopara viticola and Erysiphe necator) was investigated in grapevine leaves. Tools were developed to better assess the defence status of the plant. In compatible interactions amongst a set of 19 genes, more than 57Æ2% of differentiated transcripts from P. viticola infected-leaves (Pv-infected leaves) and 90% from E. necator-infected leaves (En-infected leaves) were down-regulated at 24 h post-inoculation (hpi), indicating a manipulation of host responses by the pathogens. BTH treatment enhanced grapevine defences, with pathogen growth inhibited by 61–98%, depending on the pathogen isolate. Treatment also triggered up-regulation of pathogenesis-related protein genes such as PR-1, PR-2, PR-3, PR-8 and PR-10 in Pv-infected leaves, and PR-3, PR-6 and PR-10 in En-infected leaves. Treatment with BTH also led to regulation of indole pathway transcripts; in particular, anthranilate synthase was down-regulated at 24 hpi in all infected leaves, then strongly up-regulated afterwards according to the rate of pathogen development. Quantitation of polyphenols and stilbenes showed that pterostilbene was specifically accumulated in pre-treated leaves and associated with biological efficacy and significant increases in PR protein gene transcripts. The temporal evolution of defence-related genes in pre-treated infected leaves suggests that grapevine responses vary depending on the interor intra-species variability of pathogens.
A new miniature Peano fractal-based bandpass filter design with 2nd harmonic suppression

A new compact microstrip bandpass filter design is presented in this paper as a candidate for use in modern wireless communication systems. The proposed filter structure is composed of two fractal-based microstrip resonators. The structure of each resonator is in the form of the 3rd iteration Peano fractal curve. The resulting filter structure based on these resonators, shows a considerable size reduction compared with the other microstrip bandpass filters based on other space-filling geometries designed at the same frequency. A second bandpass filter design based on the same resonator but with a tuning stub has been also presented, in an attempt to provide practically useful means to tune the filter to the specified performance with a considerable tuning range. The performance of the resulting filter structures has been evaluated using a method of moments (MoM) based electromagnetic simulator IE3D, from Zeland Software Inc. Results show that the proposed filter structures possess good return loss and transmission responses besides the size reduction gained, making them suitable for use in a wide variety of wireless communication applications. Furthermore, performance responses show that the second filter, based on Peano shaped resonator with stub, has less tendency to support the 2nd harmonic.
Practice of self-medication with antibiotics in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka

Self-medication is defined as “the use of drugs to treat self-diagnosed disorders or symptoms or the intermittent or continued use of a prescribed drug for chronic or recurrent disease or symptoms” [1]. Selfmedication with antibiotics (SMA) may lead to antibiotic resistance as the consumed antibiotic could be incorrect, inappropriate, excessive, unnecessary or inadequate. This study aims to determine the period prevalence of SMA in the Colombo District and to describe the reasons for SMA, its utilization pattern and socio-economical determinants.
FACTORS AFFECTING PURCHASE INTENTION IN YOUTUBE VIDEOS

YouTube is one of the new social media platforms that has received minimal research related to consumer purchase behavior. This paper aims to identify the factors that affect purchase intention of consumers who watch product related YouTube videos. Online questionnaires for consumers who watch make-up / beauty videos on YouTube are used to investigate the hypotheses. Structural equation modeling approach is used to explore the relationships in the model with a total of 8685 valid questionnaires. The findings reveal that product related videos on YouTube are important for influencing consumers’ purchase intentions. In addition, several factors affect purchase intention on different levels. This study is one of the rare studies that combine YouTube videos and their effects on purchase intention and by using YouTube videos, this study extends previous research on purchase intention related to other social media platforms. Also it introduces new factors that are specific to YouTube.