Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Mode of Sucrose Degradation in Potato Tubers Determines the Fate of Assimilate Utilization

Cytosolic (U-IN-2) or apoplasmic (U-IN-1) targeting of yeast invertase in potato tubers leads to a reduction in sucrose and an increase in glucose content, but specific phenotypical changes are dependent on the subcellular targeting of the enzyme. Cytosolic expression leads to a more severe phenotype with the most striking aspects being reduced starch content and increased respiration. Despite extensive research, the regulatory mechanisms leading to these changes remain obscure. Recent technological advancements regarding potato transcriptional and genomic research presented us with the opportunity to revisit these lines and perform detailed gene expression analysis, in combination with extensive metabolic profiling, to identify regulatory networks underlying the observed changes. Our results indicate that in both genotypes reduced UDP-glucose production is associated with a reduced expression of cell wall biosynthetic genes. In addition, U-IN-1 tubers are characterized by elevated expression of senescence-associated genes, coupled to reduced expression of genes related to photosynthesis and the cytoskeleton. We provide evidence that increased respiration, observed specifically in U-IN-2 tubers, might be due to sugar signaling via released trehalose-6-phosphate inhibition of the SnRK1 complex. In both genotypes, expression of the plastidic glucose-6-phosphate transporter (GPT) is significantly down-regulated. This leads to a shift in the cytosolic to plastidic glucose-6-phosphate ratio and hence might limit starch synthesis but also the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. This might explain the observed changes in several additional plastid localized pathways, most notably reduced expression of fatty acid biosynthetic genes and an accumulation of shikimate. Interestingly, a strict negative correlation between invertase and GPT expression could be observed in a wide range of potato tubers. This reciprocal regulation may be part of a more general switch controlling energy versus storage metabolism, suggesting that the fate of assimilate utilization is coordinated at the level of sucrose degradation.
Altered Processing of Contextual Information during Fear Extinction in PTSD: An fMRI Study

Medial prefrontal cortical areas have been hypothesized to underlie altered contextual processing in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We investigated brain signaling of contextual information in this disorder. Eighteen PTSD subjects and 16 healthy trauma‐exposed subjects underwent a two‐day fear conditioning and extinction paradigm. On day 1, within visual context A, a conditioned stimulus (CS) was followed 60% of the time by an electric shock (conditioning). The conditioned response was then extinguished (extinction learning) in context B. On day 2, recall of the extinction memory was tested in context B. Skin conductance response (SCR) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected during context presentations. There were no SCR group differences in any context presentation. Concerning fMRI data, during late conditioning, when context A signaled danger, PTSD subjects showed dorsal anterior cingulate cortical (dACC) hyperactivation. During early extinction, when context B had not yet fully acquired signal value for safety, PTSD subjects still showed dACC hyperactivation. During late extinction, when context B had come to signal safety, they showed ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) hypoactivation. During early extinction recall, when context B signaled safety, they showed both vmPFC hypoactivation and dACC hyperactivation. These findings suggest that PTSD subjects show alterations in the processing of contextual information related to danger and safety. This impairment is manifest even prior to a physiologically‐measured, cue‐elicited fear response, and characterized by hypoactivation in vmPFC and hyperactivation in dACC.
Finite-time H∞ control for discrete-time switched singular time-delay systems subject to actuator saturation via static output feedback

ABSTRACT This study employs the multiple Lyapunov-like function method and the average dwell-time concept of switching signal to investigate the finite-time H∞ static output-feedback (SOF) control problem for a class of discrete-time switched singular time-delay systems subject to actuator saturation. First, sufficient conditions are presented to guarantee the discrete-time switched singular time-delay system regular, causal and finite-time boundedness. Meanwhile, sufficient conditions are presented to ensure the H∞ disturbance attenuation level, and the design method of H∞ SOF controller is developed by solving matrix inequalities optimisation problem without any decompositions of system matrices and equivalent transformation. Finally, the effectiveness and merit of the theoretical results are shown through some numerical examples and several vivid illustrations.
Partial discharge inception voltage under positive surge voltage application influenced by surface charge on polyimide film

Inverter-fed motors is increasing from points of view of efficiency and controllability of power equipment. In the future, for improving a performance of power equipment such as high output or miniaturization, electrical insulation parts in motors are expected to become higher electric field. Motor windings have small gaps at which partial discharge may easily occur and it can lead to dielectric degradation and finally breakdown. Furthermore, inverter-fed motors have a problem that generated inverter surge voltage due to high speed switching with high voltage is affected its insulating system. In our previous study, under DC voltage application, it was found that partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) increased or decreased according to surface potential on insulating film and PDIV without surface charge can be estimated by subtracting the surface potential from PDIV with surface charge. However, it has not been clarified the influence of surface charge on PDIV under surge voltage application in detail. In this study, it was investigated PDIV under surge voltage application influenced by surface charge on insulating sheet and relationship between surface charge and initial electron supply was estimated.
Hommes trans et handicapés : une analyse croisée du cisgenrisme et du capacitisme

Les recherches s’interessant aux intersections entre transitude et handicaps et entre cisgenrisme et capacitisme sont rares en anglais, presque absentes en francais. Lorsque l’on ajoute la dimension d’un genre specifique, par exemple en s’attardant aux hommes trans handicapes, le caractere lacunaire des travaux est criant. Comme une proportion significative de personnes trans sont egalement handicapees, il semble capital de mieux comprendre leur experience enchevetree de la transitude et du handicap, mais aussi du cisgenrisme et du capacitisme. Cet article s’articule autour de cette question : quelles sont les contributions heuristiques, aux plans theorique et politique, a penser les intersections entre les realites masculines trans et handicapees ? Il repond a trois objectifs : 1) constituer un etat des lieux des travaux sur ces intersections ; 2) offrir une analyse intersectionnelle des realites des hommes trans et handicapes et des oppressions cisgenristes et capacitistes ; 3) degager les apports heuristiques d’analyses intersectionnelles des masculinites trans et handicapees.
Differential effects of doxorubicin treatment on cell cycle arrest and Skp2 expression in breast cancer cells

Overexpression of Skp2, the ubiquitin ligase subunit that targets p27 for degradation, is often observed in cancers, and is associated with aggressive tumor proliferation and poor prognosis. As there is no drug at present that specifically targets Skp2, studies were undertaken to examine the effects of commonly used drugs on Skp2 regulation. Doxorubicin is among the most effective antitumor agents used for the management of breast cancer, but its effect on Skp2 expression is unknown. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of doxorubicin on Skp2 expression regulation in breast cancer cell lines. The expression of Skp2 mRNA and the protein levels of Skp2, p27, p21 and cyclin B were examined in doxorubicin-treated MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The effect of doxorubicin on the cell cycle profile was assessed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. Doxorubicin decreased Skp2 mRNA and protein levels in MCF-7 cells, but had the opposite effect in MDA-MB-231 cells. p27 levels were slightly decreased, whereas p53 and p21 levels were significantly upregulated in doxorubicin-treated MCF-7 cells. In contrast, p27 levels were unaffected by doxorubicin treatment in MDA-MB-231 cells, but cyclin B levels were markedly increased. Doxorubicin arrested MCF-7 cells at G1/S and G2/M checkpoints, whereas MDA-MB-231 cells were arrested at G2/M only. The differential effects of doxorubicin on Skp2 expression in breast cancer cells depend upon the specific cell cycle checkpoints activated by the drug. These changes induced by doxorubicin, however, do not significantly affect p27 expression in these cell lines, suggesting that the potential of a given drug to alter p27 expression through Skp2 modulation might depend on its specific action on cell cycle arrest.
CALL FOR PAPERS Bioengineering the Lung: Molecules, Materials, Matrix, Morphology, and Mechanics Differential deposition of fibronectin by asthmatic bronchial epithelial cells

Qi Ge, Qingxiang Zeng, Gavin Tjin, Edmund Lau, Judith L. Black, Brian G. G. Oliver,* and Janette K. Burgess* Respiratory Cellular and Molecular Biology Group, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Discipline of Pharmacology, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Redesigning database systems in light of cpu cache prefetching

Computer systems have enjoyed an exponential growth in processor speed for the past 20 years, while main memory speed has improved only moderately. Today a cache miss to main memory takes hundreds of processor cycles. Recent studies have demonstrated that on commercial databases, about 50% or more of execution time in memory is often wasted due to cache misses. In light of this problem, a number of recent studies focused on reducing the number of cache misses of database algorithms. In this thesis, we investigate a different approach: reducing the impact of cache misses through a technique called cache prefetching. Since prefetching for sequential array accesses has been well studied, we are interested in studying non-contiguous access patterns found in two classes of database algorithms: the B+-Tree index algorithm and the hash join algorithm. We re-examine their designs with cache prefetching in mind, and combine prefetching and data locality optimizations to achieve good cache performance. For B+-Trees, we first propose and evaluate a novel main memory index structure, Prefetching B+Trees, which uses prefetching to accelerate two major access patterns of B+-Tree indices: searches and range scans. We then apply our findings in the development of a novel index structure, Fractal Prefetching B+-Trees, that optimizes index operations both for CPU cache performance and for disk performance in commercial database systems by intelligently embedding cache-optimized trees into disk pages. For hash joins, we first exploit cache prefetching separately for the I/O partition phase and the join phase of the algorithm. We propose and evaluate two techniques, Group Prefetching and Software-Pipelined Prefetching, that exploit inter-tuple parallelism to overlap cache misses across the processing of multiple tuples. Then we present a novel algorithm, Inspector Joins, that exploits the free information obtained from one pass of the hash join algorithm to improve the performance of a later pass. This new algorithm addresses the memory bandwidth sharing problem in shared-bus multiprocessor systems. We compare our techniques against state-of-the-art cache-friendly algorithms for B+-Trees and hash joins through both simulation studies and real machine experiments. Our experimental results demonstrate dramatic performance benefits of our cache prefetching enabled techniques.
50 ways to trace your veteran: increasing response rates can be cheap and effective

Background : While low response rates need not introduce bias into research, having a lower percentage of responders does increase the potential for this to occur. This is of particular concern given the decline that has been occurring in response rates since the 1950s. However, there are various methods that can be incorporated into the study design, which can assist in increasing levels of participation. Objective : To outline the methods used by the King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) when conducting a recent telephone survey of serving and ex-Service military personnel. Design : Using participants who had already taken part in a questionnaire-based study on the health effects of serving in the UK Armed Forces (n=10,272), a subsample was selected for an in-depth telephone interview-based follow-up study. The subsample consisted of 1,105 participants, selected on the basis of their mental health status. An adjusted response rate of 76% was achieved (n=821). Results : Various methods of contact were used in this study to ensure an adequate response rate was achieved. Conclusions : Simple research strategies increase response rates and are likely to reduce bias. Use of multiple simultaneous tracing methods and customisation of the approach to the target population increases rapport between participants, ensuring that those who take part feel valued as members of the study. In the current climate of decreasing participation in studies, research teams need to engage with their study population and devise innovative strategies to keep participants involved in the research being undertaken. For the abstract or full text in other languages, please see Supplementary files under Reading Tools online
Localization of Astrovirus in Experimentally Infected Turkeys as Determined by In Situ Hybridization

Twenty-one 3-day-old turkey poults from British United Turkeys of America were orally inoculated with a recently characterized astrovirus, TAstV-2, isolated from turkeys with poult enteritis and mortality syndrome. At 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 days postinfection (dpi), three inoculated birds were euthanatized, and tissues (intestines, spleen, bursa, and thymus) were collected immediately into 10% neutral buffered formalin. Inoculated birds were diarrheic by 3 dpi, and frothy feces persisted throughout the experimental period. Histologically, there was only slight evidence of enteric damage, which was characterized by mild epithelial necrosis, lamina propria infiltrates, minimal villus atrophy, and mild crypt hyperplasia. In situ hybridization, using a negative sense digoxigenin-labeled riboprobe to the capsid gene of TAstV-2, revealed viral RNA in intestinal epithelial cells at the basal margins of the villi, in distal small intestine, and in cecum at 2 dpi, with subsequent extension to epithelium of the large intestine and proximal small intestine (3–5 dpi). Minimal virus remained by 9 dpi.
Developmental coordination disorder at 8 years of age in a regional cohort of extremely‐low‐birthweight or very preterm infants

The aims of this study were to determine the motor outcome of extremely‐low‐birthweight (ELBW; <1000g) or very preterm (<28wks) children compared with normal birthweight (NBW) children, to establish the perinatal associations of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and its cognitive and behavioural consequences. Participants were consecutive surviving ELBW or very preterm children and randomly selected NBW(>2499g) children born in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 1991 or 1992. Main outcomes were: (1) results of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) at 8 years of age; (2) cognitive function; (3) academic progress; and (4) behaviour. Of 298 consecutive ELBW/very preterm survivors, 255 (85.6%; 117 males, 138 females) had the MABC at a mean age of 8 years 8 months. More ELBW/very preterm children (9.5%) had DCD than the NBW group (2%, p=0.001). Only male sex increased the likelihood of DCD in ELBW/very preterm children (p=0.017). ELBW/very preterm children with DCD had worse cognitive function and academic test scores (up to 1SD below those without DCD); they also had more adaptive behaviour and externalizing problems, but not internalizing problems. DCD is more common in ELBW/very preterm children, has few perinatal correlates, and is associated with poor cognitive and academic performance as well as increased behaviour problems.
Mesothelium of the murine allantois exhibits distinct regional properties

The rodent allantois is thought to be unique amongst mammals in not having an endodermal component. Here, we have investigated the mesothelium, or outer surface, of murine umbilical precursor tissue, the allantois (∼7.25–8.5 days postcoitum, dpc) to discover whether it exhibits the properties of an epithelium. A combination of morphology, challenge with biotinylated dextran amines (BDAs), and immunohistochemistry revealed that the mesothelium of the mouse allantois exhibits distinct regional properties. By headfold stages (∼7.75–8.0 dpc), distal mesothelium was generally squamous in shape, and highly permeable to BDA challenge, whereas ventral proximal mesothelium, referred to as “ventral cuboidal mesothelium” (VCM) for the characteristic cuboidal shape of its cells, was relatively impermeable. Although “dorsal cuboidal mesothelium” (DCM) resembled the VCM in cell shape, its permeability to BDA was intermediate between the other two regions. Results of immunostaining for Zonula Occludens‐1 (ZO‐1) and Epithelial‐cadherin (E‐cadherin), together with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), suggested that impermeability in the VCM may be due to greater cellular contact area between cells and close packing rather than to maturity of tight junctions, the latter of which, by comparison with the visceral yolk sac, appeared to be rare or absent from the allantoic surface. Both VCM and DCM exhibited an ultrastructure more favorable for protein synthesis than did the distal squamous mesothelium; however, at most stages, VCM exhibited robust afadin (AF‐6), whereas the DCM uniquely contained alpha‐4‐integrin. These observations demonstrate that the allantoic mesothelium is not a conventional epithelium but possesses regional ultrastructural, functional and molecular differences that may play important roles in the correct deployment of the umbilical cord and its associated vascular, hematopoietic, and other cell types. J. Morphol. , 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Assessment of the Relationship between Hyperlipoproteinemias and Biliary Lithiasis

Aim: The purpose of this study was to bring new data regarding the prevalence of biliary lithiasis in Cluj district in regards to the role of hyperlipoproteinemias as a risk factor for this pathology. Material and Method: A clinical study that included 800 adult subjects with age between 18 and 90 was conducted. For each subject an ultrasonographical screening was performed in order to detect biliary lithiasis. The subjects were separated in two subgroups: lithiasic and nonlithiasic. The serum lipids were also determined to all subjects: total cholesterol, tryglicerides, HDL-cholesterol. The levels of serum lipids in the lithiasic and nonlithiasic subgroups were compared. Results: The results showed a higher level of total cholesterol (216.7mg/100ml > 187.6mg/100ml) and triglycerides (203.5mg/100ml > 172.4mg/100ml) in lithiasic subgroup; while the HDL-cholesterol was lower (43.7mg/100ml < 46.2mg/100ml). Comparing the results on both sexes, cholesterol and triglycerides proved to be more elevated in men subgroup, while HDL-cholesterol was smaller in women subgroup. Conclusion: The results lead to the conclusion that in studied area hyperlipoproteinemias are a major risk factor for biliary lithiasis in both sexes.
Adaptive neural network control for a class of strict feedback non-linear time delay systems

This study develops a generalised procedure in adaptive neural network enhanced controller design for strict feedback non-linear time delay systems. Under the framework, recurrent neural network is tailored to accommodate the on-line identification, by which the weights of the neural network are iteratively and adaptively updated through the system state. Based on the neural network online approximation model, the state feedback adaptive controller is obtained by constructing a Lyapunov-Krasovskii function, which the integral type efficiently overcomes the controller singularity problem. To guarantee the correctness, rigorousness, and generality of the developed results, Lyapunov stability theory is used to prove the closed-loop control systems semiglobally, uniformly, and ultimately bounded stable. Two bench mark tests are simulated to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the procedure and furthermore these could be the showcases for potential users to apply to their demanded tasks.
Modulation of the triceps surae H-reflex with training.

Thirteen neurologically healthy adults were asked to balance on a specially designed balance board. This board allowed rotation in the sagittal plane only. Muscle activity of the triceps surae and tibialis anterior was sampled at 2 kHz and recorded. When the subject was balanced, soleus H-reflexes were elicited in the right leg with a constant-current stimulus pulse. The peak to peak amplitude of the soleus H-reflex served as the perturbation to the subject's balance as well as the dependent variable in question. Subjects performed three blocks (7 H-reflexes/block) of standing control trials with the balance board supported, and seven blocks of balancing trials. Prior to each block, maximal M-waves were recorded to ensure electrode stability across blocks. Results indicated that the subjects were able to significantly reduce (p < .001) the gain the soleus H-reflex while balancing and after the balance training. As a group, the subjects decreased their peak to peak amplitude of the soleus H-reflex by 26.2 percent from the initial standing block to the last balancing block. Moreover, subjects were also able to significantly reduce the gain of their standing control H-reflexes, supporting the notion of longer-term adaptability of the spinal stretch reflex. It is concluded that the progressive reduction in the H-reflex gain with short-term training may represent functional adaptation in the central nervous system.