Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Occurrence of beta-glutamate, a novel osmolyte, in marine methanogenic bacteria

The unusual compound beta-aminoglutaric acid (beta-glutamate) has been identified by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in soluble extracts of marine methanogenic bacteria. We examined several methanogen species representing nine genera and found that beta-glutamate occurred in methanococci and two methanogenium strains (Methanogenium cariaci JR1 and "Methanogenium anulus" AN9). The presence of this compound in the methanococci examined was further restricted to thermophilic members of the genus Methanococcus, including Methanococcus thermolithotrophicus strains, Methanococcus jannaschii, and "Methanococcus igneus. " The two Methanogenium strains examined were mesophiles. Studies using Methanococcus thermolithotrophicus showed that levels of beta-glutamate in cells of that species were not affected by variation in growth temperature (40 to 65 degrees C), NH4+ (2 to 80 mM), Mg2+ (10 to 50 mM), or K+ (2 to 10 mM) in the medium. In contrast, soluble pools of beta-glutamate and L-alpha-glutamate (the other major free amino acid in all the methanococci) were proportional to NaCl levels in the growth medium. This dependence of beta-glutamate and L-alpha-glutamate concentrations on salt levels in the medium suggests that they function as osmolytes in these cells.
Simplifying Subtyping Constraints: A Theory

This paper offers a theoretical study of constraint simplification, a fundamental issue for the designer of a practical type inference system with subtyping. In the simpler case where constraints are equations, a simple isomorphism between constrained type schemes and finite state automata yields a complete constraint simplification method. Using it as a guide for the intuition, we move on to the case of subtyping, and describe several simplification algorithms. Although no longer complete, they are conceptually simple, efficient, and very effective in practice. Overall, this paper gives a concise theoretical account of the techniques found at the core of our type inference system. Our study is restricted to the case where constraints are interpreted in a non-structural lattice of regular terms. Nevertheless, we highlight a small number of general ideas, which explain our algorithms at a high level and may be applicable to a variety of other systems.
A novel silicon Schottky diode for NLTL applications

The design and simulation of a novel silicon Schottky diode for nonlinear transmission line (NLTL) applications is discussed in this paper. The Schottky diode was fabricated on a novel silicon-on-silicide-on-insulator (SSOI) substrate for minimized series resistance. Ion implantation technology was used as a low-cost alternative to molecular beam epitaxy to approximate the delta (/spl delta/) doping profile, which results in strong nonlinear CV characteristics. The equivalent circuit model of the Schottky diode under reverse bias conditions was extracted from the S-parameter measurement performed on the diode. The measured CV characteristics show strong nonlinearity, the junction capacitance varies from 182 to 47.5 fF as the reverse bias voltage is varied from 0 to -5 V. A parasitic inductance of 40 pH was measured for the silicon Schottky diode, which is much smaller than a comparable sized GaAs Schottky diode. This small inductance is an advantage for the silicon Schottky diode offering improvement in the silicon NLTL performance.
Visual Spatial Abilities in Uninhabited Ground Vehicle Task Performance During Teleoperation and Direct Line of Sight

Two experiments investigated the role of spatial abilities on uninhabited ground vehicle (UGV) performance under two different viewing conditions: direct line of sight and teleoperation. The ability to operate a mobile robot was indexed by task completion time and total number of course collisions. Results showed that participants with higher spatial abilities exhibited superior performance in both direct line of sight and teleoperation. Performance under direct line of sight was correlated with both spatial relations and spatial visualization, whereas performance during teleoperation was only correlated with spatial relations ability. Understanding the roles of spatial abilities under different viewing conditions will aid in the advancement of selection criteria and training paradigms for robot operators.
Salt‐dependent conformational transitions in the self‐complementary deoxydodecanucleotide d(CGCAATTCGCG): Evidence for hairpin formation

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), temperature‐dependent uv‐absorption spectroscopy, and temperature‐dependent CD were used to monitor and characterize the salt‐dependent, thermally induced structural transitions in the deoxydodecanucleotide d(CGCGAATTCGCG). At the high oligomer concentrations required for DSC, the calorimetric scans revealed a single, monophasic transition curve at all salt concentrations. Based on previous nmr melting studies under similar conditions, we conclude that these monophasic transitions correspond to the cooperative duplex‐to‐single‐strand conversion of the dodecamer. By contrast, at the lower oligomer concentrations used for the spectroscopic studies, the shapes of the uv and CD melting curves were found to depend on the concentration of the added salt. At high salt (≥0.1M Na+), a single, monophasic transition curve was observed. At lower salt (⩽0.01M Na+), the CD and uv melting curves exhibit biphasic behavior. Based on the concentration dependence, the enthalpy, and the cooperativity of each transition in the biphasic curve, we conclude that at low salt and low oligomer concentrations, the dodecamer melts in a sequential manner involving initial disruption of a duplex structure and subsequent disruption of a hairpin structure.
NG-Nitro-l-Arginine Methyl Ester–Induced Hypertension and Natriuretic Peptide Gene Expression: Inhibition by Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Antagonism

This study examined the role of angiotensin II in the increase of blood pressure, activation of cardiac natriuretic peptide gene expression, left ventricular hypertrophy, and vascular changes in nitric oxide–deficient hypertension. NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME, 20 mg/kg/d), angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) antagonist losartan (20 mg/kg/d), or their combination were administered orally for 8 weeks in Wistar rats. l-NAME elevated systolic blood pressure, which reached its maximum within 4 weeks (200 ± 4 mm Hg). Despite hypertension, l-NAME administration for 8 weeks did not induce left ventricular hypertrophy. Losartan treatment significantly decreased the development of hypertension induced by l-NAME and decreased left ventricular hypertrophy in untreated rats. In contrast, losartan did not prevent the hypertrophic remodeling of the mesenteric resistance arteries induced by l-NAME. l-NAME treatment increased ventricular atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) mRNA levels and immunoreactive BNP levels significantly. Losartan therapy decreased the l-NAME-induced ventricular ANP gene expression by 69% (p < 0.05) and also reduced ventricular BNP mRNA levels so that it did not differ from control. Losartan treatment alone decreased ventricular immunoreactive ANP and BNP levels by 30% (p < 0.05). These results show that ventricular ANP and BNP gene expression are dissociated from the increased ventricular mass in nitric oxide deficiency–induced hypertension. Results suggest that l-NAME-induced hypertension and the associated activation of ventricular ANP and BNP gene expression are, at least in part, mediated by angiotensin II, whereas the resistance vessel hypertrophy following nitric oxide synthase inhibition is angiotensin II independent.
Vazoactive Effects of Oxidative Stress Elicited by Hydrogen Peroxide in the 348 Human Umbilical Artery : An in Vitro Study 2 . Materials and Methods

The vasoactive effects of oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on human umbilical artery strips as well as the possible mechanisms involved are studied. Contraction responses to cumulative H2O2 (10 M 3 × 10 M) in endothelium intact and denuded umbilical arteries and responses to cumulative H2O2 after incubation with L-NAME (10 M) (n = 8), indomethacin (10 M) (n = 8) and verapamil (10) (n = 8) were recorded. Responses elicited with cumulative H2O2 in Ca free extracellular medium and the responses to cumulative Ca (10 M 2 × 10 M) after H2O2 (10 M) induced contraction were also studied. The Emax for each experiment was calculated. p < 0.05 was considered as significant. H2O2 elicited contraction was greater in endothelium denuded artery strips compared to endothelium intact strips (p < 0.05). Compared to control, incubation with L-NAME significantly augmented (p < 0.05), while verapamil and indomethacin inhibited the contractions elicited by cumulative H2O2 (p < 0.05). Ca free extracellular medium caused decreases in cumulative H2O2 elicited contractions and cumulative Ca caused concentration dependent increases in the contraction caused by a single bolus of H2O2 (p < 0.05). Exposure to H2O2 causes concentration-dependent constriction in human umbilical arteries. The presence of the endothelium and NOS enzyme activation influences the H2O2 responses. Removal of the endothelium increases the H2O2 elicited contractions more than incubation with L-NAME suggesting beside NO, other endothelial vasodilators are also involved in vascular tonus of the umbilical arteries. Both intracellular and extracellular Ca ions and constrictor cyclooxygenase metabolites play a role in the contractile responses elicited by H2O2 in human umbilical arteries.
Molecular characterization of the lincomycin‐production gene cluster of Streptomyces lincolnensis 78‐11

The lincomycin (LM)‐production gene cluster of the overproducing strain Streptomyces iincolnensis 78‐11 was cloned, analysed by hybridization, as well as by DNA sequencing, and compared with the respective genome segments of other lincomycin producers. The lmb/lmr gene cluster is composed of 27 open reading frames with putative biosynthetic or regulatory functions (lmb genes) and three resistance (lmr) genes, two of which, lmrA and lmrC, flank the cluster. A very similar overall organization of the lmb/lmr cluster seems to be conserved in four other LM producers, although the clusters are embedded in non‐homologous genomic surroundings, in the wild‐type strain (S. lincolnensis NRRL2936), the lmb/lmr‐cluster apparently is present only in single copy. However, in the industrial strain S. lincolnensis 78‐11 the non‐adjacent gene clusters for the production of LM and melanin (melC) both are duplicated on a large (0.45‐0.5 Mb) fragment, accompanied by deletion events. This indicates that enhanced gene dosage is one of the factors for the overproduction of LM and demonstrates that large‐scale genome rearrangements can be a result of classical strain improvement by mutagenesis. Only a minority of the putative Lmb proteins belong to known protein families. These include members of the γ‐glutamyl transferases (LmbA), amino acid acylases (LmbC), aromatic amino acid aminotransferases (LmbF), imidazoleglycerolphosphate dehydratases (LmbK), dTDP‐glucose synthases (LmbO), dTDP‐glucose 4,6‐dehydratases (LmbM) and (NDP‐) ketohexose (or ketocyclitol) aminotransferases (LmbS). In contrast to earlier proposals on the biosynthetic pathway of the C‐8 sugar moiety (methylthiolincosaminide), this branch of the LM pathway actually seems to be based on nucleotide‐activated sugars as precursors.
Asymptotic Analysis of a Storage Allocation Model with Finite Capacity: Joint Distribution

We consider a storage allocation model with a finite number of storage spaces. There are primary spaces and secondary spaces. All of them are numbered and ranked. Customers arrive according to a Poisson process and occupy a space for an exponentially distributed time period, and a new arrival takes the lowest ranked available space. We let and denote the numbers of occupied primary and secondary spaces and study the joint distribution in the steady state. The joint process behaves as a random walk in a lattice rectangle. We study the problem asymptotically as the Poisson arrival rate becomes large, and the storage capacities and are scaled to be commensurably large. We use a singular perturbation analysis to approximate the forward Kolmogorov equation(s) satisfied by the joint distribution.
"Another type of perpetrator": the SS racial experts and forced population movements in the occupied regions.

The "racial experts" of the Race and Settlement Main Office of the SS (RuSHA) were an important, yet not well studied, group of perpetrators. By setting up a procedure for "racial examination" that was applied not only to the members of the SS but also to millions of civilians in the Occupied Territories, they provided the ideological background and logistics of persecution. Following the outbreak of war, the racial experts' qualification of persons as "desirable" or "undesirable" guided National Socialist population policy and the planned ethnic reconstruction of Europe. This article analyzes these SS racial experts' efforts to legitimize, implement, and accelerate not only forced population movements in general, but also the "Final Solution".
Vitamin D status and risk for malignant cutaneous melanoma: recent advances

Cutaneous malignant melanoma, whose incidence is increasing steadily worldwide, is the result of complex interactions between individual genetic factors and environmental risk factors. Ultraviolet radiation represents the most important environmental risk factor for the development of skin cancers, including melanoma. Sun exposure and early sunburn during childhood are the principal causes of cutaneous melanoma insurgence in adults, with double the risk relative to a nonexposed population. Consequently, ultraviolet protection has long been recognized as an important measure to prevent such a malignancy. Biological and epidemiological data suggest that vitamin D status could affect the risk of cancer and play a role in cancer prevention by exerting antiproliferative effects. Solar radiations are critical for vitamin D synthesis in humans; however, uncontrolled and intensive sun exposure is dangerous to skin health and may contribute toward the development of cutaneous malignant melanoma. An optimum balance between sun protection and exposure is thus advocated. Additional research is required to confirm the preventive role of vitamin D in melanoma incidence or a positive influence on patient outcome.
Remembering without awareness

Amnesics reveal savings in their objective performance of a task even though they are not aware of remembering. Experiments that are described reveal a dissociation of memory and awareness for normals as well as amnesics. The episodic-semanitc memory distinction has been em- ployed by others as an account of the dissociation of memory and aware- ness. An account of this sort leads one to expect remembering without awareness to be relatively context free. In contrast, several experiments are reviewed to show that remembering without awareness can be specific to memory for a particular episode. RESUME Mejme s'ils ne prennent pas conscience du fait qu'ils se souvien- nent, les amnesiques demontrent neanmoins une economie dans leur rendement objectif a une tache donnee. Les experiences decrites font etat d'une dissociation entre memoire et conscience autant chez les sujets nor- maux que chez les sujets amnesiques. La distinction entre memoire semantique et episodique a ete utilisee pour rendre compte de cette disso- ciation entre memoire et conscience. Si tel etait le cas, les souvenirs sans conscience devraient etre relativement libres de tout effet contextuel. Au contraire, la revue de plusieurs experiences permet de montrer que le sou- venir sans conscience peut etre specifique a la memoire d'un episode particulier. Webster's New World Dictionary defines the word 'remember' as meaning: 'to bring back to mind by an effort. ' In line with this definition, the majority of research on human memory has employed tasks that require remembering to be deliberate. In an experiment in which a person is asked to recall a pre- viously studied list of words, for example, remembering is intentional so that the person is necessarily aware that he is remembering. Although deliberate remembering obviously does occur, many functions of memory may operate without intention or awareness. Memory for a prior event may influence the interpretation and encoding of a later event without a person being aware of remembering the prior event. It is this remembering without awareness that has served as a focus for our research program. In this paper, we explore the relationship between memory and awareness for normal people as well as for amnesics. The amnesic, by definition, is less able to reflect on memory for prior epi- sodes or to recognize items as being familiar. By several reports, however,
Pregnane X receptor (PXR/NR1I2) gene haplotypes modulate susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease

Background: The pregnane X receptor (PXR/NR1I2) is an important regulator of xenobiotic metabolism and intestinal integrity. However, there are controversial studies on the role of PXR/NR1I2 in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We therefore initiated the largest analysis to date on PXR/NR1I2 gene variants in IBD patients. Methods: Genomic DNA from 2823 individuals of Caucasian origin including 859 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), 464 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), and 1500 healthy, unrelated controls was analyzed for eight PXR/NR1I2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs12721602 (−25564), rs3814055 (−25385), rs1523128 (−24756), rs1523127 (−24381), rs45610735 = p.Gly36Arg (+106), rs6785049 (+7635), rs2276707 (+8055), and rs3814057 (+11156)). In addition, detailed haplotype and genotype–phenotype analyses were performed. Results: The PXR/NR1I2 SNP rs2276707 was weakly associated with UC susceptibility (P = 0.01; odds ratio [OR] 1.27 [1.06–1.52]). None of the other PXR/NR1I2 SNPs were associated with UC or CD susceptibility. However, several rare PXR/NR1I2 haplotypes were highly associated with CD susceptibility. In CD, the strongest disease association was found for a haplotype consisting of the SNPs rs12721602‐rs3814055‐rs1523128‐rs1523127‐rs12721607‐rs6785049‐rs2276707‐rs3814057 (omnibus P‐value: 6.50 × 10−15) which was found in two separate cohorts (cohort I = discovery cohort: CD: n = 492, controls: n = 793; P = 4.51 × 10−17; Bonferroni corrected: P = 1.27 × 10−15; cohort II = replication cohort: CD: n = 367, controls: n = 707; P = 7.12 × 10−4; Pcorr = 1.99 × 10−2). Conclusions: Several PXR/NR1I2 haplotypes contribute to CD susceptibility, suggesting a role for PXR in the IBD pathogenesis of a certain patient subcohort. Given the accumulating evidence for an important role of PXR in intestinal inflammation, further analyses are required to investigate the functional and pharmacogenetic implications of these PXR/NR1I2 gene variants in IBD. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2010)
Determination of the Effective Viscosity of Non-newtonian Fluids Flowing Through Porous Media

When non-Newtonian fluids flow through porous media, the topology of the pore space leads to a broad range of flow velocities and shear rates. Consequently, the local viscosity of the fluid also varies in space with a non-linear dependence on the Darcy velocity. Therefore, an effective viscosity is usually used to describe the flow at the Darcy scale. For most non-Newtonian flows the rheology of the fluid can be described by a (non linear) function of the shear rate. Current approaches estimate the effective viscosity by first calculating an effective shear rate mainly by adopting a power-law model for the rheology and including an empirical correction factor. In a second step this averaged shear rate is used together with the rheology of the fluid to calculate. In this work, we derive a semi-analytical expression for the local viscosity profile using a Carreau type fluid, which is a more broadly applicable model than the power-law model. By solving the flow equations in a circular cross section of a capillary we are able to calculate the average viscous resistance directly as a spatial average of the local viscosity. This approach circumvents the use of classical capillary bundle models and allows to upscale the viscosity distribution in a pore with a mean pore size to the Darcy scale. Different from commonly used capillary bundle models, the presented approach does neither require tortuosity nor permeability as input parameters. Consequently, our model only uses the characteristic length scale of the porous media and does not require empirical coefficients. The comparison of the proposed model with flow cell experiments conducted in a packed bed of monodisperse spherical beads shows, that our approach performs well by only using the physical rheology of the fluid, the porosity and the estimated mean pore size, without the need to determine an effective shear rate. The good agreement of our model with flow experiments and existing models suggests that mean viscosity is a good estimate for the effective Darcy viscosity providing physical insight into upscaling of non-Newtonian flows in porous media.
An audit of informed consent in surgical patients at a university hospital.

BACKGROUND To obtain informed consent is considered an integral part of modern clinical practice. It works as a safeguard of patient's rights and minimizes the chances of legal action against the physician in case of any complication arising from the proposed therapy. Objective was to evaluate the practice of informed consent in patients undergoing surgery in a University hospital. METHODS A survey was conducted at different surgical departments of a university hospital during December 2007 to March 2008. Participants were selected from patients over the age of 18 years who had undergone elective or emergency surgery. All interviews were based on structured questionnaire. The patients were asked if an informed consent was taken or not before the surgery. They were also inquired if they were given information about the diagnosis, the surgical procedure planned and risks associated with it. The patients were also asked if they were informed about the types of anaesthesia proposed. RESULTS A total of 106 patients were randomly selected for this study. In 8.5% cases, no consent was taken. Only 38% of the surveyed patients acknowledged that they actually understood the information imparted to them. 66% patients were informed about the type of anaesthesia proposed but none was given any hint about complications of anaesthesia. 11% patients actually signed the consent forms themselves. CONCLUSION The quality of existing informed consent process in a university hospital is less than ideal. There is a great need to educate the doctors and healthcare regarding the importance of patient's autonomy and their right to the information about their medical condition and the proposed surgical procedures to ensure their participation in the decision making regarding their treatment.