Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interactions Between Total Plasma Homocysteine, Oxidized LDL Levels, Thiolactonase Activities and Dietary Habits in Tunisian Diabetic Patients

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the predominant cause for morbidity and mortality in diabetes mellitus (DM). Patients with diabetes mellitus have two to three times the incidence of atherosclerotic disease compared to the general population (Kannel & McGee, 1979). Several etiologic factors increase susceptibility to CVD in DM including insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, endothelial dysfunction, prothrombosis, and increased protein glycation (Baynes & Thorpe, 1999). Plasma homocysteine levels are elevated in patients with diabetes, particularly in patients with type 2 diabetes as well as in individuals in prediabetic states who exhibit insulin resistance. Homocysteine (Hcy) is a non-essential amino acid that is produced from demethylation of methionine. Hcy can be remethylated into methionine by means of vitamin B12-dependent methionine synthase and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate as a methyl donor. Hcy can be also catabolized into cysteine (the transsulfuration pathway) via cystathionine beta synthase and cystathioninase, both enzymes being vitamin B6dependent. A third way to remove Hcy is conversion to S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH). The last reaction is mediated by SAH-hydrolase and favors the SAH formation in case of increased Hcy concentrations. S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM) is a universal methyl donor that is formed from methionine and converted into SAH after donating its methyl group. SAH is a potent inhibitor of most known methyltransferases (Kloor & Osswald, 2004). Among the main determinants of tHcy levels in non-diabetic subjects are age, sex, renal function, several diseases, drugs, coffee and chronic alcohol consumption, smoking and physical inactivity (Refsum et al., 2006). Genetic factors and nutritional deficiencies of folate
Selenium bio-fortification: an alternative to improve phytochemicals and bioactivities of plant foods

Background: Plants are the major food sources which possess marvelous health benefits and wellness to human. To date, the effort to improve composites in plants using bio-fortification technique is expedient in order to obtain super plant foods. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element works on antioxidant system in living things. Se has been bio-fortified into plants worldwide to increase Se content in plants as well as improve some plant bioactive compounds and biological properties. However, restricted documents were elucidated on the summary and underlying mechanisms which provide beneficial effects on plant phytochemicals and bioactivities improvement. This review attempts to study available literatures on Se bio-fortified plants and clarified possible routes that Se may effect to plants. Increasing the content of Se bio-fortified to plants resulted in both positive and negative effects. The appropriate exogenous concentration of Se bio-fortified to individual plants which can support growth or induce them to the early stage of stress are the vital strategic to provide desired effects on an improvement of phytochemicals, for example, chlorophyll, phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid. Moreover, the greater antioxidant, anti-cancer and prebiotic properties were also reported while higher doses of Se were toxic to plants. Consequently, Se bio-fortification can be claimed as a unique strategy to improve plant treasures. Keywords: Selenium, Bio-fortification, Phytochemicals, Bioactivities
Detection of Metamorphic Malware based on HMM: A Hierarchical Approach

Recent research have depicted that hidden Markov model (HMM) is a persuasive option for malware detection. However, some advanced metamorphic malware are able to overcome the traditional methods based on HMMs. This proposed approach provides a two-layer technique to overcome these challenges. Malware contain various sequences of opcodes some of which are more important and help detect the malware and the rest cause interference. The important sequences of opcodes are extracted by eliminating partial sequences due to the fact that partial sequences of opcodes have more similarities to benign files. In this method, the sliding window technique is used to extract the sequences. In this paper, HMMs are trained using the important sequences of opcodes that will lead to better results. In comparison to previous methods, the results demonstrate that the proposed method is more accurate in metamorphic malware detection and shows higher speed at classification.
eview n outlook on robust model predictive control algorithms : Reflections n performance and computational aspects

In this paper, we discuss the model predictive control algorithms that are tailored for uncertain systems. Robustness notions with respect to both deterministic (or set based) and stochastic uncertainties are discussed and contributions are reviewed in the model predictive control literature. We present, classify and compare different notions of the robustness properties of state of the art algorithms, while a substantial emphasis is given to the closed-loop performance and computational complexity properties. Furthereywords: odel predictive control ncertainty descriptions
Chronic Air Pollution Exposure and Endothelial Dysfunction

Fine particulate matter air pollution 2.5 m in diameter (PM2.5), a pervasive and often “invisible” component of odern-day atmospheres, has been linked to numerous dverse outcomes, including increased cardiovascular (CV) orbidity and mortality. Indeed, an American Heart Assoiation scientific statement recently concluded that the verall evidence is consistent with PM2.5 being causally elated to CV diseases (1). There remains little doubt that igher ambient PM2.5 levels over a few days can promote acute CV events (1,2). Although the short-term risks for a ingle individual are small, due to the vast number of ndividuals affected worldwide, the public health burden of ir pollution is enormous. It has been estimated that up to . 8% of acute myocardial infarctions are potentially attribtable to recent exposures (2). Although alarming, these gures (limited to the acute impact of pollution) in actuality epresent an underestimation of the totality of PM2.5elated CV health effects. Accumulating evidence supports the reasoning that the V risks posed by PM2.5 mirror those of other classical risk factors (1). The health risks posed by brief perturbations in any factor (e.g., an acute elevation in blood pressure) are markedly outweighed by those induced by the cumulative actions of pervasive long-term abnormalities (e.g., chronic hypertension). Hence, not only the magnitude but also the duration of exposure to a risk factor is important when considering the sum totality of ensuing health risks. In the context of air pollution, prospective cohort studies generally report an order of magnitude greater increase in CV risk induced by several years of PM2.5 exposure compared with that associated with inhaling similar levels over only a few days (1,3). One hypothesis put forth to explain these
Two-point similarity in the round jet

The governing equations for the two-point velocity correlations in the far field of the axisymmetric jet are examined and it is shown that these equations can have equilibrium similarity solutions for jets with finite Reynolds number that retain a dependence on the growth rate of the jet. The two-point velocity correlation can be written as the product of a scale that depends on the downstream position of the two points and a function that only depends on the similarity variables. Physically, this result implies that the turbulent processes producing and dissipating energy at the different scales of motion, as well as transferring energy between the different scales of motion, are in equilibrium as the flow evolves downstream. A particularly interesting prediction from the analysis is that the two-point similarity solutions depend only on the separation distance between the points in the streamwise similarity coordinate (i.e. υ = ξ′ − ξ), that is, the logarithm of the streamwise coordinate itself (i.e. ξ = ln x1, where x1 is measured from a virtual origin). Thus, the measures of the turbulence are homogeneous in the streamwise similarity coordinate. The predictions from the similarity analysis for the streamwise two-point velocity correlation were compared with combined hot-wire and LDA measurements on the centreline of a round jet at a Reynolds number of 33000, and with two-point velocity correlations computed from PIV measurements in a round jet at a Reynolds number of 2000 performed by Fukushima et al. In both cases, the measured two-point velocity correlations in the streamwise direction collapsed when they were scaled in the manner predicted by the similarity analysis. The results provide further evidence that the equilibrium similarity hypothesis does describe the development of the flow in fully developed turbulent round jets and that the two-point correlations are statistically homogeneous in the streamwise similarity coordinate.
Measuring the Effects of Environmental Regulation in Oligopolistic Markets with Differentiated Products

Pollution emissions from vehicles have increased considerably in recent years in many Brazilian cities, causing significant health problems. As a response, environmental standards for automobile pollution were implemented in 1988, and considerable reductions in emissions were attained. Nevertheless, in 1997 substantial differences in emissions between car models still remained, suggesting the need for further regulation. This paper simulates the effects of a new environmental standard on the automobile market. Using a discrete-choice model of demand and disaggregated data on the Brazilian car market from 1993 to 1997, we estimate own- and cross-price elasticities for each car model. This estimation is undertaken using a nested-logit model taking into consideration the choice between car classes and nationality. An oligopoly framework with differentiated products is used in the supply side in order to estimate unobserved marginal costs. In addition a hedonic-cost function relating marginal cost to characteristics and emissions is estimated. Based on the results obtained and the 1997 emissions data, a counterfactual simulation of a new pollution standard for hydrocarbon vehicle emissions is undertaken. The results indicate that, given the existing technology, imposing a new standard of 0.15 grammes per kilometre for all automobiles would lead to an average price increase of 12% and a reduction in total sales of 31%. This would generate a 39% reduction in total HC emissions per kilometre driven, with a tax revenue loss of 16%. The paper concludes that, although substantial emissions reductions could be induced by a tighter standard, the welfare effects of such a policy requires further analysis.
Human Mammary Epithelial Cell Transformation by Rho GTPase Through a Novel Mechanism

Abstract : Rho family small GTPases serve as molecular switches in the regulation of diverse cellular functions. Importantly, Rho overexpression is frequently seen in many carcinomas. However, published studies have almost invariably utilized immortal or tumorigenic cell lines to study Rho GTPase functions and there are no studies on the potential of Rho small GTPase to overcome senescence checkpoints and induce preneoplastic transformation of human epithelial cells (hMECs). We demonstrate here, that ectopic expression of wild-type RhoA as well as a constitutively-active RhoA mutant (G14V) in two independent primary hMEC strains led to their immortalization and preneoplastic transformation. These cells have continued to grow over 300 population doublings with no signs of senescence, whereas cells expressing the vector or dominant-negative RhoA mutant (T19N) senesced after 20 population doublings. Significantly, RhoA-T37A mutant, known to be incapable of interacting with many well known Rho-effectors including Rho-kinase, PKN and mDia 1 and 2, was also capable of immortalizing hMECs. Notably, similar to parental normal cells, Rho-immortalized cells have wild-type p53 and intact G1 cell cycle arrest upon adriamycin treatment. Rho-immortalized cells were anchorage-dependent. Lastly, microarray expression profiling of Rho-immortalized vs. parental cells showed altered expression of several genes previously implicated in immortalization and breast cancer progression. Taken together, these results demonstrate that RhoA can induce the preneoplastic transformation of hMECs by altering multiple pathways linked cellular transformation and breast cancer.
Metabolic Mapping of Breast Cancer with Multiphoton Spectral and Lifetime Imaging

Abstract : Tumor cells have altered metabolic states compared to their normal cellular counterparts. We found that fluorescence lifetime imaging of breast carcinoma and breast epithelial cells demonstrated changes in the fluorescent lifetime of bound NADH. Interestingly, there were significant metabolic plasticity differences between carcinoma cells and breast cell lines. In breast epithelial cells (MCF10A) there was a significant decrease in the fluorescence lifetime and percent contribution of protein bound NADH as the cell plating density increased. However, in carcinoma cells (T47D and MDA-MB-231) the lifetime and contribution of protein bound NADH was not responsive to cell plating density. Our findings demonstrate that fluorescence lifetime imaging can be used to differentiate normal and malignant cells and may be useful to help characterize tumor onset and progression on the basis of metabolic state. In order to investigate and verify changes in binding proteins, a polarization anisotropy decay measurements system is under development.
Structural and Functional Characterization of the Redb Recombinase from Bacteriophage l

The Red system of bacteriophage l is responsible for the genetic rearrangements that contribute to its rapid evolution and has been successfully harnessed as a research tool for genome manipulation. The key recombination component is Redb, a ring-shaped protein that facilitates annealing of complementary DNA strands. Redb shares functional similarities with the human Rad52 single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) annealing protein although their evolutionary relatedness is not well established. Alignment of Rad52 and Redb sequences shows an overall low level of homology, with 15% identity in the Nterminal core domains as well as important similarities with the Rad52 homolog Sak from phage ul36. Key conserved residues were chosen for mutagenesis and their impact on oligomer formation, ssDNA binding and annealing was probed. Two conserved regions were identified as sites important for binding ssDNA; a surface basic cluster and an intersubunit hydrophobic patch, consistent with findings for Rad52. Surprisingly, mutation of Redb residues in the basic cluster that in Rad52 are involved in ssDNA binding disrupted both oligomer formation and ssDNA binding. Mutations in the equivalent of the intersubunit hydrophobic patch in Rad52 did not affect Redb oligomerization but did impair DNA binding and annealing. We also identified a single amino acid substitution which had little effect on oligomerization and DNA binding but which inhibited DNA annealing, indicating that these two functions of Redb can be separated. Taken together, the results provide fresh insights into the structural basis for Redb function and the important role of quaternary structure. Citation: Matsubara K, Malay AD, Curtis FA, Sharples GJ, Heddle JG (2013) Structural and Functional Characterization of the Redb Recombinase from Bacteriophage l. PLoS ONE 8(11): e78869. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0078869 Editor: Martin G. Marinus, University of Massachusetts Medical School, United States of America Received August 1, 2013; Accepted September 23, 2013; Published November 11, 2013 Copyright: 2013 Matsubara et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was suported by RIKEN (Rikagaku Kenkyusho) (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Japan)(www.riken.go.jp/en/) funding to JGH and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/) grants BB/C514523/1 and BB/FO20503/1 to GJS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: heddle@riken.jp . These authors contributed equally to this work.
Screening of Streptomycetes for L-Asparaginase, Therapeutic Agent of Lymphocytic Leukemia from Western Ghats of Karnataka, India

Actinomycetes are the most economically and biotechnologically valuable prokaryotes and are responsible for the production of about half of the discovered bioactive secondary metabolites, antibiotics, anticancer agents and enzymes. The present study was successful in characterizing 25 Streptomycetes isolates inhabiting Agumbe province, of Western Ghats soil of Karnataka, India, for potential source of L-asparaginase enzyme. L- Asparaginase (L-asparagine amido hydrolase E.C.3.5.1.1) is an extracellular enzyme has anti-carcinogenic potential, received increasing awareness in the current years because of its use as an effective agent against Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). L-asparagine is a source of essential amino acid necessary for the growth of leukemic cells in higher amounts. Depletion of L-asparagine from the circulatory blood leads to death of malignant cells. Streptomyces isolates have been collected from soil samples by serial dilution and plating method employing Starch Casein Nitrate agar and ISP media. They were identified based on cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics. When primarily screened for L-asparaginase production by Rapid plate assay using Modified M9 medium containing L-asparagine and Phenol red as indicator, 23 isolates were found to be positive by showing change in color of medium from yellow to pink. Strain V17 isolate proved to be potent producer of the enzyme with higher amount of enzyme up to 22.45 IU/ml. About 92% of the tested isolates were positive for anti-cancerous potential, indicating the Western Ghats soils as potential sources for anti-cancerous agents. Further studies on purification and characterization of enzyme are under progress.
Measuring empathic tendencies : reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the interpersonal reactivity index

The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980) is a commonly used self-report instrument designed to assess empathic tendencies. The IRI consists of four separate subscales: Perspective Taking (PT), Fantasy (FS), Empathic Concern (EC), and Personal Distress (PD). The objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a Dutch version of the IRI. The IRI was administered to a Dutch sample of 651 normal functioning adults. The factor structure of the IRI was examined by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of the CFA revealed that there is room for improvement and modification of the original theoretical model. The validity of the IRI was tested using internal criteria (i. e., scale intercorrelations) and external criteria (i. e., correlations with subscales of the EQ-i (Bar-On, 1997), the NEO-FFI (Hoekstra, Ormel, & De Fruyt, 1996), Mach-IV (Van Kenhove, Vermeir, & Verniers, 2001), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), and the WAIS-III (Wechsler, 2000)). Overall, the internal consistency, construct validity, and factor structure of scores from the Dutch version of the IRI suggest that it is a useful instrument to measure people's self-reported empathic tendencies.
Effect of hybrid reinforcement based on precipitated silica and montmorillonite nanofillers on the mechanical properties of a silicone rubber

Silicone rubber (SR) nanocomposites containing precipitated silica (PS), montmorillonite (MMT), and PS/MMT hybrid fillers were prepared through melt-mixing technique. In the SR/PS/MMT nanocomposite, the hybrid filler weight ratio was increased progressively from 0.4 to 1.7 while keeping the MMT weight constant. The viscosity, cure characteristics, and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were subsequently measured. The optimum cure time increased, and the scorch time and rate of cure decreased. Furthermore, when the hybrid filler weight ratio was raised to its optimum, the tensile strength, Young's modulus, modulus at 100 and 300% elongation (M100 and M300), elongation at break, stored energy density at break, and hardness of the nanocomposite improved. The stress–strain properties of the nanocomposite with the hybrid filler improved at high deformation in comparison with those containing the PS and MMT fillers. The MMT filler exfoliated in the SR/MMT nanocomposite but did not in the nanocomposites containing the hybrid filler. Notably, the mechanical properties of the nanocomposite benefitted from the hybrid filler. This was due to the filler–filler and filler–rubber network formation in the rubber by the PS particles. Finally, effect of the PS, MMT, and hybrid fillers on the energy loss or hysteresis of the rubber was measured. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1909–1921, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers
Galaxy And Mass Assembly: Stellar Mass Estimates

This paper describes the first catalogue of photometrically-derived stellar mass estimates for intermediate-redshift (z < 0.65) galaxies in the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) spectroscopic redshift survey. These masses, as well as the full set of ancillary stellar population parameters, will be made public as part of GAMA data release 2. Although the GAMA database does include NIR photometry, we show that the quality of our stellar population synthesis fits is significantly poorer when these NIR data are included. Further, for a large fraction of galaxies, the stellar population parameters inferred from the optical-plus-NIR photometry are formally inconsistent with those inferred from the optical data alone. This may indicate problems in our stellar population library, or NIR data issues, or both; these issues will be addressed for future versions of the catalogue. For now, we have chosen to base our stellar mass estimates on optical photometry only. In light of our decision to ignore the available NIR data, we examine how well stellar mass can be constrained based on optical data alone. We use generic properties of stellar population synthesis models to demonstrate that restframe colour alone is in principle a very good estimator of stellar mass-to-light ratio, M*/Li. Further, we use the observed relation between restframe (g-i) and M*/Li for real GAMA galaxies to argue that, modulo uncertainties in the stellar evolution models themselves, (g-i) colour can in practice be used to estimate M*/Li to an accuracy of < ~0.1 dex. This 'empirically calibrated' (g-i)-M*/Li relation offers a simple and transparent means for estimating galaxies' stellar masses based on minimal data, and so provides a solid basis for other surveys to compare their results to z < ~0.4 measurements from GAMA.