Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overexpression of the Phosphoserine Phosphatase-Encoding Gene (AtPSP1) Promotes Starch Accumulation in Lemna turionifera 5511 under Sulfur Deficiency

Duckweeds are well known for their high accumulation of starch under stress conditions, along with inhibited growth. The phosphorylation pathway of serine biosynthesis (PPSB) was reported as playing a vital role in linking the carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur metabolism in this plant. The overexpression of AtPSP1, the last key enzyme of the PPSB pathway in duckweed, was found to stimulate the accumulation of starch under sulfur-deficient conditions. The growth- and photosynthesis-related parameters were higher in the AtPSP1 transgenic plants than in the WT. The transcriptional analysis showed that the expression of several genes in starch synthesis, TCA, and sulfur absorption, transportation, and assimilation was significantly up- or downregulated. The study suggests that PSP engineering could improve starch accumulation in Lemna turionifera 5511 by coordinating the carbon metabolism and sulfur assimilation under sulfur-deficient conditions.
The equation xn−1/x−1= yq with x square

It has been conjectured that equation formula here has only finitely many solutions. We observe that (x, y, n, q)=(3, 11, 5, 2), (7, 20, 4, 2) and (18, 7, 3, 3) are solutions of (1). These are the only known solutions and perhaps (1) has no other solution. Ljunggren [8] proved in 1943 that (1) with q=2 has no solution other than x=3, y=11, n=5 and x=7, y=20, n=4. Shorey and Tijdeman [16] confirmed the conjecture if x is fixed. Let z>1 be an integer. The main purpose of this paper is to show that (1) has no solution if x is restricted to the infinite set of squares z2 with z[ges ]32 and z∈{2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 16, 27}.
Vibration analysis of symmetrically laminated composite rectangular plates

The free vibration problem of symmetrically laminated composite rectangular plates is formulated based on anisotropic thick plate theory including the effects of shear deformation and rotary inertia. Considering the difficulty of obtaining closed-form solutions, Rayleigh-Ritz analysis using polynomials having the property of Timoshenko beam functions as trial functions is adopted. The boundary conditions elastically restrained against rotation are accomodated as well as classical boundary conditions. From the results of numerical studies, the validity of the present method is verified. And it is also found that the adoption of thick plate theory for the vibration analysis of laminated composite plates is essential because of the relatively large shear deformation effect, and that the convergence of the Rayleigh quotient to the stationary value is less rapid in anisotropic composite plates than that in the orthotropic ones due to more complicated mode shapes of the former.
PCSK9 Inhibitors in Cancer Patients Treated with Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitors to Reduce Cardiovascular Events: New Frontiers in Cardioncology

Simple Summary Atherosclerosis is a critical cardiovascular disease associated with the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a key orchestrator of atherosclerotic process and it is also involved in cancer progression and immune-resistance. In this context, data from recent meta-analysis and cardiovascular outcome trials associate PCSK9 levels to reduced ICIs-related cancer responsiveness and to high risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. This review summarizes the pleiotropic effects of PCSK9 in heart failure, atherosclerosis, and cancer immune recognition, and outlines its ability to represent a new pharmacological target in patients who develop ICIs-related atherosclerosis to reduce cardiovascular mortality and to improve overall survival. Abstract Cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are exposed to a high risk of atherosclerosis and cardiometabolic diseases due to systemic inflammatory conditions and immune-related atheroma destabilization. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a key protein involved in metabolism of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. PCSK9 blocking agents are clinically available and involve monoclonal antibodies, and SiRNA reduces LDL levels in high-risk patients and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease events in multiple patient cohorts. Moreover, PCSK9 induces peripheral immune tolerance (inhibition of cancer cell- immune recognition), reduces cardiac mitochondrial metabolism, and enhances cancer cell survival. The present review summarizes the potential benefits of PCSK9 inhibition through selective blocking antibodies and siRNA in patients with cancer, especially in those treated with ICIs therapies, in order to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular events and potentially improve ICIs-related anticancer functions.
THE CRITERION AUTOREGRESSIVE TRANSFER FUNCTION OF PARZEN

A mathematical derivation of the Criterion Autoregressive Transfer Function (CAT) of Parzen (1974) is given and a generalization of this criterion is introduced. The asymptotic distribution of the orders selected by CAT, this generalized criterion, and a new version of CAT introduced by Parzen (1977a) are derived. The joint finite sample behaviour of these three criteria and of the FPEα,-criterion of Bhansali and Downham (1977) is examined by means of a simulation study.
Hydrogen chemisorption on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons via tunnelling

The chemisorption of hydrogen atoms on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is studied at low temperatures via quantum mechanical tunnelling through reaction barriers. PAHs are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium and may exist in various charge states as well as hydrogenation states. PAHs have been suggested to catalyze H2 formation in photon-dominated regions via chemisorbed hydrogen atoms. Hydrogenated PAHs are also implicated by the relative strengths of the infrared bands in protoplanetary nebulae, reflection nebulae and H ii regions. The activation barrier for the chemisorption of hydrogen atoms to graphite is prohibitively high (∼5000 K) at low to moderate temperatures for this reaction to occur classically. On PAHs, however, edge sites are more flexible and can accommodate the incoming hydrogen atom more easily, resulting in a lower barrier. Combined with a further rate enhancement via tunnelling, hydrogen chemisorption on PAH edges may become feasible in various regions in the interstellar medium. We present harmonic quantum transition state theory calculations, which incorporate tunnelling, on pyrene as a model PAH system. Indeed the relatively low (∼2000 K) classical activation barriers for hydrogen atom chemisorption on edge sites combined with strong tunnelling give rise to non-negligible rates of the order of 10−16–10−18 cm3 site−1 s−1 at temperatures as low as 40 K, with a large kinetic isotope effect kH/kD≈ 64, characteristic for tunnelling. At this temperature, chemisorption on the core of a PAH is orders of magnitude slower, ∼10−22.5 cm3 site−1 s−1 even for the lightest H isotope. The addition of H atoms to PAH edge sites via tunnelling could be efficient enough to contribute H-PAH formation, although other processes may be more important.
Approximation of unbounded operators by bounded operators and related extremal problems

Contents §0. Introduction §1. Stechkin's bound for the degree of best approximation of an operator §2. Connection between Stechkin's problem and the ill-posed problem of recovering the values of an unbounded operator §3. Best approximation of functionals §4. Best approximation of differentiation operators and inequalities between norms of derivatives for functions of one variable on the line and half-line §5. Approximation of differentiation operators on classes of functions of several variables §6. Approximation of invariant operators §7. Approximation of one class of differentiable functions by another class of smoother functions Bibliography
Deciphering the virulence factors, regulation, and immune response to Acinetobacter baumannii infection

Deciphering the virulence factors, regulation, and immune response to Acinetobacter baumannii infectionAcinetobacter baumannii is a gram-negative multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogen and a major cause of hospital acquired infetions. Carbapenem resistant A. baumannii has been categorised as a Priority1 critial pathogen by the World Health Organisation. A. baumannii is responsible for infections in hospital settings, clinical sectors, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and bloodstream infections with a mortality rates up to 35%. With the development of advanced genome sequencing, molecular mechanisms of manipulating bacterial genomes, and animal infection studies, it has become more convenient to identify the factors that play a major role in A. baumannii infection and its persistence. In the present review, we have explored the mechanism of infection, virulence factors, and various other factors associated with the pathogenesis of this organism. Additionally, the role of the innate and adaptive immune response, and the current progress in the development of innovative strategies to combat this multidrug-resistant pathogen is also discussed.
High Order Finite Difference Schemes on Non-uniform Meshes with Good Conservation Properties

Numerical simulation of turbulent flows (DNS or LES) requires numerical methods that are both stable and free of numerical dissipation. One way to achieve this is to enforce additional constraints, such as discrete conservation of mass, momentum, and kinetic energy. The objective of this work is to generalize the high order schemes of Morinishi et al. to non-uniform meshes while maintaining conservation properties of the schemes as much as possible. This generalization is achieved by preserving symmetries of the uniform mesh case. The proposed schemes do not simultaneously conserve mass, momentum, and kinetic energy. However, depending on the form of the convective term, conservation of either momentum or energy in addition to mass can be achieved. It is shown that the conservation properties of the generalized schemes are as good as those of the standard second order finite difference scheme on non-uniform meshes, while the accuracy of the new schemes is definitely superior. The predicted conservation properties are demonstrated numerically in inviscid flow simulations.
Simulation and Parameter Variation of Flapping-Wing Motion Based on Dragonfly Hovering

The flapping motion of a wing based on the hind wing of the Aeschna juncea dragonfly is simulated using a three-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes solver. The performance of the wing is investigated by variation of a number of kinematic parameters. Flapping amplitudes of between 10 and 60 deg (half-angle) and frequencies of 1 to 300 Hz are considered, resulting in a Reynolds number range of 100 to 50,000. The flapping amplitude observed for Aeschna juncea is shown to maximize the ratio of mean vertical force produced to power required.
Revisiting Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Is it still universal content?

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to investigate the current validity of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory (HNT). Based on social role theory, Mannheim’s theory of generations and income inequality approach and in the light of the purpose, this research is conducted with MMR (mixed-methods research) which has two sub-studies. In the first study, 240 randomly chosen people were asked to compare the satisfaction priority of needs pairwise. The data were examined according to different demographic groups that participated in the study. Results showed that Maslow’s HNT depends on gender, age, and income level. The second study was conducted to deeply understand why this variety in the hierarchy occurs. Thus, we interviewed 12 people, chosen with purposive sampling, of different age, gender, and income level of the aforementioned sample. In the discussion part, the results of both sub-studies were interpreted.
An elevated parametric thyroid feedback quantile-based index is associated with atrial fibrillation

Introduction Atrial fibrillation is associated with hyperthyroidism. Within the euthyroid range, it is also associated with high thyroxine (fT4), but not with thyrotropin (TSH). We aim to describe differences in thyroid regulation, measured by the Parametric Thyroid Feedback Quantile-Based Index (PTFQI), between patients with atrial fibrillation and the general population. Materials and methods Thyroid parameters (PTFQI, TSH, and fT4) of a sample of 84 euthyroid subjects with atrial fibrillation (cases) were compared to a reference sample of euthyroid healthcare patients (controls). We calculated age and sex adjusted ORs for atrial fibrillation across tertiles of these parameters. Also, within cases, we studied thyroid parameters association with clinical characteristics of the atrial fibrillation. Results After adjusting for age and sex, fT4 and PTFQI were higher in subjects with atrial fibrillation when compared to the general sample (p<0.01 and p=0.01, respectively). Atrial fibrillation ORs of the third versus the first PTFQI tertile was 1.88(95%CI 1.07,3.42), and there was a gradient across tertiles (p trend=0.02). Among atrial fibrillation patients, we observed that higher PTFQI was associated with sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAS) (p=0.03), higher fT4 was associated with the presence of an arrhythmogenic trigger (p=0.02) and with heart failure (p<0.01), and higher TSH was also associated with OSAS (p<0.01). Conclusions Euthyroid subjects with atrial fibrillation have an elevation of the pituitary TSH-inhibition threshold, measured by PTFQI, with respect to the general population. Within atrial fibrillation patients, high PTFQI was associated with OSAS, and high fT4 with heart failure. These results hint of the existence of a relationship between thyroid regulation and atrial fibrillation.
Time Frequency Analysis of Dispersive Waves by Means of Wavelet Transform

A new approach is presented for investigating the dispersive character of structural waves. The wavelet transform is applied to the time-frequency analysis of dispersive waves. The flexural wave induced in a beam by lateral impact is considered. It is shown that the wavelet transform using the Gabor wavelet effectively decomposes the strain response into its time-frequency components. In addition, the peaks of the time-frequency distribution indicate the arrival times of waves. By utilizing this fact, the dispersion relation of the group velocity can be accurately identified for a wide range of frequencies.
Numerical simulation of acoustic streaming generated by finite-amplitude resonant oscillations in an enclosure

Acoustic streaming motion in a compressible gas filled two-dimensional rectangular enclosure is simulated and the effects of the sound field intensity on the formation process of streaming structures are investigated numerically. The oscillatory flow field in the enclosure is created by the vibration of the left wall of the enclosure. The frequency of the wall vibration is chosen such that the lowest acoustic mode propagates along the enclosure. The fully compressible form of the Navier–Stokes equations is considered and an explicit time-marching algorithm is used to track the acoustic waves. The formation of the wave field in the enclosure is computed and fully described and the acoustic boundary layer development is predicted. The interaction of the wave field with viscous effects and the formation of streaming structures are revealed by time-averaging the solutions over a given period. The strength of the pressure waves associated with the acoustic effect and the resulting streaming flow pattern is fou.
Exploring RAB11A Pathway to Hinder Chronic Myeloid Leukemia-Induced Angiogenesis In Vivo

Neoangiogenesis is generally correlated with poor prognosis, due to the promotion of cancer cell growth, invasion and metastasis. The progression of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is frequently associated with an increased vascular density in bone marrow. From a molecular point of view, the small GTP-binding protein Rab11a, involved in the endosomal slow recycling pathway, has been shown to play a crucial role for the neoangiogenic process at the bone marrow of CML patients, by controlling the secretion of exosomes by CML cells, and by regulating the recycling of vascular endothelial factor receptors. The angiogenic potential of exosomes secreted by the CML cell line K562 has been previously observed using the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model. Herein, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were functionalized with an anti-RAB11A oligonucleotide (AuNP@RAB11A) to downregulate RAB11A mRNA in K562 cell line which showed a 40% silencing of the mRNA after 6 h and 14% silencing of the protein after 12 h. Then, using the in vivo CAM model, these exosomes secreted by AuNP@RAB11A incubated K562 did not present the angiogenic potential of those secreted from untreated K562 cells. These results demonstrate the relevance of Rab11 for the neoangiogenesis mediated by tumor exosomes, whose deleterious effect may be counteracted via targeted silencing of these crucial genes; thus, decreasing the number of pro-tumoral exosomes at the tumor microenvironment.
The mast cell exosome-fibroblast connection: A novel pro-fibrotic pathway

Introduction In addition to the traditional activation of resident receptors by release of local mediators, new evidence favors the existence of exosomes in cell-to-cell communication that mediates delivery of specific cargo to modulate recipient cell function. We report that mast cell exosomes are an additional source of pro-fibrotic substances and constitute a unique pathway for the generation of excess collagen. Methods We use primary human lung fibroblasts (HLFs) to demonstrate the uptake of labeled exosomes isolated from the human mast cell line HMC-1 (MC-EXOs), previously shown to contain protein cargo in common with human mast cell exosomes. Results The MC-EXO uptake by HLF is to the cytosol and increases both proline hydroxylation in HLF lysate and secreted collagen, within 24 h, which is sustained over 72 h, the same time required for transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) to activate collagen synthesis in the HLFs. Unlike TGF-β, MC-EXO uptake does not induce fibrillar gene activation or invoke the Smad-nuclear transcription pathway. We show that MC-EXO uptake and TGF-β have an additive effect on collagen synthesis in HLF and postulate that MC-EXO uptake by HLFs is a contributing factor to excess collagen synthesis and represents a unique paradigm for understanding fibrosis. Discussion It is known that, in the lungs, mast cells are more activated and increase in number with inflammation, injury and viral infection associated with fibrosis. With the reported increased incidence of post-COVID-pulmonary fibrosis (PCPF), data from patients with severe COVID-19 are presented that show an increase in the mast cell number in lung parenchyma, the site of PCPF. Our findings provide a rationale for targeting multiple fibrogenic pathways in the management of lung fibrosis and the use of mast cell exosomes as a biomarker for the prognostic and diagnostic management of evolving fibrotic lung disease.
Dyslexia assessment in Amharic

ABSTRACT This exploratory study aimed at developing a dyslexia assessment tool in the Amharic language and to collect initial reliability and validity data on the tool designed to identify dyslexia in Grade 3. The developed battery consists of 10 tests. Data were collected from 121 Amharic-speaking children, aged 9 -12 years. Evidence of construct validity was obtained through factor analyses. Results showed that letter-naming was the most significant predictor of word-level literacy (WLL) skills in Amharic, followed by word-reading measures. Factor analysis revealed four factors: phonological-naming and decoding, comprehension, verbal short-term memory, and orthographic processing. In Amharic, which uses an alphasyllabary writing system, letter-naming is not only a vital WLL skill but also serves as a necessary foundational prerequisite for the acquisition of other WLL skills. The findings substantiate the account that even if the underlying cognitive factor responsible for dyslexia is similar among humans, its manifestations vary across languages and orthographies.
Point and confidence interval estimates for a global maximum via extreme value theory

The aim of this paper is to provide some practical aspects of point and interval estimates of the global maximum of a function using extreme value theory. Consider a real-valued function f:D→ℝ defined on a bounded interval D such that f is either not known analytically or is known analytically but has rather a complicated analytic form. We assume that f possesses a global maximum attained, say, at u*∈D with maximal value x*=max u f(u)≐f(u*). The problem of seeking the optimum of a function which is more or less unknown to the observer has resulted in the development of a large variety of search techniques. In this paper we use the extreme-value approach as appears in Dekkers et al. [A moment estimator for the index of an extreme-value distribution, Ann. Statist. 17 (1989), pp. 1833–1855] and de Haan [Estimation of the minimum of a function using order statistics, J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 76 (1981), pp. 467–469]. We impose some Lipschitz conditions on the functions being investigated and through repeated simulation-based samplings, we provide various practical interpretations of the parameters involved as well as point and interval estimates for x*.
Enhanced ionic conductivity and mechanical strength in nanocomposite electrolytes with nonlinear polymer architectures

Solvent-free polymer-based electrolytes (SPEs) have gained significant attention to realize safer and flexible lithium-ion batteries. Among all polymers used for preparing SPEs electrolytes, poly(ethylene oxide), a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, has been the most prevalent one mainly because of its high ionic conductivity in the molten state, the capability for the dissolution of a wide range of different lithium salts as well as its potential for the environmental health and safety. However, linear PEO is highly semicrystalline at room temperature and thus exhibits weak mechanical performance. Addition of nanoparticles enhances the mechanical strength and effectively decreases the crystallization of linear PEO, yet enhancement in mechanical performance often results in decreased ionic conductivity when compared to the neat linear PEO-based electrolytes; new strategies for decoupling ionic conductivity from mechanical reinforcement are urgently needed. Herein, we used lithium bis(trifluoromethane-sulfonyl)-imide (LiTFSI) salts dissolved in various nonlinear PEO architectures, including stars (4-arms and 8-arms) and hyperbranched matrices, and SiO2 nanoparticles (approximately equal to 50 nm diameter) as fillers. Compared to the linear PEO chains, the room temperature crystallinity was eliminated in the branched PEO architectures. The electrolytes with good dispersion of the nanoparticles in the nonlinear PEOs significantly enhanced ionic conductivity, specifically by approximately equal to 40% for 8-arm star, approximately equal to 28% for 4-arms star, and approximately equal to %16 for hyperbranched matrices, with respect to the composite electrolyte with the linear matrix. Additionally, the rheological results of the SPEs with branched architectures show more than three orders of magnitude enhancement in the low-frequency moduli compared to the neat linear PEO/Li systems. The obtained results demonstrate that the solvent-free composite electrolytes made of branched PEO architectures can be quite promising especially for irregularly shaped and environmentally benign battery applications suitable for medical implants, wearable devices, and stretchable electronics, which require biodegradability and biocompatibility.