Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ethanol Extract of Melothria Maderaspatana Inhibits Glucose Absorption and Stimulates Insulin Secretion in Male C57BL/6 Mice

A study was planned with the ethanol extract of leaves of Melothria maderaspatana (Family: Cucurbitaceae) to check its effects on intestinal glucose absorption and insulin secretion. The results showed that the extract (0.156, 0.312, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg/mL) demonstrated a significant reduction in glucose absorption in a dose dependant manner. A maximum inhibition was observed at 2.5 mg/mL. The promotion of the extract on insulin secretion was confirmed by incubating β-cell of pancreatic islets and INS-1E insulinoma cells with the extract (1-1000 µg/mL). Administration of extract at 100 and 200 mg/kg p.o. in an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) led to a significant fall in plasma glucose level in 30 minutes after the administration in normal C57BL/6 mice compared to untreated (p<0.05).
Flexible physical interfaces

Human-computer interface devices are rigid, and afford little or no opportunity for end-user adaptation. This thesis proposes that valuable new interaction possibilities can be generated through the development of user interface hardware that is increasingly flexible, and allows end-users to physically shape, construct and modify physical interfaces for interactive systems. The work is centred around the development of a novel platform for flexible user interfaces (called VoodooIO) that allows end-users to compose and adapt physical control structures in a manner that is both versatile and simple to use. VoodooIO has two main physical elements: a pliable material (called the substrate), and a set of physical user interface controls, which can be arranged on the surface of the substrate.The substrate can be shaped, applied to existing surfaces, attached to objects and placed on walls and furniture to designate interface areas on which users can spatially lay out controls. From a technical perspective, the design of VoodooIO is based on a novel architecture for user interfaces as networks of controls, where each control is implemented as a network node with physical input and output capabilities. The architecture overcomes the inflexibility that is usually imposed by hard-wired circuitry in traditional interface devices, by enabling individual control elements that can be connected and disconnected ad hoc from a shared network bus. The architecture includes support for a wide and extensible range of control types; fast control identification and presence detection, and an application-level interface that abstracts from low level implementation details and network management processes. The concrete contributions to the field of human-computer interaction include a motivation for the development of flexible physical interfaces, a fully working example of such a technology, and insights gathered from its application and study.
Fibulin-4 conducts proper elastogenesis via interaction with cross-linking enzyme lysyl oxidase

Great arteries, as well as lungs and skin, contain elastic fibers as important components to maintain their physiological functions. Although recent studies have revealed that a glycoprotein fibulin-4 (FBLN4) is indispensable for the assembly of mature elastic fibers, it remains to be elucidated how FBLN4 takes part in elastogenesis. Here, we report a dose-dependent requirement for FBLN4 in the development of the elastic fibers in arteries, and a specific role of FBLN4 in recruiting the elastin-cross-linking enzyme, lysyl oxidase (LOX). Reduced expression of Fbln4, which was achieved with a smooth muscle-specific Cre-mediated gene deletion, caused arterial stiffness. Electron-microscopic examination revealed disorganized thick elastic laminae with aberrant deposition of elastin. Aneurysmal dilation of the ascending aorta was found when the Fbln4 expression level was reduced to an even lower level, whereas systemic Fbln4 null mice died perinatally from rupture of the diaphragm. We also found a specific interaction between FBLN4 and the propeptide of LOX, which efficiently promotes assembly of LOX onto tropoelastin. These data suggest a mechanism of elastogenesis, in which a sufficient amount of FBLN4 is essential for tethering LOX to tropoelastin to facilitate cross-linking.
Deadbeat Predictive Power Control of Single-Phase Three-Level Neutral-Point-Clamped Converters Using Space-Vector Modulation for Electric Railway Traction

This paper presents an alternative approach to address the control and modulation problem of single-phase three-level converters applied in the high-speed railway electrical traction drive system. Following the principle of deadbeat predictive direct torque control of ac motors, this paper discusses an improved direct power control (DPC) method based on a deadbeat active and reactive power prediction technique. Comparing with the conventional PI-based DPC scheme, the proposed deadbeat predictive DPC scheme can provide these advantageous features: lower current harmonics and THD index, lower active and reactive power ripples, and fewer adjusted parameters. Moreover, compared with PI-based DPC with the PI parameters optimization, this approach can also easily obtain fast dynamic response but without the main voltage orientation. A single-phase three-level space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) with inherent neutral-point voltage balancing capability is adopted, which can be combined with DPC scheme as an overall control and modulation system. A series of simulation and experimental tests have been conducted to demonstrate an excellent performance of the deadbeat predictive DPC. In addition, the neutral-point-voltage balancing ability of the adopted SVPWM method has been verified.
Clipping Technique for PAPR Reduction in OFDM Systems

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a modulation technique used in different wired and wireless systems. This is used for transmitting digital data at high data rates. Since the OFDM signal is sum of many sinusoidal signals, it results in high Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) which is one of the major drawbacks of OFDM. High PAPR increases the complexity of power amplifier and the power consumption. Clipping is a simple technique for PAPR reduction in OFDM systems. Though the system performance is degraded to some extent in this case, it makes the system simple while reducing PAPR effectively.
Is it Possible to Replace Stimulus Animals by Scent-filled Cups in the Social Discrimination Test?

A study in which the rat social discrimination test was refined is described. This test measures social memory by using, in general, juvenile rats as stimulus animals. Rats are offered a first juvenile to investigate (learning trial), and after a specified interval, the rats are offered the same rat and a second juvenile rat to investigate again (retrieval trial). When the rats sniff the second juvenile in the retrieval trial more than the first, social memory for the first juvenile is said to be present. This test is mainly based on scents from the juvenile. Attempts were made to refine the test to reduce the number of animals used, to enhance the scope of the test, and to improve its validity. Firstly, the stimulus animals were replaced by the scent of juveniles, in the form of cups filled with sawdust taken from cages of juvenile rats. Similar results to those in the original test were obtained when using these scents. Furthermore, male and female scents were tested, and showed the same results as for the juvenile scents. Secondly, rats were also given two cups (one scent-filled and one filled with plain sawdust) in the learning trial, to determine which allowed a more-precise delineation of motivational, discriminatory and memory components. Overall, it is possible to replace stimulus animals by scent-filled cups in the social discrimination test, to enhance the scope of the test, and to draw more-valid conclusions with respect to social memory.
Semianalytical treatment of solvation for molecular mechanics and dynamics

sorption results9 revealed that the iron surface was mostly covered by promoter oxides of AI, Ca, and K. Postreaction XPS results also revealed a C( Is) XPS peak of weak to moderate intensity centered at 284.1-283.7 eV. This binding energy approaches those (ca. 283.5 eV) reported for iron cat bide^. ^^*'^ More convincing evidence for carbide formation was obtained from TPHT results collected after reaction studies like those displayed in Figure 1 in which methane was the only product. After reaction at temperatures below 340 OC, only small amounts of reactive carbon could be distinguished with maximum methane desorption rates near 300 OC. However, for higher reaction temperatures, large amounts of methane were produced with a maximum rate just above 400 OC. Since XPS results revealed only small amounts of carbonaceous residue on top of the catalyst surface, this reactive carbon must be associated with carbiding of the catalyst. Consequently, it appears that the active carbon incorporation catalyst is carbided iron. This conclusion is well supported by bulk carbon to iron stoichiometries of 0.1-0.25 estimated from the TPHT peak areas which were adequate to represent 40-60'36 conversion to bulk carbides such as Fe,C or FeSC2. Moreover, preliminary results from studies using bona fide iron carbides have shown similar catalytic b e h a ~ i o r . ~
Iterative guided image fusion

We propose a multi-scale image fusion scheme based on guided filtering. Guided filtering can effectively reduce noise while preserving detail boundaries. When applied in an iterative mode, guided filtering selectively eliminates small scale details while restoring larger scale edges. The proposed multi-scale image fusion scheme achieves spatial consistency by using guided filtering both at the decomposition and at the recombination stage of the multi-scale fusion process. First, size-selective iterative guided filtering is applied to decompose the source images into approximation and residual layers at multiple spatial scales. Then, frequency-tuned filtering is used to compute saliency maps at successive spatial scales. Next, at each spatial scale binary weighting maps are obtained as the pixelwise maximum of corresponding source saliency maps. Guided filtering of the binary weighting maps with their corresponding source images as guidance images serves to reduce noise and to restore spatial consistency. The final fused image is obtained as the weighted recombination of the individual residual layers and the mean of the approximation layers at the coarsest spatial scale. Application to multiband visual (intensified) and thermal infrared imagery demonstrates that the proposed method obtains state-of-the-art performance for the fusion of multispectral nightvision images. The method has a simple implementation and is computationally efficient.
Experimental Observation of the Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect in a Magnetic Topological Insulator

Quantized and Anomalous The Hall effect, an electromagnetic phenomenon with a straightforward explanation, has many exotic counterparts, including a quantized version occurring independently of the presence of external magnetic fields. Inspired by a theoretical prediction of the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in magnetically doped topological insulator thin films, Chang et al. (p. 167, published online 14 March; see the Perspective by Oh) prepared thin films of the compound Cr0.15(Bi0.1Sb0.9)1.85Te3, with Cr as the magnetic dopant. They observed a plateau in the Hall resistance as a function of the gating voltage without any applied magnetic fields, signifying the achievement of the QAH state. An elusive effect emerges in thin films of a bismuth-antimony-telluride topological insulator doped with magnetic chromium. [Also see Perspective by Oh] The quantized version of the anomalous Hall effect has been predicted to occur in magnetic topological insulators, but the experimental realization has been challenging. Here, we report the observation of the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect in thin films of chromium-doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3, a magnetic topological insulator. At zero magnetic field, the gate-tuned anomalous Hall resistance reaches the predicted quantized value of h/e2, accompanied by a considerable drop in the longitudinal resistance. Under a strong magnetic field, the longitudinal resistance vanishes, whereas the Hall resistance remains at the quantized value. The realization of the QAH effect may lead to the development of low-power-consumption electronics.
Assembly and dynamics of the actin filament system in nonmuscle cells

Kinetic analysis has provided a detailed quantitative description of the mechanism of actin polymerization as well as the methods to analyze the mechanisms of action of actin‐binding proteins. In Acanthamoeba, five different proteins regulate the pool of monomers available for polymerization, cap the end of filaments, sever filaments, and cross‐link filaments. Remarkably, many of these interactions involve very‐low‐affinity bonds between the protein molecules.
Overlap Between the General Factor of Personality and Emotional Intelligence: A Meta-Analysis

We examine the relationship between the general factor of personality (GFP) and emotional intelligence (EI) and specifically test the hypothesis that the GFP is a social effectiveness factor overlapping conceptually with EI. Presented is an extensive meta-analysis in which the associations between the GFP, extracted from the Big Five dimensions, with various EI measures is examined. Based on a total sample of k = 142 data sources (N = 36,268) the 2 major findings from the meta-analysis were (a) a large overlap between the GFP and trait EI (r ≈ .85); and (b) a positive, but more moderate, correlation with ability EI (r ≈ .28). These findings show that high-GFP individuals score higher on trait and ability EI, supporting the notion that the GFP is a social effectiveness factor. The findings also suggest that the GFP is very similar, perhaps even synonymous, to trait EI.
Functional Genomics in Escherichia coli: Experimental Approaches for the Assignment of Enzyme Function

A major challenge in biochemistry is to understand the functional genomics of organisms. This is a staggering problem when one considers the fact that almost 40% of the genes in one of the best-understood organisms in the biosphere, Escherichia coli, have no experimentally verified function. In this paper we address the challenge of, and criteria for, assigning protein function in the context of the glutathione (GSH) transferase paralogues encoded in the E. coli genome. The E. coli genome harbors genes encoding nine GSH transferase homologues including YliJ, YncG, Gst, YfcF, YfcG, YghU, SspA and YibF as well as the membrane-bound enzyme YecN. Amazingly, only one of these genes has a reasonably well-defined function and it does NOT encode a protein with GSH transferase activity but rather a transcription factor, stringent starvation protein A, SspA.
Increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol by cholesteryl ester transfer protein-inhibition: a rocky road and lessons learned? The early demise of the dal-HEART programme.

Raising the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol has been proposed as a potential therapeutic strategy to reduce cardiovascular risk, largely based on the epidemiological studies showing that low HDL cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of coronary disease and cardiovascular events.1,2 This has been supported by experimental as well as translational studies, which have demonstrated the anti-atherogenic properties of HDL.3 This led to the perception of HDL cholesterol as the ‘good cholesterol’. Notably, in the Treating to New Targets study, low HDL cholesterol levels remained a marker of increased cardiovascular risk even in coronary patients with low LDL cholesterol levels (<70 mg/dL) on statin therapy.2 Although initial studies proposed reverse macrophage cholesterol transport by HDL as the main anti-atherogenic mechanism,4 more recent studies highlighted endothelial-protective properties of HDL, including the stimulation of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) production, as well as anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and anti-thrombotic effects.5,6 Importantly, however, these studies have used HDL isolated from healthy subjects or reconstituted HDL which differ in several ways from the HDL obtained from patients with coronary disease, as discussed below. Inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) offers an unprecedented opportunity to profoundly increase HDL cholesterol plasma levels.7 This has resulted in several large-scale programmes to explore the potential of CETP as a novel therapeutic target for cardiovascular prevention. The large randomized ILLUMINATE trial examined the effects of the CETP inhibitor torcetrapib on clinical outcomes in 15 067 patients at high cardiovascular risk. In spite of a marked increase in plasma HDL cholesterol levels of 72.1%, the trial had to be stopped due to increased mortality and morbidity in the treatment group.8 In subsequent mechanistic studies, the adverse effects of torcetrapib were attributed to off-target toxicity, in particular increased production …
Conformations of Polymers in Confined Spaces

Recent progress in single molecule manipulation methods allows us to measure forces in the pN range. In these methods, a polymer is usually attached by one end to the tip of a microscopic probe, approaching a surface. The force is then measured with respect to the displacement of the probe. In this work, we investigate these polymermediated forces. In our model, the force is purely entropic, with amplitude A which is determined by the difference between the universal exponent η of two different scale-invariant geometries. We investigate these forces through the conformations of ideal polymers in such geometries. By finding the conformation of a polymer, we can find the end-to-end distance of the polymer, which is related to the exponent η. We use simulation of a diffusing particle on a lattice to derive η for several scale-invariant geometries, such as cones with various cross-sections, two circular cones and cone touching a plane. We only look at the limit of long polymers, while the surfaces are all considered infinite. The results of our simulations match analytical predictions perfectly. We also investigate many geometries that cannot be studied analytically. We find that the more confined the polymer is, the larger the end-to-end distance is. We show that if the polymer is more confined at one area in space, it ‘escapes’ to the more open area in space and its properties change accordingly. We also investigate the winding angle of a polymer connected to a cone near a plane. We find that short polymers do not surround the cone, but ‘escape’ to one side and propagate there. We also study the winding angle of a monomer inside the polymeric chain, and find no conclusive evidence that it changes when the polymer is elongated.
Dante and the "Cursus": A New Argument in Favour of the Authenticity of the "Quaestio de Aqua et Terra"

As is well known to all who have followed the controversy concerning the authenticity of the Quaestio de Aqua et Terra, those who deny Dante's authorship of the treatise maintain that it is a forgery of the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century, most probably by Moncetti, the first editor, who published the work at Venice in 15081. The arguments in favour of the genuineness of the treatise, which had previously been upheld in a paper read (in 1895) before the Oxford Dante Society by Dr C. L. Shadwell, have been stated with great force and ability by Dr Moore in his essay on the Quaestio in the second series of his Studies in Dante2, in which he examined in detail the
Quantitative Fiber Tracking Analysis of the Optic Radiation Correlated with Visual Performance in Premature Newborns

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Many prematurely born neonates have abnormalities of vision or visual processing. This study tests the hypothesis that a correlation exists between the microstructure of the optic radiation and visual performance in premature neonates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed on 36 premature neonates ranging in age from 29 to 41 weeks of gestational age (GA) at time of MR imaging. DTI fiber tracking methods were developed to delineate the optic radiations and segment the tract into anterior, middle, and posterior regions. Structural development and spatial heterogeneity in the delineated optic radiations were quantitatively assessed with diffusion tensor parameters including fractional anisotropy (FA), directionally averaged diffusivity (Dav), parallel diffusivity (λ1), and transverse diffusivity (λ⊥). Visual maturity of the preterm neonates at the time of MR imaging was assessed with a visual fixation task. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between neonatal visual performance and the microstructure of the optic radiation. RESULTS: Fractional anisotropy within the optic radiation was observed to increase with GA (P < .0001). Dav, parallel diffusivity, and transverse diffusivity within the optic radiation each decreased with GA (P < .0003, P < .02, and P < .0001, respectively). The anterior segment of the optic radiation exhibited higher FA and lower Dav, parallel diffusivity, and transverse diffusivity (P < .005 each) than within the middle and posterior segments. Optic radiation fractional anisotropy correlated significantly with scores from the visual fixation tracking assessment, independent of GA (P < .006). CONCLUSIONS: This study detected a significant link between the tissue architecture of the optic radiation and visual function in premature neonates.
The induction of two biosynthetic enzymes helps Escherichia coli sustain heme synthesis and activate catalase during hydrogen peroxide stress

Hydrogen peroxide pervades many natural environments, including the phagosomes that mediate cell‐based immunity. Transcriptomic analysis showed that during protracted low‐grade H2O2 stress, Escherichia coli responds by activating both the OxyR defensive regulon and the Fur iron‐starvation response. OxyR induced synthesis of two members of the nine‐step heme biosynthetic pathway: ferrochelatase (HemH) and an isozyme of coproporphyrinogen III oxidase (HemF). Mutations that blocked either adaptation caused the accumulation of porphyrin intermediates, inadequate activation of heme enzymes, low catalase activity, defective clearance of H2O2 and a failure to grow. Genetic analysis indicated that HemH induction is needed to compensate for iron sequestration by the mini‐ferritin Dps. Dps activity protects DNA and proteins by limiting Fenton chemistry, but it interferes with the ability of HemH to acquire the iron that it needs to complete heme synthesis. HemF is a manganoprotein that displaces HemN, an iron–sulfur enzyme whose synthesis and/or stability is apparently problematic during H2O2 stress. Thus, the primary responses to H2O2, including the sequestration of iron, require compensatory adjustments in the mechanisms of iron‐cofactor synthesis. The results support the growing evidence that oxidative stress is primarily an iron pathology.