Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Echinoside A, a new marine-derived anticancer saponin, targets topoisomerase2alpha by unique interference with its DNA binding and catalytic cycle.

BACKGROUND Echinoside A was isolated from sea cucumber. This study demonstrates its anticancer effects and its mechanisms of action. MATERIALS AND METHODS Anticancer effects of echinoside A were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. TUNEL and DNA fragmentation assays were applied to examine its ability to induce apoptosis. A series of biochemical assays were applied to investigate the inhibition of echinoside A on topoisomerase2alpha (Top2alpha). Molecular docking analyses were used to demonstrate the direct interaction between echinoside A and Top2alpha. RESULTS Echinoside A inhibited the growth of tumors in mouse models and human prostate carcinoma xenografts in nude mouse models. Echinoside A shows the unique characteristics of inhibiting the noncovalent binding of Top2alpha to DNA by competing with DNA for the DNA-binding domain of the enzyme and of interfering predominantly with the Top2alpha-mediated prestrand passage cleavage/religation equilibrium over with the poststrand passage one. These features distinguish echinoside A from other known Top2alpha inhibitors. As a result, echinoside A induced DNA double-strand breaks in a Top2-dependent manner. CONCLUSION Echinoside A targets Top2alpha by unique interference with the binding of Top2 to DNA and by imparing the Top2-mediated DNA cleavage and religation, exerting potent in vitro and in vivo antitumor activities.
Localization of somatosensory function by using positron emission tomography scanning: a comparison with intraoperative cortical stimulation.

OBJECT To investigate the utility of [15O]H2O positron emission tomography (PET) activation studies in the presurgical mapping of primary somatosensory cortex, the authors compared the magnitude and location of activation foci obtained using PET scanning with the results of intraoperative cortical stimulation (ICS). METHODS The authors used PET scanning and vibrotactile stimulation (of the face, hand, or foot) to localize the primary somatosensory cortex before surgical resection of mass lesions or epileptogenic foci affecting the central area in 20 patients. With the aid of image-guided surgical systems, the locations of significant activation foci on PET scanning were compared with those of positive ICS performed at craniotomy after the patient had received a local anesthetic agent. In addition, the relationship between the magnitude and statistical significance of blood flow changes and the presence of positive ICS was examined. In 22 (95.6%) of 23 statistically significant (p < 0.05) PET activation foci, spatially concordant sites on ICS were also observed. Intraoperative cortical stimulation was positive in 40% of the PET activation studies that did not result in statistically significant activation. In the patients showing these results, there was a clearly identifiable t-statistic peak that was spatially concordant with the site of positive ICS in the sensorimotor area. All PET activation foci with a t statistic greater than 4.75 were associated with spatially concordant sites of positive ICS. All PET activation foci with a t statistic less than 3.2 were associated with negative ICS. CONCLUSIONS Positron emission tomography is an accurate method for mapping the primary somatosensory cortex before surgery. The need for ICS, which requires local anesthesia, may be eliminated when PET foci with high (> 4.75) or low (< 3.20) t-statistic peaks are elicited by vibrotactile stimulation.
Accurate Characterization of Resonant Samples in the Terahertz Regime Through a Technique Combining Time-Domain Spectroscopy and Kramers–Kronig Analysis

We propose and experimentally demonstrate an original method, combining terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) and Kramers-Kronig relations (KKR), in order to characterize in transmission materials exhibiting high absorption peaks. At these frequencies, the modulus of transmittance of a sample could be null, or at least smaller than the detector noise, and consequently the signal phase is lost, not only at the peak frequency, but also at higher frequencies. Thus, for these high frequencies, the value of the refractive index estimated from the measured THz-TDS data could be strongly erroneous. Using an optimized version of KKR, namely singly subtractive KKR, we are able to retrieve the phase of the THz transmittance over the whole studied bandwidth and thus to correct the THz-TDS data to precisely determine the refractive index as well as the absorption coefficient of the material over almost the whole THz range.
Research of lane detection and recognition technology based on morphology feature

With the increasing of vehicle, people pay much attention to Intelligent Vehicle Visual Navigation System. Lane detection is the most important function of Intelligent Vehicle Visual Navigation System. When selected seed points are correct, the accuracy of the method of road region extraction based on regional growth is high. This method can identify lane region exactly. But when selected seed points are wrong, lane identification will fail, and lead into some interference information. In this paper, the deficiency of this method is improved. It uses this method to identify lane feature region, and introduces the area threshold value to filter scanned region growing area. This can reduce the interference of useless information on lane identification.
A hybrid ARQ scheme with power ramping

We propose and analyze a scheme for wireless channels, which is a combination of a hybrid type I automatic repeat request (ARQ) scheme and a power ramping. In the hybrid type I ARQ scheme, the same redundancy bits for error correction is transmitted repeatedly when a negative acknowledgment (NAK) is obtained. In addition to the ARQ scheme, the power ramping is considered for more reliable downlink data transmission, in which the transmission power is gradually changed from a small level to large levels when the number of retransmission increases. This is done without any knowledge of the channels at the transmitter. Simulation results show that by applying the combined hybrid ARQ and power ramping scheme with properly selected parameters, it has a throughput advantage of 3-5%.
Three Different Turkey Luteinizing Hormone Receptor (tLH-R) Isoforms I: Characterization of Alternatively Spliced tLH-R Isoforms and Their Regulated Expression in Diverse Tissues1

Abstract Using combinations of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and 5′- and 3′-rapid amplification of cDNA ends, three different, alternatively spliced, partial turkey LH receptor (tLH-R) cDNA isoforms were characterized from ovarian mRNA. The first cDNA (tLH-Rintact) showed 98% and 72–75% similarity with chicken and mammalian LH-R sequences, respectively. The second cloned cDNA isoform (tLH-Rinsert) contained an in-frame TGA stop codon within an 86-base pair insertion that was located in the extracellular domain of the seven-transmembrane region. The tLH-Rinsert isoform could encode a truncated soluble protein isoform that lacked the transmembrane region. The third cDNA isoform truncated the transmembrane region (tLH-Rtrunc) and was derived by the deletion of the last exon by incomplete splicing. Generation of multiple transcripts by alternative splicing was elucidated by partial characterization of tLH-R genomic sequences. The differentially regulated expression of the tLH-R mRNA isoforms in nongonadal tissues and ovarian stromal tissues during various reproductive stages was quantified and analyzed by Northern blot and/or RT-PCR. Alternatively spliced tLH-R isoforms were differentially expressed in a tissue-specific manner in most of the tissues examined. The steady-state levels of tLH-R mRNA isoforms were relatively high in the hypothalamus and optic nerve and relatively low in the cortex, pituitary, and cerebellum when compared to levels in ovarian follicles. In nongonadal reproductive tissues, the steady-state levels of tLH-R mRNA isoforms were relatively high in the uterus and infundibulum and relatively low in the isthmus, oviduct, and magnum. In addition, in the nongonadal peripheral tissues, the steady-state levels of tLH-R isoforms were relatively high in the thyroid gland and relatively low in the spleen, adrenal gland, kidney, skin, bursa, and muscle. The present study suggests that the alternative splicing of LH-R transcripts occurs in a tissue-specific manner and has been evolutionarily conserved (similar results were obtained in chicken and swine). These results raise fundamental questions as to the function of LH-R isoforms in nongonadal tissues.
Evaluation of minimum inhibitory concentration of quinolones and third generation cephalosporins to Salmonella typhi isolates.

A total of 323 Salmonella typhi isolates (261 isolates obtained during 1995-99 from Ludhiana and 62 randomly selected isolates obtained between 1980-99 from Chandigarh) were analyzed for drug resistant pattern. S. typhi isolates prior to 1986 were sensitive to all the antimicrobials tested by disc diffusion method. Most common multidrug resistance pattern noticed was ACCo T i.e. resistance to ampicillin, Chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole and tetracycline. This study has revealed that withdrawal of chloramphenicol due to high level of resistance during 1990-94, has led to re-emergence of 43-93 percent chloramphenicol sensitive mutants during 1995-99. Two S. typhi isolates in 1995 and one in 1999 from Ludhiana depicted resistance to ciprofloxacin. Susceptibility of S. typhi isolates to third generation cephalosporins ranged between 87 to 100 per cent. There was a gradual increase with time period in mean minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ciprofloxacin as it increased from 0.066 ug/ml for 1980-83 S. typhi isolates to 0.13 ug/ml for the 1996-99 isolates. Similarly, cefotaxime mean MIC for 1980-83 isolate was 0.172 ug/ml which further increased up to 0.32 ug/ml for S. typhi isolates encountered between 1996-99. In contrast, mean MIC value of 0.62 ug/ml of Ceftriaxone remained unchanged irrespective of the year of isolation of S. typhi isolates.
Cascaded tomlinson harashima precoding and block diagonalization for multi-user MIMO

We propose and evaluate the performance of a cascaded THP and BD system (THP-BD) for a MIMO downlink in which BD is used to mitigate multi-user interference and THP is used to mitigate spatial interference. We show that at moderate to high SNR, the cascaded THP-BD system achieves the same error performance as the system employing THP on a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) downlink. Also, symbol error rate (SER) of the THP-BD precoding technique is at least 3 dB better than a linear precoding scheme when perfect CSIT is available. We also evaluate the performance of this scheme for channels with noisy feedback and with temporal correlation. Significantly, we find that while THP is sensitive to temporal correlation of the channel, THP-BD is more resilient.
Riscos Psicossociais Relacionados ao Trabalho: perspectivas teóricas e conceituais

Riscos psicossociais no trabalho sao discutidos sob diferentes nomenclaturas, tais como como fatores psicossociais, fatores de riscos psicossociais, estressores e aspectos psicossociais. O objetivo desta revisao e analisar criticamente os aspectos teoricos e conceituais que sustentam as diferentes denominacoes para riscos psicossociais relacionados ao trabalho. Foram selecionados 64 artigos para composicao desta revisao, publicados entre os anos de 2006-2016, nas bases Scopus e Web of Science . Em funcao dos termos serem descritos indistintamente na literatura, nao ha uma clara definicao de quais fatores sao considerados riscos psicossociais ocupacionais. Este cenario afeta a maneira como se compreendem os riscos psicossociais no trabalho, tornando-os de dificil definicao e avaliacao. O construto precisa de melhor definicao teorica e operacional, e mais amparo da legislacao em Saude e Seguranca do Trabalho.
The Orientation of Modules Based on Graph Decomposition

In the layout stage of VLSI and printed circuit board (PCB) design, after all circuit modules (rectangular) are placed, it is possible to flip the modules so as to reduce the total net length. The authors formulate the orientation of modules as a graph problem and prove it to be NP-complete. The orientation problem is shown to be equivalent to finding a minimum cut of a graph with some arcs of negative capacities. In many cases, the graph can be decomposed into subgraphs to reduce the search space for optimum orientation. Experiments with real cases show that module orientation reduces the total net length and improves the routability. >
Duration of Vecuronium-Induced Neuromuscular Block as a Predictor of Liver Allograft Dysfunction

The major causes of liver graft failure are acute rejection, technical failure, and primary nonfunction (PNF). This study was undertaken to determine whether delayed return of neuromuscular function correlates with allograft primary dysfunction in humans given vecuronium. Twenty-two adult patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation were given an initial dose of vecuronium, 0.1 mg/kg intravenously (IV). All patients recovered from vecuronium-induced neuromuscular block prior to explantation. No additional neuromuscular blocker was given until the liver graft was implanted and reperfused. Fifteen minutes after reperfusion another 0.1 mg/kg vecuronium was given IV and recovery time from attaining complete neuromuscular block to return of the fourth twitch of a train-of-four was recorded. Patients were divided into three groups according to postoperative liver function. Group I consisted of 17 patients with immediate normal liver graft function. Group II consisted of four patients with primary dysfunction (PDF) [peak aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≫2000 U/L, prothrombin time ≫16 s, and poor quality and quantity of bile within 3 days postoperatively] which eventually recovered normal function. Group III consisted of one patient with PNF (uncorrectable coagulopathy, severe metabolic acidosis, rising AST and ALT, and minimal or no bile output), whose graft never recovered. Recovery time in Groups II and III was prolonged compared to Group I (P < 0.05). Recovery time in Group III was prolonged compared to Group II (P < 0.05). A test based on these results using a recovery time of ≫135 min as a predictor of PDF has a sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 76%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values are 50% and 93%. Duration of neuromuscular block after vecuronium administration appears to be an early predictor of liver allograft function. (Anesth Analg 1995;80:526-33)
Effects of Whole-Body VX Vapor Exposure on Lethality in Rats

Male and female rats were whole-body exposed to VX vapor in a 1000-L single-pass exposure chamber. Estimated exposure dosages producing lethal (LCT50) effects in 50% of exposed male and female rats were established for 10, 60, and 240 min exposure durations. A potency comparison with GB and GF shows that VX becomes increasingly more potent than these G agents with increasing exposure duration. VX is approximately 4–30 times more potent than GB and 5–15 times more potent than GF. Gender differences in the estimated median dosages were not significant at the 10, 60, and 240 min exposure durations. An empirical toxic load model was developed and the toxic load exponent for lethality (n) in the equation Cn× T = k was determined to be n = 0.92. The VX–G regeneration assay was successfully used as a biomarker for the presence of VX in the blood plasma and RBC fractions of the blood 24 h postexposure.
Presence of Host ICAM-1 in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Virions Increases Productive Infection of CD4+ T Lymphocytes by Favoring Cytosolic Delivery of Viral Material

ABSTRACT Although there is now convincing evidence that the infectivity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is increased by incorporation of host intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) in budding virions, the exact mechanism(s) through which ICAM-1 can so significantly affect HIV-1 biology remains obscure. To address this question, we focused our attention on the most proximal events in the virus life cycle. We made comparative analyses to estimate attachment and internalization of isogenic HIV-1 particles either lacking or bearing host-derived ICAM-1. Using attachment-and-entry assays and confocal fluorescence microscopy, we found that virus binding and uptake were both markedly enhanced by insertion of ICAM-1 within the virus envelope when PM1 lymphoid cells and primary human cells (i.e., peripheral blood lymphocytes and purified CD4+ T cells) were used as targets. Moreover, ICAM-1-bearing virions entered cells with faster uptake kinetics than viruses devoid of ICAM-1. Experiments conducted with fully competent viruses further confirmed the positive effect of virion-anchored host ICAM-1 on HIV-1 replication. Interestingly, subcellular-fractionation assays revealed that ICAM-1 incorporation modifies the HIV-1 entry route by increasing the level of viral material released in the cytosol, a process of internalization known to be mediated mainly by pH-independent membrane fusion and to result in productive infection. A virion-based fusion assay confirmed that the acquisition of ICAM-1 increases the efficiency of productive HIV-1 entry in primary CD4+ T lymphocytes. These observations provide new insights into how interactions other than those with gp120 and CD4-coreceptor complex can modulate the process of productive HIV-1 infection in CD4+ T lymphocytes, a cell target highly relevant to HIV-1 pathogenesis.
Reproducibility of a Laboratory Based 1-km Wattbike Cycling Time Trial in Competitive Cyclists

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of a 1-km cycling time trial using a Wattbike cycling ergometer in competitive cyclists. Ten competitive male cyclists (mean Â± SD; 63.9 Â± 5.1 mLÂ·kg -1 Â·min -1 ) performed a VO 2max test and a familiarization of the 1-km time trial (TT) on the same day, and 3 separate 1-km TT (TT1, TT2 and TT3) separated by >24 hours. Mean performance time was not significantly different between TT (70.27 Â± 5.95 vs. 70.06 Â± 5.75 vs. 69.79 Â± 6.0; P = 0.47) and displayed a low coefficient of variation (CV%; 90% CI: 0.6%; 0.4 â€“ 1.1%). The mean reliability, expressed as the coefficient of variation and typical error of measurement over the three TT was performance time 0.6%, 0.42 s (95% CL 0.28-0.77); mean power 1.2%, 6.3 W (95% CL 4.7-12.0); peak power 7%, 64.8 W (95% CL 45.3-124.9); blood lactate concentration 3.2%, 0.5 mmolÂ·L -1 (95% CL 0.9-0.3); heart rate 0.8%, 1.4 bpm (95% CL 1.1-2.5). Such high reliability makes the combination of the Wattbike, athlete and test protocol very suitable for detecting "real" changes in performance where improvements may be small but still considered worthwhile in a competitive sport setting.
ASSESSMENT OF NET PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY OVER INDIA USING INDIAN GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE (INSAT-3A) DATA

Polar orbiting satellites (MODIS and SPOT) have been commonly used to measure terrestrial Net Primary Productivity (NPP) at regional/global scale. Charge Coupled Device (CCD) instrument on geostationary INSAT-3A platform provides a unique opportunity for continuous monitoring of ecosystem pattern and process study. An improved Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach ( i CASA) model is one of the most expedient and precise ecosystem models to estimate terrestrial NPP. In this paper, an assessment of terrestrial NPP over India was carried out using the iCASA ecosystem model based on the INSAT CCD derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) with multisource meteorological data for the year 2009. NPP estimated from the INSAT CCD followed the characteristic growth profile of most of the vegetation types in the country. NPP attained maximum during August and September, while minimum in April. Annual NPP for different vegetation types varied from 1104.55 gC m −2 year −1 (evergreen broadleaf forest) to 231.9 gC m −2 year −1 (grassland) with an average NPP of 590 gC m −2 year −1 . We estimated 1.9 PgC of net carbon fixation over Indian landmass in 2009. Biome level comparison between INSAT derived NPP and MODIS NPP indicated a good agreement with the Willmott’s index of agreement (d) ranging from 0.61 (Mixed forest) to 0.99 (Open Shrubland). Our findings are consistent with the earlier NPP studies in India and indicate that INSAT derived NPP has the capability to detect spatial and temporal variability of terrestrial NPP over a wide range of terrestrial ecosystems in India. Thus INSAT-3A data can be used as one of the potential satellite data source for accurate biome level carbon estimation in India.
Les statistiques d'ordre supérieur appliquées à la séparation de sources

Le probleme de la separation de sources independantes gaussiennes melangees lineairement est devenu une application classique en traitement du signal, permettant d'illustrer toutes les potentialites d'une analyse statistique des proprietes des signaux. En effet, il est possible de construire les estimateurs de certains parametres d'un tel systeme au sens du maximum de vraisemblance pour ce type de signaux. Il est alors possible de separer des sources moyennant quelques hypotheses supplementaires sur le mode de propagation des signaux dans le milieu traverse pour resoudre totalement le probleme. Des lors que ces hypotheses physiques ne sont plus valides, on montre qu'il n'est plus possible de separer des sources notamment s'il s'agit de signaux non gaussiens, en utilisant la meme demarche. Ce cas de figure est precisement la situation traitee dans ce manuscrit. Nous montrerons qu'il est possible de construite la fonctionnelle de vraisemblance d'un tel systeme; celle-ci doit prendre en compte non seulement des criteres de puissance, mais doit permettre de decrire l'independance des sources d'une maniere plus precise. Il est alors necessaire d'introduire des statistiques d'ordre superieur. En pratique nous utiliserons un developpement de gram-charlier des densites de probabilite pour apprecier cette independance. Nous nous limiterons a un developpement d'ordre quatre faisant apparaitre des cumulants de meme ordre. Ces quantites statistiques possedent une structure tensorielle que nous utiliserons dans nos developpements apres en avoir expose les proprietes. Nous serons egalement amenes a preciser les notions de variables aleatoires complexes circulaires. L'algorithme propose donnant une solution du probleme au sens du maximum de vraisemblance presente la particularite de completer les algorithmes classiques classiques d'ordre deux par un algorithme specifiquement d'ordre quatre. Des exemples d'application de cet algorithme sont alors donnes