Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Staphylococcal strains involved in bovine mastitis are inhibited by Staphylococcus aureus antimicrobial peptides

The inhibitory activity of five bacteriocin (Bac)‐producer strains of Staphylococcus aureus was tested against bacteria pathogenic for cattle. Sixty‐five epidemiologically unrelated strains of Staph. aureus involved in bovine mastitis were used as indicators in an agar diffusion test. Bacteriocins produced by four strains could inhibit only a limited number of test organisms. However, all 65 indicator strains proved to be susceptible to the combined action of both bacteriocins encoded by pRJ9, a Bac plasmid found in strain A53. Therefore, the bacteriocins produced by this strain may represent new antimicrobial peptides with potential applications in the prevention and treatment of bovine mastitis.
Sensorless PMSM control for H-axis washing machine drive

In this paper a position and speed estimation method without position transducer is presented. This method is applied for horizontal axis washing machines with permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). By integrating methods, i.e. using a speed reference for zero speed startup and low speed acceleration, and back-EMF for mid-high speed operation, the rotor position can be estimated and controlled over the full speed range. In order to achieve correct operation from zero speed, the two techniques are combined with a crossover function based on the speed reference. The proposed method can be used in applications with significant and unpredictable variation in loads, such as horizontal axis washing machines. Moreover, the proposed method can be applied on drives with surface mounted PMSM or motors with low or distorted saliency signature. To verify the functionality of the proposed method, experimental validation was conducted using horizontal axis washing machine.
Robust Packaging Technique and Characterization of Fiber-Pigtailed Superconducting NbN Nanowire Single Photon Detectors

Efficient packaging and fiber coupling of a superconducting niobium nitride nanowire single photon detector is in itself a real challenge and is often a limiting factor to reach a high system quantum efficiency. Our approach makes use of a controlled expansion alloy, Carpenter Invar 36, that has been adequately heat treated to enhance its characteristics for cryogenic operation. This insures the integrity of the optical coupling done at room temperature while providing a good attenuation for electromagnetic interference due to the high relative permeability of this nickel-iron alloy. The small form factor of this optical fiber pigtailed package makes it versatile and could be easily integrated with a commercial cryogen-free system or simply dipped into a standard helium transport Dewar. We report on our experimental methodology to evaluate the optical coupling quality and present the optoelectronic characterization of two devices packaged in this way.
Mutagenicity of automobile workshop soil leachate and tobacco industry wastewater using the Ames Salmonella fluctuation and the SOS chromotests

Environmental management of industrial solid wastes and wastewater is an important economic and environmental health problem globally. This study evaluated the mutagenic potential of automobile workshop soil-simulated leachate and tobacco wastewater using the SOS chromotest on Escherichia coli PQ37 and the Ames Salmonella fluctuation test on Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 without metabolic activation. Physicochemical parameters of the samples were also analyzed. The result of the Ames test showed mutagenicity of the test samples. However, the TA100 was the more responsive strain for both the simulated leachate and tobacco wastewater in terms of mutagenic index in the absence of metabolic activation. The SOS chromotest results were in agreement with those of the Ames Salmonella fluctuation test. Nevertheless, the E. coli PQ37 system was slightly more sensitive than the Salmonella assay for detecting genotoxins in the tested samples. Iron, cadmium, manganese, copper, nickel, chromium, arsenic, zinc, and lead contents analyzed in the samples were believed to play significant role in the observed mutagenicity in the microbial assays. The results of this study showed that the simulated leachate and tobacco wastewater showed strong indication of a genotoxic risk. Further studies would be required in the analytical field in order to identify and quantify other compounds not analyzed for in this study, some of which could be responsible for the observed genotoxicity. This will be necessary in order to identify the sources of toxicants and thus to take preventive and/or curative measures to limit the toxicity of these types of wastes.
Turbulence as a driver for vertical plankton distribution in the subsurface upper ocean

SUMMARY: Vertical distributions of turbulent energy dissipation rates and fluorescence were measured simultaneously with a high-resolution micro-profiler in four different oceanographic regions, from temperate to polar and from coastal to open waters settings. High fluorescence values, forming a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), were often located in weakly stratified portions of the upper water column, just below layers with maximum levels of turbulent energy dissipation rate. In the vicinity of the DCM, a significant negative relationship between fluorescence and turbulent energy dissipation rate was found. We discuss the mechanisms that may explain the observed patterns of planktonic biomass distribution within the ocean mixed layer, including a vertically variable diffusion coefficient and the alteration of the cells’ sinking velocity by turbulent motion. These findings provide further insight into the processes controlling the vertical distribution of the pelagic community and position of the DCM.
Toll-Like Receptor 2 Represses Nonpilus Adhesin-Induced Signaling in Acute Infections with the Pseudomonas aeruginosa pilA Mutant

ABSTRACT Expression of pili and associated proteins is an important means of host invasion by bacterial pathogens. Recent evidence has suggested that the binding of Pseudomonas aeruginosa through nonpilus adhesins may also be important in respiratory diseases, since adhesins bind mucins. Using wild-type C57BL/6 and TLR2KO mice, we compared the induction levels of the host response to P. aeruginosa that either expressed pili or lacked pilus expression due to a mutation in the structural gene pilA. In C57BL/6 mice, deletion of pili led to a decreased immune response, evidenced by a lower secretion of cytokines and a lack of neutrophil chemotaxis. By contrast, the P. aeruginosa pilA mutant induced a hyperresponsive phenotype in TLR2KO mice. TLR2KO mice showed an increased number of neutrophils in lavage fluid compared to the levels seen when either mouse strain was exposed to wild-type P. aeruginosa. Further analysis indicated that the increased neutrophil influx was associated with an increased expression of calgranulins, possibly through an induction of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression. The hyperresponsive phenotype of TLR2KO mice exposed to the P. aeruginosa pilA mutant was associated with TLR4 induction and indicated that nonpilus adhesin-induced signaling was repressed by TLR2 function and, if not blocked by the host, could induce airway hyperresponsiveness.
Elastase digestion of demembranated sperm flagella

The changes in adenosine triphosphate-reactivated motility resulting from digestion of Triton-demembranated sea urchin sperm flagella by elastase are those expected if the elastic interdoublet linkages between flagellar microtubules are particularly sensitive to digestion by elastase and take part in regulating the amplitude of flagellar bending.
Molecular cloning of the murine adenosine deaminase gene from a genetically enriched source: identification and characterization of the promoter region

A genomic library was prepared with DNA from a genetically enriched mouse cell line in which amplified copies of the adenosine deaminase (ADA) gene account for over 5% of the genome. Overlapping cosmid clones encompassing the entire ADA structural gene were isolated from this genomic library and used for subsequent structural and functional analyses. Nuclease protection and primer extension analyses served to identify the location of multiple transcription initiation sites at the 5' end of the structural gene. Promoter activity was found by functional analyses to reside within a 240-base-pair fragment which contains the transcription initiation sites. Sequences upstream of the transcription initiation sites are very G + C rich (77%) and include a 22 nucleotide stretch of deoxyguanylate residues and two potential Sp1 transcription factor-binding sites. Comparison of the mouse and human ADA gene promoters revealed the presence of several regions that are highly conserved with regard to both sequence content and location and may represent genetic elements which are involved in ADA gene expression.
Identification and Position Control of Marine Helm using Artificial Neural Network Neural Network

If nonlinearities such as saturation of the amplifier gain and motor torque, gear backlash, and shaft compliancesjust to name a few are considered in the position control system of marine helm, traditional control methods are no longer sufficient to be used to improve the performance of the system. In this paper an alternative approach to traditional control methods a neural network reference controller is proposed to establish an adaptive control of the position of the marine helm to achieve the controlled variable at the command position. This neural network controller comprises of two neural networks. One is the plant model network used to identify the nonlinear system and the other the controller network used to control the output to follow the reference model. The experimental results demonstrate that this adaptive neural network reference controller has much better control performance than is obtained with traditional controllers.
Analysis of a tissue-specific enhancer: ARF6 regulates adipogenic gene expression

The molecular basis of adipocyte-specific gene expression is not well understood. We have previously identified a 518-bp enhancer from the adipocyte P2 gene that stimulates adipose-specific gene expression in both cultured cells and transgenic mice. In this analysis of the enhancer, we have defined and characterized a 122-bp DNA fragment that directs differentiation-dependent gene expression in cultured preadipocytes and adipocytes. Several cis-acting elements have been identified and shown by mutational analysis to be important for full enhancer activity. One pair of sequences, ARE2 and ARE4, binds a nuclear factor (ARF2) present in extracts derived from many cell types. Multiple copies of these elements stimulate gene expression from a minimal promoter in preadipocytes, adipocytes, and several other cultured cell lines. A second pair of elements, ARE6 and ARE7, binds a separate factor (ARF6) that is detected only in nuclear extracts derived from adipocytes. The ability of multimers of ARE6 or ARE7 to stimulate promoter activity is strictly adipocyte specific. Mutations in the ARE6 sequence greatly reduce the activity of the 518-bp enhancer. These data demonstrate that several cis- and trans-acting components contribute to the activity of the adipocyte P2 enhancer and suggest that ARF6, a novel differentiation-dependent factor, may be a key regulator of adipogenic gene expression.
The impact of community-based eHealth self-management intervention among elderly living alone with hypertension

Introduction This study intended to examine the effect of an eHealth self-management (eHSM) intervention on elderly Korean persons who live alone in a community. Methods A quasi-experimental study was designed, and a total of 64 elderly persons (intervention n = 31, control n = 33) with hypertension (a systolic blood pressure measurement of ≥140 and/or a diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg) or taking anti-hypertensive medication participated. The eHSM intervention consisted of a four-week, in-class educational phase, community-based eHealth monitoring, and monthly telephone counselling for 24 weeks. Results The primary outcome measurement of the study was BP, and secondary outcomes included psycho-behavioural variables. Specifically, the systolic BP among intervention group participants was 133.9 mm Hg at baseline and 122.5 mm Hg after 24 weeks of follow-up. Participants in the intervention group showed greater improvement in self-efficacy, self-care behaviour, and social support than did participants in the control group 24 weeks post-intervention. Discussion The results highlight the clinical efficacy of an eHSM intervention composed of a four-week education program, self-monitoring, and follow-up counselling. The eHSM intervention should be expanded to include community-dwelling elderly persons with hypertension to improve the self-management of hypertension and control of blood pressure.
Cerebrospinal fluid antibodies to tubulin are elevated in the patients with multiple sclerosis

Background and purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the levels of anti‐tubulin antibodies (anti‐TU) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum using bovine tubulin as the antigen in one enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method (anti‐TUb antibodies) and a synthetic neuron‐specific octapeptide of tubulin in a second ELISA method (anti‐TUs antibodies).
Visual Movie Analytics

The analysis of inherent structures of movies plays an important role in studying stylistic devices and specific, content-related questions. Examples are the analysis of personal constellations in movie scenes, dialogue-based content analysis, or the investigation of image-based features. We provide a visual analytics approach that supports the analytical reasoning process to derive higher level insights about the content on a semantic level. Combining automatic methods for semantic scene analysis based on script and subtitle text, we perform a low-level analysis of the data automatically. Our approach features an interactive visualization that allows a multilayer interpretation of descriptive features to characterize movie content. For semantic analysis, we extract scene information from movie scripts and match them with the corresponding subtitles. With text- and image-based query techniques, we facilitate an interactive comparison of different movie scenes on an image and on a semantic level. We demonstrate how our approach can be applied for content analysis on a popular Hollywood movie.
Joint Selling of Complementary Components Under Brand and Retail Competition

Suppliers of complementary goods often package their items together when selling to downstream retailers. One motivation behind this behavior is to reduce double marginalization through coordinated pricing so that system efficiency is improved and individual members can also benefit. The objective of this paper is to understand how competition in supply chains would impact such joint selling partnerships among complementary suppliers. We first model competition at the supply level, which is generated from the existence of multiple partially substitutable brands (or suppliers) for a particular component. We then extend the analysis to a model that also involves retail competition caused by decentralization among retailers who assemble suppliers' components into final products and sell to customers. The analysis of a model with two complementary components, one of which has multiple brands, indicates that the supply-level competition discourages joint selling of complementary goods. That is, when competing brands become more alike (or substitutable), complementary suppliers act more independently in pricing and selling their items. However, retail competition leads to an opposite effect: Competition among retailers would actually encourage complementary suppliers to package their goods together and act jointly.
Coordinated Movement of Cytoplasmic and Transmembrane Domains of RyR1 upon Gating

Ryanodine receptor type 1 (RyR1) produces spatially and temporally defined Ca2+ signals in several cell types. How signals received in the cytoplasmic domain are transmitted to the ion gate and how the channel gates are unknown. We used EGTA or neuroactive PCB 95 to stabilize the full closed or open states of RyR1. Single-channel measurements in the presence of FKBP12 indicate that PCB 95 inverts the thermodynamic stability of RyR1 and locks it in a long-lived open state whose unitary current is indistinguishable from the native open state. We analyzed two datasets of 15,625 and 18,527 frozen-hydrated RyR1-FKBP12 particles in the closed and open conformations, respectively, by cryo-electron microscopy. Their corresponding three-dimensional structures at 10.2 Å resolution refine the structure surrounding the ion pathway previously identified in the closed conformation: two right-handed bundles emerging from the putative ion gate (the cytoplasmic “inner branches” and the transmembrane “inner helices”). Furthermore, six of the identifiable transmembrane segments of RyR1 have similar organization to those of the mammalian Kv1.2 potassium channel. Upon gating, the distal cytoplasmic domains move towards the transmembrane domain while the central cytoplasmic domains move away from it, and also away from the 4-fold axis. Along the ion pathway, precise relocation of the inner helices and inner branches results in an approximately 4 Å diameter increase of the ion gate. Whereas the inner helices of the K+ channels and of the RyR1 channel cross-correlate best with their corresponding open/closed states, the cytoplasmic inner branches, which are not observed in the K+ channels, appear to have at least as important a role as the inner helices for RyR1 gating. We propose a theoretical model whereby the inner helices, the inner branches, and the h1 densities together create an efficient novel gating mechanism for channel opening by relaxing two right-handed bundle structures along a common 4-fold axis.
Microwave‐generated bionanocomposites for solubility and dissolution enhancement of poorly water‐soluble drug glipizide: in‐vitro and in‐vivo studies

In oral absorption of a drug, the drug first dissolves and then is absorbed by diffusion through gastrointestinal membranes. The gastrointestinal environment is aqueous in nature and it is well‐known that one‐third of the drug population is water insoluble. Hence, there is a need for enhancement of the solubility and dissolution of such drugs. In this work, enhancement of the solubility and dissolution of the practically insoluble drug glipizide was achieved by formation of bionanocomposites (BNCs) using microwave‐induced diffusion (MIND), which ultimately leads to bioavailability enhancement.
A wireless charging circuit with high power efficiency and security for implantable devices

This paper presents a wireless charging unit (WCU) consisting of a rectifier and a lithium-ion battery charger. It aims at inductively coupled implantable medical applications with wide-range input voltage and light output load. The rectifier promotes power conversion efficiency (PCE) by attenuating multiple pulses caused by dynamic offset-controlled comparator structure and coil resistance; for the battery charger, a ‘mode-division’ control method is proposed to realize smooth and accurate transition from constant current (CC) stage to constant voltage (CV) stage. Furthermore, a ‘state-checking’ operation ensures the security of the whole system. The WCU has been implemented in CSMC 1um high voltage CMOS process. Compared measurement shows that the pulses attenuation structure can raise the rectifier's PCE from 76.1% to 85.5%; simulation result shows that the proposed charger can control the CC-CV transition process smoothly and properly as expected with an average charging efficiency of 82.26%.
Effect of Er:YAG laser-activated irrigation solution on Enterococcus Faecalis biofilm in an ex-vivo root canal model.

UNLABELLED Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate mineral content and surface morphology of root canals coated with Enterococcus faecalis biofilm after treatment with several endodontic irrigation solutions, with and without Er:YAG laser-activated irrigation (LAI). BACKGROUND DATA LAI has been introduced as a powerful method for root canal irrigation resulting in smear-layer removal from the root canal wall. METHODS Distal and palatal roots from 60 freshly extracted human molars were used in this study. The coronal of each tooth was removed. Roots were split longitudinally and placed in an ultrasonic bath to remove the smear layer, creating conditions for the formation of E. faecalis biofilm. After incubation, the two halves were reassembled in impression material to simulate clinical conditions. Specimens were divided into two main groups: roots rinsed with irrigation solutions and roots subjected to laser irradiation combined with irrigation solutions. Solutions tested were 2% chlorhexidine and 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and saline. RESULTS Surface morphology: 17% EDTA irrigant solution combined with Er:YAG laser showed the best results for removing bacteria from the root canal walls. Chemical analysis: all samples treated with combined laser irradiation and irrigation solution had low surface levels of Ca compared with samples treated with irrigation alone. The Ca/P ratio was highest in the laser-EDTA group. Overall, mineral changes caused by laser with irrigation solutions were minimal, and statistically nonsignificant. CONCLUSIONS In vitro irrigation solutions, combined with Er:YAG laser irradiation, were effective in removing E. faecalis biofilm from root canal walls. Irrigation solutions without laser irradiation were less effective, leaving a layer of biofilm on the dentin surface.
Ethnic and geographic variations in HPV prevalence and genotype distribution in north‐western Yunnan, China

The prevalence and genotype distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) vary throughout the world. To assess the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV among three ethnic groups in two geographic locations in north‐western Yunnan, we recruited 522 women in Shangri‐le (n = 255) and Lijiang (n = 267). PCR amplification of HPV DNA was performed on cervical cells from these women using two consensus primer systems (MY09/11 and GP5/6). Amplified‐HPV DNA was genotyped using the HPV GenoArray test. Geographically, the HPV prevalence was significantly higher (P = 0.002) among Shangri‐le women than among Lijiang women. Infections with high‐risk (HR)‐HPV and with multiple HPV genotypes were also significantly more common (P = 0.001) among women in Shangri‐le than women in Lijiang. Additionally, the prevalence of overall, HR‐HPV, and single genotype HPV infections was significantly higher (P = 0.001) among Tibetan women than among Naxi and Han women. HPV‐16 and HPV‐33 were significantly more frequent in Shangri‐le women compared with Lijiang (P = 0.006) women. In addition, HPV‐16 (9.81%) and HPV‐33 (5.88%) were significantly more prevalent in Tibetan women than in Naxi and Han women. Here, for the first time, we highlight the significant variation in the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV in various populations in the north‐western region of Yunnan Province. J. Med. Virol. 88:532–540, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.