Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Turgor Regulation in Osmotically Stressed Arabidopsis Epidermal Root Cells. Direct Support for the Role of Inorganic Ion Uptake as Revealed by Concurrent Flux and Cell Turgor Measurements1

Hyperosmotic stress is known to significantly enhance net uptake of inorganic ions into plant cells. Direct evidence for cell turgor recovery via such a mechanism, however, is still lacking. In the present study, we performed concurrent measurements of net ion fluxes (with the noninvasive microelectrode ion flux estimation technique) and cell turgor changes (with the pressure-probe technique) to provide direct evidence that inorganic ion uptake regulates turgor in osmotically stressed Arabidopsis epidermal root cells. Immediately after onset of hyperosmotic stress (100/100 mmmannitol/sorbitol treatment), the cell turgor dropped from 0.65 to about 0.25 MPa. Turgor recovery started within 2 to 10 min after the treatment and was accompanied by a significant (30–80 nmol m−2 s−1) increase in uptake of K+, Cl−, and Na+ by root cells. In most cells, almost complete (>90% of initial values) recovery of the cell turgor was observed within 40 to 50 min after stress onset. In another set of experiments, we combined the voltage-clamp and the microelectrode ion flux estimation techniques to show that this process is, in part, mediated by voltage-gated K+ transporters at the cell plasma membrane. The possible physiological significance of these findings is discussed.
Model Pooling and Changes in the Informational Content of Predictors: an Empirical Investigation for the Euro Area

I study the performance of single predictor bridge equation models as well as a wide range of model selection and pooling techniques, including Mallows model averaging and Cross-Validation model averaging, for short-term forecasting euro area GDP growth. I explore to what extend model selection and model pooling techniques are able to outperform a simple autoregressive benchmark model in the periods before, during and after the Great Recession. I find that single predictor bridge equation models suffer a great variation in the forecast performance relative to the benchmark model over the analysed sub-samples. Moreover, model selection techniques turn out to produce quite poor forecasts in some sub-samples. On the contrary, model pooling based on the Cross-Validation and the Mallows criterion provide a very stable and accurate forecast performance.
Tandem Equipment Arranged Architecture with Exhaust Heat Reuse System for Software-Defined Data Center Infrastructure

In this paper, we propose a novel energy-efficient architecture for software-defined data center infrastructures. In our proposed data center architecture, we include an exhaust heat reuse system that utilizes high-temperature exhaust heat from servers in conditioning humidity and air temperature of office space near the data center. To obtain high-temperature exhaust heat, equipment such as server racks and air conditioners are deployed in tandem so that the aisles are divided into three types: cold, hot, and super-hot. In this paper, to investigate the fundamental characteristics of our proposed data center architecture, we consider various types of data center models and conduct numerical simulations that use results obtained by experiments at an actual data center. Through simulation, we show that the total power consumption by a data center with our proposed architecture is 27 percent lower than that by data center with a conventional architecture. In addition, it is also shown that the proposed tandem equipment arrangement is suitable for obtaining high-temperature exhaust heat and decreasing the total power consumption significantly under a wider range of conditions than in the conventional equipment arrangement.
Obesity as a poverty‐related emerging nutrition problems: the case of Indonesia

Obesity is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability. In developing countries like Indonesia, obesity often co‐exists with undernutrition. Data from national basic health research 2007 showed that overnutrition was found among all age groups, on a double digit scale, with similar magnitude in urban and rural areas and higher prevalence in adult female. In contrary to 14% undernourished children under the age of 5 years, 12% of their counterparts were overnourished; for 6–14 years 10% vs. 6%; and for 15 years and above 15% vs. 19%. The purpose of the review is to raise awareness on the increasing obesity problem and to set recommendations to prevent obesity. Stunted adults in developing countries are 1.2 times more likely to be overweight than non‐stunted adults. Approaches to overcoming obesity in adulthood emphasize dietary changes, increasing physical activity and behaviour modification. It is important for Indonesia to target nutrition intervention for female adolescents, pregnant woman to first 2 years of life, initiate nutrition education for school‐age children and disseminate Holistic Healthy Framework Approach with key message ‘Initiate healthier food choices’. Prompt Nutrition Guidelines and the use of lower body mass index cut‐off should be considered.
Intraday Price Discovery in Indian Stock Index Futures Market: New Evidence from Neural Network Approach

This research aims to revisit the price discovery relationship between spot and futures prices of Indian equity index S&P CNX Nifty, using neural network approach. This study uses minute-by-minute prices of 167 trading days ranging from January, 2015 to August, 2015 to gain fresh insights on price discovery. The results reveal that change in futures prices lead the change in spot prices in training and testing of our sample. Neural network is an advanced methodology which is more effective in capturing non-linear relationship between spot and futures prices. Therefore, the results of this study could be considered more reliable and more robust as compared to previous studies for Indian market. Mean absolute error of the results indicates that, incorporation of futures returns in modelling spot returns improves the model by 30.8%. Whereas, inclusion of spot returns in modelling futures returns improves the results by only 25.4%. Though bidirectional spillover effect is present between spot and futures returns, but the futures returns are more dominant and more efficient. Therefore, it could be concluded that futures market serves as price discovery vehicle.
Hardware/Software partitioning algorithm for embedded systems with repeated functionalities

Hardware/software partitioning is a critical phase in the codesign approach of embedded system design. Most of the partitioning algorithms proposed assume that an embedded system has distinct sub-modules. The issue of partitioning of resource constrained embedded systems consisting of multiple occurrences of a single functionality, needs to be addressed. In this paper, we propose a genetic algorithm (GA) based partitioning algorithm which addresses the utilization of the already existing hardware instances on the chip for the repeated functionalities of the system, based on the constraints and concurrency of the functionalities.
Grapes, Wines, Resveratrol, and Heart Health

Epidemiological and experimental studies have revealed that a mild to moderate drinking of wine, particularly red wine, attenuates the cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular risk. However, the experimental basis for such health benefits is not fully understood. The cardioprotective effect of wine has been attributed to both components of wine: the alcoholic portion and, more importantly, the alcohol-free portion containing antioxidants. Wines are manufactured from grapes, which also contain a large variety of antioxidants, including resveratrol, catechin, epicatechin, and proanthocyanidins. Resveratrol is mainly found in the grape skin, whereas proanthocyanidins are found only in the seeds. Recent studies have demonstrated that resveratrol and proanthocyanidin are the major compounds present in grapes and wines responsible for cardioprotection. The purpose of this review is to provide evidence that grapes, wines, and resveratrol are equally important in reducing the risk of morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular complications. Both wines and grapes can attenuate cardiac diseases such as atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease. Recently, wine was also found to increase life span by inducing longevity genes. It appears that resveratrol and proanthocyanidins, especially resveratrol, present in grapes and wines play a crucial role in cardioprotective abilities of grapes and wines.
Chlorzoxazone pharmacokinetics as a marker of hepatic cytochrome P4502E1 in humans

Objective:Previous in vitro studies have demonstrated that hepatic P4502E1 metabolizes chlorzoxazone (CZX, a commonly used muscle relaxant) to 6-hydroxychlorzoxazone (6-OH-CZX). We thus assessed whether measurement of the plasma 6-OH-CZX/CZX ratio after a CZX challenge could serve as a marker of hepatic P4502E1 content.Methods:Three subject groups were included: recently drinking alcoholics (N = 6), abstinent alcoholics (N = 5), and nonalcoholic subjects with liver disease (N = 5) undergoing liver biopsy. Excess tissue was procured for immunochemical determination of hepatic P4502E1 content. Within an hour of the biopsy, 750 mg CZX was administered orally and serial plasma samples were collected for 6 h.Results:Recently drinking alcoholic subjects had a higher area under the curve for plasma 6-OH-CZX (1.354 ± 0.258 μg · min · ml−1) then abstinent alcoholic subjects (0.296 ± 0.080 μg · min · ml−1, p < 0.005) and subjects with nonalcoholic liver disease (0.428 ± 0.061 μg · min · ml−1, p < 0.005). The use of the plasma 6-OH-CZX/CZX ratio at 90, 120, and 180 min discriminated between recently drinking alcoholic and nondrinking subjects. Hepatic P4502E1 content significantly correlated with the maximal 6-OH-CZX concentration (r = 0.76, p= 0.001) and other pharmacokinetic parameters. In the recently drinking group, the area under the curve for plasma 6-OH-CZX significantly decreased after 8 days of abstinence.Conclusions:Measurement of plasma 6-OH-CZX after administration of a CZX challenge can serve as a marker of hepatic P4502E1 activity and thus help avoid adverse drug reactions secondary to P4502E1 induction, particularly in heavy drinkers.
Vasodilatory property of N-alpha benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester in the rat isolated pulmonary artery and perfused lung.

L-arginine has been proposed to be the precursor of the endothelium-derived relaxing factor. In this study, we evaluated the pulmonary vascular effects of L-arginine-HCl and its benzoyl derivative N-alpha-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester (BAEE) in the rat, in comparison with other vasodilators such as acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside. In isolated pulmonary artery rings incubated with indomethacin (10 microM) and precontracted with phenylephrine (2 microM), BAEE (10(-6)-10(-5) M) significantly (P less than .05) relaxed the rings more than L-arginine. This effect was potentiated by the endothelium (P less than .05). The relaxing effect of BAEE (ED50 = 2.1 X 10(-6) M) and acetylcholine (ED50 = 2.4 X 10(-7) M) was significantly less potent than that of sodium nitroprusside (ED50 = 1.1 X 10(-8) M). Moreover, pretreatment with the soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitors methylene blue (10(-5) M) and hemoglobin (10(-5) M) antagonized BAEE-induced relaxation in intact pulmonary rings but had no effect on the relaxation elicited with atrial natriuretic peptide. In the isolated lung preparations perfused with the endoperoxide analog U46619 (5-10 nmol/min), sodium nitroprusside (10(-10)-10(-8) M) elicited potent vasodilation (ED50 = 2.8 X 10(-9) mol) whereas no vasodilation was observed with acetylcholine (10(-8)-10(-5) mol). BAEE (10(-6)-10(-5) M) decreased in a dose-dependent manner pulmonary perfusion pressure, and similar doses of L-arginine showed only a mild vasodilating effect. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
IDENTIFYING PROBABLE DIABETES MELLITUS AMONG HISPANICS/LATINOS FROM FOUR U.S. CITIES: FINDINGS FROM THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDY/STUDY OF LATINOS.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare the ability of American Diabetes Association (ADA) diagnostic criteria to identify U.S. Hispanics/Latinos from diverse heritage groups with probable diabetes mellitus and assess cardiovascular risk factor correlates of those criteria. METHODS Cross-sectional analysis of data from 15,507 adults from 6 Hispanic/Latino heritage groups, enrolled in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. The prevalence of probable diabetes mellitus was estimated using individual or combinations of ADA-defined cut points. The sensitivity and specificity of these criteria at identifying diabetes mellitus from ADA-defined prediabetes and normoglycemia were evaluated. Prevalence ratios of hypertension, abnormal lipids, and elevated urinary albumin-creatinine ratio for unrecognized diabetes mellitus-versus prediabetes and normoglycemia-were calculated. RESULTS Among Hispanics/Latinos (mean age, 43 years) with diabetes mellitus, 39.4% met laboratory test criteria for probable diabetes, and the prevalence varied by heritage group. Using the oral glucose tolerance test as the gold standard, the sensitivity of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c-alone or in combination-was low (18, 23, and 33%, respectively) at identifying probable diabetes mellitus. Individuals who met any criterion for probable diabetes mellitus had significantly higher (P<.05) prevalence of most cardiovascular risk factors than those with normoglycemia or prediabetes, and this association was not modified by Hispanic/Latino heritage group. CONCLUSION FPG and hemoglobin A1c are not sensitive (but are highly specific) at detecting probable diabetes mellitus among Hispanics/Latinos, independent of heritage group. Assessing cardiovascular risk factors at diagnosis might prompt multitarget interventions and reduce health complications in this young population. ABBREVIATIONS 2hPG = 2-hour post-glucose load plasma glucose ADA = American Diabetes Association BMI = body mass index CV = cardiovascular FPG = fasting plasma glucose HbA1c = hemoglobin A1c HCHS/SOL = Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos HDL-C = high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol NGT = normal glucose tolerance NHANES = National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey OGTT = oral glucose tolerance test TG = triglyceride UACR = urine albumin-creatinine ratio.
A randomized controlled trial of home exercise on the rheumatoid hand.

OBJECTIVE To study differing home hand exercise interventions to determine effects on grip strength, and secondarily any immediate or short term effects on range of motion, pain, deformities, hand disease activity, and dexterity. METHODS Randomized controlled trial of 12 weeks of home hand exercise performed for 10-20 min twice daily. Study exercise interventions were range of motion exercises, balanced resistive exercises, and range of motion plus balanced resistive exercises. RESULTS Aside from transient, mild to moderate discomfort, exercises were well tolerated. Range of motion exercises were associated with improved right hand joint count. Range of motion plus balanced resistive exercises were associated with increased left hand dexterity. Home hand exercise (exercise groups combined) significantly increased left grip strength. CONCLUSIONS Temporary use of home hand exercise has acceptable side effects and is an effective means of increasing grip strength.
Fast AFC technique using a code estimation and binary search algorithm for wideband frequency synthesis

This paper presents some skills to improve locking property in wideband frequency synthesizers. To support a wide frequency range with a single on-chip voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) without deteriorating lock time, we introduce an adaptive frequency calibration (AFC) technique, which is using a code estimation and binary search algorithm to reduce the number of comparisons in AFC mode. In addition, by varying the threshold frequency, which is a criterion to discriminate one AFC code from others, in accordance with the requested VCO output frequency, the unnecessary transition time can be reduced during phase-locked loop (PLL) settling mode. A fractional-N frequency synthesizer with an on-chip LC VCO was implemented in 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS technology to verify the performance. The measurement results showed less than 35-/spl mu/s AFC time with 5-bit AFC, and total lock time was found to be less than 65-/spl mu/s with 30 KHz PLL loop bandwidth. The frequency range was more than 400 MHz.
Essays in Ricardian trade theory

We build a general Ricardian model of international trade, which extends Eaton and Kortum (2002), in order to analyze the sources of the gains from trade, the e¤ects of trade openness on productivity, and the role of nominal exchange rates. For general distributions of industry e¢ ciencies, welfare gains can always be decomposed into a selection and a reallocation e¤ect. The former is the change in average e¢ ciency due to the selection of industries that survive international competition. The latter is the rise in the weight of exporting industries in domestic production, due the reallocation of workers away from non-exporting industries. This decomposition, which is hard to calculate in the general case, simpli es dramatically with Frechetdistributed e¢ ciencies, providing easy-to-quantify model-based measures of these two e¤ects. For an average of 46 countries in 2000 and 2005, the selection e¤ect turns out to be somewhat more important than the reallocation e¤ect. By analyzing the relationship between trade openness and total factor productivity (TFP), we propose a novel methodology to measure the latter. The logic of our approach is to use a structural model and measure TFP not from its "primitive" (the aggregate production function), but from its observed implications. We estimate TFP levels of the manufacturing sector of 19 OECD countries, relative to the United States, in 1985-2002, as the average productivity a proxy for aggregate TFP that best ts data on trade, production and wages. Our measures turn out to be easy to compute and are no longer mere residuals. To examine the role exchange rates in a model of real consumption and production decisions with no money, we follow an insight of Keynes (1931) and replicate a currency depreciation with an increase in import barriers and a symmetric decline in export barriers. By mimicking changes in exchange rates with changes in the model parameters, we can demonstrate a series of classical results and conjectures, in a very general framework with many countries, tradeable goods and non-tradeable goods. We show not only that a depreciation has no real e¤ects with exible wages, but, with sticky wages, we are able to prove that an undervalued currency causes involuntary unemployment abroad, while at home it determines ine¢ ciently high employment in the export sector, raising real GDP but lowering welfare. If the currency is overvalued, we also show that there exists an appropriate depreciation that restores competitive prices, with welfare-enhancing e¤ects, proving Friedmans conjecture (1953).
12 dB of noise reduction by a NOLM-based 2-R regenerator

We experimentally demonstrate all-optical all-passive signal regeneration by reducing the noise imposed on the signal by optical amplification by 12.03/spl plusmn/0.13 dB with an asymmetric nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM). This signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) enhancement is due to the Kerr nonlinearity which has a timescale below a few femtoseconds, thus, the SNR enhancement by the NOLM is applicable to high bit rates such as 160 Gb/s.
The Presence and Mucin Histochemistry of Cardiac Type Mucosa at the Esophagogastric Junction

OBJECTIVES:Traditionally, the gastric cardia has been described as a native part of the stomach connecting to the esophagus. In recent literature, however, it is suggested that the cardia is an acquired lesion that develops due to gastroesophageal reflux disease. As a contribution to this debate, we evaluated the presence of cardiac mucosa at the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) in a random group of patients who presented at our endoscopy unit.METHODS:In 253 unselected patients, biopsies were taken from the EGJ. In order to prevent sampling error, we selected only those EGJ biopsies in which the squamocolumnar junction (SCJ) was present in the histological biopsy material. Fifty-five patients were excluded since the SCJ was located proximal to the EGJ in the esophagus. The type of columnar mucosa immediately distal to the SCJ, and its mucin histochemistry, were assessed. The columnar mucosa was categorized as purely cardiac, oxyntocardiac, or fundic mucosa.RESULTS:In 63 of the 198 patients, the SCJ was actually present in the EGJ biopsies. Purely cardiac mucosa was present in 39 (62%) biopsies and oxyntocardiac mucosa was present in 24 (38%) biopsies. Fundic mucosa was not seen directly adjacent to squamous epithelium. Acid mucins were present in 23 (37%) patients and they correlated with histological esophagitis and presence of H. pylori in the cardia.CONCLUSIONS:Cardiac mucosa was uniformly present adjacent to the squamous epithelium at the EGJ. This argues against the hypothesis that the gastric cardia is an acquired metaplastic lesion. The presence of acid mucins was frequently observed and could be a pathological condition as it was associated with histological esophagitis and the presence of H. pylori in the cardia.
An Integrative Evaluation of Airline Pilots’ Manual High-Precision Flying Skills in the Age of Automation

This thesis reports the analysis of manual flying skills of airline pilots. Short and long-haul pilots differing in recent flight practice have had to complete a manual approach and landing scenario. Their visual scanning and fine-motor control of the aircraft has been recorded and analyzed. In the first step it is found that recency of practice has the most important effect on manual flight performance, while over-all experience only has a marginal effect.
Lysine Biosynthesis of Thermococcus kodakarensis with the Capacity to Function as an Ornithine Biosynthetic System*

We recently discovered a biosynthetic system using a novel amino group carrier protein called LysW for lysine biosynthesis via α-aminoadipate (AAA), and revealed that this system is also utilized in the biosynthesis of arginine by Sulfolobus. In the present study, we focused on the biosynthesis of lysine and ornithine in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis, and showed that their biosynthesis is accomplished by a single set of metabolic enzymes. We also determined the crystal structure of the LysX family protein from T. kodakarensis, which catalyzes the conjugation of LysW with either AAA or glutamate, in a complex with LysW-γ-AAA. This crystal structure is the first example to show how LysX recognizes AAA as a substrate and provides a structural basis for the bifunctionality of the LysX family protein from T. kodakarensis. Based on comparisons with other LysX family proteins, we propose a mechanism for substrate recognition and its relationship with molecular evolution among LysX family proteins, which have different substrate specificities.