Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Function of the Mos/MAPK pathway during oocyte maturation in the Japanese brown frog Rana japonica

Fully grown immature oocytes acquire the ability to be fertilized with sperm after meiotic maturation, which is finally accomplished by the formation and activation of the maturation‐promoting factor (MPF). MPF is the complex of Cdc2 and cyclin B, and its function in promoting metaphase is common among species. The Mos/mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is also commonly activated during vertebrate oocyte maturation, but its function seems to be different among species. We investigated the function of the Mos/MAPK pathway during oocyte maturation of the frog Rana japonica. Although MAPK was activated in accordance with MPF activation during oocyte maturation, MPF activation and germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) was not initiated when the Mos/MAPK pathway was activated in immature oocytes by the injection of c‐mos mRNA. Inhibition of Mos synthesis by c‐mos antisense RNA and inactivation of MAPK by CL100 phosphatase did not prevent progesterone‐induced MPF activation and GVBD. However, continuous MAPK activation and MAPK inhibition through oocyte maturation accelerated and delayed MPF activation, respectively. Furthermore, Mos induced a low level of cyclin B protein synthesis in immature oocytes without the aid of MAPK. These results suggest that the general function of the Mos/MAPK pathway, which is not essential for MPF activation and GVBD in Rana oocytes, is to enhance cyclin B translation by Mos itself and to stabilize cyclin B protein by MAPK during oocyte maturation. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 57:88–98, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Non-destructive and in-situ analysis of insulating materials in high-voltage power transformers

Rapid in-situ analysis of the condition of power transformer winding insulation kraft paper, to provide information on its aged condition, is an imperative in the power industry. The ability to achieve this with portable instrumentation would be very beneficial. The insulation paper degrades over time, and the degree of polymerisation (DP) of the paper affects its structural integrity. At low DP levels the risk of electrical breakdown increases. Currently used methods of estimating DP are only approximate or destructive. The use of spectroscopy together with multivariate statistical analysis (MVSA) provides a powerful non-destructive evaluation of the condition of paper. From initial feasibility studies, we have developed a simple, portable system (TRANSPEC) using fibre-optics and broad-band spectroscopy that can measure the degree of polymerisation of various aged transformer papers to a precision of approximately 50 DP units with a spatial resolution of 25 mm/sup 2/, and also measure the chemical composition and condition of the insulating mineral oil. MVSA regression models were constructed from library spectral data, and these models are used to predict the DP of other papers with parameters that fall within the range spanned by the set of calibration samples. Separating oil and moisture information from wetted paper is possible and water content can be determined to an accuracy of approximately 0.1%. Very low to high concentrations of water have been determined using this method. We have also confirmed that both the absorption rate and water capacity of the paper are strongly affected by the degree of degradation. With a single TRANSPEC system, in-situ analysis of the degree of polymerisation of insulating paper, the water content and, if required, a chemical analysis of the insulating oil and its water content is possible providing a rapid cost-effective method for transformer insulation condition assessment and monitoring, which correlates well with current established methods.
The ATPase activity of RecA is needed to push the DNA strand exchange through heterologous regions.

The role of ATP hydrolysis during the RecA‐mediated recombination reaction is addressed in this paper. Recent studies indicated that the RecA‐promoted DNA strand exchange between completely homologous double‐ and single‐stranded DNA can be very efficient in the absence of ATP hydrolysis. In this work we demonstrate that the energy derived from the ATP hydrolysis is strictly needed to drive the DNA strand exchange through the regions where the interacting DNA molecules are not in a homologous register. Therefore, in addition to the role of the ATP hydrolysis in promoting the dissociation of RecA from the products of the recombination reaction, as described earlier, ATP hydrolysis also plays a crucial role in the actual process of strand exchange, provided that the lack of homologous register obstructs the process of branch migration.
Performance Study of Threshold Variations in Temporal Decision Systems for Routing in Vehicular Ad hoc Networks

Problem statement: Route maintenance and re-discovery are expensive in signaling and computation for routing in Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs). Hence it was desirable to choose the optimal route during the route selection phase. Approach: In this study, the threshold-based routing protocol β-wt uses the notion of threshold from variable precision rough sets. This protocol was used to evaluate routing performance on freeway scenarios in VANETs. A Traffic Generator tool IMPORTANT was used to obtain vehicular movement traces, that are then given as input to the Network Simulator NS2. Results: Results of four performance metrics were got for different values of the thresholds. The performance of the new protocol was compared with that of the original Dynamic Source Routing (DSR). Conclusion: The new protocol performs better than DSR in Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR) and Normalized Routing Load (NRL). The study showed that variations in thresholds do not affect PDR and NRL, while for End to End Delay (EED) and Average Hop Count (AHC), certain values of these thresholds perform much better than other values in this particular VANET application.
Enforcing Organizational Knowledge Protection: An Investigation of Currently Applied Measures

Nowadays, organizations increasingly pay attention to protecting their data and information but at the same time the protection of their knowledge is neglected or underdeveloped in many cases. To maintain an organization’s competitive advantage, organisational risk management should pay more attention to the protection of knowledge. Scholarly knowledge management literature mainly concentrated on the facilitation of knowledge sharing and widely neglected this topic so far. In this paper we present results of a knowledge cafe that we ran with 18 IT professionals to investigate the current state of knowledge protection practice. It turned out that some organisational measures are applied in a rather uncoordinated manner, that only few technical measures are applied. Further, the performance measurement of knowledge protection lacks behind.
Detection and classification of power quality disturbances using S-Transform and probabilistic neural network

This paper presents an S-Transform based probabilistic neural network (PNN) classifier for recognition of power quality (PQ) disturbances. The proposed method requires less number of features as compared to wavelet based approach for the identification of PQ events. The features extracted through the S-Transform are trained by a PNN for automatic classification of the PQ events. Since the proposed methodology can reduce the features of the disturbance signal to a great extent without losing its original property, less memory space and learning PNN time are required for classification. Eleven types of disturbances are considered for the classification problem. The simulation results reveal that the combination of S-Transform and PNN can effectively detect and classify different PQ events. The classification performance of PNN is compared with a feedforward multilayer (FFML) neural network (NN) and learning vector quantization (LVQ) NN. It is found that the classification performance of PNN is better than both FFML and LVQ.
Perfect plane wave injection into 3D FDTD (2, 4) scheme

In the paper, the authors derive the method of splitting plane wave FDTD (SP-FDTD) method for initiation of plane wave sources in the total-field and scattered-field (TF/SF) formulation of 3D FDTD (2, 4) scheme. By splitting the fields on 1D auxiliary grids, the identical dispersion relation can be obtained between the 1D auxiliary grids and the 3D grids, which is also proved to be using the nature of plane wave. Using 1D auxiliary grids for introducing a plane wave, a perfect plane wave injection can be achieved at any angle forming an integer grid cell ratio. Numerical simulations also indicate the efficiency and validity of the method for FDTD (2, 4) scheme and the leakage error on the order of −300dB for double precision.
A CPW-fed monopole based circularly polarized ZOR antenna

In this paper, a novel monopole based zeroth-order resonator (ZOR) antenna with a unit cell based on composite right/left-handed transmission-line (CRLH TL) is designed and simulated. The antenna structure is including an asymmetric coplanar waveguide (ACPW) fed monopole, an inductive arm, an inverse U-shaped section and a back parasitic patch. The proposed antenna is optimized for circular polarization (CP) and its electrical size is 0. 318λ0 × 0. 306λ0 × 0. 003λ0. The antenna operates at the center frequency of 1.51 GHz that is the zeroth-order resonant frequency (n=0) of the structure. Compared to the similar ZOR CP antennas, the proposed antenna has appropriate fractional bandwidth (11.25%) and radiation efficiency (90.8%). Moreover, the proposed antenna has a planar via free structure in which simplifies the manufacturing process.
Psychosocial impact of periodontal disease and its treatment with 24-h root surface debridement.

AIM To assess the impact of periodontal disease and treatment with 24-h root surface debridement on the oral health-related quality of life of patients (OHQoL). METHODS Two cohorts were recruited: 20 patients with moderate to advanced periodontal disease and 16 dentally healthy patients. Patients with periodontal disease were treated with 24-h root surface debridement. OHQoL was assessed, using Oral Health Impact Profile-14, during the initial assessment and by a telephonic interview daily for 7 days for both groups. OHQoL was also assessed at review for the treated cohort. The number of impacts each patient experienced "occasionally" or more often was analysed by non-parametric tests. RESULTS Patients with periodontal disease reported significantly more impacts on their quality of life than dentally healthy patients (p<0.05). After root surface debridement the impact was significantly reduced (p<0.05) and sustained at review (p<0.05); however, the impact on quality of life was still greater than that experienced by the dentally healthy cohort (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Patients with periodontal disease have worse OHQoL than healthy patients, but this impact can be partly ameliorated by periodontal treatment. This implies that periodontal disease is not "silent" and that conventional non-surgical treatment provided in a secondary referral centre can be effective from patients' perspectives.
Single-Agent and Combination Therapeutic Strategies to Inhibit Hepatocyte Growth Factor/MET Signaling in Cancer

Receptor tyrosine kinases are often aberrantly activated in human malignancies and contribute to cancer development and progression. Specific receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been shown to be clinically effective therapies in subsets of cancer patients with either hematologic or solid tumors. Activation of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/MET signaling pathway has been found to play a critical role in oncogenesis, cancer metastasis, and drug resistance. These observations have led to the development of agents that can effectively inhibit HGF/MET signaling through direct inhibition of the receptor (anti-MET antibodies), through inactivation of its ligand HGF (AMG102, L2G7), by interfering with HGF binding to MET (NK4), or by inhibiting MET kinase activity (PHA-665752 and SU11274). Moreover, the combination of anti-MET therapeutic agents with either signal transduction inhibitors (ERBB family or mTOR inhibitors) or with cytotoxic chemotherapy has been evaluated in preclinical models. These studies provide insight into the rational development of combination therapeutic strategies that can be evaluated in clinical trials. This review will discuss different strategies of MET inhibition with a specific focus on combination therapeutic approaches.
Determine of appropriate neural networks structure using Ant Colony System

This paper proposed a hybrid training algorithm by combining the Ant Colony System and BP algorithm. The Ant Colony System is used optimize the initial of the BP neural networks structure, connection between neurons and connection weights. The yield structure has trained using BP algorithms. This method can cope with trapping local minimum problem of the BP algorithm. The proposed method and the standard BP neural networks are applied to pattern classification problems from PROBEN1 benchmark data set [1], and we chosen Breast Cancer data set for our experimentation. The results show that the precision and efficiency of NN structure from the proposed method are better than the standard BP neural networks.
Tree stem diameter variations and transpiration in Scots pine: an analysis using a dynamic sap flow model.

A dynamic model for simulating water flow in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) tree was developed. The model is based on the cohesion theory and the assumption that fluctuating water tension driven by transpiration, together with the elasticity of wood tissue, causes variations in the diameter of a tree stem and branches. The change in xylem diameter can be linked to water tension in accordance with Hookeâ s law. The model was tested against field measurements of the diurnal xylem diameter change at different heights in a 37-year-old Scots pine at Hyytiälä, southern Finland (61 degrees 51' N, 24 degrees 17' E, 181 m a.s.l.). Shoot transpiration and soil water potential were input data for the model. The biomechanical and hydraulic properties of wood and fine root hydraulic conductance were estimated from simulated and measured stem diameter changes during the course of 1 day. The estimated parameters attained values similar to literature values. The ratios of estimated parameters to literature values ranged from 0.5 to 0.9. The model predictions (stem diameters at several heights) were in close agreement with the measurements for a period of 6 days. The time lag between changes in transpiration rate and in sap flow rate at the base of the tree was about half an hour. The analysis showed that 40% of the resistance between the soil and the top of the tree was located in the rhizosphere. Modeling the water tension gradient and consequent woody diameter changes offer a convenient means of studying the link between wood hydraulic conductivity and control of transpiration.
Involvement of nuclear transcription factor Sp1 in regulating glucose transporter-1 gene expression during rat trophoblast differentiation.

Glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) is important in placental glucose transport. However, the mechanism of regulation of placental GLUT1 expression remains to be elucidated. We show here that the level of GLUT1 protein in rat choriocarcinoma cells (Rcho-1) decreased during differentiation. To analyze the regulatory mechanism of rat GLUT1 (rGLUT1) gene expression, we transfected rGLUT1 promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase constructs into Rcho-1 cells. Deletion analysis of the rGLUT1 promoter suggested that the region -76/-53 bp was essential for basal transcriptional activity. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that transcription factors Sp1 and Sp3 bound two GC boxes in the region -99/-33 bp of the rGLUT1 promoter. Mutation analysis of the Sp1 binding sites revealed that the promoter-proximal site located between -76 and -53 bp was essential for basal rGLUT1 promoter activity. Furthermore, the decreased level of GLUT1 may result from a decreased level of Sp1 during differentiation. These findings suggest that Sp1 is involved in the regulation of rGLUT1 gene expression during rat trophoblast differentiation.
RAGE receptor targeted bioconjuguate lipid nanoparticles of diallyl disulfide for improved apoptotic activity in triple negative breast cancer: in vitro studies

Abstract In the present study, we have demonstrated receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE) as a target for delivery of drugs specifically to triple negative breast cancer cells. We have prepared solid lipid nanoparticle formulation of cytotoxic agent di-allyl-disulfide (DADS) to overcome its bioavailability issues. Then, we have surface modified DADS-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (DADS-SLN) with RAGE antibody to achieve site-specific delivery of DADS to TNBC cells. We found a significant cellular internalization of RAGE surface modified DADS-SLN (DADS-RAGE-SLN) when compared to DADS-SLN. The cytotoxic effect of DADS was also significantly improved with DADS-RAGE-SLN by downregulating anti-apoptotic proteins and upregulating pro-apoptotic proteins as observed by western blot analysis. RAGE-targeted delivery of cytotoxic agents can be, therefore, a promising approach for improving antitumour activity and reducing off-target effects. Graphical Abstract
Comparative assay of an antiepileptic drugs by psychomotor seizure test and minimal electroshock threshold test.

In order to determine whether the recently described experimental "psychomotor" seizure (PsM.) test in animals is a useful laboratory procedure for the screening and assay of potentially valuable agents in psychomotor epilepsy and to ascertain whether the assay results differ from those obtained by means of the minimal electroshock threshold (M.E.T.) test, eight clinically useful antiepileptic drugs have been examined for anticonvulsant potency by these two electroshock threshold tests. On the basis of the results obtained, the following conclusions are reached: (1) All the drugs tested are more potent by the M.E. T. than by the PsM. test, with the exception of Tridione, the effective doses of which are not significantly different. It is thus more difficult to prevent experimental "psychomotor" seizures with drugs than to elevate the threshold for minimal electroshock seizures. However, the difference in ED50s by the two tests largely disappears when the current intensity employed in the PsM. test is reduced from 4 times threshold to two times threshold. (2) Phenobarbital is the most potent and Tridione the least potent compound by both tests. Paradione, Mesantoin, Mebaral and Phenurone are intermediate in potency between phenobarbital and Tridione. Dilantin and Thiantoin are ineffective by both tests. (3) The comparative potency rankings of the 8 drugs by the two tests show remarkable similarity. (4) No correlation between potency ranking of a drug by the PsM. test and its clinical value in psychic seizures can be discerned. Indeed, drugs ineffective in psychomotor epilepsy rank higher than does Phenurone, an agent acknowledged to be superior in the management of this disorder. (5) The protective index (P.I.) of Phenurone based on the PsM. tests is the only P.I. value which is greater than 1.0, but various data and reasons are presented which necessitate the conclusion that this high P.I. value may be without special significance and that the PsM. test does not reveal anti-psychomotor specificity of anticonvulsant drugs. Attention has been called to those properties of the PsM. seizure (including safety factor of stimulating current) which constitute advantages of the PsM. over the M.E. T. test as a measure of the effects of anticonvulsant drugs on seizure threshold; the possibility of the routine use of the PsM. test is discussed. The lack of specificity of the PsM. seizure for the detection of clinically useful antipsychomotor agents in no way detracts from its value as a tool for the study of various other properties of anticonvulsant drugs. Caution is again urged in the interpretation of antiepileptic drug assay data obtained in animals, since all currently employed laboratory tests have definite limitations in their predictive value for antiepileptic drug potency and specificity in various types of clinical seizures.
Viral load differences in early infection with two HIV-1 subtypes

ObjectivesInformation on early HIV-1 infection has come primarily from studies of persons infected with subtype B in North America and Europe; much less is known about other subtypes. The purpose of the present study was to compare the virologic and immunologic parameters following seroconversion among recently-infected persons infected with either of two different HIV-1 subtypes. MethodA prospective cohort study was carried out at methadone treatment clinics administered by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Thailand. A total of 130 HIV-1-infected seroconverters (103 with HIV-1 subtype E and 27 with subtype B) were included in the study. The main outcome measures were serial HIV-1 RNA viral load, natural killer cell percentage, CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte counts since seroconversion. ResultsThe demographic and behavioral characteristics of persons with either subtype were similar. Median RNA viral levels at the earliest time within 3 months of seroconversion were more than three times higher for persons infected with subtype E than subtype B (63 100 versus 18 050 copies/ml, P = 0.001). However, this difference decreased over time such that viral loads were similar at 12, 18, and 24 months following seroconversion. The CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte counts were similar in infections with either subtype during the entire period up to 24 months post-seroconversion. ConclusionsHigher viral loads associated with subtype E may result from inter-subtype biological differences; however, the epidemiological dynamics of transmission in Bangkok may have also contributed to this phenomenon.
Analysis of Dimensions of Prosocial Behavior in an Argentinean Sample of Children

This study assessed how many motivational factors were required to explain scores for prosocial behavior, as measured by the Spanish version of the Prosocial Tendencies Measure. A sample of 472 middle class children and adolescents, both sexes, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, completed the Prosocial Tendencies Measure. This instrument presents prosocial behavior in six types: altruistic, compliant, emotional, public, anonymous, and dire. However, there is evidence that there should be a valid four-factor solution. To verify which factor structure better fit the empirical data obtained, two confirmatory analyses were performed. The results suggest that a four-factor structure (altruistic, public, anonymous, and responsive) is a more parsimonious explanation of the prosocial responses, compared to a six-factor solution. Finally the correlations between the four dimensions reinforced the hypothesis that altruism is the only prosocial behaviour that is selflessly motivated.
Three-dimensional hybrid vortex solitons

We show, by means of numerical and analytical methods, that media with a repulsive nonlinearity which grows from the center to the periphery support a remarkable variety of previously unknown complex stationary and dynamical three-dimensional (3D) solitary-wave states. Peanut-shaped modulation profiles give rise to vertically symmetric and antisymmetric vortex states, and novel stationary hybrid states, built of top and bottom vortices with opposite topological charges, as well as robust dynamical hybrids, which feature stable precession of a vortex on top of a zero-vorticity soliton. The analysis reveals stability regions for symmetric, antisymmetric, and hybrid states. In addition, bead-shaped modulation profiles give rise to the first example of exact analytical solutions for stable 3D vortex solitons. The predicted states may be realized in media with a controllable cubic nonlinearity, such as Bose–Einstein condensates.