Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
p38 MAP Kinase—a molecular switch between VEGF‐induced angiogenesis and vascular hyperpermeability

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is not only essential for vasculogenesis and angiogenesis but also is a potent inducer of vascular permeability. Although a dissection of the molecular pathways between angiogenesis‐ and vascular permeability‐inducing properties would be desirable for the development of angiogenic and anti‐angiogenic therapies, such mechanisms have not been identified yet. Here we provide evidence for a role of the p38 MAPK as the signaling molecule that separates these two processes. Inhibition of p38 MAPK activity enhances VEGF‐induced angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo, a finding that was accompanied by prolonged Erk1/2 MAPK activation, increased endothelial survival, and plasminogen activation. Conversely, the same inhibitors abrogate VEGF‐induced vascular permeability in vitro and in vivo. These dualistic properties of p38 MAPK are relevant not only for therapeutic angiogenesis but also for reducing edema formation and enhancing tissue repair in ischemic diseases.
Enhanced read performance for phase change memory using a reference column

A reference column is employed to improve the read performance of phase change memory (PCM). In this way, a changeable reference current replaces the constant one; both the reference cell and the selected cell have the same bit line (BL) parasitic parameters and read transmission gate parasitic parameters in the read operation. Simulated in a 40 nm CMOS process, read access time of 4-Mb PCM is 30.65 ns with 190.9 ns improvement. Monte Carlo simulations show a 80.5 ns worst read access time compared to the conventional 1.58 μs.
A Study of Performative Hactivist Subcultures and Threats to Businesses

Abstract Performative hactivism is the use of the Internet for expressing extreme political dissent online. It differs from cyber harassment in that performative hactivism is politically motivated. We found that there are contagion and other social effects among hactivists and that hactivism exhibits feature patterns that define them as subcultures. To conduct our research, we created a provocative Website and blog and then promoted it on the Internet. Using sentiment analyses and logistic regression, we identified features associated with performative hactivism. We then studied the blog remarks and used Website analytics to gain a better understanding of the implications for business security. The results from this work should help business and information security researchers (especially in social engineering), as well as business practice managers, strategists, and security analysts, to predict the lifecycles and impacts of hactivism on their operations and assist them in the creation of interventions.
Inhibition of Escherichia coli ribosome subunit dissociation by chloramphenicol and Blasticidin: a new mode of action of the antibiotics

The ability of the ribosome to assist in folding of proteins both in vitro and in vivo is well documented and is a nontranslational function of the ribosome. The interaction of the unfolded protein with the peptidyl transferase centre (PTC) of the bacterial large ribosomal subunit is followed by release of the protein in the folding competent state and rapid dissociation of ribosomal subunits. Our study demonstrates that the PTC‐specific antibiotics, chloramphenicol and blasticidin S inhibit unfolded protein‐mediated subunit dissociation. During post‐termination stage of translation in bacteria, ribosome recycling factor (RRF) is used together with elongation factor G to recycle the 30S and 50S ribosomal subunits for the next round of translation. Ribosome dissociation mediated by RRF and induced at low magnesium concentration was also inhibited by the antibiotics indicating that the PTC antibiotics exert an associative effect on ribosomal subunits. In vivo, the antibiotics can also reduce the ribosomal degradation during carbon starvation, a process requiring ribosome subunit dissociation. This study reveals a new mode of action of the broad‐spectrum antibiotics chloramphenicol and blasticidin.
Effect of calcitonin gene‐related peptide on nitric oxide production in osteoblasts: an experimental study

The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro effects and regulatory mechanism of CGRP (calcitonin gene‐related peptide) on NO (nitric oxide) production in osteoblasts. MOB (primary human mandibular osteoblasts) and osteoblast‐like cells (MG‐63) were either cultured with CGRP or co‐incubated with inhibitors targeting eNOS (endothelial nitric oxide synthase), iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthase), nNOS (neuronal nitric oxide synthase) and [Ca2+]i (intracellular Ca2+). The NO concentration in cell culture supernatants was measured during the first 24 h using the Griess test; cellular NO was marked with the fluorescent marker DAF‐FM, DA (3‐amino, 4‐aminomethyl‐2′,7′‐difluorescein; diacetate) and measured by fluorescence microscopy from 1 to 4 h after treatment. eNOS and iNOS mRNA expression levels were measured by quantitative RT‐PCR during the first 24 h after treatment. CGRP‐induced NO production in the supernatants was high between 1 to 12 h, while cellular NO was highest between 1 to 2 h after treatment and returned to basal levels by 3 h. Both in MG‐63 cells and MOBs, the most effective CGRP concentration was 10 nM with a peak time of 1 h. CGRP‐induced NO production decreased when eNOS activity was inhibited or when voltage‐dependent L‐type Ca2+ channels were blocked at 4 h. CGRP was not able to induce changes in iNOS or eNOS mRNA levels and had no effect on the cytokine‐induced increase of iNOS expression. Our results suggest that CGRP transiently induces NO production in osteoblasts by elevating intracellular Ca2+ to stimulate the activity of eNOS in vitro.
SHAGGY-like kinase 12 regulates flowering through mediating CONSTANS stability in Arabidopsis

SHAGGY-like kinase 12 mediates site-specific phosphorylation of CONSTANS to regulate the floral transition in Arabidopsis. Photoperiod is a major environmental cue that determines the floral transition from vegetative to reproductive development in flowering plants. Arabidopsis thaliana responds to photoperiodic signals mainly through a central regulator CONSTANS (CO). Although it has been suggested that phosphorylation of CO contributes to its role in photoperiodic control of flowering, how this is regulated so far remains unknown. Here, we report that a glycogen synthase kinase-3 member, SHAGGY-like kinase 12 (SK12), plays an important role in preventing precocious flowering through phosphorylating CO. Loss of function of SK12 causes early flowering. SK12 expression in seedlings is decreased during the floral transition, and its expression in vascular tissues is required for repressing flowering. SK12 interacts with and phosphorylates CO at threonine 119, thus facilitating CO degradation. Our findings suggest that site-specific phosphorylation of CO by SK12 is critical for modulating the photoperiodic output for the floral induction in Arabidopsis.
Floyd-Warshall all-pair shortest path for accurate multi-marker calibration

We propose a novel method to compute the poses of randomly positioned square markers in one world coordinate frame from multiple camera views, by taking the predicted accuracy of the camera pose estimation for each marker into account. The problem of computing the best closed-form solution of the world pose of each marker is modeled as all-pair shortest path problem in graph theory. The computed world poses are further optimized by minimizing the geometric distances in images. Experimental results show that incorporating the predicted accuracy of the pose estimation for each marker yields constant high quality calibration results independent of the order of image sequences compared to cases when this knowledge is not used.
Lower Levels of Gamma Interferon Expressed by a Pseudotyped Single-Cycle Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Enhance Immunogenicity in Rats

ABSTRACT A vaccine for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is desperately needed to control the AIDS pandemic. To address this problem, we constructed single-cycle simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) pseudotyped with the glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus and expressing different levels of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) as a potential vaccine strategy. We previously showed that IFN-γ expression by pseudotyped SIVs does not alter viral single-cycle infectivity. T cells primed with dendritic cells transduced by pseudotyped SIVs expressing high levels of IFN-γ had stronger T-cell responses than those primed with dendritic cells transduced by constructs lacking IFN-γ. In the present study, we tested the immunogenicities of these pseudotyped SIVs in a rat model. The construct expressing low levels of rat IFN-γ (dSIVLRγ) induced higher levels of cell-mediated and humoral immune responses than the construct lacking IFN-γ (dSIVR). Rats vaccinated with dSIVLRγ also had lower viral loads than those vaccinated with dSIVR when inoculated with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing SIV Gag-Pol as a surrogate challenge. The construct expressing high levels of IFN-γ (dSIVHRγ) did not further enhance immunity and was less protective than dSIVLRγ. In conclusion, the data indicated that IFN-γ functioned as an adjuvant to augment antigen-specific immune responses in a dose- and cell type-related manner in vivo. Thus, fine-tuning of the cytokine expression appears to be essential in designing vaccine vectors expressing adjuvant genes such as the gene for IFN-γ. Furthermore, we provide evidence of the utility of the rat model to evaluate the immunogenicities of single-cycle HIV/SIV recombinant vaccines before initiating studies with nonhuman primate models.
Biotherapeutic agents. A neglected modality for the treatment and prevention of selected intestinal and vaginal infections.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the potential of biotherapeutic agents (microorganisms with therapeutic properties) for the prevention and/or treatment of selected intestinal and vaginal infections. DATA SOURCES The MEDLINE database was searched for all relevant articles published between 1966 and September 1995. Search terms used were biotherapeutic agent, probiotic, Lactobacillus, Saccharomyces, Bifidobacterium, Candida, gastrointestinal- system, vaginitis, vaginosis-bacterial, and related terms. The bibliographies of obtained articles were also reviewed. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION All placebo-controlled human studies on biotherapeutic agents were reviewed. English-language open trials, case series and reports, and animal studies were reviewed only if they were especially relevant to providing information on the potential efficacy, adverse effects, or mechanisms of action of these agents. DATA SYNTHESIS Placebo-controlled studies have shown that biotherapeutic agents have been used successfully to prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea (Lactobacillus caseiGG, bifidobacterium longum, B longum with L acidophilus, and Saccharomyces boulardii), to prevent acute infantile diarrhea (Bifidobacterium bifidum with Streptococcus thermophilus), to treat recurrent Clostridium difficile disease (S boulardii), and to treat various other diarrheal illnesses (Enterococcus faecium SF68, L caseiGG, and S boulardii). There is also evidence for Lactobacillus acidophilus in the prevention of candidal vaginitis. Few adverse effects have been reported. However, many of the studies tested only small numbers of patients or volunteers. CONCLUSIONS There is now evidence that administration of selected microorganisms is beneficial in the prevention and treatment of certain intestinal and, possibly, treatment of vaginal infections. In an effort to decrease the reliance on antimicrobials, the time has come to carefully explore the therapeutic applications of biotherapeutic agents.
A Novel Approach for Motion Artifact Reduction in PPG Signals Based on AS-LMS Adaptive Filter

The performance of pulse oximeters is highly influenced by motion artifacts (MAs) in photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals. In this paper, we propose a simple and efficient approach based on adaptive step-size least mean squares (AS-LMS) adaptive filter for reducing MA in corrupted PPG signals. The presented method is an extension to our prior work on efficient use of adaptive filters for reduction of MA in PPG signals. The novelty of the method lies in the fact that a synthetic noise reference signal for an adaptive filtering process, representing MA noise, is generated internally from the MA-corrupted PPG signal itself instead of using any additional hardware such as accelerometer or source-detector pair for acquiring noise reference signal. Thus, the generated noise reference signal is then applied to the AS-LMS adaptive filter for artifact removal. While experimental results proved the efficacy of the proposed scheme, the merit of the method is clearly demonstrated using convergence and correlation analysis, thus making it best suitable for present-day pulse oximeters utilizing PPG sensor head with a single pair of source and detector, which does not have any extra hardware meant for capturing noise reference signal. In addition to arterial oxygen saturation estimation, the artifact reduction method facilitated the waveform contour analysis on artifact-reduced PPG, and the conventional parameters were evaluated for assessing the arterial stiffness.
Efficacy of topical cromolyn sodium 4% on pruritus in uremic nephrogenic patients: a randomized double-blind study in 60 patients.

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney disease (CKD)-associated pruritus is a significant clinical symptom affecting more than 50% of patients on hemodialysis. The availability of effective therapeutic options for management of CKD-associated pruritus remains a treatment challenge. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare cromolyn sodium cream 4% with placebo for the treatment of renal pruritus. METHODS A randomized, double-blind, prospective, 4-week study was designed. 60 patients with ESRD in our dialysis ward were randomly allocated to cromolyn sodium cream 4% or placebo. All of them completed the study period and their pruritus levels were evaluated 5 times (before the start of the study and at the end of each week for 4 weeks) using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). RESULTS The average pruritus score before administration of the drug in cromolyn sodium 4% and placebo group had been 2.5 ± 1.1 and 2.7 ± 1.3, respectively. In the cromolyn sodium 4% group the average score of pruritus gradually reduced to 0.3 ± 1.3 and in the placebo group it gradually decreased to 1.3 ± 1.4 at the end of Week 4. Method of t-test repeat analytical measurement indicated that there is no significant difference between reduction of pruritus in cromolyn 4% and placebo groups in the first and second week of the study, but in third and fourth week there were significant differences in reducing pruritus in favor of cromolyn sodium 4% (p < 0.04). CONCLUSION According to our study cromolyn sodium cream 4% was more effective than placebo in reducing pruritus in uremic patients. We suggest to our colleagues to consider this treatment when facing a patient suffering from this symptom.
Application of Dopamine as an Electroactive Ligand for the Determination of Aluminum in Biological Fluids

Dopamine (3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylamine, DA) is applied as an electroactive chelant for indirect determination of aluminum (Al) in biological fluids. It is observed that the decrease of the differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) anodic peak current of DA is linear with the increase of Al concentration. Under optimum experimental conditions (pH 8.6, 2.0 × 10^-4 M DA, and 0.03 M NH_4Ac-NH_3•H_2O buffer solution), two linear ranges, 5.0 × 10^-8 - 4.0 × 10^-7 M and 4.0 × 10^-7 - 7.2 × 10^-6 M Al^III, are obtained. The detection limit of Al is 1.9 × 10^-8 M and the relative standard deviation for 4 × 10^-6 M Al^III is 3.1% ( N = 8). Many biologically active foreign species have been selected for interference. Excellent recoveries and accuracy have been obtained in the measurements of Al in biological samples such as synthetic renal dialysate, Ringer’s solution, human whole blood, cerebrospinal fluid of demented patient, and urine of diabetic patient. The methodological principle that Al complexes with DA on the electroactive position result in the depression of electrochemical activities of DA has been verified by comparing both the electrochemical behaviors and the spectroscopic responses like UV-vis and Raman of DA in the presence and in the absence of Al.
Towards Optimal Synchronization in Power Law Networks

In this paper, an edge rewiring mechanism is proposed to optimize the synchronizability of a power law network with keeping the degree of each vertex unchanged, and the network synchronizability after the novel optimal rewiring is enhanced. The rewiring mechanism is also found to reduce the characteristic path length and maximum betweenness centrality of the network.
Candida albicans Biofilms: a Developmental State Associated With Specific and Stable Gene Expression Patterns

ABSTRACT Like many bacteria, yeast species can form biofilms on several surfaces. Candida albicans colonizes the surfaces of catheters, prostheses, and epithelia, forming biofilms that are extremely resistant to antifungal drugs. We have used transcript profiling to investigate the specific properties of C. albicans biofilms. Biofilm and planktonic cultures produced under different conditions of nutrient flow, aerobiosis, or glucose concentration were compared by overall gene expression correlation. Correlation was much higher between biofilms than planktonic populations irrespective of the growth conditions, indicating that biofilm populations formed in different environments display very similar and specific transcript profiles. A first cluster of 325 differentially expressed genes was identified. In agreement with the overrepresentation of amino acid biosynthesis genes in this cluster, Gcn4p, a regulator of amino acid metabolism, was shown to be required for normal biofilm growth. To identify biofilm-related genes that are independent of mycelial development, we studied the transcriptome of biofilms produced by a wild-type, hypha-producing strain and a cph1/cph1 efg1/efg1 strain defective for hypha production. This analysis identified a cluster of 317 genes expressed independently of hypha formation, whereas 86 genes were dependent on mycelial development. Both sets revealed the activation of the sulfur-amino acid biosynthesis pathway as a feature of C. albicans biofilms.
A novel 18-amino acid deletion in apolipoprotein E associated with lipoprotein glomerulopathy.

BACKGROUND Lipoprotein glomerulopathy (LPG) is a novel disease characterized by proteinuria, lipoprotein thrombi in glomeruli, and an increased concentration of plasma apolipoprotein (apo) E. Previous studies have shown that a genetic disorder of apo E may be associated with the genesis of this disease. METHODS An apo E mutation was analyzed in a 57-year-old Japanese male with LPG and systemic atherosclerotic complications. Apo E phenotypes were analyzed by isoelectric focusing and immunoblotting. Apo E genotypes were determined by restriction fragment isotyping with HhaI. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of apo E coding region exons 3 and 4 were cloned into pT7Blue-T-vector and were sequenced. RESULTS A novel apo E mutation was identified in this patient and his family. There was a discrepancy between an apo E phenotype (E1/3) and genotype (E3/3). Sequence analysis showed a 54 bp deletion in exon 4 of the apo E gene, causing the 18-amino acid deletion (Gln 156-Gly 173-->0). This deletion mutation was further confirmed by the detection of a short fragment of PCR-amplified DNA using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The patient was a heterozygote with apo E1, and this mutation was determined to be the structural basis for the apo E1 phenotype. One of two daughters was a heterozygous carrier of apo E1, although she did not have proteinuria or atherosclerotic diseases. CONCLUSIONS Apo E1 (Gln 156-Gly 173-->0) is a novel mutation of apo E that may be etiologically related to LPG and to the development of atherosclerosis. The result of this family study suggests that the occurrence of LPG may involve other genetic or environmental factors.
Climbing Ability of the Common Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

ABSTRACT Little is known about what factors influence the climbing ability of bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), in relation to the various surfaces they encounter. We examined how sex, time since last fed, and what surfaces the bed bugs were in contact with affected their climbing performance. The effects of sex and time since fed were tested by counting the number of bed bugs able to climb a 45° slope. The pulling force was recorded using an analytical balance technique that captured the sequential vertical pulling force output of bed bugs attached to various surfaces. Recently fed female bed bugs were found to have the most difficulty in climbing smooth surfaces in comparison with males. This difference can be explained by the larger weight gained from bloodmeals by female bed bugs. A variety of vertical pulling forces were observed on surfaces ranging from sandpaper to talc powder-covered glass. For surfaces not treated with talc powder, bed bugs generated the least amount of vertical pulling force from synthetically created 0.6-µm plastron surfaces. This vast range in the ability of bed bugs to grip onto various surfaces may have implications on limiting bed bugs dispersal and hitchhiking behaviors.
Iris-sensor authentication using camera PRNU fingerprints

Integrity and authenticity are important issues in biometrics security. Digital image forensics have shown that the integrity and authenticity of an image can be evidenced by a specific sensor fingerprint. If an image contains the sensor fingerprint it is assumed to be truly taken by that sensor. In such a way, an image can be authenticated by identifying it's sensor. However, this fingerprint may be forged. We calculated the photo response non uniformity (PRNU) as sensor fingerprint and estimated how well it differentiates iris scans of the CASIA V4 iris-sensors. The distinction rate varies largely between the sensors, with equal error rates between 0.21 and 23.26%. By inserting a fingerprint of one sensor into iris-scans of another sensor we successfully forged several iris scans. This forgery required estimating the best embedding-strength for the fingerprint, and we present a useful heuristic to do so. The triangle test is proposed as a countermeasure against this attack. However, it was shown not to be very effective. This could be explained by the fact that the quality of a sensor fingerprint determines if a forgery may be detectable or not by the triangle test. It is possible that the special content of the images limits the applicability of the PRNU, its forgery and the detection of the forgery in iris databases.