Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optical Sectioning Tomographic Reconstruction of Three-Dimensional Flame Temperature Distribution Using Single Light Field Camera

The temperature measurement has great significance for the combustion diagnostics and the study of flame characteristics. In this paper, an optical sectioning tomographic (OST) technique for 3-D flame temperature measurement combined with light field imaging is proposed. First, the fundamental principle of light field OST is introduced in detail. Then, to determine the refocused depth, the point spread functions of the light field camera, and the relationship between the radiation intensity of flame and image gray value, the calibration works are carried out. Furthermore, the images of different sections of flame are acquired by the digital refocusing technology, and then the high-precision and real-time radiation intensity distribution of each section can be reconstructed using a tomographic reconstruction algorithm. Finally, in combination with the relationship between the image gray value and radiation intensity of flame, the 3-D flame temperature distribution can be calculated. The flame experiments of a candle and a single biomass particle in a fluidized bed under oxy-combustion conditions are performed to evaluate the light field OST system. Results show that the reconstructed results are in good agreement with the temperature distribution of the combustion flame. Compared with the traditional optical sectioning tomographic techniques, the light field OST has the advantages of simplicity of measurement system and fast response, and being suitable for 3-D temperature measurement of turbulent flame.
Protein kinase C regulation of neuronal zinc signaling mediates survival during preconditioning

Sub‐lethal activation of cell death processes initiate pro‐survival signaling cascades. As intracellular Zn2+ liberation mediates neuronal death pathways, we tested whether a sub‐lethal increase in free Zn2+ could also trigger neuroprotection. Neuronal free Zn2+ transiently increased following preconditioning, and was both necessary and sufficient for conferring excitotoxic tolerance. Lethal exposure to NMDA led to a delayed increase in Zn2+ that contributed significantly to excitotoxicity in non‐preconditioned neurons, but not in tolerant neurons, unless preconditioning‐induced free Zn2+ was chelated. Thus, preconditioning may trigger the expression of Zn2+‐regulating processes, which, in turn, prevent subsequent Zn2+‐mediated toxicity. Indeed, preconditioning increased Zn2+‐regulated gene expression in neurons. Examination of the molecular signaling mechanism leading to this early Zn2+ signal revealed a critical role for protein kinase C (PKC) activity, suggesting that PKC may act directly on the intracellular source of Zn2+. We identified a conserved PKC phosphorylation site at serine‐32 (S32) of metallothionein (MT) that was important in modulating Zn2+‐regulated gene expression and conferring excitotoxic tolerance. Importantly, we observed increased PKC‐induced serine phosphorylation in immunopurified MT1, but not in mutant MT1(S32A). These results indicate that neuronal Zn2+ serves as an important, highly regulated signaling component responsible for the initiation of a neuroprotective pathway.
The profile of the trematodicidal compound praziquantel.

From the start onwards of testing praziquantel (2 - cyclohexyl - carbonyl - 1,2,3,6,7,11 b - hexahydro - 4H - pyrazino[2,1-a]isoquinolin-4-one, EMBAY 8440, Biltricide) proved to be very promising. By testing numerous trematode species in different host animals, high efficacy was established. There were no limitations due to the geographical origin of all those parasite species. Pharmacokinetic studies in animals and man showed similarly favourable results. The compound passes the blood-liquor barrier into the brain. No toxic alterations of vital functions and organs were revealed. After demonstrating satisfactory tolerability in healthy volunteers, therapeutic trials were begun. As to schistosomiasis, studies started double-blind in close cooperation with WHO, Geneva, with emphasis on future large scale treatment campaigns. Up to now safe and successful treatment of over 25,000 patients has been documented in Africa, Asia and South America with single dose or single day dosage schemes against all five schistosome species pathogenic to man. The analysis of allegedly drug-related adverse reactions often revealed their presence before treatment already, particularly in intestinal schistosomiasis. Irrespective of origin all symptoms and reactions were generally mild, transient and did not require additional treatment. No drug-related risks were detectable in patients with hepatosplenic and other complications of advanced stages of infection. High cure rates were also obtained in infections due to C. sinensis, O. viverrini and Paragonimus species. Infections with Metagonimus yokogawai, Fasciolopsis buski and Heterophyes heterophyes responded well to treatment, too. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Mitochondrial DNA variation and population structure of the Japanese mitten crab Eriocheir japonica

The Japanese mitten crab Eriocheir japonica is a common grapsid species found throughout freshwater and estuarine regions in Japan. In order to obtain information on the genetic variation and population structure of this species, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was conducted on the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (CCI) of mitochondrial DNA, on 666 individuals from 19 sample sites covering the three main geographic regions of Japan (Main Islands, Okinawa, and Ogasawara). Genetic analysis using seven restriction enzymes produced an array of 61 composite haplotypes. Three regional groups corresponding to the three geographic regions were clearly identified by cluster and molecular variance model (AMOVA) analyses. Each of the three groups showed dominant haplotypes that were almost completely absent in populations from the other geographic areas. Comparison with published information for other species indicates that the degree of genetic divergence between these three main groups is equivalent to the genetic distance between congeneric species. Thus, the population structure of the Japanese mitten crab, as inferred from mtDNA analysis, is formed by genetically distinct groups that closely reflect their geographic distribution in the Japanese archipelago as well as restricted gene flow.
Targeting cyclophilin D and the mitochondrial permeability transition enhances β-cell survival and prevents diabetes in Pdx1 deficiency

Mutations of the pancreatic duodenal homeobox gene-1, Pdx1, cause heritable diabetes in humans and mice. A central abnormality with Pdx1 deficiency is increased death of β-cells, leading to decreased β-cell mass. We show that lentiviral suppression of Pdx1 increases death of mouse insulinoma MIN6 β-cells associated with dissipation of the mitochondrial inner membrane electrochemical gradient, Δψm. Preventing mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening with the cyclophilin D inhibitor cyclosporin A restored Δψm and rescued cell viability. Reduced β-cell mass, markers of β-cell apoptosis, necrosis, and decreased proliferation are present in Pdx1 haploinsufficient mice. Genetic ablation of the Ppif gene, encoding cyclophilin D, restored β-cell mass and decreased TUNEL and complement complex labeling without affecting β-cell proliferation. In adult mice maintained on a high-fat diet, Ppif ablation normalized fasting glucose and glucose and insulin responses to acute glucose challenge. Thus, cyclophilin D and the mitochondrial permeability transition are critical regulators of β-cell death caused by Pdx1 insufficiency.
Mapping and identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteins by two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis, microsequencing and immunodetection

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the infectious agent giving rise to human tuberculosis. The entire genome of M. tuberculosis, comprising approximately 4000 open reading frames, has been sequenced. The huge amount of information released from this project has facilitated proteome analysis of M. tuberculosis. Two‐dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2‐D PAGE) was applied to fractions derived from M. tuberculosis culture filtrate, cell wall, and cytosol, resulting in the resolution of 376, 413, and 395 spots, respectively, in silver‐stained gels. By microsequencing and immunodetection, 38 culture filtrate proteins were identified and mapped, of which 12 were identified for the first time. In the same manner, 23 cell wall proteins and 19 cytosol proteins were identified and mapped, with 9 and 10, respectively, being novel proteins. One of the novel proteins was not predicted in the genome project, and for four of the identified proteins alternative start codons were suggested. Fourteen of the culture filtrate proteins were proposed to possess signal sequences. Seven of these proteins were microsequenced and the N‐terminal sequences obtained confirmed the prediction. The data presented here are an important complement to the genetic information, and the established 2‐D PAGE maps (also available at: www.ssi.dk/publichealth/tbimmun) provide a basis for comparative studies of protein expression.
Axonal injury‐dependent induction of the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor in small‐diameter adult rat primary sensory neurons

The peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR), a benzodiazepine but not γ‐aminobutyric acid‐binding mitochondrial membrane protein, has roles in steroid production, energy metabolism, cell survival and growth. PBR expression in the nervous system has been reported in non‐neuronal glial and immune cells. We now show expression of both PBR mRNA and protein, and the appearance of binding of a synthetic ligand, [3H]PK11195, in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons following injury to the sciatic nerve. In naïve animals, PBR mRNA, protein expression and ligand binding are undetectable in the DRG. Three days after sciatic nerve transection, however, PBR mRNA begins to be expressed in injured neurons, and 4 weeks after the injury, expression and ligand binding are present in 35% of L4 DRG neurons. PBR ligand binding also appears after injury in the superficial dorsal horn of the spinal cord. The PBR expression in the DRG is restricted to small and medium‐sized neurons and returns to naïve levels if the injured peripheral axons are allowed to regrow and reinnervate targets. No non‐neuronal PBR expression is detected, unlike its putative endogenous ligand the diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI), which is expressed only in non‐neuronal cells, including the satellite cells that surround DRG neurons. DBI expression does not change with sciatic nerve transection. PBR acting on small‐calibre neurons could play a role in the adaptive survival and growth responses of these cells to injury of their axons.
A High-Throughput Panel for Identifying Clinically Relevant Mutation Profiles in Melanoma

Success with molecular-based targeted drugs in the treatment of cancer has ignited extensive research efforts within the field of personalized therapeutics. However, successful application of such therapies is dependent on the presence or absence of mutations within the patient's tumor that can confer clinical efficacy or drug resistance. Building on these findings, we developed a high-throughput mutation panel for the identification of frequently occurring and clinically relevant mutations in melanoma. An extensive literature search and interrogation of the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer database identified more than 1,000 melanoma mutations. Applying a filtering strategy to focus on mutations amenable to the development of targeted drugs, we initially screened 120 known mutations in 271 samples using the Sequenom MassARRAY system. A total of 252 mutations were detected in 17 genes, the highest frequency occurred in BRAF (n = 154, 57%), NRAS (n = 55, 20%), CDK4 (n = 8, 3%), PTK2B (n = 7, 2.5%), and ERBB4 (n = 5, 2%). Based on this initial discovery screen, a total of 46 assays interrogating 39 mutations in 20 genes were designed to develop a melanoma-specific panel. These assays were distributed in multiplexes over 8 wells using strict assay design parameters optimized for sensitive mutation detection. The final melanoma-specific mutation panel is a cost effective, sensitive, high-throughput approach for identifying mutations of clinical relevance to molecular-based therapeutics for the treatment of melanoma. When used in a clinical research setting, the panel may rapidly and accurately identify potentially effective treatment strategies using novel or existing molecularly targeted drugs. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(4); 888–97. ©2012 AACR.
Task-priority redundancy resolution for underwater vehicle-manipulator systems

An underwater vehicle-manipulator system (UVMS) usually has more degrees of freedom than those required to attain given end-effector postures. Therefore, the UVMS is a redundant system and kinematic control algorithms can be applied aimed at achieving additional control objectives such as energy savings or increase of system manipulability. This paper presents a task-priority inverse kinematics approach to redundancy resolution for a UVMS. Three case studies are developed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique in different applications.
Ribosomal DNA spacer probes for yeast identification: Studies in the genus Metschnikowia

To test whether DNA probes derived from ribosomal DNA spacer sequences are suitable for rapid and species‐specific yeast identification, a pilot study was undertaken. A 7·7 kb entire ribosomal DNA unit of the type strain of Metschnikowia reukaufii was isolated, cloned and mapped. A 0·65 kb BamHI‐HpaI fragment containing nontranscribed spacer sequences was amplified and selected for testing as a 32P hybridization probe with total DNA from the type strains of M. reukaufii, M. pulcherrima, M. lunata, M. bicuspidata, M. australis, M. zobellii, M. krissii, five other strains identified as M. reukaufii and strains of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Hansenula canadensis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Yarrowia lipolytica. The probe hybridized exclsively with DNA from the type strain and four other strains of M. reukaufii. DNA from one strain labelled M. reukaufii did not hybridize with the probe. Subsequent % G+C comparison and DNA–DNA reassociation with the type strain revealed that the non‐hybridizing strain does not belong to the species M. reukaufii.
Single-base Resolution Nucleosome Mapping on DNA Sequences

Abstract Nucleosome DNA bendability pattern extracted from large nucleosome DNA database of C. elegans is used for construction of full length (116 dinucleotide positions) nucleosome DNA bendability matrix. The matrix can be used for sequence-directed mapping of the nucleosomes on the sequences. Several alternative positions for a given nucleosome are typically predicted, separated by multiples of nucleosome DNA period. The corresponding computer program is successfully tested on best known experimental examples of accurately positioned nucleosomes. The uncertainty of the computational mapping is ±1 base. The procedure is placed on publicly accessible server and can be applied to any DNA sequence of interest.
Development of Microsatellites for Population Genetic Analyses of Tabanus nigrovittatus (Diptera: Tabanidae)

ABSTRACT The greenhead horse fly, Tabanus nigrovittatus Macquart (Diptera: Tabanidae), is frequently found in coastal marshes of the Eastern United States. The females are autogenous (i.e., able to develop eggs without a bloodmeal), but they become a considerable pest to both humans and animals when they pursue a source of blood protein to produce additional eggs. In this study, we identified microsatellite markers to provide first insight into the population genetic structure of this notorious pest species. Because no prior genomic information was available for T. nigrovittatus,weused direct shotgun pyrosequencing technology to characterize microsatellite loci. Approximately 10% of the 105,634 short sequence reads generated from random genome sampling contained microsatellites with at least four repeats of di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexamers. Primers were designed for 36 different microsatellite loci with di-, tri-, and tetramer repeat units. After optimization, 20 primer pairs yielded consistent PCR products and were validated for population genetic application in six populations in Western Louisiana. Ten loci were polymorphic with 2–9 alleles per locus and an average observed heterozygosity of 0.20 across populations. The horse fly populations from different trap sites (distance 50–144 km) or years of collection (2010 vs 2011) were genetically distinct from each other (FST = 0.05–0.39) and genetically diverse (gene diversity: 0.24–0.37) but considerably inbred (FIS: 0.22– 0.47), with high mean relatedness among individuals (r = 0.27), suggesting the capture of a high percentage of sisters at the same trap location who were progeny of incest.
Analysis of the sheath voltage in High-speed railway feeder cable grounding in single-ended mode

With the scale construction of passenger dedicated line, in order to improve the reliability of traction power supply, 27.5 kV single core line cable is widely used in the power contact line of outlet and catenary power supply line. The high reliability of traction power supply system directly affects the overall reliability. When AC current flows through the conductor in cable, the shielding layer will generate a corresponding induced electromotive force of which the magnitude is mainly proportional to length of the cable and value of the current in the conductor. When value of induced electromotive force on the sheath is too large, it may cause the grounding fault of the cable and endanger the safety of the people and the equipment. In this paper, the simulation software PSCAD/EMTDC is used to build the model of the High-speed Railway All-parallel AT Traction Power Supply System. The feeder cable sheath one end direct grounding, the other end through the Cable sheath protector grounding, which is called Cable sheath single-grounded way; The feeder cable sheath middle direct grounding-two ends protector grounding, which is called Cable sheath midpoint-grounded way. Using PSCAD/EMTDC simulation software to measure the voltage of cable sheath under different length of cable, graph of voltage in cable sheath is obtained. Analyzing the voltage of cable sheath and graphic, applicable distance of the cable sheath single-grounded way and Cable sheath midpoint-grounded way are obtained. The result provides reference for the engineering.
Delirium in older medical inpatients and subsequent cognitive and functional status: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND Delirium in older hospital inpatients appears to be associated with various adverse outcomes. The limitations of previous research on this association have included small sample sizes, short follow-up periods and lack of consideration of important confounders or modifiers, such as severity of illness, comorbidity and dementia. The objective of this study was to determine the prognostic significance of delirium, with or without dementia, for cognitive and functional status during the 12 months after hospital admission, independent of premorbid function, comorbidity, severity of illness and other potentially confounding variables. METHODS Patients 65 years of age and older who were admitted from the emergency department to the medical services were screened for delirium during their first week in hospital. Two cohorts were enrolled: patients with prevalent or incident delirium and patients without delirium, but similar in age and cognitive impairment. The patients were followed up at 2, 6 and 12 months after hospital admission. Analyses were conducted for 4 patient groups: 56 with delirium, 53 with dementia, 164 with both conditions and 42 with neither. Baseline measures included delirium (Confusion Assessment Method), dementia (Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly), physical function (Barthel Index [BI] and premorbid instrumental activities of daily living, IADL), the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), comorbidity, and physiologic and clinical severity of illness. Outcome variables measured at follow-up were the MMSe, Barthel Index, IADL and admission to a long-term care facility. RESULTS After adjustment for covariates, the mean differences in MMSE scores at follow-up between patients with and without delirium were -4.99 (95% confidence interval [CI] -7.17 to -2.81) for patients with dementia and -3.36 (95% CI -6.15 to -0.58) for those without dementia. At 12 months, the adjusted mean differences in the BI were -16.45 (95% CI -27.42 to -5.50) and -13.89 (95% CI -28.39 to 0.61) for patients with and without dementia respectively. Patients with both delirium and dementia were more likely to be admitted to long-term care than those with neither condition (adjusted odds ratio 3.18, 95% CI 1.19 to 8.49). Dementia but not delirium predicted worse IADL scores at follow-up. Unadjusted analyses yielded similar results. INTERPRETATION For older patients with and without dementia, delirium is an independent predictor of sustained poor cognitive and functional status during the year after a medical admission to hospital.
PRN code correlation in GPS receiver

Satellite based positioning systems like GPS (Global Positioning System) exist in every moment of our lives. GPS signal is broadcasted by Link1 (L1) and Link2 (L2) frequencies, separately. L1 is assigned to civil users, while L2 is especially for military users. GPS signal consists of navigation message and PRN codes (C/A for civil and P-code for military) which is an identity for satellite. PRN codes are also used to determine the range between the satellite and the receiver. The navigation message added on PRN code, must be known to find the position of GPS receiver on Earth. Identification of PRN code is the most important process to calculate the receiver's position. A correlation process in receiver is implemented to find PRN code changing for each satellite. Three common methods are available for the correlation process. These methods are Serial Search, Parallel Frequency Space Search and Parallel Code Phase Search Acquisition. Parallel Code Phase Search is faster and ended in less steps compared to other two methods. The aim of this study is to present the correlation technics used for the acquisition of satellite signal in GPS receivers. For this purpose, a correlation example is simulated in MATLAB environment to demonstrate how the correlation process in GPS receiver is performed.