Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Life on the edge: O2 binding in Atlantic cod red blood cells near their southern distribution limit is not sensitive to temperature or haemoglobin genotype

ABSTRACT Atlantic cod are a commercially important species believed to be threatened by warming seas near their southern, equatorward upper thermal edge of distribution. Limitations to circulatory O2 transport, in particular cardiac output, and the geographic distribution of functionally different haemoglobin (Hb) genotypes have separately been suggested to play a role in setting thermal tolerance in this species. The present study assessed the thermal sensitivity of O2 binding in Atlantic cod red blood cells with different Hb genotypes near their upper thermal distribution limit and modelled its consequences for the arterio-venous O2 saturation difference, Sa–vO2, another major determinant of circulatory O2 supply rate. The results showed statistically indistinguishable red blood cell O2 binding between the three HbI genotypes in wild-caught Atlantic cod from the Irish Sea (53° N). Red blood cells had an unusually low O2 affinity, with reduced or even reversed thermal sensitivity between pH 7.4 and 7.9, and 5.0 and 20.0°C. This was paired with strongly pH-dependent affinity and cooperativity of red blood cell O2 binding (Bohr and Root effects). Modelling of Sa–vO2 at physiological pH, temperature and O2 partial pressures revealed a substantial capacity for increases in Sa–vO2 to meet rising tissue O2 demands at 5.0 and 12.5°C, but not at 20°C. Furthermore, there was no evidence for an increase of maximal Sa–vO2 with temperature. It is suggested that Atlantic cod at such high temperatures may solely depend on increases in cardiac output and blood O2 capacity, or thermal acclimatisation of metabolic rate, for matching circulatory O2 supply to tissue demand. Highlighted Article: Red blood cell oxygen binding affinity in Atlantic cod near their southern, warmer limit of distribution is largely temperature independent and not affected by functional differences between their major haemoglobin genotypes.
Semantic Labeling of Compound Nominalization in Chinese

This paper discusses the semantic interpretation of compound nominalizations in Chinese. We propose four coarse-grained semantic roles of the noun modifier and use a Maximum Entropy Model to label such relations in a compound nominalization. The feature functions used for the model are web-based statistics acquired via role related paraphrase patterns, which are formed by a set of word instances of prepositions, support verbs, feature nouns and aspect markers. By applying a sub-linear transformation and discretization of the raw statistics, a rate of approximately 77% is obtained for classification of the four semantic relations.
Rmd9p Controls the Processing/Stability of Mitochondrial mRNAs and Its Overexpression Compensates for a Partial Deficiency of Oxa1p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Oxa1p is a key component of the general membrane insertion machinery of eukaryotic respiratory complex subunits encoded by the mitochondrial genome. In this study, we have generated a respiratory-deficient mutant, oxa1-E65G-F229S, that contains two substitutions in the predicted intermembrane space domain of Oxa1p. The respiratory deficiency due to this mutation is compensated for by overexpressing RMD9. We show that Rmd9p is an extrinsic membrane protein facing the matrix side of the mitochondrial inner membrane. Its deletion leads to a pleiotropic effect on respiratory complex biogenesis. The steady-state level of all the mitochondrial mRNAs encoding respiratory complex subunits is strongly reduced in the Δrmd9 mutant, and there is a slight decrease in the accumulation of two RNAs encoding components of the small subunit of the mitochondrial ribosome. Overexpressing RMD9 leads to an increase in the steady-state level of mitochondrial RNAs, and we discuss how this increase could suppress the oxa1 mutations and compensate for the membrane insertion defect of the subunits encoded by these mRNAs.
Development of DNA vaccines as an anti-hypertensive therapy or for anti-angiogenesis

Introduction: Vaccines are used as preventive medicine for infectious diseases worldwide; however, several recent studies have indicated the potential of therapeutic vaccines for managing Alzheimer’s disease or hypertension. Areas covered: The concept and history of therapeutic vaccines for hypertension are introduced. The improvement of drug compliance associated with vaccines in hypertensive patients may assist in better control of blood pressure, leading to reduced complications. Recently, groups have attempted to develop a therapeutic vaccine against hypertension. The vaccine-induced anti-angiotensin II antibodies can efficiently ameliorate high blood pressure. DNA vaccines have also been designed via a similar strategy using a plasmid vector encoding a hepatitis B core (HBc)-angiotensin II fusion protein. The immunogenic molecule (i.e., HBc) is used to provide an antigen that supports the activation of T cells in this DNA vaccine system. The platform technology can also be applied to generate a VEGF vaccine for cancer. Expert opinion: To date, several clinical studies of DNA vaccines have been conducted, but their effectiveness has not been determined. We hope that the novel concept of DNA vaccines will contribute to promoting health and medicine in the future.
A Kinetic Model to Predict the Compositions of Metal, Slag and Inclusions during Ladle Refining: Part 1. Basic Concept and Application

A kinetic model to predict chemical composition changes in molten steel, slag, and inclusions in ladle refining was developed and used to elucidate the mechanism underlying the change in the chemical composition of the inclusions. The coupled reaction model was applied to estimate the reaction between molten steel/slag and molten steel/inclusion originating from the slag. The thermodynamic calculation software, FactSage6.3, was employed to obtain the activity of each component in the slag phase. Empirical equations were applied to the reaction between the slag and the refractory. The resulting model can calculate changes in (1) the composition of each element in the molten steel, slag, and the inclusion originating from the slag, (2) the amount of inclusion originating from the slag and the deoxidation products, and (3) the ratio of the inclusion originating from the slag and the deoxidation products to the total inclusion. The calculated results were found to agree with the operational results of a 165 t ladle refining process reported in the literature. The deoxidation products altered from alumina to a MgO·Al2O3 spinel-type inclusion due to an increase in the Mg content of steel. In the average composition changes of each element in the total inclusions, calculated results for the MgO and Al2O3 contents were also found to agree with the operational results.
Olfactory Bulb Glomeruli: External Tufted Cells Intrinsically Burst at Theta Frequency and Are Entrained by Patterned Olfactory Input

Glomeruli, the initial sites of synaptic processing in the olfactory system, contain at least three types of neurons collectively referred to as juxtaglomerular (JG) neurons. The role of JG neurons in odor processing is poorly understood. We investigated the morphology, spontaneous, and sensory-evoked activity of one class of JG neurons, external tufted (ET) cells, using whole-cell patch-clamp and extracellular recordings in rat olfactory bulb slices. ET cells have extensive dendrites that ramify within a single glomerulus or, rarely, in two adjacent glomeruli. All ET neurons exhibit spontaneous rhythmic bursts of action potentials (∼1–8 bursts/sec). Bursting is intrinsically generated; bursting persisted and became more regular in the presence of ionotropic glutamate and GABA receptor antagonists. Burst frequency is voltage dependent; frequency increased at membrane potentials depolarized relative to rest and decreased during membrane potential hyperpolarization. Spontaneous bursting persisted in blockers of calcium channels that eliminated low-threshold calcium spikes (LTS) in ET cells. ET cells have a persistent sodium current available at membrane potentials that generate spontaneous bursting. Internal perfusion with a fast sodium channel blocker eliminated spontaneous bursting but did not block the LTS. These results suggest that persistent sodium channels are essential for spontaneous burst generation in ET cells. ET cell bursts were entrained to ON stimuli delivered over the range of theta frequencies. Thus, ET cells appear to be tuned to the frequency of sniffing.
A Systematic Review of Molecular and Biological Tumor Markers in Neuroblastoma

Purpose: The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review, and where possible meta-analyses, of molecular and biological tumor markers described in neuroblastoma, and to establish an evidence-based perspective on their clinical value for the screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of patients. Experimental Design: A well-defined, reproducible search strategy was used to identify the relevant literature from 1966 to February 2000. Results: A total of 428 papers studying the use of 195 different tumor markers in neuroblastoma were identified. Small sample sizes, poor statistical reporting, large heterogeneity across studies (e.g., in cutoff levels), and publication bias limited meta-analysis to the area of prognosis only; MYCN, chromosome 1p, DNA index, vanillylmandelic acid:homovanillic acid ratio, CD44, Trk-A, neuron-specific enolase, lactate dehydrogenase, ferritin, and multidrug resistance were all identified as potentially important prognostic tools. Conclusions: This systematic review forms a knowledge base of the tumor markers studied thus far in neuroblastoma, and has identified some of the most important prognostic markers, which should be considered in future research and treatment strategies. Importantly, the review has also highlighted some general problems across primary tumor marker studies, in particular poor and heterogeneous reporting. These need to be addressed to allow better clinical interpretation and enable more appropriate evidence-based reviews in the future. In particular, collaboration of cancer research groups is needed to enable bigger sample sizes, standardize methods of analysis and reporting, and facilitate the pooling of individual patient data.
A Trinocular Stereo-Matching Algorithm Based on Adaptive Support-Weight for Mobile Service Robot

A trinocular stereo-matching algorithm based on adaptive support-weight and disparity adjustment has been proposed to improve the accuracy of trinocular vision. Adaptive support-weight which is an efficient window selection method in binocular stereo is applied in the trinocular stereo. A robust target image selection method is also proposed for using the information of different target images in trinocular stereo-vision system efficiently. So occlusion can be handled well by this means. The vision system is tested in the project Family Life Support Multi-Robot Systems.
Determination of muscle activity during running at reduced body weight

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate how lower extremity muscles are influenced by body weight support during running at different speeds. Nine participants (age 24 ± 2 years, height 1.75 ± 0.12 m, mass 73.5 ± 15.7 kg) ran at 100%, 115%, and 125% of preferred speed at 100%, 90%, 80%, 70%, and 60% of body weight on a treadmill that provided body weight support. Preferred speed was self-selected by each participant and represented a speed that he or she could sustain if going for a 30 min run. Electromyography (EMG) data were recorded (1000 Hz, 1 min) from the bicep femoris, rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, and gastrocnemius for each condition together with knee angle (electrogoniometer). Average and root mean square EMG were calculated across 30 s. Muscle patterns were determined by smoothing (low-pass filter, 4 Hz) and extracting patterns for 49 cycles defined by consecutive maximum knee flexion angles. Repeated-measures analyses of variance were used to compare average and root mean square across body weight and speeds. Correlations were computed between the 100% speed/100% body weight condition and all other conditions per muscle. There was no interaction between body weight and speed (P > 0.05). Average and root mean square decreased as body weight decreased for all muscles (P < 0.05) and increased across speeds for all muscles (P < 0.05). Correlations for all muscles between conditions were high (range: 0.921–0.999). Although a percent reduction in body weight did not lead to the same reduction in muscle activity, it was clear that reducing body weight leads to a reduction in muscle activity with no changes in muscle activity patterns.
An evaluation framework for assessing the dependability of Dynamic Binding in Service-Oriented Computing

Service-Oriented Computing (SOC) provides a flexible framework in which applications may be built up from services, often distributed across a network. One of the promises of SOC is that of Dynamic Binding where abstract consumer requests are bound to concrete service instances at runtime, thereby offering a high level of flexibility and adaptability. Existing research has so far focused mostly on the design and implementation of dynamic binding operations and there is little research into a comprehensive evaluation of dynamic binding systems, especially in terms of system failure and dependability. In this paper, we present a novel, extensible evaluation framework that allows for the testing and assessment of a Dynamic Binding System (DBS). Based on a fault model specially built for DBS's, we are able to insert selectively the types of fault that would affect a DBS and observe its behavior. By treating the DBS as a black box and distributing the components of the evaluation framework we are not restricted to the implementing technologies of the DBS, nor do we need to be co-located in the same environment as the DBS under test. We present the results of a series of experiments, with a focus on the interactions between a real-life DBS and the services it employs. The results on the NECTISE Software Demonstrator (NSD) system show that our proposed method and testing framework is able to trigger abnormal behavior of the NSD due to interaction faults and generate important information for improving both dependability and performance of the system under test.
Optical Constants of - and -Zinc(II)-Phthalocyanine Films

We present a dataset of the optical constants of α- and β-zinc(II)-phthalocyanine (ZnPc). They were determined accurately from transmission and differential reflectance spectra, with the surface roughness taken into account. For this purpose, thin films were prepared on quartz glass substrates via physical vapor deposition and characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy before as well as after a well-defined annealing process. Kramers-Kronig consistency of the optical constants obtained was checked by means of a numerical algorithm.
Superharmonic imaging with chirp coded excitation: filtering spectrally overlapped harmonics

Superharmonic imaging improves the spatial resolution by using the higher order harmonics generated in tissue. The superharmonic component is formed by combining the third, fourth, and fifth harmonics, which have low energy content and therefore poor SNR. This study uses coded excitation to increase the excitation energy. The SNR improvement is achieved on the receiver side by performing pulse compression with harmonic matched filters. The use of coded signals also introduces new filtering capabilities that are not possible with pulsed excitation. This is especially important when using wideband signals. For narrowband signals, the spectral boundaries of the harmonics are clearly separated and thus easy to filter; however, the available imaging bandwidth is underused. Wideband excitation is preferable for harmonic imaging applications to preserve axial resolution, but it generates spectrally overlapping harmonics that are not possible to filter in time and frequency domains. After pulse compression, this overlap increases the range side lobes, which appear as imaging artifacts and reduce the Bmode image quality. In this study, the isolation of higher order harmonics was achieved in another domain by using the fan chirp transform (FChT). To show the effect of excitation bandwidth in superharmonic imaging, measurements were performed by using linear frequency modulated chirp excitation with varying bandwidths of 10% to 50%. Superharmonic imaging was performed on a wire phantom using a wideband chirp excitation. Results were presented with and without applying the FChT filtering technique by comparing the spatial resolution and side lobe levels. Wideband excitation signals achieved a better resolution as expected, however range side lobes as high as -23 dB were observed for the superharmonic component of chirp excitation with 50% fractional bandwidth. The proposed filtering technique achieved >50 dB range side lobe suppression and improved the image quality without affecting the axial resolution.
Extraction and potential application of caustic potash from kolanut husk, ugwu pod husk and plantain peels

Caustic potash from kola nut pod husk (Cola nitida), ugwu pod husk (Teleferia occidentalis) and plantain peels (Musa paradisiaca) were extracted using combustion and leaching process with distilled water as the solvent. Yield observed at varying temperatures are 31, 23, 35% (at 300, 400, 500oC, respectively). Free caustic alkali contents, free fatty matter and chloride were a bit higher than the value obtained for local black soap (using caustic potash extracted from cocoa pod ash) which served as control (1.00%). It was observed that the samples contained appreciable amount of caustic potash, (kolanut pod husk 24.54 g/100 g, ugwu pod husk 1.60 g/100 g and plantain peel 39.28 g/100 g). This work, thus established the fact that it is possible to convert the erstwhile wasteful caustic potash into a useful raw material. Key words: Caustic potash, kolanut husk, ugwu pod husk and plantain peels.
Polarization Behavior of Femtosecond Laser Written Optical Waveguides in Ti:sapphire References and Links

Ultrashort pulsed laser photoinscription of Ti:Sapphire crystals may result in the self-organization of nanoscale material redistribution regions in regular patterns within the laser trace and stress-induced birefringence around the laser trace. We report on the formation of anisotropic optical waveguides in Ti:Sapphire by a procedure that involves femtosecond laser inscription of adjacent nonguiding birefringent traces with nanopatterned crosssections and the accumulation of stress birefringence in the region between. Double parallel line structures with a separation of 25µm with vertical and horizontal nanoscale arrangements were written with a choice of orthogonal polarizations. Due to anisotropic light scattering on periodic nanostructures and stress-induced birefringence in the central zone, remarkable polarization dependent guiding effects were observed as a function of the microscopic geometry of the structures. Building on this polarization sensitivity, several structure such as 3 × 3 waveguide arrays, diamond and hexagon patterns are also investigated. Optical waveguide fabrication in z-cut lithium niobate (LiNbO3) using femtosecond pulses in the low repetition rate regime, " Appl. Femtosecond laser-written quasi-phase-matched waveguides in lithium niobate, " Appl. Self-organized nanogratings in glass irradiated by ultrashort light pulses, " Phys. " Optically produced arrays of planar nanostructures inside fused silica, " Phys. Ultrafast laser photoinscription of polarization sensitive devices in bulk silica glass, " Opt. Applications of femtosecond laser induced self-organized planar nanocracks inside fused silica glass, " Laser Photon. Nanosize structural modifications with polarization functions in ultrafast laser irradiated bulk fused silica, " Opt.and nanostructures inside sapphire by fs-laser irradiation and selective etching, " Opt. Femtosecond-irradiation-induced refractive-index changes and channel waveguiding in bulk Ti 3+ :Sapphire, " Appl. Flipping the sign of refractive index changes in ultrafast and temporally shaped laser-irradiated borosilicate crown optical glass at high repetition rates, " Phys. Thermal and optical properties of the femtosecond-laser-structured and stress-induced birefringent regions in sapphire, " Opt. Laser-induced microexplosion confined in the bulk of a sapphire crystal: evidence of multimegabar pressures, " Phys. Filamentation and damage in fused silica induced by tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses, " Phys. Dependence of the femtosecond laser refractive index change thresholds on the chemical composition of doped-silica glasses, " Opt. Mater. Nano-modification inside transparent materials by femtosecond laser single beam, " Mod. Formation of amorphous sapphire by a femtosecond laser pulse induced micro-explosion, " Appl.
Making Impractical Implementations Practical : Observationally Cooperative Multithreading Using HLE ∗

Observationally Cooperative Multithreading (OCM) is a new approach to shared-memory parallelism. Programmers write code using the well-understood cooperative (i.e., nonpreemptive) multithreading model for uniprocessors. OCM then allows threads to run in parallel, so long as results remain consistent with the cooperative model. OCM is easer to reason about and allows simpler coding because, conceptually, task switching only occurs at yield points, but its performance has been disappointing until now. We show that an extremely simple-minded OCM implemention strategy (one that would normally not achieve any parallel speedup at all! ) can perform remarkably well under Intel’s Hardware Lock Elision (HLE), a form of hardware transactional memory. HLE is also a very good fit for OCM because HLE’s limitations do not violate any aspects of OCM’s parallel model. This work suggests that when considering how to use new concurrency-control mechanisms such as HLE, we should consider not only how they may be used to replace traditional synchronization techniques that already perform fairly well, but also how they may make viable strategies that would not previously have been feasible.
Genetic analysis reveals a complex regulatory network modulating CBF gene expression and Arabidopsis response to abiotic stress

Arabidopsis CBF genes (CBF1–CBF3) encode transcription factors having a major role in cold acclimation, the adaptive process whereby certain plants increase their freezing tolerance in response to low non-freezing temperatures. Under these conditions, the CBF genes are induced and their corresponding proteins stimulate the expression of target genes configuring low-temperature transcriptome and conditioning Arabidopsis freezing tolerance. CBF2 seems to be the most determinant of the CBFs since it also regulates CBF1 and CBF3 expression. Despite the relevance of CBF genes in cold acclimation, little is known about the molecular components that control their expression. To uncover factors acting upstream of CBF2, mutagenized Arabidopsis containing the luciferase reporter gene under the control of the CBF2 promoter were screened for plants with de-regulated CBF2 expression. Here, the identification and characterization of five of these mutants, named acex (altered CBF2 expression), is presented. Three mutants show increased levels of cold-induced CBF2 transcripts compared with wild-type plants, the other two exhibiting reduced levels. Some mutants are also affected in cold induction of CBF1 and CBF3. Furthermore, the mutants characterized display unique phenotypes for tolerance to abiotic stresses, including freezing, dehydration, and high salt. These results demonstrate that cold induction of CBF2 is subjected to both positive and negative regulation through different signal transduction pathways, some of them also mediating the expression of other CBF genes as well as Arabidopsis responses to abiotic stresses.