Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extracción de taninos presentes en el banano verde

Introduccion: El banano verde de rechazo es un residuo de cosecha, que posee un alto contenido en taninos y polifenoles y un bajo contenido en fibra y protei- na. Los taninos son sustancias antinutricionales que impiden el uso del banano verde de rechazo (boleja) en la alimentacion animal, como fuente energetica. La extraccion selectiva con solventes es una ruta de separacion para la obtencion de taninos. Los resultados que se dan a conocer en el presente trabajo evidencian que este metodo de separacion es efectivo en la remocion de taninos de la bolaje. Objetivo: Extraer los taninos del banano verde de rechazo (boleja) utilizando la extraccion con solventes. Materiales y me- todos: La obtencion de los extractos alcoholico y acuoso y su evaluacion cualitativa, fue realizada combinando diferentes formas de extraccion y determinacion cualitativa de taninos que se detalla en la literatura de analisis quimico e instrumental. El analisis cuantitativo de taninos se efectuo mediante metodos colorime- tricos utilizando un espectrofotometro UV/VIS, donde las muestras fueron leidas a 700 nm y referidas a acido tanico. Como sustancia de referencia se utilizo acido tanico para analisis de la firma Merck. Para la medicion de la absorbancia se empleo un espectrofoto- metro UV-VIS SPECTRONIC - 20. Resultados: los coeficientes de correlacion lineal calculados para las curvas de calibracion fueron: del acido tanico: 0.9983, de la muestra A –extracto alcoholico:0.9977, de la muestra A –extracto acuoso:0.9822, de la muestra B –extracto alcoholico:0.9999 y de la de la muestra B – extracto acuoso:0.9938. Conclusion: La extraccion de taninos del banano verde de rechazo (boleja) con solucion 1:1 metanol-agua es mas eficiente y eficaz que la extraccion de taninos con agua.
Stressful Life Experiences and Peer Externalizing Behaviors Mediate the Relation Between Reduced Family Support and Externalizing Symptoms in Low-Income Urban Youth

Family support, urban stressors, and peer behavior were examined in relation to externalizing symptoms in 605 predominantly low-income urban sixth through eighth grade adolescents. Mother and father support were each associated with lower levels of externalizing symptoms in both males and females. For males, father absence was associated with increased peer externalizing behavior and heightened rates of youth externalizing symptoms. Stress (in the form of major life events, daily hassles, and exposure to violence) and peer externalizing behavior were examined as mediators of the relation between parent support and youth externalizing symptoms. Increased stress exposure mediated the relation between weak mother and father support and youth externalizing symptoms. Additionally, for females, peer externalizing behavior mediated the relation between weak mother support and youth externalizing symptoms.
Hexapeptide fragment of carcinoembryonic antigen which acts as an agonist of heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein M

Colorectal cancers with metastatic potential secrete the glycoprotein carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). CEA has been implicated in colorectal cancer metastasis by inducing Kupffer cells to produce inflammatory cytokines which, in turn, make the hepatic micro‐environment ideal for tumor cell implantation. CEA binds to the heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein M (hnRNP M) which acts as a cell surface receptor in Kupffer cells. The amino acid sequence in CEA, which binds the hnRNP M receptor, is Tyr‐Pro‐Glu‐Leu‐Pro‐Lys. In this study, the structure of Ac‐Tyr‐Pro‐Glu‐Leu‐Pro‐Lys‐NH2 (YPELPK) was investigated using electronic circular dichroism, vibrational circular dichroism, and molecular dynamics simulations. The binding of the peptide to hnRNP M was also investigated using molecular docking calculations. The biological activity of YPELPK was studied using differentiated human THP‐1 cells, which express hnRNP M on their surface and secrete IL‐6 when stimulated by CEA. YPELPK forms a stable polyproline‐II helix and stimulates IL‐6 production of THP‐1 cells at micromolar concentrations. Copyright © 2012 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Help-seeking and associated factors in female urinary incontinence. The Norwegian EPINCONT Study

Objectives - To assess the proportion of women who visit their doctor because of urinary incontinence and investigate factors associated with help-seeking. Design - Postal invitation, questionnaire covering many health topics including urinary incontinence, received at a screening station. Setting - The Norwegian EPINCONT Study is part of a large cross-sectional population-based survey performed in the county of Nord-Trøndelag during the period 1995-97. Subjects - 6625 women (out of 27936 participating women), 20 years or older, categorised as incontinent according to their answers to the questionnaire. Results - 26% of the incontinent women had seen a doctor for their incontinence. Increasing age, impact, severity and duration were all significantly associated with consultation rate, as were urge and mixed types compared with stress incontinence, and having visited any doctor during the previous 12 months. Fifty percent of the women with significant incontinence (moderate/severe incontinence perceived as troublesome) had seen a doctor because of their incontinence. Conclusions - Only a fourth of the women with any incontinence, and half of the women with significant incontinence had consulted a doctor. Older age and high impact of the symptoms were the factors most strongly associated with help-seeking.
Simplified culture procedure for large-scale screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infections

A method that uses a 48-well tissue culture cluster tray system for the isolation of Chlamydia trachomatis is described. The cluster tray system was as sensitive (100%) as and more time efficient than the conventional cover slip method, thereby being considerably cost saving. With both culture methods, the prevalence rates of genital carriage of C. trachomatis in women attending clinics for legal abortion and for cervical dysplasia were 5% (31 of 641 patients) and 2% (3 of 148 patients), respectively.
Optimal Charging and Discharging Scheduling for Electric Vehicles in a Parking Station with Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage System

The economic and environmental benefits brought by electric vehicles (EVs) cannot be fully delivered unless these vehicles are fully or partially charged by renewable energy sources (RES) such as photovoltaic system (PVS). Nevertheless, the EV charging management problem of a parking station integrated with RES is challenging due to the uncertain nature of local RES generation. This paper aims to address these difficulties by deploying an energy storage system (ESS) in parking stations and exploiting the charging and discharging scheduling of EVs to achieve better utilization of intermittent PVS for EV charging. A real-time charging optimization scheme is also formulated, using mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) to coordinate the charging or discharging power of EVs along with the power dispatches of power grid and ESS based on the vehicles’ charging or discharging priorities and electricity price preferences. Extensive simulations show that the proposed approach not only maximizes the satisfaction of EV owners in terms of fulfilling all charging and discharging requests, but also minimizes the overall operational cost of the parking station by prioritizing the utilization of energy from PVS, ESS, and scheduling of every EV’s charging and discharging.
Fos Proteins Suppress Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis through Inhibition of NF-κB

The Fos family proteins, c-Fos and Fra-1, are components of the dimeric transcription factor AP-1, which is typically composed of Fos and Jun family proteins. We have previously shown that mice lacking c-Fos (Fos−/− mice) respond more strongly to LPS injection than do wild-type (wt) controls. We then examined the sensitivity of Fos−/− mice to acute inflammatory stress in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis model. We found that Fos−/− mice exhibited more severe weight loss, bleeding, diarrhea, and colon shortening than did wt mice, in association with higher TNF-α production and NF-κB activity in colon segments of DSS-treated Fos−/− mice. Furthermore, NF-κB inhibition suppressed severe DSS-induced colitis in Fos−/− mice. In contrast, Fra-1 transgenic (Tg) mice responded poorly to LPS injection, and Fra-1–overexpressing macrophages and fibroblasts showed reduced production of proinflammatory cytokines, NO, and NF-κB activity. Remarkably, in the DSS-induced colitis model, Fra-1 Tg mice showed less severe clinical scores of colitis than did wt mice. Consistently, proinflammatory cytokine production and NF-κB activity in colon segments of DSS-treated Fra-1 Tg mice were lower than in wt controls. These findings reveal that the absence of c-Fos and overexpression of Fra-1 respectively enhance and suppress the activation of NF-κB in DSS-induced inflammatory stress. In this paper, we propose that AP-1 transcription factors containing c-Fos or Fra-1 are negative regulators of NF-κB–mediated stress responses.
Analyse et traitement des images codées en polarisation

Ce travail concerne les developpements necessaires a la mise en oeuvre efficace de systemes imageurs polarimetriques et comporte plusieurs volets allant de la theorie amont a l'utilisation d'algorithmes de traitement d'images specifiques. Les principaux objectifs et les developpements realises se rapportent a: - la representation algebrique des formalismes de polarisation en utilisant les quaternions : toute matrice de Mueller non depolarisante peut etre mise sous forme d'un quaternion complexe et l'action d'un systeme optique sur une onde monochromatique s'ecrit comme le produit geometrique du quaternion correspondant a la matrice de Mueller par le multivecteur representant le vecteur de Stokes. Cette utilisation de l'algebre geometrique permet de definir formellement la notion de distance, de similitude et d'appartenance a une classe. - l'optimisation des polarimetres imageurs et le calcul de l'erreur sur les mesures : la demarche, basee sur l'utilisation du produit de Kronecker, prend en compte de facon conjointe les erreurs sytematiques et le bruit d'image et leur minimisation est obtenue des l'etape de conception. Plusieurs fonctions de merites sont introduites pour permettre la definition des caracteristiques du polarimetre optimal. - l'estimation et le filtrage du bruit des images polarimetriques : deux methodes sont envisagees i) une nouvelle variante de la methode du « scatter plot » combinee avec une vectorisation de l'image par un parcours de type Piano-Hilbert, ii) la methode du masquage de donnees qui repose sur l'utilisation de la difference entre deux approximations de l'operateur Laplacien. Les performances et les biais des deux estimateurs choisis sont etudies statistiquement par la methode du « Bootstrap ». - la classification et la previsualisation couleur des images codees en polarisation : on propose une representation coloree des images codees en polarisation, comme une aide a leur interpretation en fonction de leur contenu physique, qui utilise la decomposition polaire pour le cas de l'imagerie de Mueller et repose sur deux mappages entre la sphere de Poincare et un espace de couleur parametrique dans le cas de l'imagerie de Stokes. Le processus de segmentation est base sur la famille des algorithmes des K-moyennes. Cette demarche est illustree sur des images de Stokes et de Mueller de tissus biologiques.
Depictions of substance use in reality television: a content analysis of The Osbournes

Abstract Objective To determine the source and slant of messages in a reality television programme that may promote or inhibit health related or risky behaviours. Design Coding visual and verbal references to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use in The Osbournes. Review methods Three reviewers watched all 10 episodes of the first season and coded incidents of substance use according to the substance used (alcohol, tobacco, or drugs), the way use was portrayed (visually or verbally), the source of the message (the character in the show involved in the incident), and the slant of the incident (endorsement or rejection). Main outcome measures The variation in number of messages in an average episode, the slant of messages, and message source. Results The average number of messages per episode was 9.1 (range 2-17). Most drug use messages (15, 54%) implied rejection of drugs, but most alcohol messages (30, 64%) and tobacco messages (12, 75%) implied endorsements for using these substances. Most rejections (34, 94%) were conveyed verbally, but most endorsements (36, 65%) were conveyed visually. Messages varied in frequency and slant by source. Conclusions The reality television show analysed in this study contains numerous messages on substance use that imply both rejection and endorsement of use. The juxtaposition of verbal rejection messages and visual endorsement messages, and the depiction of contradictory messages about substance use from show characters, may send mixed messages to viewers about substance use.
Enhancing the dexterity of a robot hand using controlled slip

An analysis was performed of controlled slipping of an object within a robot hand. The possible ways an object can move within a grasp were enumerated. The set of permissible motions was found as a function of the constraint state, that is, the number, location, and types of contact on an object. The constraint state was found as a function of a number of controllable variables, such as grasping force and externally applied forces. <<ETX>>
Technical Note : A Simple Greedy Algorithm for Assortment Optimization in the Two-Level Nested Logit Model

We consider the assortment optimization problem under the classical two-level nested logit model. We establish a necessary and sufficient condition for the optimal assortment, and use this optimality condition to develop a simple greedy algorithm that iteratively removes at most one product from each nest, until the optimality condition is satisfied. Our algorithm also exploits the beautiful “lumpy” structure of the optimal solution, where in each nest, a certain set of “consecutive” products will always appear together in the optimal assortment. The algorithm is simple, intuitive, and extremely fast. For a problem with m nests, with each nest having n products, the running time is O(nm logm). This is the fastest known running time for this problem.
Target and Specificity of a Nuclear Gene Product That Participates in mRNA 3′-End Formation in ChlamydomonasChloroplasts*

Chloroplast mRNA maturation is catalyzed by nucleus-encoded processing enzymes. We previously described a recessive nuclear mutation (crp3) that affects 3′-end formation of several chloroplast mRNAs in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii(Levy, H., Kindle, K. L., and Stern, D. B. (1997) Plant Cell 9, 825–836). In the crp3 background,atpB mRNA lacking a 3′-inverted repeat normally required for stability accumulates as a discrete transcript. The mutation also affects the atpA gene cluster; polycistronic mRNAs with psbI or cemA 3′-ends accumulate to a lower level in the crp3 background. Here, we demonstrate that the crp3 mutation also alters 3′-end formation of psbI mRNA and cemA-containing mRNAs. A novel 3′-end is formed in monocistronic psbItranscripts, and this is the only terminus observed when thepsbI 3′-untranslated region is fused to an aadAreporter gene. Accumulation of mRNAs with 3′-ends betweencemA and atpH, which is immediately downstream, was reduced. However, this sequence was not recognized as a 3′-end formation element in chimeric genes. The crp3 mutation was able to confer stability to three different atpB3′-stem-loop-disrupting mutations that lack sequence similarity, but are located at a similar distance from the translation termination codon. We propose that the wild-type CRP3 gene product is part of the general 3′ → 5′ processing machinery.
Slit and robo expression in the developing mouse lung

Mammalian lung development is mediated through complex interactions between foregut endoderm and surrounding mesenchyme. As airway branching progresses, the mesenchyme undergoes dramatic remodeling and differentiation. Little is understood about the mechanisms that direct mesenchymal organization during lung development. A screen for candidate genes mediating this process identified Slit, a ligand for the Roundabout (Robo) receptor previously associated with guidance of axonal projections during central nervous system development. Here, we demonstrate by in situ hybridization that two Slit genes (Slit‐2 and Slit‐3) and two Robo genes (Robo‐1 and Robo‐2) are expressed in fetal lung mesenchyme. Slit‐2 and Robo‐1 expression is present throughout mesenchyme at midgestation and is not detectable by newborn day 1. Slit‐3 and Robo‐2 expression is restricted to specific, complementary subsets of mesenchyme. Robo‐2 is expressed in mesenchymal cells immediately adjacent to large airways, whereas Slit‐3 expression predominates in mesenchyme remote from airway epithelium. The temporal and spatial distribution of Slit and Robo mRNAs indicate that these genes may direct the functional organization and differentiation of fetal lung mesenchyme. Developmental Dynamics 230:350–360, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Application of the Adaptive Cross Approximation algorithm to the Sources Reconstruction Method

The Sources Reconstruction Method (SRM) is an integral-equation based technique for antenna diagnostics and Near Field-to-Far Field transformation. SRM characteristics make possible the application of acceleration schemes in order to speed-up the calculation of the equivalent currents given the radiated fields. This work introduces the Adaptive Cross Approximation algorithm (ACA) combined with an iterative solver (Conjugate Gradient method, CG), with the aim of reducing the computational cost of the SRM. An application example in which the proposed CG-ACA is compared with conventional CG solution is included in the paper.
The YopB protein of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is essential for the translocation of Yop effector proteins across the target cell plasma membrane and displays a contact‐dependent membrane disrupting activity.

During infection of cultured epithelial cells, surface‐located Yersinia pseudotuberculosis deliver Yop (Yersinia outer protein) virulence factors into the cytoplasm of the target cell. A non‐polar yopB mutant strain displays a wild‐type phenotype with respect to in vitro Yop regulation and secretion but fails to elicit a cytotoxic response in cultured HeLa cells and is unable to inhibit phagocytosis by macrophage‐like J774 cells. Additionally, the yopB mutant strain was avirulent in the mouse model. No YopE or YopH protein were observed within HeLa cells infected with the yopB mutant strain, suggesting that the loss of virulence of the mutant strain was due to its inability to translocate Yop effector proteins through the target cell plasma membrane. Expression of YopB is necessary for Yersinia‐induced lysis of sheep erythrocytes. Purified YopB was shown to have membrane disruptive activity in vitro. YopB‐dependent haemolytic activity required cell contact between the bacteria and the erythrocytes and could be inhibited by high, but not low, molecular weight carbohydrates. Similarly, expression of YopE reduced haemolytic activity. Therefore, we propose that YopB is essential for the formation of a pore in the target cell membrane that is required for the cell‐to‐cell transfer of Yop effector proteins.
Quantitative analysis of patellar tendon size and structure in asymptomatic professional players: sonographic study.

Background Ultrasonographic abnormalities of the patellar tendon frequently occur in asymptomatic athletes and it is not always clear whether they precede (and may predict) the development of tendinopathy. Objective This study aimed to investigate by ultrasonography the prevalence of patellar tendon abnormalities in players of "pallapugno" and to establish whether structural tendon abnormalities predict tendinopathy development. Methods Ultrasound B-mode images of the patellar tendon of both sides were acquired in fourteen throwers. Qualitative assessments of tendon structure and neovascularization and quantitative assessments of tendon thickness, cross sectional area (CSA), and echo-intensity were performed. Results Qualitative assessments showed a subclinical tendinopathy of the non-dominant tendon in 5 out of 14 throwers (35% of cases), while quantitative assessments showed abnormalities of the non-dominant tendon in 8 out of 14 players (57% of cases). Echo-intensity and CSA were the quantitative variables most discriminant between asymptomatic players without structural tendon abnormalities and those with tendon abnormalities. Two players (2 out of 8 cases: 25%) developed a clinical tendinopathy after a follow-up of six months. Conclusion The prevalence of subclinical tendinopathy in the non-dominant patellar tendon of throwers was high. Patellar tendon abnormalities at baseline seem to increase the risk of development of subsequent patellar tendinopathy. Level of evidence II b (individual cohort study).
Endovascular treatment of arterioureteral fistulae involving both external and internal iliac arteries ; Report of a rare case

Arterioureteral fistula (AUF) is a rare condition that may lead to lethal hematuria if not treated promptly. A 65-year-old female presented at our emergency department with massive hematuria and associated hypotension. She had a history of cervical cancer treated with radical hysterectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Although computed tomography scan findings and renal angiography showed no signs of active bleeding, the symptom of hematuria aggravated. Even after prophylactic embolization of both renal arteries, hematuria persisted. On cystoscopy, there was a jet flow of bleeding from the right orifice of the ureter. AUF was highly suspected and subsequent intra-operative angiography was performed. Fistulous connections were observed and managed with endovascular repair. We report a rare case of AUFs showing connections with both the right external and internal iliac arteries.
The synthesis of specialty narratives from co-citation clusters

A method is described for generating reviews or synopses of scientific fields called specialty narratives. The raw data for the narrative are the Science Citation Index and selected texts from the published scientific literature. The review process is modeled as a walk through a co‐citation network using a quasi‐minimal spanning tree path and a depth‐first search method. Text for the narrative is derived from a statistical analysis of passages which cite the core (highly cited) documents in the cluster. A method is devised for selecting the passage which is most representative of the citing passages for a specific core document using shared content words. This is called the consensus passage. Transitions between nodes in the network are derived from an analysis of co‐citing contexts, which reveal why the concepts represented by the documents are associated. The final specialty narrative consists of consensus passages ordered by the tree search, and connected to one another by transitional sentences. The method is applied to a co‐citation cluster in the field of cancer virology, and the resulting specialty narrative is described in relation to the structure of the original co‐citation map. Implications of the procedure for the cognitive processes involved in reviewing a field, and the extension of the method to other fields and higher level maps of science are discussed. © 1986 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.