Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitation of Fansimef Components (Mefloquine + Sulfadoxine + Pyrimethamine) in Human Plasma by Two High‐Performance Liquid Chromatographic Methods

Summary: Two simple, precise, and selective high-performance liquid chromatographic methods are described for the simultaneous quantitation of me-floquine (MQ) plus pyrimethamine (PYR) or sulfadoxine (SDX) plus its principal metabolite N4-acetylsulfadoxine (N4SDX) in human plasma. After a single-step extraction, MQ plus PYR and SDX plus N4SDX including internal standards were separated using ion-paired and ion-suppression chromatography. Total run times for the assays were > 12 min. Intraassay and interassay precision of the methods expressed as the coefficients of variation were > 9% in plasma for the four compounds. The extraction recovery averaged 98% for MQ, 97% for PYR, 96% for SDX, and 81% for N4SDX. Plasma concentrations of the four compounds in a pediatric patient after a single oral dose of Fansimef (MQ + SDX + PYR) were determined to demonstrate the clinical application of the methods.
Continuous-time adaptive-analog coaxial cable equalizer in 0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS

The transmission of high-speed data on copper suffers from frequency-dependent losses that can cause significant intersymbol interference. The losses mainly arise from the increase in series resistance at high frequencies due to the skin effect. There are also dielectric losses, which are significant in the GHz range and higher. To correct for frequency dependent losses, an integrated circuit continuous-time analog filter is used. An on-chip adaptive control loop provides correction for any cable length. As part of the present research, many of the building blocks required for a CMOS implementation of the equalizer system have been designed and submitted for fabrication in a 0.5 /spl mu/m standard-digital-CMOS process. The equalizer is realized in an area of 1.1 mm/sup 2/, with power dissipation of 30 mW, using a 3.3 V power supply.
Quorum sensing inhibitors from Leucetta chagosensis Dendy, 1863

Sponges are a rich source for investigation of bioactive small molecules. They have been mostly investigated for the search of new pharmacological models or therapeutic agents for the treatment of human diseases. Micro‐organisms can also represent a virulent pathogen for marine invertebrates such as sponges, which need to protect themselves against these microbes. Sponges' self defence mechanisms involving dialogue molecules thus represent a pertinent research track for potent anti‐infective and anti‐biofilm activities such as quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs). The investigation of the QSI crude extract of Leucetta chagosensis Dendy, 1863 led to the isolation of three new alkaloids, isonaamine D, di‐isonaamidine A and leucettamine D, along with the known isonaamine A and isonaamidine A. Isonaamidine A and isonaamine D were identified as inhibitors of the three quorum sensing pathways of Vibrio harveyi (CAI‐1, AI‐2 and harveyi auto inducer), but isonaamidine A displayed the strongest activity on AI‐2 biosensor. Both compounds are new examples of natural QSIs of V. harveyi. These results outline the importance of these secondary metabolites for their producing organisms themselves in their natural environment, as well as the potential of the marine resource for aquaculture needs.
A novel orthotopic mouse model of head and neck cancer with molecular imaging

Our goal was to develop a noninvasive, dynamic imaging method that would further the understanding of head and neck cancer (HNC) tumor growth and local spreading. We developed a novel orthotopic mouse model of HNC with a stable cell line expressing a red fluorescent protein gene to compare a molecular imaging tumor quantification with traditional caliper measurement.
Water quality and the effects of different pastoral animals

Abstract Water quality in agricultural catchments tends to be worse than in forested (native or exotic) catchments. Reduced water quality tends to have significant effects on the ecosystem of streams, including increased nuisance algal and plant growth (eutrophication) associated with nutrient input, toxicity to aquatic life due to ammonia, faecal contamination, and loss of habitat or spawning areas due to sedimentation. An analysis of catchment contaminant loads from 38 studies conducted since 1975 was carried out to determine if there were differences in loads between land uses under different livestock (dairy, sheep, sheep-and-beef (mixed), deer) and non-agricultural. Significantly more N was lost from dairy catchments than catchments with other land uses, and more sediment lost from deer catchments than other catchments. Median loads of N were greatest from dairy > deer = mixed > sheep > non-agricultural; while loads of P were greatest for deer = mixed > dairy > sheep > non-agricultural; and for sediment, deer > sheep > mixed > dairy > non-agricultural. This information should be considered in catchments of mixed stock types to target the most pertinent mitigation practice for improving water quality. For example, if a stream in a catchment with deer and sheep present is choked with algae and limited by inputs of P, mitigation should focus on deer rather than sheep.
Kinetics of glucose transport in human erythrocytes.

The rate of unidirectional D‐[14C]glucose efflux from human red blood cells was determined at self‐exchange and net‐efflux conditions by means of the Millipore‐Swinnex filtering technique and the rapid continuous flow tube technique with which initial rates can be measured within fractions of a second. Determinations at 38, 25 and 10 degrees C of the concentration dependence of glucose self‐exchange flux and net efflux showed that both self exchange and net efflux followed simple Michaelis‐Menten kinetics at all temperatures. At 38 degrees C the maximal self‐exchange flux and the maximal net efflux were identical (6 X 10(‐10) mol/cm2.sec). The cellular glucose concentration for half‐maximal flux (K1/2) was 6.7 mM for self exchange and 8.2 mM for net efflux. By lowering temperature the maximal glucose self‐exchange flux progressively exceeded the maximal net efflux, and was about three times larger at 10 degrees C. K1/2 for self exchange increased to 12.6 mM at 10 degrees C, while K1/2 for net efflux decreased to 4.4 mM. At 38 degrees C the glucose permeability at self exchange at a constant extracellular glucose concentration of 40 mM showed a bell‐shaped pH dependence between pH 6 and pH 9. A maximum was found at pH 7.2, whereas the apparent permeability coefficient was halved both at pH 6 and pH 9. The temperature dependence of glucose transport was determined between 47 and 0 degrees C at a cellular glucose concentration of 100 mM which ensured greater than 85% saturation of the glucose transport system within the temperature range. The Arrhenius activation energy of glucose transport was not constant. By lowering the temperature, the activation energy increased gradually for net efflux from 55 kJ/mole between 38 and 47 degrees C to 151 kJ/mole between 0 and 10 degrees C. The temperature dependence of self‐exchange flux showed a more pronounced change around 10 degrees C. The Arrhenius activation energy was found to be 61 kJ/mole above and 120 kJ/mole below 10 degrees C.
Analytical study about the impact of multipath propagation on UHF-RFID ranging techniques

Given the narrow bandwidth of UHF-RFID it is not possible to separate the different signal paths apart. In this paper the SNR was derived, necessary for any nonlinear super-resolution algorithms. As long as these SNR levels are not met, any evaluation method will give a weighted mean of all the individual paths that exist in the perceived channel. Evaluation methods that use only one of “RSSI” and “phase” will even be worse. In order to open the possibilities of multipath resistant single-antenna ranging to the field of UHF-RFID applications new regulations or technologies with greater bandwidths are unavoidable.
The effects of low-dose X-irradiation on the oxidative burst in stimulated macrophages

Purpose : Local irradiation with a dose of around 0.5 Gy is an effective treatment of acute necrotizing inflammations. The hypothesis that low doses of X-rays modulate the oxidative burst in activated macrophages, which plays a major role in the acute inflammatory process, was tested. Materials and methods : Murine RAW 264.7 macrophages were stimulated with LPS/ γIFN, PMA or zymosan and oxidative burst was measured using either DCFH-DA or by reduction of cytochrome-C. Radiation doses of 0.3-10 Gy were given shortly before or after stimulation. Results : Low X-ray doses of <1 Gy significantly reduced the oxidative burst in activated macrophages, whereas higher doses had little effect on oxidative burst. Conclusions : The modulation of oxidative burst by low radiation doses may contribute to the therapeutic effectiveness of low-dose radiotherapy of acute necrotizing inflammations.
A randomized double-blind pilot trial of gabapentin versus placebo to treat alcohol dependence and comorbid insomnia.

BACKGROUND Insomnia and other sleep disturbances are common, persistent, and associated with relapse in alcohol-dependent patients. The purpose of this pilot study was to compare gabapentin versus placebo for the treatment of insomnia and prevention of relapse in alcohol-dependent patients. METHODS Twenty-one subjects, including 10 women who met study criteria for alcohol dependence and insomnia and expressed a desire to abstain from alcohol, were recruited to the study. During a 1 to 2 week placebo lead-in and screening phase, a complete medical history, physical exam, blood tests, urine drug test, and structured interviews were performed to determine eligibility and patterns of alcohol use and sleep. Insomnia due to intoxication or acute withdrawal, psychiatric or medical illness, medications, and other sleep disorders were ruled out. Subjects were then randomized to either placebo (n = 11) or gabapentin (n = 10) for 6 weeks and titrated over a 10-day period to 1,500 mg or 5 pills at bedtime. After a 4-day taper, subjects were reassessed 6 weeks after ending treatment. RESULTS Gabapentin significantly delayed the onset to heavy drinking, an effect which persisted for 6 weeks after treatment ended. Insomnia improved in both treatment groups during the medication phase, but gabapentin had no differential effects on sleep as measured by either subjective report or polysomnography. CONCLUSION Because gabapentin is a short-acting medication that was taken only at nighttime in this study, it may possibly exert a nocturnal effect that prevents relapse to heavy drinking by a physiological mechanism not measured in this pilot study.
Prospective, Blinded, Randomized Crossover Study of Gait Rehabilitation in Stroke Patients Using the Lokomat Gait Orthosis

Objective. Treadmill training with partial body weight support has been suggested as a useful strategy for gait rehabilitation after stroke. This prospective, blinded, randomized controlled study of gait retraining tested the feasibility and potential efficacy of using an electromechanical-driven gait orthosis (Lokomat) for treadmill training. Methods. Sixteen stroke patients, mostly within 3 months after onset, were randomized into 2 treatment groups, ABA or BAB (A = 3 weeks of Lokomat training, B = 3 weeks of conventional physical therapy) for 9 weeks of treatment. The outcome measures were the EU-Walking Scale, Rivermead Motor Assessment Scale, 10-m timed walking speed, 6-minute timed walking distance, Motricity Index, Medical Research Council Scale of strength, and Ashworth Scale of tone. Results. The EU-Walking Scale, Rivermead Motor Assessment Scale, 6-minute timed walking distance, Medical Research Council Scale, and Ashworth Scale demonstrated significantly more improvement during the Lokomat training phase than during the conventional physical therapy phase within each 3-week interval. Conclusions. Despite the small number of patients, the present data suggest that the Lokomat robotic assistive device provides innovative possibilities for gait training in stroke rehabilitation while eliminating prolonged repetitive movements in a nonergonomic position on the part of the physical therapist.
Arabic Opinion Mining Using Distributed Representations of Documents

Nowadays, many people express their opinions using user generated contains such as social media, forums and reviews. Opinion mining is a field of study that extracts sentiments from user generated contents. Because of the complexity of the Arabic language, extracting those opinions are challenging. Better representation of reviews can help to improve extraction of opinions. The traditional way of representing opinion documents is using Bag-of-Words where the word is presented in fixed-length. The problem of this presentation is that it loses the order of the word and it ignores grammatical structure and lexicon-dependent. To overcome these limitations, distributed representations can be employed. It is based on learning vector representations of words, which also called "word embeddings". It can make the performance of natural language processing tasks have better performance with the help of learning algorithms. This representation uses neural networks and makes the learned vectors explicitly encode many linguistic patterns. In this study, we used distributed representations for Arabic opinion mining and compare it with Bag of Words (BOW) representation. We applied them on four benchmark datasets. Then, we used four machine learning methods which are Support Vector Machine, Logistic Regression and Random Forest. Using f-measure metric, we found that, in all datasets and all methods we used in our experiment, the distributed representations have better performance than bag-of-words representation.
Cis‐acting elements and trans‐acting factors for accurate translation of chloroplast psbA mRNAs: development of an in vitro translation system from tobacco chloroplasts.

Translational regulation is an important step of gene expression in chloroplasts. To analyze biochemical mechanisms of translational regulation unique to higher plant chloroplasts, an in vitro translation system has been developed from tobacco chloroplasts. Conditions for chloroplast extraction and the in vitro translation reaction have been optimized with a tobacco psbA‐lacZ fusion mRNA. The in vitro system supports accurate translation of a variety of chloroplasts mRNAs. Using a series of mutant psbA mRNAs, we showed that three elements within the 5′‐untranslated region of the mRNA are required for translation. Two of them are complementary to the 3′‐terminus of chloroplast 16S rRNA (termed RBS1 and RBS2) and the other is an AU‐rich sequence (UAAAUAAA) located between RBS1 and RBS2 and is termed the AU box. mRNA competition experiments using the in vitro translation reaction and gel mobility shift assays revealed the existence of a trans‐acting factor(s) for translation and its possible interaction with the AU box. We propose a model for the initiation of psbA translation whereby RBS1 and RBS2 bind cooperatively to the 3′‐end of 16S rRNA resulting in looping out of the AU box, which facilitates the interaction of a trans‐acting factor(s).
Triptolide, a Component of Chinese Herbal Medicine, Modulates the Functional Phenotype of Dendritic Cells

Background. Triptolide (TPT) is a component of the Chinese herb Triptergium wilfordii and has potent immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effects. Since dendritic cells (DCs) play a critical role in the initiation of alloimmune responses to foreign grafts, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of TPT in the functional phenotype of bone marrow (BM)-derived DCs. Methods. BM-derived DCs were cultured with or without TPT from days 2 to 7 and then stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for a further 2 days. In some experiments, TPT was added to the cultures from day 7 to day 9. Heterotopic cardiac transplantation was performed and animals received either no treatment or were injected systemically with different doses of TPT posttransplantation. Results. TPT treatment inhibited LPS-induced DC maturation. The ability of DCs to stimulate allogeneic T-cell responses was also impaired by TPT treatment and accompanied by upregulated synthesis of interleukin-10 facilitating the expansion of regulatory T cells. Furthermore, we observed that TPT treatment led to increased cell surface expression of DC-SIGN and reduced expression of TLR4 on DCs. Conclusions. These findings demonstrate that TPT can inhibit the maturation and allogenicity of DCs and promotes the expansion of regulatory T cells. These effects were confirmed by in vivo experiments though treatment of TPT can prolong mice heart allograft survival. Furthermore, modulation of the DC surface phenotype towards that of a tolerogenic phenotype could contribute to the ability of TPT to suppress productive immunity and maintain homeostasis.
Quantification of protein interaction in living cells by two‐photon spectral imaging with fluorescent protein fluorescence resonance energy transfer pair devoid of acceptor bleed‐through

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between fluorescent proteins (FPs) is a powerful method to visualize and quantify protein–protein interaction in living cells. Unfortunately, the emission bleed‐through of FPs limits the usage of this complex technique. To circumvent undesirable excitation of the acceptor fluorophore, using two‐photon excitation, we searched for FRET pairs that show selective excitation of the donor but not of the acceptor fluorescent molecule. We found this property in the fluorescent cyan fluorescent protein (CFP)/yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and YFP/mCherry FRET pairs and performed two‐photon excited FRET spectral imaging to quantify protein interactions on the later pair that shows better spectral discrimination. Applying non‐negative matrix factorization to unmix two‐photon excited spectral imaging data, we were able to eliminate the donor bleed‐through as well as the autofluorescence. As a result, we achieved FRET quantification by means of a single spectral acquisition, making the FRET approach not only easy and straightforward but also less prone to calculation artifacts. As an application of our approach, the intermolecular interaction of amyloid precursor protein and the adaptor protein Fe65 associated with Alzheimer's disease was quantified. We believe that the FRET approach using two‐photon and fluorescent YFP/mCherry pair is a promising method to monitor protein interaction in living cells. © 2011 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
Predicting human protein subcellular localization by heterogeneous and comprehensive approaches

Drug development and investigation of protein function both require an understanding of protein subcellular localization. We developed a system, REALoc, that can predict the subcellular localization of singleplex and multiplex proteins in humans. This system, based on comprehensive strategy, consists of two heterogeneous systematic frameworks that integrate one-to-one and many-to-many machine learning methods and use sequence-based features, including amino acid composition, surface accessibility, weighted sign aa index, and sequence similarity profile, as well as gene ontology function-based features. REALoc can be used to predict localization to six subcellular compartments (cell membrane, cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi, mitochondrion, nucleus, and extracellular). REALoc yielded a 75.3% absolute true success rate during five-fold cross-validation and a 57.1% absolute true success rate in an independent database test, which was >10% higher than six other prediction systems. Lastly, we analyzed the effects of Vote and GANN models on singleplex and multiplex localization prediction efficacy. REALoc is freely available at http://predictor.nchu. edu.tw/REALoc.
CIRCULATING ANGIOPOIETIN 2 CORRELATES WITH MORTALITY IN A SURGICAL POPULATION WITH ACUTE LUNG INJURY/ADULT RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME

There are few blood biomarkers predictive of mortality in adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and none that currently serve as therapeutic targets. Here, we ask whether a circulating protein angiopoietin 2 (Ang2) correlates with severity of lung injury and mortality in a surgical intensive care unit cohort with acute lung injury (ALI)/ARDS. Tie 2 is a tyrosine kinase receptor expressed on endothelial cells. One ligand, angiopoietin 1, phosphorylates Tie 2 and stabilizes adult vasculature. An alternate ligand, Ang2, serves as a context-dependent antagonist and disrupts barrier function. Previously, our laboratory detected high circulating Ang2 levels in septic patients and a correlation with low Pao2/Fio2. In this study, daily plasma was collected in 63 surgical intensive care unit patients. Eighteen patients met clinical criteria for ALI or ARDS. The median Ang2 at admission in patients who never developed ALI/ARDS was 3.7 ng/mL (interquartile range [IQR], 5.6; n = 45). The Ang2 on the day a patient met criteria for ALI/ARDS was 5.3 ng/mL (IQR, 6.7) for survivors (n = 11) and 19.8 ng/mL (IQR, 19.2) for nonsurvivors (n = 7; P = 0.004). To explore the mechanism of high Ang 2 leading to increased permeability, plasma from patients with ALI was applied to cultured lung endothelial cells and found to disrupt normal junctional architecture. This effect can be rescued with the Tie 2 agonist angiopoietin 1. A patient's convalescent (low Ang2) plasma did not disrupt junctional architecture. Although further studies with larger sample sizes will be needed to confirm these results, high Ang2 in critically ill patients with ALI/ARDS is associated with a poor outcome. These data, coupled with our cell culture experiments, suggest that antagonism of Ang2 may provide a future novel therapeutic target for ARDS.
Nanoscale infiltration behaviour and through-thickness permeability of carbon nanotube buckypapers

Carbon nanotube thin films or ‘buckypapers’ show potential for various applications including electrodes for energy devices, nanoscale filtration devices and composite materials. This paper reports on the study of through-thickness permeability of different buckypaper materials. The infiltration behaviours of different liquids into four types of buckypaper were investigated. Infiltration of the liquids into buckypaper was found to follow Darcy’s law, except in the case of epoxy resin solution permeation into SWNT buckypaper. The results revealed that the permeability of SWNT buckypaper was of the order of 10−19 m2, which is about two orders of magnitude lower than the 10−17 m2 permeability for the MWNT buckypaper. The factors of wider pores, higher porosity and less surface area appear to contribute to a higher permeability, which is consistent with Darcy’s law and the Kozeny–Carman model. The Kozeny constants of buckypapers correlated well with the tortuosity of their flow paths and nanoscale pore size. The polarity of working fluids did not show an impact on the permeability. Solutions with molecular size near the size of the nanopores in the buckypaper led to lower permeability due to the occurrence of pore blockage. In addition, a threshold pressure existed for liquid to infiltrate into nanoscale pores in buckypapers, which does not exist in fibre reinforcement preforms.