Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PHYTOCHEMICAL EVALUATION AND HPTLC PROFILING OF EXTRACTS OF SALACIA OBLONGA

Plants of medicinal importance though are quite well known among the Ayurvedic practitioners since years, yet many of them have not been standardized, validated and documented completely. Among such medicinally valuable plants, Salacia holds a place as an effective antidiabetic herb and many species of this plant are in use as anti-diabetics. The present study reports the phytochemical analysis of one of its species Salacia oblonga (SO) (roots and stems), belonging to the family Celastraceae (bittersweet), through various biochemical and chromatographic methods. TLC and HPTLC analysis of six different extracts of SO revealed numerous bands, indicating the presence of diverse groups of phytocompounds, many of them are assumed to contribute significantly to its antioxidant activity as well as, other biological activities. This type of analysis can help in fingerprint profiling of the plant and its various species. The identification and characterization of the phytocompounds can further help in finding out molecular targets/mechanism of action of the constituents of this herb that are responsible for its biological activities. INTRODUCTION: The growing awareness about the side effects and complications of chemical and synthetic medicines, cosmetics and health supplements have triggered the usage of herbal products both in the Eastern and Western World. Herbal products are being used more in recent days and they are one of those substances that people use in a self-prescribed manner. Salacia holds a place as an effective antidiabetic herb and comprises of about 100 species, out of which, in India, Salacia reticulata (SR) and Salacia oblonga (SO) are predominantly used 1 . Unfortunately SR has been declared as an endangered species 2, 3, 4 . QUICK RESPONSE CODE IJPSR: ICV (2011)5.07 Article can be accessed online on: www.ijpsr. com SO is distributed in the southern region of India and has been in use since several years extensively in the form of food supplements in countries like India, Japan and Korea, for controlling high blood glucose levels 5 . The root-bark of this plant is pale yellow and light brownish coloured and is used as a decoction or as powder in the treatment of diabetes and other diseases like rheumatism, gonorrhea, itches, asthma, thirst and ear diseases 6 . Moreover, the root extract has shown inhibitory activity on intestinal α glucosidases, thereby preventing blood glucose rise in diabetics 7 . Salacia oblonga is also reported to possess good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity 6, 8 . The extract containing the active constituents Salacinol, Kotalanol, and Mangiferin have been reported to significantly lower the blood glucose levels through inhibition of the enzymes involved in glucose metabolism 9, 10 .
Recombinant, refolded tetrameric p53 and gonadotropin-releasing hormone-p53 slow proliferation and induce apoptosis in p53-deficient cancer cells

The p53 tumor suppressor is mutated in over 50% of human cancers. Mutations resulting in amino acid changes within p53 result in a loss of activity and consequent changes in expression of genes that regulate DNA repair and cell cycle progression. Replacement of p53 using protein therapy would restore p53 function in p53-deficient tumor cells, with a consequence of tumor cell death and tumor regression. p53 functions in a tetrameric form in vivo. Here, we refolded a wild-type, full-length p53 from inclusion bodies expressed in Escherichia coli as a stable tetramer. The tetrameric p53 binds to p53-specific DNA and, when transformed into a p53-deficient cancer cell line, induced apoptosis of the transformed cells. Next, using the same expression and refolding technology, we produced a stable tetramer of recombinant gonadotropin-releasing hormone-p53 fusion protein (GnRH-p53), which traverses the plasma membrane, slows proliferation, and induces apoptosis in p53-deficient, GnRH-receptor–expressing cancer cell lines. In addition, we showed a time-dependent binding and internalization of GnRH-p53 to a receptor-expressing cell line. We conclude that the GnRH-p53 fusion strategy may provide a basis for constructing an effective cancer therapeutic for patients with tumors in GnRH-receptor–positive tissue types. [Mol Cancer Ther 2008;7(6):1420–9]
The role of the facilitator during digital creative sessions

Facilitation is proved to improve group problem-solving effectiveness, research new concepts and innovative solutions. This paper addresses facilitation role during a creative session in the digital environment. We evaluate existing collaborative software based on the metaphor of the sticky note and we show that they are designed for use without necessarily taking into account the presence of a facilitator. They offer however, a set of functions that are relevant to the group and its individuals. According to our findings, we suggest a set of principal features to fully integrate the role of the facilitator into digital creativity sessions.
Estimating insurer ́ s capital requirements through Markov switching models in the Solvency II framework

Solvency II will transform the system for determining capital requirements for insurers. The new regulatory framework proposes a standard model, but at the same time, it encourages the use of internal models of self-evaluation and risk management. This paper attempts to assess the adequacy of Markov switching models for the design of internal models of insurers' equity risk exposure. We have used monthly data from four of the main European indices for the period between January1990 and January 2010. The comparison of models across different statistical criteria and backtesting shows the superiority of Markov switching models over simpler models, to capture insurers' equity risk. Subsequently, we compared capital requirements resulting from applying these models against the Solvency II proposal. The results showed that the funds needed to take the equity risk are dependent on the specification used. Also, the capital raised by Markov switching specifications exceeds those of the standard model. This means that companies using the standard model or another based on similar assumptions are underestimating the risk actually assumed.
A NEW STAINING METHOD (OTO) FOR ENHANCING CONTRAST OF LIPID-CONTAINING MEMBRANES AND DROPLETS IN OSMIUM TETROXIDE-FIXED TISSUE WITH OSMIOPHILIC THIOCARBOHYDRAZIDE (TCH)

Al though the in t roduct ion of fixation of tissue with osmium tetroxide by Palade (8) ushered in the modern era of electron microscopy of biological materials, a need for greater contrast and greater resolution in visualizing membranous structures has s t imulated the in t roduct ion of methods for staining with heavy metal salts, in order to enhance the del ineat ion of the fine archi tecture of cells. This is especially necessary because of the poor contras t of osmium tetroxide-fixed tissue when the epoxy resins are used as embedding materials (9). These methods have relied upon specific affinities of heavy metal salts for various macromolecular components of the cell such as proteins, polysaccharides, nucleoproteins, or l ipoproteins (3, 9, 17, 18). Such staining techniques do not necessarily enhance the staining of the same components of the cell originally stained by the osmium tetroxide, a l though interesting and impor t an t staining effects have been produced thereby. In the course of developing cytochemical methods for electron microscopy, based upon the principle of designing histochemical reagents tha t yield osmiophilic end products (6, 10, l 1), we have discovered a new way to enhance especially the contrast of the lipid components of the cells stained by osmium tetroxide dur ing the initial fixation. O n t r ea tmen t wi th an excess of th iocarbohydrazide (H2NNHCSNHNH2, T C H ) , one end of the molecule at taches to the osmium in the tissue and, when this is followed by exposure to osmium tetroxide, more osmium is bound to these sites. The new method ( O T O ) utilizes this br idging phenomenon (5) and, a l though contrast is increased thereby in all osmiophilic components of tissue, greatest enhancemen t of contrast is produced in tissue components holding the most osmium, i.e., lipid. The O T O method consists of exposing u l t ra th in sections of Araldi te-embedded, osmium tet roxidefixed tissue (8) on gold, stainless steel, or nickel grids, I without a support ing membrane , to a 1 hot aqueous solution of T C H 2 for 1 hr at 50°C, ~ followed by several washes with hot water (initial tempera ture 50°C) for 10 to 15 min to remove unbound TCH. The sections are then exposed to osmium tetroxide again, resulting in fur ther deposition of osmium. The best results are obtained by exposing the sections to osmium tetroxide vapor 4 for 1 hr in a closed vessel suspended in a water ba th at 60°C as described earlier (11), or very good results may be obtained with perhaps a little less contrast and considerably less cost by t rea t ing the grids with a 2 % solution of osmium tetroxide
Identifying genetic solutions to motor defects in Parkinson's disease with C. elegans

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopamine neurons in the brain. This loss results in severe motor defects, such as the inability to initiate and transition between motor patterns like standing and walking. Whereas much research is focused on ways to prevent the death of dopamine neurons, less research has addressed how to enable motion after the death of dopamine neurons in late-stage PD. This is difficult to study in traditional rodent models because they quickly become immobile and die following ablation of dopamine neurons. The model nematode C. elegans offers an alternative model for late-stage PD. We modeled late-stage PD using a mutant worm with a deletion in the cat-2 gene. This gene is required to synthesize dopamine, as it encodes tyrosine hydroxylase, a catalase found in all animals (including humans). Without tyrosine hydroxylase, the cat-2 mutant cannot produce normal amounts of dopamine. In a manner that intriguingly mirrors human PD, the cat-2 mutant is capable of some motion, but becomes noticeably paralyzed when transitioning from swimming to crawling motor patterns. To search for ways to treat this model of late-stage PD, we randomly mutagenized cat-2 worms and screened for the animals with mutations that suppressed the swim-to-crawl paralysis (SCP). We screened enough animals to theoretically have tested a mutation in every gene of the genome. From our screen, we independently isolated five mutant strains with recovered ability to transition from swimming to crawling. These strains were then characterized for secondary phenotypes. Preliminary analysis of these phenotypes suggests that mutations were made in secondary dopaminergic pathways and serotonergic pathways. Ultimately whole genome sequencing of the mutant strains, as a means of identifying the suppressor mutation, will provide insight into how to better treat PD in humans.
Comparison of Multidetector Computed Tomography and Flat-Panel Computed Tomography Regarding Visualization of Cortical Fractures, Cortical Defects, and Orthopedic Screws

Abstract To compare the visualization of cortical fractures, cortical defects, and orthopedic screws in a dedicated extremity flat-panel computed tomography (FPCT) scanner and a multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scanner. We used feet of European roe deer as phantoms for cortical fractures, cortical defects, and implanted orthopedic screws. FPCT and MDCT scans were performed with equivalent dose settings. Six observers rated the scans according to number of fragments, size of defects, size of defects opposite orthopedic screws, and the length of different screws. The image quality regarding depiction of the cortical bone was assessed. The gold standard (real number of fragments) was evaluated by autopsy. The correlation of reader assessment of fragments, cortical defects, and screws with the gold standard was similar for FPCT and MDCT. Three readers rated the subjective image quality of the MDCT to be higher, whereas the others showed no preferences. Although the image quality was rated higher in the MDCT than in the FPCT by 3 out of 6 observers, both modalities proved to be comparable regarding the visualization of cortical fractures, cortical defects, and orthopedic screws and of use to musculoskeletal radiology regarding fracture detection and postsurgical evaluation in our experimental setting.
MSE Balancing in the MIMO BC: Unequal Targets and Probabilistic Interference Constraints

Second order cone (SOC) restrictions have been widely employed in the design of wireless communication systems to recast precoding optimizations in convex form. This paper highlights the flexibility of this framework to handle various transmit power and interference limitations also in the multistream multiple-input multiple-output broadcast channel with imperfect channel state information at the transmitter. In particular, we propose an iterative solution for mean square error (MSE) balancing with such constraints via the Lagrangian dual formulation. The MSE balancing criteria, contrary to signal-to-interference plus-noise ratio and rate criteria, exhibit an interesting property when considering different targets for the receivers. Users with low target values are strictly prioritized in comparison to users with large MSE targets that can even be switched off. Therefore, only a subset of the receivers is served at the solution with stringent limitations for the precoders. An example of such stringent limitations are small power constraints and probabilistic interference temperature constraints that set a measurable threshold on the generated interference in a cognitive radio system. We provide four different approaches to approximate these probabilistic constraints with deterministic SOC constraints, and compare their accuracy.
Salubrinal-Mediated Upregulation of eIF2α Phosphorylation Increases Doxorubicin Sensitivity in MCF-7/ADR Cells

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2α), which is a component of the eukaryotic translation initiation complex, functions in cell death and survival under various stress conditions. In this study, we investigated the roles of eIF2α phosphorylation in cell death using the breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR. MCF-7/ADR cells are MCF-7-driven cells that have acquired resistance to doxorubicin (ADR). Treatment of doxorubicin reduced the viability and induced apoptosis in both cell lines, although susceptibility to the drug was very different. Treatment with doxorubicin induced phosphorylation of eIF2α in MCF-7 cells but not in MCF-7/ADR cells. Basal expression levels of Growth Arrest and DNA Damage 34 (GADD34), a regulator of eIF2α, were higher in MCF-7/ADR cells compared to MCF-7 cells. Indeed, treatment with salubrinal, an inhibitor of GADD34, resulted in the upregulation of eIF2α phosphorylation and enhanced doxorubicin-mediated apoptosis in MCF-7/ADR cells. However, MCF-7 cells did not show such synergic effects. These results suggest that dephosphorylation of eIF2α by GADD34 plays an important role in doxorubicin resistance in MCF-7/ADR cells.
Global patterns of sex-biased migrations in humans

A series of studies have revealed the among-population components of genetic variation are higher for the paternal Y chromosome than for the maternal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which indicates sex-biased migrations in human populations. However, this phenomenon might be also an ascertainment bias due to nonrandom sampling of SNPs. To eliminate the possible bias, we used the whole Y chromosome and mtDNA sequence data of 491 individuals from the 1000 Genomes Project Phase I to address the sex-biased migration dispute. We found that genetic differentiation between populations was higher for Y chromosome than for the mtDNA at global scales. The migration rate of female might be three times higher than that of male, assuming the effective population size is the same for male and female.
Efficient affinity-based edit propagation using K-D tree

Image/video editing by strokes has become increasingly popular due to the ease of interaction. Propagating the user inputs to the rest of the image/video, however, is often time and memory consuming especially for large data. We propose here an efficient scheme that allows affinity-based edit propagation to be computed on data containing tens of millions of pixels at interactive rate (in matter of seconds). The key in our scheme is a novel means for approximately solving the optimization problem involved in edit propagation, using adaptive clustering in a high-dimensional, affinity space. Our approximation significantly reduces the cost of existing affinity-based propagation methods while maintaining visual fidelity, and enables interactive stroke-based editing even on high resolution images and long video sequences using commodity computers.
The role of contractile unit reorganization in force generation in airway smooth muscle

Airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells undergo remodelling and reside in a tissue structure that is subject to heterogenous stress distributions that change dynamically during the breathing cycle. In this paper, we develop a structural model of an ASM cell that consists of contractile units (actin and myosin filaments) in series and parallel, anchored to a nonlinearly elastic cytoskeleton. We mimic a typical experimental protocol that involves isometric force generation through triggering of the contractile machinery, followed by oscillatory length fluctuation of the cell. We use the model to predict the effect of a single instance of rearrangement of the contractile machinery, combined with strain-stiffening of the cytoskeleton, on the force generated by the sarcomeres, and the total force generated by the cell. By linking intra-cellular events to whole-cell behaviour, the model reveals mechanistic relationships between structural properties and cell-level force–length loops. We show how contractile force, shortening velocity and sarcomere operating lengths vary as the internal cell architecture is altered. Additionally, we show how interactions between the internal contractile machinery and cytoskeletal structure play a role in the regulation of force generation and hysteresis of the cell.
Non-ignorance and knowledge

Epistemic logic was proposed by Hintikka to model human knowledge and beliefs. Since then, a lot of work has been done to improve epistemic logic for applications to several problems. One of the interesting problems is to relate the concept of ignorance to that of knowledge. In this paper, we introduce a logic for non-ignorance LNI by extending the classical propositional logic with the operator Ni. We describe its axiomatization and Kripke semantics. We show some technical results including a completeness and discuss some applications and extensions.
What’s in a Thesaurus?

We first describe four varieties of thesaurus: (1) Roget-style, produced to help people find synonyms when they are writing; (2) WordNet and EuroWordNet; (3) thesauruses produced (manually) to support information retrieval systems; and (4) thesauruses produced automatically from corpora. We then contrast thesauruses and dictionaries, and present a small experiment in which we look at polysemy in relation to thesaurus structure. It has sometimes been assumed that different dictionary senses for a word that are close in meaning will be near neighbours in the thesaurus. This hypothesis is explored, using as inputs the hierarchical structure of WordNet 1.5 and a mapping between WordNet senses and the senses of another dictionary. The experiment shows that pairs of ‘lexicographically close’ meanings are frequently found in different parts of the hierarchy. In the first part of the paper, we present different varieties of thesaurus. In the second part, we contrast thesaurus word senses with dictionary word senses and present a small experiment in which we explore whether ‘lexicographically close’ meanings are often close in the WordNet network.
Context-Aware Techniques for Cross-Domain Recommender Systems

In the last few years, cross-domain recommender systems emerged in order to improve and alleviate problems of single-domain recommender systems. Despite the great number of cross-domain recommender system approaches, there is a lack of studies concerned about the use of contextual features in cross domain recommender systems. The context-aware approach uses different contextual information (e.g., Location, time, and mood) in order to improve recommendations, where context can be treated as a bridge between different domains. In this paper, we investigate the adoption of two context-aware approaches in a cross-domain recommender system in order to improve its recommendation accuracy. For that, we describe the context aware cross-domain recommendation problem and the proposed context-aware algorithms. An experimental evaluation performed using a real dataset indicates that context-aware techniques can be a good approach in order to improve the cross-domain recommendation accuracy.
Effects of Crude Extracts from Medicinal Herbs Rhazya stricta and Zingiber officinale on Growth and Proliferation of Human Brain Cancer Cell Line In Vitro

Hitherto, limited clinical impact has been achieved in the treatment of glioblastoma (GBMs). Although phytochemicals found in medicinal herbs can provide mankind with new therapeutic remedies, single agent intervention has failed to bring the expected outcome in clinical trials. Therefore, combinations of several agents at once are gaining increasing attractiveness. In the present study, we investigated the effects of crude alkaloid (CAERS) and flavonoid (CFEZO) extracts prepared from medicinal herbs, Rhazya stricta and Zingiber officinale, respectively, on the growth of human GBM cell line, U251. R. stricta and Z. officinale are traditionally used in folkloric medicine and have antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, and free radical scavenging properties. Combination of CAERS and CFEZO treatments synergistically suppressed proliferation and colony formation and effectively induced morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis in U251 cells. Apoptosis induction was mediated by release of mitochondrial cytochrome c, increased Bax : Bcl-2 ratio, enhanced activities of caspase-3 and -9, and PARP-1 cleavage. CAERS and CFEZO treatments decreased expression levels of nuclear NF-κBp65, survivin, XIAP, and cyclin D1 and increased expression level of p53, p21, and Noxa. These results suggest that combination of CAERS and CFEZO provides a useful foundation for studying and developing novel chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of GBM.
Trans-heterozygous Pkd1 and Pkd2 mutations modify expression of polycystic kidney disease.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) occurs by germline mutation in PKD1 or PKD2. Evidence of homozygous inactivation of either gene in human cyst lining cells as well as in mouse knockout models strongly supports a two-hit mechanism for cyst formation. Discovery of trans-heterozygous mutations in PKD1 and PKD2 in a minority of human renal cysts has led to the proposal that such mutations also can play a role in cyst formation. In the current study, we investigated the role of trans-heterozygous mutations in mouse models of polycystic kidney disease. In Pkd1(+/-), Pkd2 (+/-) and Pkd1(+/-) : Pkd2 (+/-) mice, the renal cystic lesion was mild and variable with no adverse effect on survival at 1 year. In keeping with the two-hit mechanism of cyst formation, approximately 70% of kidney cysts in Pkd2 (+/-) mice exhibited uniform loss of polycystin-2 expression. Cystic disease in trans-heterozygous Pkd1(+/-) : Pkd2 (+/-) mice, however, was notable for severity in excess of that predicted by a simple additive effect based on cyst formation in singly heterozygous mice. The data suggest a modifier role for the 'trans' polycystin gene in cystic kidney disease, and support a contribution from threshold effects to cyst formation and growth.