Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
LAF3, a Novel Factor Required for Normal Phytochrome A Signaling1[w]

Phytochrome A (phyA) is the photolabile plant light receptor that mediates broad spectrum very low-fluence responses and high irradiance responses to continuous far-red light (FRc). An Arabidopsis mutant laf3-1 (long after far-red 3) was recovered from a screen for transposon-tagged mutants that exhibit reduced inhibition of hypocotyl elongation in FRc. The laf phenotype correlated well with a strongly attenuated disappearance of XTR7 transcript in FRc. The effects of laf3-1 on phyA-controlled CAB, CHS, and PET H expression were more subtle, and the mutation had no clear effects on PET E and ASN1 transcript levels in FRc. The use of two alternative transcription initiation sites in the LAF3 gene generates two isoforms that differ only at their N termini. Transcripts encoding both isoforms were induced during germination and were present at slightly higher levels in de-etiolated seedlings than in those grown in darkness. No significant differential regulation of the two isoforms was observed upon exposure to either FRc or continuous red light. Transcripts encoding the shorter isoform (LAF3ISF2) always appear to be more abundant than those encoding the longer isoform (LAF3ISF1). However, both isoforms were capable of full complementation of the laf3-1 hypocotyl phenotype in FRc. When fused to a yellow fluorescent protein, both isoforms localize to the perinuclear region, suggesting that LAF3 encodes a product that might regulate nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking of an intermediate(s) involved in phyA signal transduction.
A Hybrid Reconfigurable Architecture and Design Methods Aiming at Control-Intensive Kernels

With the development of parallel computing, the compute-intensive part of an application could be accelerated so dramatically that the control intensive part, usually processed by a sequential processor, is becoming more and more critical in terms of performance and power consumption. To address this problem, this paper proposes a novel reconfigurable architecture to execute control-intensive kernels efficiently. The architecture applies three key design methods. The first one, parallel condition, exploits the instruction level parallelism of conditional branches with hardware design. The second one, configuration branch, enables the architecture to independently execute an entire application that has loops and other control flows. The third one, compound configuration, combines multiple configurations of low hardware utilization, which are common in sequential codes particularly, and thus reduces the reconfiguring times. Therefore, to offload control-intensive kernels onto the proposed architecture will speed up these workloads and boost the overall performance. The experiments were conducted on a benchmark that contains various branches, loops, and sequential codes. The results showed that the proposed architecture alone could implement the benchmark correctly. In addition, the proposed methods can improve performance by over 40% compared with the conventional techniques. The power efficiency is two orders larger than general purpose processors.
Higher anti‐tumour efficacy of platinum(IV) complex LA‐12 is associated with its ability to bypass M‐phase entry block induced in oxaliplatin‐treated human colon cancer cells

Therapeutic potential of conventionally used platinum‐based drugs in treatment of colorectal tumours has been limited due to high incidence of tumour resistance to them and to their severe side effects. This evokes a search for more suitable anti‐cancer drugs. We have compared ability of oxaliplatin and a novel platinum(IV) complex, LA‐12, to modulate the cell cycle and induce apoptosis in human colon adenocarcinoma HCT116 wt and p53/p21 null cells, and have investigated molecular mechanisms involved.
End-to-end rateless-coded physical layer network coding in two-way relay systems

In this paper, we propose a new physical layer network coding (PNC) scheme based on rateless coding for two-way relay systems which consist of two end nodes and one relay. The two-way relay channel is studied from a new perspective of end-to-end channel equivalence, and a novel end-to-end demodulator is proposed based on the resultant end-to-end equivalent channel. Unlike the conventional demodulator for the point-to-point channel, our proposed demodulator takes into account the potential error brought by the PNC mapping at the relay, thus improves the system reliability and throughput. The theoretical end-to-end achievable rate is further derived, which serves as an upper bound for the proposed demodulation scheme. Simulation results validate the high efficiency of the proposed scheme in terms of BER and system throughput.
Temporal Changes and Altitudinal Distribution of Aerobic Anoxygenic Phototrophs in Mountain Lakes

ABSTRACT Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs (AAPs) are bacteriochlorophyll a-containing microorganisms that use organic substrates for growth but can supplement their energy requirements with light. They have been reported from various marine and limnic environments; however, their ecology remains largely unknown. Here infrared epifluorescence microscopy was used to monitor temporal changes in AAPs in the alpine lake Gossenköllesee, located in the Tyrolean Alps, Austria. AAP abundance was low (103 cells ml−1) until mid-July and reached a maximum of ∼1.3 × 105 cells ml−1 (29% of all prokaryotes) in mid-September. We compared the studied lake with other mountain lakes located across an altitudinal gradient (913 to 2,799 m above sea level). The concentration of dissolved organic carbon and water transparency seem to be the main factors influencing AAP abundance during the seasonal cycle as well as across the altitudinal gradient. While the AAP populations inhabiting the alpine lakes were composed of intensely pigmented large rods (5 to 12 μm), the lakes below the tree line were inhabited by a variety of smaller morphotypes. Analysis of pufM diversity revealed that AAPs in Gossenköllesee were almost exclusively Sphingomonadales species, which indicates that AAP communities inhabiting alpine lakes are relatively homogeneous compared to those in low-altitude lakes.
A 10-Gb/s 0.71-pJ/bit Forwarded-Clock Receiver Tolerant to High-Frequency Jitter in 65-nm CMOS

This brief presents a power-efficient forwarded-clock receiver that is tolerant to high-frequency jitter by mixing filtered clock jitter to data. Due to mixing the filtered clock jitter, the proposed receiver does not include power-hungry delay lines but a phase interpolator, which enables saving significant power consumption. In a prototype receiver implemented in a 1-V 65-nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor process, it removes 2-GHz 0.7UI jitter modulated in data by an amount of 22%. It achieves 10 Gb/s with 0.71 pJ/bit in 10-cm FR4 channels and occupies 0.012 mm2.
Design of axially-symmetric Cassegrain and Gregorian configurations with reduced spillovers

One of the tasks faced by antenna designers is the accomplishment of radiation patterns satisfying restricted specifications. Generally, low sidelobe levels are required in conjunction with low spillover losses. In a dual-reflector configuration, these losses are mainly related to the feed radiation past the subreflector (forward spillover) and the subreflector radiation past the main reflector (backward spillover). The forward spillover may be reduced by a convenient metallic shield placed around the subreflector rim. However, the metallic shield can be understood as an extension of the subreflector, giving rise to the possibility of shaping the whole structure (subreflector/shield) as a single one with a relatively larger feed taper, simultaneously obtaining reduced forward and backward spillovers. The article describes a simple formulation, based on the uniform theory of diffraction (UTD), relating the subreflector-edge-directed feed illumination (desirably low enough to reduce the forward spillover) with the associated aperture-rim electric field (prescribed for the antenna shaping), while naturally providing a large subreflector radiation roll-off.
Towards a fully integrated electronic nose SoC

Electronic noses (e-nose) have been studied for several years and extensively applied; however, they are limited by their volume and high manufacturing cost. Portable devices have become popular in recent years; therefore, it is crucial to integrate e-noses in portable devices (e.g., mobile phones). This study used TSMC 90nm 1P9M CMOS MSG technology to develop a front-end system-on-chip (SoC) for an electronic nose. The SoC contained interdigitated electrodes, multi-channel sensor interface circuits, an analog to digital converter, and a digital continuous restricted Boltzmann machine (CRBM). Various conducting-polymer materials were titrated on the interdigitated electrodes to form an on-chip sensor array. This SoC was controlled through an external microcontroller to perform odor identification and analysis. The simulation results of the SoC and gas classification show that this chip is suitable for portable applications and further integration.
Learning, retrieval, and recognition are compromised in aMCI and mild AD: Are distinct episodic memory processes mediated by the same anatomical structures?

Abstract Performance of different episodic memory processes in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and their anatomical correlates are not completely understood. We evaluated the performance of 48 subjects (17 with aMCI, 15 with mild AD, and 16 controls) on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). A brain MRI voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis was run with the aim of evaluating the correlations between RAVLT and gray matter density. All memory processes were compromised in aMCI and mild AD. Also, the same cerebral structures were involved in all RAVLT stages. Learning and delayed recall were more related to the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampi, whereas recognition was more related to the thalamic nuclei and caudate nucleus, particularly in the left side. Our findings suggest that these structures may act as a complex functional system and are involved in the acquisition of new information. (JINS, 2010, 16, 205–209.)
Motivation for HPV Vaccination among Young Adult Men: Validation of TTM Decisional Balance and Self-Efficacy Constructs

Purpose. In the United States, 36% of human papillomavirus (HPV)–related cancers occur among men. HPV vaccination can substantially reduce the risk of HPV infection; however, the vast majority of men are unvaccinated. This study developed and validated transtheoretical model–based measures for HPV vaccination in young adult men. Design. Cross-sectional measurement development. Setting. Online survey of young adult men. Subjects. Three hundred twenty-nine mostly college-attending men, ages 18 to 26. Measures. Stage of change, decisional balance (pros/cons), and self-efficacy. Analysis. The sample was randomly split into halves for exploratory principal components analysis (PCA), followed by confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to test measurement models. Multivariate analyses examined relationships between scales. Results. For decisional balance, PCA revealed two uncorrelated five-item factors (pros α = .78; cons α = .83). For the self-efficacy scale, PCA revealed a single-factor solution (α = .83). CFA confirmed that the two-factor uncorrelated model for decisional balance and a single-factor model for self-efficacy. Follow-up analyses of variance supported the theoretically predicted relationships between stage of change, pros, and self-efficacy. Conclusion. This study resulted in reliable and valid measures of pros and self-efficacy for HPV vaccination that can be used in future clinical research.
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Secretes Active Heat-labile Enterotoxin via Outer Membrane Vesicles*

Escherichia coli and other Gram-negative bacteria produce outer membrane vesicles during normal growth. Vesicles may contribute to bacterial pathogenicity by serving as vehicles for toxins to encounter host cells. EnterotoxigenicE. coli (ETEC) vesicles were isolated from culture supernatants and purified on velocity gradients, thereby removing any soluble proteins and contaminants from the crude preparation. Vesicle protein profiles were similar but not identical to outer membranes and differed between strains. Most vesicle proteins were resistant to dissociation, suggesting they were integral or internal. Thin layer chromatography revealed that major outer membrane lipid components are present in vesicles. Cytoplasmic membranes and cytosol were absent in vesicles; however, alkaline phosphatase and AcrA, periplasmic residents, were localized to vesicles. In addition, physiologically active heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) was associated with ETEC vesicles. LT activity correlated directly with the gradient peak of vesicles, suggesting specific association, but could be removed from vesicles under dissociating conditions. Further analysis revealed that LT is enriched in vesicles and is located both inside and on the exterior of vesicles. The distinct protein composition of ETEC vesicles and their ability to carry toxin may contribute to the pathogenicity of ETEC strains.
Researching “Good Death” in a Hong Kong Palliative Care Program: A Clinical Data-Mining Study

This study operationalizes and assesses the percentage of “good deaths” achieved among Chinese cancer patients in a palliative care program, the profile of these patients, the relationship between patients with a good death and psychosocial factors, and the differences in background factors, and physical and psychosocial conditions between patients who experienced a good death and those who did not. Clinical data mining was the research method used. Records of deceased cancer patients between 2003 and 2005 in a palliative care unit were the sole data source. Good death was operationally defined as the patient's record indicating no pain (physical) or anxiety (psychological), and having open and honest communication with family (social) in the final assessment by the Support Team Assessment Schedule (STAS) just before death. Using these criteria, about one-fifth of patients (21.5%; 137 out of 638) experienced a good death. Those with a good death were significantly older and were in palliative care longer. Their records also indicated lower levels of constipation, insomnia, oral discomfort, and family anxiety at their first and at their final STAS assessments. Good death was positively associated with recorded indicators of fullness in life, caregivers' acceptance and support, and negatively with reported feelings of upset about changes in the course of their illness. The results heighten awareness among social workers and other healthcare professionals about the value of good death in patients in palliative care. This empirically-based awareness can foster professionals' ability to set intervention objectives to help patients in palliative care achieve this universally accepted goal.
Nitric oxide synthase inhibitors reduce sarcomere addition in rat skeletal muscle

1 Mechanical stimuli are thought to modulate the number of sarcomeres in series (sarcomere number) in skeletal muscle fibres. However, the mechanisms by which muscle cells transduce mechanical signals into serial sarcomere addition have not been explored. In this study, we test the hypothesis that nitric oxide positively modulates sarcomere addition. 2 The soleus muscle was cast‐immobilized in a shortened position in 3‐week‐old female Wistar rats. After 4 weeks, the casts were removed, creating a period of rapid sarcomere addition. During the remobilization period, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors or substrate were administered. 3 Rats treated with the non‐isoform‐specific NOS inhibitor L‐nitro‐arginine methyl ester during 3 weeks of remobilization had smaller soleus sarcomere numbers than control rats. Rats treated with 1‐(2‐trifluoromethyl‐phenyl)‐imidazole, which has greater specificity for the neuronal isoform than for the endothelial isoform of NOS, also had smaller soleus sarcomere numbers than control rats. These results suggest that inhibition of the neuronal isoform of NOS reduces sarcomere addition during remobilization. 4 Rats treated with L‐arginine, the substrate for NOS, during 1 week of remobilization had soleus sarcomere numbers for the immobilized‐remobilized muscle which were closer to that for the contralateral, non‐immobilized muscle than did rats that were not treated with L‐arginine. 5 These results support the hypothesis that nitric oxide derived from the neuronal isoform of NOS positively modulates sarcomere addition.
Design of safety-critical software reliability demonstration test based on Bayesian theory

The original software reliability demonstration test (SRDT) takes no consideration of prior knowledge and priori distribution adequately, which costs a lot of time and resource. A new improved Bayesian based SRDT method was proposed. First, a framework for SRDT scheme was constructed. According to the framework the decreasing function was employed to construct the priori distribution density functions for discrete and continuous safety-critical software respectively, and then discrete Bayesian software demonstration function (DBSDF) scheme and continuous Bayesian software demonstration function (CBSDF) scheme were presented. A set of comparative experiments have been carried out with the classic demonstration testing scheme on several published data sets. The experimental results reveal that both DBSDF scheme and CBSDF scheme are more efficient and applicable especially for the safety-critical software with high reliability requirements.
L-DNase II, a Molecule That Links Proteases and Endonucleases in Apoptosis, Derives from the Ubiquitous Serpin Leukocyte Elastase Inhibitor

ABSTRACT The most widely recognized biochemical change associated with the majority of apoptotic systems is the degradation of genomic DNA. Among the enzymes that may participate in this cleavage, the acidic cation-independent DNase II is a likely candidate since it is activated in many apoptotic cells. To better understand its role, we purified and sequenced a DNase II extracted from porcine spleen. Protein sequencing of random peptides demonstrated that this enzyme is derived from a ubiquitous serpin, the leukocyte elastase inhibitor (LEI), by an acidic-dependent posttranslational modification or by digestion with elastase. We call this novel enzyme L-DNase II. In vitro experiments with purified recombinant LEI show that the native form has no effect on purified nuclei whereas its posttranslationally activated form induces pycnosis and DNA degradation. Antibodies directed against L-DNase II showed, in different cell lines, an increased expression and a nuclear translocation of this enzyme during apoptosis. Since the appearance of the endonuclease activity results in a loss of the anti-protease properties of LEI, the transformation from LEI to L-DNase II may act as a switch of protease and nuclease pathways, each of which is activated during apoptosis.
Short- and long-term stability of resonant quartz temperature sensors

A new miniaturized design of the thermosensitive quartz resonator (TSQR) using an NLC cut (yxl/-31deg30psila) with a fundamental frequency of 29.3 MHz was created in the Acoustoelectronics Laboratory of ISSP-BAS for use in a wide temperature range (4.2 K to 450 K) as highly sensitive quartz temperature sensors (QTS). This paper presents the results of the investigations of the short- and long-term frequency stability of QTS. The short-term frequency stability of QTS was measured for averaging times up to 150 s at three constant temperatures: liquid helium (4.2 K), liquid nitrogen (77 K), and melting ice (0degC). The short-term frequency stability is 6.8 times 10-9 at 0degC for t = 15 s, which permits a temperature sensitivity of 2 times 10-4 K. The long-term stability (aging) was investigated at room temperature and at 80deg C for 500 days. The aging characteristics at 25 degC and 80 degC are compared. It was observed that the frequency change does not exceed 5 times 10-7 after the 25th day of accelerated aging at 80 degC. This guarantees a reliable operation of the sensor, without additional calibration, for several years.
Evidence that Glyceraldehyde‐3‐Phosphate Dehydrogenase Is Involved in Age‐Induced Apoptosis in Mature Cerebellar Neurons in Culture

Abstract: Under typical culture conditions, cerebellar granule cells die abruptly after 17 days in vitro. This burst of neuronal death involves ultrastructural changes and internucleosomal DNA fragmentations characteristic of apoptosis and is effectively arrested by pretreatment with actinomycin‐D and cycloheximide. The level of a 38‐kDa protein in the particulate fraction is markedly increased during age‐induced cell death and by pretreatment with NMDA, which potentiates this cell death. Conversely, the age‐induced increment of the 38‐kDa particulate protein is suppressed by actinomycin‐D and cycloheximide. N‐terminal microsequencing of the 38‐kDa protein revealed sequence identity with glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). A GAPDH antisense oligodeoxyribonucleotide blocks age‐induced expression of the particulate 38‐kDa protein and effectively inhibits neuronal apoptosis. In contrast, the corresponding sense oligonucleotide of GAPDH was completely ineffective in preventing the age‐induced neuronal death and the 38‐kDa protein overexpression. Moreover, the age‐induced expression of the 38‐kDa protein is preceded by a pronounced increase in the GAPDH mRNA level, which is abolished by actinomycin‐D, cycloheximide, or the GAPDH antisense, but not sense, oligonucleotide. Thus, our results suggest that overexpression of GAPDH in the particulate fraction has a direct role in age‐induced apoptosis of cerebellar neurons.
A 14 b 20 MSample/s CMOS pipelined ADC

The performance of high-resolution pipelined ADCs is limited by the residue amplifier gain and settling accuracy. In typical implementations, error sources are capacitor ratio mismatch, op-amp gain, and residue settling. All these affect ADC performance adversely, specifically in high-speed ADCs. Capacitor matching improves as capacitor size increases, but the trend is towards shrinking capacitor size for high-speed conversion. Many innovations to overcome this such as ratio-independent techniques are reported. Among them, capacitor error-averaging offers an advantage of achieving both INL and DNL improvements over that achievable by capacitor matching, but it requires three clock phases-one extra clock phase for averaging capacitor errors. In this work, the one extra clock phase is used advantageously for comparison.