Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cytoplasmic Signals Mediate Apical Early Endosomal Targeting of Endotubin in MDCK Cells

Endotubin is an integral membrane protein that targets into apical endosomes in polarized epithelial cells. Although the role of cytoplasmic targeting signals as mediators of basolateral targeting and endocytosis is well established, it has been suggested that apical targeting requires either N‐glycosylation of the ectoplasmic domains or partitioning of macromolecules into glycolipid‐rich rafts. However, we have previously shown that the cytoplasmic portion of endotubin possesses signals that are necessary for its proper sorting into the apical early endosomes. To further define the targeting signals involved in this apically directed event, as well as to determine if the cytoplasmic domain was sufficient to mediate apical endosomal targeting, we generated a panel of endotubin and Tac‐antigen chimeras and expressed them in Madin–Darby canine kidney cells. We show that both the apically targeting wild‐type endotubin and a basolaterally targeted cytoplasmic domain mutant do not associate with rafts and are TX‐100 soluble. The cytoplasmic tail of endotubin is sufficient for apical endosomal targeting, as chimeras with the endotubin cytoplasmic domain and Tac transmembrane and extracellular domains are efficiently targeted to the apical endosomal compartment. Furthermore, we show that overexpression of these chimeras results in their missorting to the basolateral membrane, indicating that the apical sorting process is a saturable event. These results show that cells contain machinery in both the biosynthetic and endosomal compartments that recognize cytoplasmic apical sorting signals.
Nutritional value of sorghum silages

This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional characteristics and quality of silages of five sorghum genotypes, namely: Volumax, AG2005E, Qualimax, BRS610 and AG2501. The study was conducted at the Experimental Farm Unimontes, in the municipality of Janauba, state of Minas Gerais. The treatments were distributed in a randomized block design with four replicates. Data were tested by analysis of variance andmeans were compared by Scott-Knott test at a significance level of 5%. The pH values ranged from 3.93 and 4.10. Genotypes differed in all studied nutritional characteristics (p < 0.05). For the acid detergent fiber, differences were detected between the genotypes, AG2501 (35.66%), Volumax (34.89%), AG2005E (34.53%), Qualimax (32.39%) and BRS610 (33.60%). The high participation of lignin was verifiedin all genotypes except for Volumax (4.14%). All silages were within the recommended range 50-65% for in vitro dry matter digestibility and classified as having good quality, however only the AG2005E genotype met nitrogen requirements for microbial fermentation, with 7.06% crude protein.
10 Polymer Thin Film Chemical Sensors

Polymer and other organic thin films and multilayers are important for a wide range of applications, including electronics, optoelectronics and sensors. Most modern chemical sensors use semiconducting and conducting polymers because they offer cheap technology, mechanical and size advantages (Gerard et al., 2002; Hangarter et al., 2010; McQuade et al., 2000). They can form selective layers in which the interaction between the analyte substance and the polymer leads to change of a such physical parameter as conductivity. Also they can be used in devices that form circuit elements such as transistors (Dimitrakopoulos & Malenfant, 2002; Qiu et al., 2009). The widespread literature dealing with various applications of these polymers can be divided into two groups: polymers in electronic devices on the one hand (Angelopoulos, 2001) and polymers in chemical sensors based on various transduction mechanisms on the other (Bailey & Persaud, 2001). The sensor applications take advantage of the physical changes that take place in the polymers when they are exposed to various chemicals. This property has its origin in the molecular and macroscopic structure of polymers. In this paper we shall discuss only sensors based on changing of electronic properties of polymers resulting from their interaction with different chemical agents.
Magic-state distillation with the four-qubit code

The distillation of magic states is an often-cited technique for enabling universal quantum computing once the error probability for a special subset of gates has been made negligible by other means. We present a routine for magic-state distillation that reduces the required overhead for a range of parameters of practical interest. Each iteration of the routine uses a four-qubit error-detecting code to distill the +1 eigenstate of the Hadamard gate at a cost of ten input states per two improved output states. Use of this routine in combination with the 15-to-1 distillation routine described by Bravyi and Kitaev allows for further improvements in overhead.
Adapted physical activity programme and self-perception in obese adolescents with intellectual disability: between morphological awareness and positive illusory bias.

BACKGROUND In adolescent with intellectual disability, the management of obesity is a crucial issue, yet also quite complex because of their particular perception of themselves. This study investigated the relationship between self-perception variables and morphological variables and their changes after a 9-month Adapted Physical Activity (APA) programme. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-three adolescents with intellectual disability responded to an adapted questionnaire, including the PSI-VSF-ID and a nine-drawing body silhouette scale. Anthropometric and body composition indicators were measured before and after the APA programme. RESULTS The main predictor of the adolescents' self-perceptions was the inclination towards positive illusory bias before the intervention; obesity awareness ranked second. Morphological measurements did not contribute in the same way to self-perceptions in the initial and final data. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms the interest of weight management programmes for adolescents with intellectual disability and points to the need to take positive illusory bias more fully into account in the study of self-perception.
Introducing a method for improving the performance of routing algorithms in unmanned aeronautical ad-hoc networks

One of the most widely used applications of wireless networks is in unmanned aeronautical ad-hoc networks. In these networks, the flying nodes in the mission must send their information to the ground base. If a UAV is outside the coverage of the ground base, it loses its connection. The solution is to send the information to the neighboring nodes. These neighboring nodes redirect the information to the ground base. Due to high node dynamics and rapid changes in network topology, one of the biggest concerns in these networks is routing between nodes. Previous routing methods, although making improvement in the overall performance in these networks led to routing overhead and network delay. In the present study a new routing method is introduced. In this new method a routing algorithm is presented with a focus on improving the packet delivery ratio and throughput therefore reducing the end to end delay and network overhead. In the proposed method instead of using only one route between nodes, all discovered routes in the network are kept in the nodes routing table. Then the best route is used as the first proposed route between the source and destination nodes and after failing this route, the second route is utilized immediately. This decreases the broadcasting of route discovery packets through the network. According the simulation results, the proposed method has proved more efficient. There has been an increase in packet delivery ratio by 4% in average, in end to end delay approximately by 30% and in the throughput ratio of the network by 9% in comparison with other methods in different scenarios.
Concept of SmartHome and SmartGrids integration

The concept of SmartHome and SmartGrids integration comes to a technologically superior solution which actively connects energy consumers, distributors, retailers and other stakeholders into a mutual symbiotic relationship. The main benefits for customers are mainly reflected in lower monthly energy bills at a desired level of comfort, while the concept allows distributors to better manage the power grid and retailers to optimize energy purchases. The concept provides to distributors, retailers and other third party service providers a fundamental platform to develop new packages of energy supply and additional advanced services, including active energy management. The concept also deals with cyber-security principles, which need to be taken into account due to cyber-crime and privacy issues.
Mechanical, metabolic, and perceptual acute responses to different set configurations in full squat.

This study aimed to compare mechanical, metabolic, and perceptual responses between two traditional (TR) and four cluster (CL) set configurations. In a counterbalanced randomized order, 11 men were tested with the following protocols in separate sessions (sets × repetitions [inter-repetition rest]): TR1: 3×10 [0-s]; TR2: 6×5 [0-s]; CL1: 3×10 [10-s]; CL2: 3×10 [15-s]; CL3: 3×10 [30-s]); CL4: 1×30 [15-s]). The exercise (full-squat), number of repetitions (30), inter-set rest (5 min), and resistance applied (10RM) was the same for all set configurations. Mechanical fatigue was quantified by measuring the mean propulsive velocity during each repetition, and the change in countermovement jump height observed after each set and after the whole training session. Metabolic and perceptual fatigue were assessed via the blood lactate concentration and the OMNI perceived exertion scale measured after each training set, respectively. The mechanical, metabolic, and perceptual measures of fatigue were always significantly higher for the TR1 set configuration. The two set configurations that most minimized the mechanical measures of fatigue were CL2 and CL3. Perceived fatigue did not differ between the TR2, CL1, CL2 and CL3 set configurations. The lowest lactate concentration was observed in the CL3 set configuration. Therefore, both the CL2 and CL3 set configurations can be recommended because they maximize mechanical performance. However, the CL2 set configuration presents two main advantages with respect to CL3: (1) it reduces training session duration, and (2) it promotes higher metabolic stress, which to some extent may be beneficial for inducing muscle strength and hypertrophy gains.
Analysis of Existing Privacy-Preserving Protocols in Domain Name System

In a society preoccupied with gradual erosion of electronic privacy, loss of privacy in the current Domain Name System is an important issue worth considering. In this paper, we first review the DNS and some security & privacy threats to make average users begin to concern about the significance of privacy preservation in DNS protocols. Then, by an careful survey of four noise query generation based existing privacy protection approaches, we analyze some benefits and limitations of these proposals in terms of both related performance evaluation results and theoretic proofs. Finally, we point out some problems that still exist for research community's continuing efforts in the future.
Kansas Squat Test: A Reliable Indicator of Short-term Anaerobic Power

Abstract Fry, AC, Kudrna, RA, Falvo, MJ, Bloomer, RJ, Moore, CA, Schilling, BK, and Weiss, LW. Kansas squat test: A reliable indicator of short-term anaerobic power. J Strength Cond Res 28(3): 630–635, 2014—The purposes of this study were to establish stability reliability of a measure of lower-body anaerobic power, the Kansas squat test (KST), and to compare the KST with the commonly used Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT) for lower-body power. Fourteen resistance-trained men (mean ± SD; age = 24.2 ± 3.6 years) performed both the KST and the WAnT twice on separate occasions. The KST consisted of using an external dynamometer to measure mean repetition power while performing 15 repetitions of speed squats using 70% of 1 repetition maximum system mass (barbell + body mass), initiating each repetition at 6-second intervals. Repetition power, mean power for all 15 repetitions, and % fatigue for the KST were all reliable (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.754–0.937; p ⩽ 0.05). There were no differences between tests for the mean power for all repetitions or relative fatigue (p ⩽ 0.05) and no significant differences between tests for any individual repetition (test × repetition interaction, p < 0.05). Although absolute values were different (p > 0.05), significant correlations were found between the KST and WAnT for mean (r = 0.752) and maximum (r = 0.775) test powers but not for relative fatigue (r = 0.174). Lactate (HLa) responses were greater for the WAnT compared with the KST. These data indicate that the KST is reliable for resistance-trained men, and that measures of maximum and mean test powers for the KST are highly correlated to those values for the WAnT, but fatigue rates and HLa responses were not correlated. It appears that the KST is a lifting-specific anaerobic power and power endurance test that emphasizes phosphagen metabolism and may be used to assess training-induced changes in lower-body power.
Aging‐dependent Emergence of Sensorimotor Dysfunction in Rats Recovered from Dopamine Depletion Sustained Early in Life a

In the study of aging-related motor decline and its central determinants, it is important to consider that older individuals may be subject to sensory impairment or weakness from hypophagia or other events that might influence movement adversely and thus obscure measurements of the integrity of motor function. In addition, previous exposure to neurotoxins, minor cerebral insults, or related perturbations of brain function throughout the life span might affect the operation of motor systems during old age. Two approaches using animal models are considered in this report. First, an objective, easy to administer, test of somatosensory function will be described, and its value will be illustrated in young versus old rats. This test was developed to assess sensory function, with high resolution, independently from motor, nutritional, or other aging-related The data indicate that most old rats are generally resistant to somatosensory dysfunction, but many suffer from deficits in movement initiation that can affect the response segment of orienting behavior and thus can affect measures of responsiveness to sensory stimulation. Second, the effects of aging in rats that had long since recovered from the behavioral signs of unilateral dopamine depletion occurring in adulthood are described. Using a unilateral lesion preparation and neurological tests of sensorimotor asymmetry, selective aging-lesion interactions were isolated. Specifically, unilateral behavioral signs of the earlier brain damage reappear during old age and can be distinguished from noncentral motor dysfunction or other erosive events of the aging process, which, when present, act bilaterally. Because the behavioral effects are asymmetric, nonspecific sensory dysfunction, generalized motor slowing or fatigue, illness, and nutritional factors can be ruled out. The role of aging-related decline in the function of dopaminergic versus nondopaminergic systems will be discussed.
Coordinated Regulation by AgrA, SarA, and SarR To Control agr Expression in Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT The agr locus of Staphylococcus aureus is composed of two divergent transcripts (RNAII and RNAIII) driven by the P2 and P3 promoters. The P2-P3 intergenic region comprises the SarA/SarR binding sites and the four AgrA boxes to which AgrA binds. We reported here the role of AgrA, SarA, and SarR on agr P2 and P3 transcription. Using real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and promoter fusion studies with selected single, double, triple, and complemented mutants, we showed that AgrA is indispensable to agr P2 and P3 transcription, whereas SarA activates and SarR represses P2 transcription. In vitro runoff transcription assays revealed that AgrA alone promoted transcription from the agr P2 promoter, with SarA enhancing it and SarR inhibiting agr P2 transcription in the presence of AgrA or with SarA and AgrA. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) analysis disclosed that SarR binds more avidly to the agr promoter than SarA and displaces SarA from the agr promoter. Additionally, SarA and AgrA bend the agr P2 promoter, whereas SarR does not. Collectively, these data indicated that AgrA activates agr P2 and P3 promoters while SarA activates the P2 promoter, presumably via bending of promoter DNA to bring together AgrA dimers to facilitate engagement of RNA polymerase (RNAP) to initiate transcription.
Genetic polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and colorectal cancer and adenoma

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a key enzyme regulating folate metabolism, which affects DNA methylation and synthesis. Two functional, common polymorphisms (C677T and A1298C) are known in the MTHFR gene. MTHFR activity is lowered in individuals with the 677TT genotype and is somewhat reduced in those with the 1298CC genotype. We reviewed the consistency of reported associations of these polymorphisms with colorectal cancer and adenoma with consideration of the effects of nutritional status. A total of 16 studies have addressed the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and colorectal cancer in 10 countries. Decreased risk of colorectal cancer associated with the 677TT genotype has fairly consistently been observed, with few exceptions. This decrease was observable in people with either high or low folate status. Alteration in the thymidylate pool associated with MTHFR activity is postulated as an underlying mechanism. Studies on the A1298C polymorphism are limited, and their results are variable. Almost all of seven studies of colorectal adenoma have found no association between C677T polymorphism and adenoma, but the 677TT genotype seems to be related to increased risk when folate status is poor. Reduced availability of methyl groups for DNA methylation might be more relevant to adenoma formation. Although the underlying mechanisms still remain to be clarified, epidemiological findings regarding MTHFR C677T polymorphism provide strong evidence that adequate folate status confers protection from colorectal cancer. (Cancer Sci 2005; 96: 535 –542)
Pellets of proof: First glimpse of the dietary composition of adult odonates as revealed by metabarcoding of feces

Abstract Recent advances in molecular techniques allow us to resolve the diet of unstudied taxa. Odonates are potentially important top‐down regulators of many insects. Yet, to date, our knowledge of odonate prey use is based mainly on limited observations of odonates catching or eating their prey. In this study, we examine the potential use of metabarcoding in establishing the diet of three adult odonate species (Lestes sponsa, Enallagma cyathigerum, and Sympetrum danae) at a site in southwestern Finland. To this purpose, we compared three different methods for extracting DNA from fecal samples: the Macherey‐Nagel Nucleospin XS kit, a traditional salt extraction, and the Zymo Research Fecal Microprep kit. From these extracts, we amplified group‐specific mitochondrial markers (COI and 16S rRNA) from altogether 72 odonate individuals, and compared them to comprehensive reference libraries. The three odonate species show major overlap in diet, with no significant differences between individuals of different size and/or gender, reflecting opportunistic foraging of adult odonates. Of a total of 41 different prey species detected, the most frequently consumed ones were Diptera, with additional records of six other orders. Based on our data, the best DNA extraction method is the traditional salt extraction, as it provides the most information on prey content while also being the most economical. To our knowledge, this is the first study to resolve the species‐level diet of adult odonates. Armed with the appropriate methodological caveats, we are ready to examine the ecological role of odonates in both terrestrial and aquatic food webs, and in transferring subsidies between these two realms.
An Improved Adaptive Image Segmentation Method

An adaptive gray value of image segmentation method aimed at uneven gray-level image segmentation was proposed. The innovative method combined target image with the gray value of background information according to level set theory with the adaptive linear fitting of global and local information. And then, image segmentation was conducted to avoid being trapped in the local optimum. The experimental results showed that the proposed method could resist noise effectively with the capacity of adaptive image uneven gray level information. As a result, the global optimal image segmentation was obtained. Theoretical analysis suggested that the proposed method not only can be used to cut up the real image but also can be well applied to MRI segmentation.
Home appliance control framework based on smart TV set-top box

Most modern smart TV set-top boxes support internet connection and allow the user to install and run more advanced application programs or plugins/add-ons based on a specific platform. It means that a smart TV set-top box can be a good candidate to act as a hub that combines a wide variety of solutions for smart home services. This paper proposes a home appliance control framework based on a smart TV set-top box. As a core component, a home gateway software module is installed on the smart TV set-top box. And the architecture of the home gateway module is designed so that a home appliance control driver is installed only when necessary. To enable the user to control their home appliances in any place using a Web-based application or a Web browser, the proposed framework supports a WebSocket protocol-based data communication and comprises a Web server where each set-top box's network location is registered. The proposed framework is verified with a demonstration on a small-scale home model. Both IP-based and serial communication-based home appliances are included in the demonstration system. The demonstration examples show that consumers can control various types of home appliances in any place through a smart TV set-top box solution.
Amino Acid Insertions near Gag Cleavage Sites Restore the Otherwise Compromised Replication of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Variants Resistant to Protease Inhibitors

ABSTRACT A variety of amino acid substitutions in the protease and Gag proteins have been reported to contribute to the development of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) resistance to protease inhibitors. In the present study, full-length molecular infectious HIV-1 clones were generated by using HIV-1 variants isolated from heavily drug-experienced and therapy-failed AIDS patients. Of six full-length infectious clones generated, four were found to have unique insertions (TGNS, SQVN, AQQA, SRPE, APP, and/or PTAPPA) near the p17/p24 and p1/p6 Gag cleavage sites, in addition to the known resistance-related multiple amino acid substitutions within the protease. The addition of such Gag inserts mostly compromised the replication of wild-type HIV-1, whereas the primary multidrug-resistant HIV infectious clones containing inserts replicated significantly better than those modified to lack the inserts. Western blot analyses revealed that the processing of Gag proteins by wild-type protease was impaired by the presence of the inserts, whereas that by mutant protease was substantially improved. The present study represents the first report clearly demonstrating that the inserts seen in the proximity of the Gag cleavage sites in highly multi-PI resistant HIV-1 variants restore the otherwise compromised enzymatic activity of mutant protease, enabling the multi-PI-resistant HIV-1 variants to remain replication competent.