Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dialogue between E. coli free radical pathways and the mitochondria of C. elegans

Significance Eukaryotes and bacteria are often in dialogue, in some cases mutualistic and in other cases pathogenic. A highly evolved system of measures and countermeasures by both bacteria and eukaryotic host may mediate these interactions. Here we found that mutations in the electron transport pathway of the normally benign Escherichia coli, which is a food for Caenorhabditis elegans in the laboratory, induces a mitochondrial stress response. The oxidatively stressed E. coli activates mitochondrial stress responses via transcription factors that are known to mediate mitochondrial homeostasis. Activation of C. elegans mitochondrial responses could be suppressed by additional mutations in E. coli response pathways for free radical damage, showing that the animal response depends on bacterial response to free radical damage. The microbial world presents a complex palette of opportunities and dangers to animals, which have developed surveillance and response strategies to hints of microbial intent. We show here that the mitochondrial homeostatic response pathway of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans responds to Escherichia coli mutations that activate free radical detoxification pathways. Activation of C. elegans mitochondrial responses could be suppressed by additional mutations in E. coli, suggesting that C. elegans responds to products of E. coli to anticipate challenges to its mitochondrion. Out of 50 C. elegans gene inactivations known to mediate mitochondrial defense, we found that 7 genes were required for C. elegans response to a free radical producing E. coli mutant, including the bZip transcription factor atfs-1 (activating transcription factor associated with stress). An atfs-1 loss-of-function mutant was partially resistant to the effects of free radical-producing E. coli mutant, but a constitutively active atfs-1 mutant growing on wild-type E. coli inappropriately activated the pattern of mitochondrial responses normally induced by an E. coli free radical pathway mutant. Carbonylated proteins from free radical-producing E. coli mutant may directly activate the ATFS-1/bZIP transcription factor to induce mitochondrial stress response: feeding C. elegans with H2O2-treated E. coli induces the mitochondrial unfolded protein response, and inhibition of a gut peptide transporter partially suppressed C. elegans response to free radical damaged E. coli.
IPIP Application Layer Transport Layer Network Layer Device driversDevice drivers Figure 1 : Relative Location of Secur ity M echanisms in the Protocol Stack

Virtual supercomputing, (i.e., high-performance grid computing), is poised to revolutionize the way we think about and use computing. However, the security of the links interconnecting the nodes within such an environment will be its Achilles heel, particularly when secure communication is required to tunnel through heterogeneous domains. In this paper we examine existing security mechanisms, show their inadequacy, and design a comprehensive cybersecurity infrastructure that meets the security requirements of virtual supercomputing.
Reliability and the measurement of activity limitations (ADLs) for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) living in the community

Purpose. Meeting the personal care challenges of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) living in the community demands a reliable assessment of their abilities to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). This research investigates factors affecting the inter-rater reliability of functional assessments of CSHCN conducted in the home. Methods. Dual-standardised assessments were conducted with 236 community-dwelling CSHCN seeking or receiving Medicaid Personal Care Services (PCS) in a single state in USA. Results. Analyses revealed that assessments of CSHCN with the greatest or least amount of activity limitations exhibited the greatest agreement. The greatest disagreement occurred when assessors faced children with moderate to moderately severe activity limitations. Specific ADLs, where the greatest and least agreements occurred, varied by the level of the child's overall activity limitation. Conclusions. These results imply that the most serious challenges to the reliability of home-based assessment of ADLs among CSHCN occur in cases of children with moderate or moderately severe activity limitations.
Apoptotic and anti-metastatic effects of the whole skin of Venenum bufonis in A549 human lung cancer cells

In the present study, the effects of the whole skin of Venenum bufonis on apoptotic and anti-invasive activity in A549 human lung cancer cells were investigated. Treatment with extract of the whole skin of V. bufonis (SVB) resulted in a significant decrease in cell growth of A549 cells, depending on dosage, which was associated with apoptosis induction, as proved by chromatin condensation and accumulation of apoptotic fraction. SVB treatment induced expression of death receptor-related proteins, such as death receptor 4, which further triggered activation of caspase-8 and cleavage of Bid. In addition, the increase in apoptosis by SVB treatment was correlated with dysfunction of mitochondria, activation of caspase-9 and -3, downregulation of IAP family proteins, such as XIAP, cIAP-1 and cIAP-2, and concomitant degradation of activated caspase-3-specific target proteins, such as poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase and β-catenin proteins. However, z-DEVD-fmk, a caspase-3-specific inhibitor, blocked SVB-induced apoptosis and increased the survival rate of SVB-treated cells, indicating that activation of caspase-3 plays a key role in SVB-induced apoptosis. In addition, within concentrations that were not cytotoxic to A549 cells, SVB induced marked inhibition of cell motility and invasiveness. Activities of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 in AGS cells were dose-dependently inhibited by treatment with SVB, and this was also correlated with a decrease in expression of their mRNA and proteins, and upregulation of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 and TIMP-2 mRNA expression. Further studies are needed; however, the results indicated that SVB induces apoptosis of A549 cells through a signaling cascade of death receptor-mediated extrinsic as well as mitochondria-mediated intrinsic caspase pathways. Our data also demonstrated that MMPs are critical targets of SVB-induced anti-invasiveness in A549 cells.
The GABAA antagonist bicuculline attenuates progesterone-induced memory impairments in middle-aged ovariectomized rats

In women, high levels of natural progesterone have been associated with detrimental cognitive effects via the “maternal amnesia” phenomenon as well as in controlled experiments. In aged ovariectomized (Ovx) rats, progesterone has been shown to impair cognition and impact the GABAergic system in cognitive brain regions. Here, we tested whether the GABAergic system is a mechanism of progesterone’s detrimental cognitive effects in the Ovx rat by attempting to reverse progesterone-induced impairments via concomitant treatment with the GABAA antagonist, bicuculline. Thirteen month old rats received Ovx plus daily vehicle, progesterone, bicuculline, or progesterone+bicuculline injections beginning 2 weeks prior to testing. The water radial-arm maze was used to evaluate spatial working and reference memory. During learning, rats administered progesterone made more working memory errors than those administered vehicle, and this impairment was reversed by the addition of bicuculline. The progesterone impairment was transient and all animals performed similarly by the end of regular testing. On the last day of testing, a 6 hour delay was administered to evaluate memory retention. Progesterone-treated rats were the only group to increase working memory errors with the delay relative to baseline performance; again, the addition of bicuculline prevented the progesterone-induced impairment. The vehicle, bicuculline, and progesterone+bicuculline groups were not impaired by the delay. The current rodent findings corroborate prior research reporting progesterone-induced detriments on cognition in women and in the aging Ovx rat. Moreover, the data suggest that the progesterone-induced cognitive impairment is, in part, related to the GABAergic system. Given that progesterone is included in numerous clinically-prescribed hormone therapies and contraceptives (e.g., micronized), and as synthetic analogs, further research is warranted to better understand the parameters and mechanism(s) of progesterone-induced cognitive impairments.
Evaluation of a new molecular typing strategy of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the third leading cause of hospital acquired infection in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. This microorganism holds responsibility in a high number of nosocomial infections and their severity. Because it is ubiquitous in the environment and also constitutes the endogenous microbiota of hospitalized patients, there is a need to use powerful molecular typing methods to establish clonal relationships between individual isolates. Double Locus Sequence Typing (DLST) has recently been used in the analysis of P. aeruginosa strains relatedness, proving to be efficient, easy, and also reducing the working time and costs of analysis. Another typing technique called Double Digest Sequence Label (DDSL) had also been reported in the molecular study of this microorganism. A higher discriminatory power makes DDSL a putative typing complement to resolve DLST clusters in specific situations. From 2010 to 2012, an increase in P. aeruginosa infections incidence was observed in the ICUs of the Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland. During this period, 689 isolates were retrieved from 254 patients. All isolates were analyzed with DLST and grouped in 46 DLST clusters, from which 4 clusters were further investigated in this study (cluster 1_18, 1_21, 6_7 and 28_77). These 4 clusters were retrospectively typed with the DDSL method to verify if an improved discrimination of isolates could be achieved. To do so, a first DDSL optimization step was performed, which resulted in good quality fingerprinting profiles. However, a quantitative analysis of the results using BioNumerics software was not possible. Visual comparison of DDSL fingerprinting patterns within each cluster allowed the formation of different DDSL types, but not the determination of bands differences between them. Epidemiological data showed that contamination of humid environments probably played an important role in the dissemination of P. aeruginosa strains in this outbreak. Comparison of epidemiological and molecular information showed that most of undistinguishable DDSL types were epidemiologically linked, leading to the assumption that patient-to-patient transmission should be highly suspected, as seen for cluster 1_18. Nevertheless, strain evolution should be considered when studying a long period outbreak. In conclusion, this new typing strategy of P. aeruginosa allowed the acquisition of a general picture about this outbreak’s epidemiology. Nevertheless, the DDSL is a technically complex, time consuming and subjective technique, not efficient to be use for epidemiological investigation purposes.
Improved performance of image watermarking by removing luminance bias

A digital watermarking for color image based on the modification of image pixels is considered in this paper. Its performance is analyzed and the weakness in the watermark extraction method is addressed. Based on our analysis, a method based on the removal of the luminance bias is then proposed in order to improve the watermark extraction performance. The experimental results obtained verify our proposed concept, and show the improvements in term of PSNR and NC of the proposed watermarking method, compared to the previous method proposed in [7]. The robustness of the embedded watermark against three different types of common image processing based attacks are also evaluated and compared.
A novel p53‐inducible gene coding for a microtubule‐localized protein with G2‐phase‐specific expression

Wild‐type (wt) p53 can act as a sequence‐specific transcriptional activator and it is believed that p53 elicits at least part of its biological effects by regulating the expression of specific target genes. By using a differential subtractive hybridization approach in a murine cell line stably transfected with a temperature‐sensitive p53 mutant (Val135), we isolated a set of genes markedly induced by wt p53. One of them, provisionally named B99, was further characterized; its transcriptional induction was dependent on wt p53 function and the corresponding protein product was shown to accumulate after DNA damage in different cell types. Immunofluorescence analysis located the B99 protein to the microtubule network. Flow cytometry revealed that upon activation of p53 function the endogenous B99 protein was selectively induced in the G2 fraction of the cell population. When B99 was ectopically expressed in p53‐null murine fibroblasts, B99‐transfected cells displayed an increased fraction with a 4N DNA content, indicative of interference with G2 phase progression. Taken together these data suggest that B99 might play a role in mediating specific biological activities of wt p53 during the G2 phase.
Formulation Variables Affecting Physicochemical Properties and Drug Release of Matrix Tablet Fabricated with Mold Technique

Objective: To investigate the effect of lactose and talcum, and also the tablet size and hydrodynamic force on the physical appearance and the release of indomethacin from PEG matrix prepared by fusion and mold technique. Method: The drug dissolution from the developed matrix tablets was carried out in phosphate buffer pH 6.2 using dissolution apparatus Type 1. Least square fitting the experimental dissolution data to the mathematical expressions (power law, first order, Higuchi7s and zero order) was performed. SEM and DSC studies were conducted to characterize physical appearance of the system. Results: An addition of lactose and talcum diminished the drug dissolution from tablets. The higher amount of carrier in the case of larger tablet promoted the drug release. The drug release from matrix was enhanced as the rotational speed was increased. DSC study indicated the amorphous state of drug in the carrier. SEM photomicrograph indicated the drug diffusion outward through the porous network. Conclusion: Because of the diminishment of the PEG amount, the incorporation of diluents, such as talcum and lactose, or the decrease in the size of tablet diminished the drug dissolution from PEG matrix. Curve fitting indicated the drug release kinetics primarily as Fickian diffusion and near zero-order kinetic from the matrix systems containing talcum and lactose respectively.
Optical fibers doped by semiconductor quantum dots: Avenue for new fiber laser sources

In this communication we report the study of novel optical fibers doped by semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). Different approaches have been investigated to realize liquid-core fibers filled with PbSe QDs and hollow-core fibers with deposition of layers of these nanoparticles. The optical characterization demonstrates good levels of QD emission which can be tunable over a wide range of IR wavelengths. Finally, for the first time, we propose also the fabrication of PbS QDs solid-core fibers by melt and draw technique. These promising results could give birth to a new family of amplifiers and laser photonic devices.
An inside body power and bidirectional data transfer IC module pair

An IC module pair connected with 3 wires was proposed for an implant that consisted of a master unit (MU) and a small, light-weight satellite unit (SU). Power was delivered from the MU to the SU using a 3-phase signal, and converted to DC in the SU by a passive MOS AC-DC converter. Data transfer between the two units was achieved by modulating the amplitudes and the positions of the rising and falling edges of the 3-phase signal. A bidirectional data rate in the range of MB/s and an overall power efficiency of 90.2% for a 3.2mW load were achieved in a 0. 18µm CMOS process.
Cooperative Filter-and-Forward Beamforming with Linear Equalization

In this paper, we investigate filter--and--forward beamforming (FF--BF) for relay networks employing single--carrier transmission over frequency--selective channels. In contrast to prior work, we assume that the destination node is equipped with a simple linear equalizer. The FF--BF filters at the relays are optimized for maximization of the signal--to--noise ratio at the equalizer output under a joint relay power constraint. For infinite impulse response (IIR) FF--BF filters, we derive a closed--form expression for the filter frequency response, and a numerical algorithm with guaranteed convergence is developed for optimization of the power allocation factor included in the expression. We also provide an efficient gradient algorithm for recursive calculation of near--optimal finite impulse response (FIR) FF--BF filters. Simulation results show that, in general, short FIR FF--BF filters are sufficient to closely approach the performance of IIR FF--BF filters even in severely frequency--selective channels and that the proposed FF--BF scheme with equalization at the destination achieves substantial performance gains compared to a previously proposed FF--BF scheme without equalization.
On the 2-typical de Rham-Witt complex

In this paper we introduce the 2-typical de Rham-Witt complex for arbitrary commutative, unital rings and log-rings. We de- scribe this complex for the rings Z and Z(2), for the log-ring (Z(2), M) with the canonical log-structure, and we describe its behaviour under polynomial extensions. In an appendix we also describe the p-typical de Rham-Witt complex of (Z(p), M) for p odd. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 13K05; Secondary 19D55
Terahertz Reflection-Mode Biological Imaging Based on InP HBT Source and Detector

This paper presents the development of an oscillator and a detector based on InP HBT technology operating near 300 GHz, and their application to terahertz reflection-mode imaging. The fabricated fundamental-mode common-base (CB) cross-coupled oscillator exhibits a peak output power of 5.3 dBm at 305.8 GHz, and the CB direct detector shows a responsivity higher than 40 kV/W and noise equivalent power lower than ${\text{35 pW/}}\sqrt {{\text{Hz}}} $ for a frequency range of 270–345 GHz. The imaging system employing the fabricated circuits as the signal source and detector was characterized for the resolution and dynamic range, and then, successfully applied for imaging various biological samples. The results show that low-power terahertz reflection-mode imaging based on solid-state electronic sources and detectors based on a commercial semiconductor technology is promising for various biomedical imaging applications.
Randomized trial of quality improvement intervention to improve diabetes care in primary care settings.

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of a quality improvement (QI) intervention on the quality of diabetes care at primary care clinics. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Twelve primary care medical practices were matched by size and location and randomized to intervention or control conditions. Intervention clinic staff were trained in a seven-step QI change process to improve diabetes care. Surveys and medical record reviews of 754 patients, surveys of 329 clinic staff, interviews with clinic leaders, and analysis of training session videotapes evaluated compliance with and impact of the intervention. Mixed-model nested analyses compared differences in the quality of diabetes care before and after intervention. RESULTS All intervention clinics completed at least six steps of the seven-step QI change process in an 18-month period and, compared with control clinics, had broader staff participation in QI activities (P = 0.04), used patient registries more often (P = 0.03), and had better test rates for HbA(1c) (A1C), LDL, and blood pressure (P = 0.02). Other processes of diabetes care were unchanged. The intervention did not improve A1C (P = 0.54), LDL (P = 0.46), or blood pressure (P = 0.69) levels or a composite of these outcomes (P = 0.35). CONCLUSIONS This QI change process was successfully implemented but failed to improve A1C, LDL, or blood pressure levels. Data suggest that to be successful, such a QI change process should direct more attention to specific clinical actions, such as drug intensification and patient activation.
Pampa : An Improved Branch and Bound Algorithm for Planted ( l , d ) Motif Search

We consider the planted (l, d) motif search problem as defined in [1] and [12], a problem that arises from the need to find transcription factor-binding sites in genomic information. We build an exact branch and bound algorithm, which has small space requirements. An implementation of this algorithm is able to tackle challenging instances as big as (19, 7), cutting by half the time required by the best existing algorithm.
Probabilistic Versus Deterministic Algebraic Cryptanalysis—A Performance Comparison

In this work, the performance of probabilistic algebraic attacks is compared to classical (fast) algebraic attacks in the context of their application to certain linear feedback shift register (LFSR)-based stream ciphers. Using some results from coding theory it is shown that in terms of time complexity classical deterministic algebraic attacks are in general a more efficient cryptanalytic tool, unless the filtering function F : GF (2)n rarr GF (2)m has such a nonrandom structure that its cryptographic use is presumably refutable anyway.
A Frequency Reconfigurable Microstrip Antenna Based on $({\rm Ba}, {\rm Sr}){\rm TiO}_{3}$ Substrate

A novel frequency reconfigurable microstrip antenna based on (Ba, Sr)TiO3 (BST) substrate is presented. Compared to the complicated structures in traditional reconfigurable antennas, our work is featured by a quite concise design. A theoretical model is proposed to calculate the initial antenna parameters. Both the simulation and the experiment indicate that the coupled aperture structure can efficiently overcome impedance mismatch of BST substrate and obtain a frequency tunability of 10% in Ku band by a DC electric field changing from 0 to 10 V/μm. Besides, similar radiation patterns are obtained in the operating band for both the E plane and H plane. Our study shows that the using of BST material on the frequency reconfigurable antenna is promising, and can be easily extended to reconfigurable antenna arrays.