Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plant Defense Responses in Opium Poppy Cell Cultures Revealed by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Proteomics*S

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) produces a diverse array of bioactive benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, including the narcotic analgesic morphine and the antimicrobial agent sanguinarine. In contrast to the plant, cell cultures of opium poppy do not accumulate alkaloids constitutively but produce sanguinarine in response to treatment with certain fungal-derived elicitors. The induction of sanguinarine biosynthesis provides a model platform to characterize the regulation of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid pathways and other defense responses. Proteome analysis of elicitor-treated opium poppy cell cultures by two-dimensional denaturing-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry facilitated the identification of 219 of 340 protein spots based on peptide fragment fingerprint searches of a combination of databases. Of the 219 hits, 129 were identified through pre-existing plant proteome databases, 63 were identified by matching predicted translation products in opium poppy-expressed sequence tag databases, and the remainder shared evidence from both databases. Metabolic enzymes represented the largest category of proteins and included S-adenosylmethionine synthetase, several glycolytic, and a nearly complete set of tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes, one alkaloid, and several other secondary metabolic enzymes. The abundance of chaperones, heat shock proteins, protein degradation factors, and pathogenesis-related proteins provided a comprehensive proteomics view on the coordination of plant defense responses. Qualitative comparison of protein abundance in control and elicitor-treated cell cultures allowed the separation of induced and constitutive or suppressed proteins. DNA microarrays were used to corroborate increases in protein abundance with a corresponding induction in cognate transcript levels.
Physiological loads in the team technical and free routines of synchronized swimmers.

PURPOSE The purpose of the present study was to examine the physiological loads on synchronized swimmers during team technical and free routines by measuring their blood lactate concentrations and percentage of peak blood lactate concentration. METHODS Four trained college female synchronized swimmers participated as the subjects. The blood lactate concentration was measured in the first and middle periods and after the team technical and free routines. Peak blood lactate concentration was measured after maximum exertion in 100-m freestyle swimming. RESULTS Average values and SD of blood lactate concentration and the percentage of peak blood lactate concentration after the team technical and free routines were 4.7 +/- 1.1 mmol x L(-1), 46.2 +/- 11.0% and 4.3 +/- 1.1 mmol x L(-1), 42.8 +/- 11.5%, respectively. The blood lactate concentration and percentage of peak blood lactate concentration after the team technical routine were significantly higher than those in the first period, and the blood lactate concentration after the team free routine was significantly higher than in the middle period. CONCLUSIONS The blood lactate concentration of synchronized swimmers during the team technical and free routines in the present study tended to increase with the performance time. Thus, the predominant sources of energy may be phosphocreatine stores and aerobic metabolism during these routines, although glycolysis may also play an important role in relation to the energy requirements in the final period.
Caring for older people living alone with dementia: Healthcare professionals’ experiences

Older adults living alone with dementia are at greater risk of placement in long-term care homes compared with those living with others. Healthcare professionals have vital roles in supporting them to continue living in the community. Yet, little is known about how healthcare professionals fulfill these roles and what their experiences are like. The study purpose was to describe health care professionals’ experiences of caring for older people with dementia living alone. Using a qualitative descriptive approach and qualitative content analysis method, 15 healthcare professionals were interviewed in Ontario, Canada. The overall theme of the findings, doing the best we can for them, involved discussing sensitive care issues with what professionals viewed as gentle realism. Walking the tightrope expressed tensions in meeting professional responsibilities. Constraints (my hands are tied) and boundaries (it’s not my job, it’s not my decision) described perceived limitations on professional roles. Effects of the emotional struggle involved in working with these older people were lessened by believing I did the right thing. The findings have implications for what we could do better for older people with dementia living alone, through integration of person-centered/relationship-centered principles in education programs, community agency policies, a national dementia care strategy, and culture change in community care.
Blue carbon in area-based coastal and marine management schemes – a review

ABSTRACT Blue carbon ecosystems are diverse and highly productive coastal habitats (mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal marshes) that sequester large quantities of carbon and provide a suite of important ecosystem services (‘co-benefits’) for humans and the environment. These ecosystems are being threatened globally due to land-use change driven by expanding agriculture, aquaculture, coastal development, and pollution. Climatic impacts further threaten the resilience, functionality, and adaptability of blue carbon ecosystems. ‘Marine protected areas’ (MPAs) provide a statutory approach for protecting coastal and marine ecosystems, yet are unlikely to meet ‘additionality’ requirements. Whereas other effective conservation measures (OECMs) including community-based ‘locally managed marine areas’ (LMMAs) provide opportunities to enhance blue carbon conservation and restoration efforts. LMMAs likely deliver additional sequestration, although ensuring ‘permanence’ of carbon stocks may be more difficult to achieve. This review summarizes key approaches of blue carbon monitoring; governance systems; policy instruments; and investment pathways for conservation and restoration.
A Church-Based Diabetes Risk Factor Prevention Program Improves Psychosocial Factors and Food-Related Behaviors

ABSTRACT Objective. To evaluate the impact of a faith-based diabetes risk prevention program. Design. Nine predominately African American (AA) churches were randomized to one of three groups – group 1 (intervention group) received the Healthy Bodies Healthy Souls faith-based intervention and Project POWER (HBHS+PP), group 2 received PP only, and group 3 received a delayed intervention (comparison group). Results. Church members in the HBHS+PP intervention group significantly decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.02 and 0.01, respectively), showed greater improvement in food-related self-efficacy (p = 0.04), had a trend toward increased purchasing of healthy foods (p = 0.06), and decreased their purchasing of less healthy foods (p = 0.02) compared to churches receiving PP alone or the delayed intervention. Conclusions. The combined HBHS+PP program shows promise toward promoting a healthier lifestyle and behaviors in AA church members.
Molecular Characterization of the vanE Gene Cluster in Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecalis N00-410 Isolated in Canada

ABSTRACT The vanE operon was characterized from Enterococcus faecalis N00-410 (MIC of vancomycin = 24 μg/ml). The organization of the vanE operon was identical to that of the vanC1 operon from Enterococcus gallinarum, with protein identities ranging from 46 to 63%. An open reading frame located downstream of the vanE operon showed significant homology to a number of integrase genes, all of which are located downstream of the chromosomal GMP synthase gene guaA.
A novel real-time monitoring system for illegal logging events based on vibration and audio

The Illegal logging (IL) has become an extremely important issue. We are trying to deploy the sensors in the forest. The sensors will send the data of illegal logging event while it happened. This paper is aiming to recognize the vibration of illegal logging events and the technique of illegal logging sound recognition. Two kinds of nodes are implemented to sense the vibration and audio. In order to save the energy consumption, the sleeping scheduling is also designed for the monitoring system. According to the results, the designed nodes can be lived in the forest for 3 months at least.
The p53-mediated G1 checkpoint is retained in tumorigenic rat embryo fibroblast clones transformed by the human papillomavirus type 16 E7 gene and EJ-ras

Rat embryo fibroblast clones transformed with the human papillomavirus type 16 E7 gene and the H-ras oncogene (ER clones) fall into two groups on the basis of endogenous p53 genotype, wild type or mutant. We have compared these clones with the aim of indentifying physiological differences that could be attributed to p53 protein function. We show that all ER clones, regardless of p53 gene status, are tumorigenic and metastatic in severe combined immunodeficiency mice. We demonstrate that only the wild-type p53 protein expressed in ER clones is functional on the basis of its site-specific double-stranded DNA-binding activity and its ability to confer a G1 delay on cells following treatment with ionizing radiation. These data indicate that disruption of the p53 growth-regulatory pathway is not a prerequisite for the malignant conversion of rat embryo fibroblasts expressing the E7 gene and mutant ras. Differences in phenotype that were correlated with loss of p53 protein function included the following: serum-independent growth of ER clones in culture, decreased tumor doubling time in vivo, and increased radioresistance. In addition, we demonstrate the p53-dependent G1 checkpoint alone does not determine radiosensitivity.
Effects of entorhinal cortex lesions on sensory integration and spatial learning.

BACKGROUND The entorhinal cortex provides sensory information to the hippocampus for memory and learning. Damage to the entorhinal cortex is common in patients who experience traumatic brain injury, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease. Entorhinal damage is assumed to interfere with sensory integration; however, substantive knowledge of behavioral patterns is lacking. OBJECTIVES To describe specific behavioral deficits associated with entorhinal cortex injury related to special senses identification, sensory integration, and spatial learning. METHOD Adult male rats received bilateral entorhinal cortex damage (n = 19) or sham surgery (n = 11) with a subset randomized to participate in special senses identification, exploration, and sensory integration testing. Spatial learning was examined using a water maze. RESULTS Lesion and control animals were similar in special senses identification testing. Sensory integration was markedly impaired in lesion animals over 3 days for all integration tasks; however, travel deficit persisted for 4 days. By day 5 sensory integration ability was equal. Lesion animals were significantly impaired across all days of spatial learning for swim time (p = .0001) and directional heading error (p = .03). Control animals exposed to sensory testing demonstrated significantly more efficient learning (p = .005) on swim days 2 and 3 versus control animals not exposed to sensory testing. CONCLUSIONS Early and prolonged behavioral changes are evident following entorhinal cortex damage including sensory integration deficits and persistent spatial learning impairment.
Ethnic Categorisation of Faces is Not Independent of Face Identity

Is the extraction of a visually derived semantic code from faces (ethnicity) affected by face identity (familiarity) or not? The traditional view considers that this operation is made independently of face identity, and in parallel with the recognition of identity. However, some recent studies cast doubt on this parallel thesis regarding other visually derived semantic codes, namely: facial expression, facial speech, apparent age, and gender. Twenty-eight Caucasian participants were enrolled in an ‘ethnic-decision’ task on morphed faces made of an Asiatic source face and a Caucasian source face, in the proportion of 70%–30%. Half of the original faces were previously made familiar by a learning procedure (associating the face, surname, occupation, and city of residence of the person displayed), while the remaining half were unfamiliar. The results showed clearly that ethnic decision was affected by face familiarity. This adds support to the thesis according to which the identification of identity and the extraction of visually derived semantic codes are not made independently from each other and that the ‘parallel-route’ hypothesis becomes weakly supported.
Assessment of Left Ventricular Area at Risk by Myocardial Contrast Two‐Dimensional Echocardiography

Background: New echocardiographic contrast agents are commonly tested in the dog model. However, this species has a number of drawbacks, including difficulties in experimentation, cost, and ethical considerations. The rabbit has a number of advantages due to its relative simple coronary circulation. The present study was designed to evaluate the rabbit model for determination of areas of risk (ARs) by contrast echocardiography. Methods: Eight rabbits were intubated and mechanically ventilated after occlusion of the left coronary artery with a ligature. The transducer (operating at 7.5 MHz) was positioned on the right ventricle through a right thoracotomy. The images were obtained after intra‐aortic injection of 1 ml of Albunex, followed by 3 ml of dye (Blue Uniperse) for histological analysis postmortem. The ARs were obtained after circumscription of the various echocardiographic and histological images. Results: Excellent echocardiographic images were obtained, largely due to the hemodynamic stability of the rabbit to ischemia. Echocardiographic ventricular areas, absolute AR, and relative AR correlated closely with postmortem data (r = 0.86, 0.94, and 0.94, respectively). The measurements were highly reproducible with low variability. Conclusions: The rabbit model shows promise for study by contrast echocardiography of myocardium subjected to ischemia. This method for determination of ARs was validate against postmortem findings. The method also should be of value in the evaluation of reperfusion.
Electric drive dimensioning for a hybrid working machine by using virtual prototyping

Designing the drive train for a hybrid working machine necessitates totally new methods compared to traditional diesel operated working machine design as dimensioning the diesel, the energy storage and the electric drive is much more complicated than just selecting the diesel according to the peak power demand as in traditional ICE drives. Preparing a prototype is a time and other resources consuming way and something else should be offered for the task to speed up the process. Virtual prototyping, software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) methods might speed up the hybrid drive design in a significant way. In this paper we present a method for working machine virtual prototyping and testing. A mechanical model of the working machine is running in a simulator designed specifically for modelling working machines. The human-machine interface (HMI) with important visuals and movement feedback emulating the real driving feeling is a key component in the SIL and HIL simulator enabling virtual testing of the working machine designed. The electric drive control software and the electrical motor model are running in another application in the SIL case and later real drive components are tested in the HIL case. The applications are connected together via TCP-IP protocol enabling even longer distances between the components. The presented method is used to dimension the drive train components in a hybrid working machine.
Incidence of hypertension after marrow transplantation among 112 patients randomized to either cyclosporine or methotrexate as graft‐versus‐host disease prophylaxis

Summary We investigated the frequency of hypertension (sustained diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg) in 112 patients given HLA‐identical marrow grafts. Patients were conditioned with 2 × 60 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide and 6 × 2 Gy of total body irradiation and randomized to receive as graft‐versus‐host disease prophylaxis either the standard methotrexate regimen (n= 61) or cyclosporine (n= 51), starting on day −1 as 12.5 mg/kg/d orally or as 3 mg/kg/d i.v. and later converting to p.o. when oral intake was tolerated. Kaplan‐Meier estimates indicate a 60% incidence of hypertension in the first 120 d in patients given cyclosporine (median time to onset: 4 d post transplant) compared to 20% in patients given methotrexate (P<0.0001). Multifactorial analysis using a Cox regression model showed that cyclosporine was the most significant risk factor for developing hypertension (relative risk: 32.1, P<0.0001). In addition, glucocorticoids, used for treatment of GVHD, were associated with an increased risk for hypertension (relative risk 7.2, P<0.0001). Age, sex, underlying disease, cyclosporine trough levels, and renal function had no significant association with hypertension. Early therapy of hypertension in cyclosporine‐treated patients appears to be indicated.
Investigation of polarization effect with TlBr detectors at different operating temperatures

In this work, we report on the polarization effect in thallium bromide (TlBr) detectors at different operating temperatures. TlBr is a promising room-temperature semiconductor detector material due to its high atomic number (Tl: 81, Br: 35), high density (7.56 g/cm3) and wide band gap (2.68 eV). Current TlBr detectors suffer from polarization, which causes performance degradation over time when high voltage is applied. A 4.6 mm thick TlBr detector with a pixellated Au/Cr anode fabricated by Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. is used in the experiments. The detector has a planar cathode and nine anode pixels with 1.0 mm pitch surrounded by a guard ring. The same detector successfully operated under bias at −20 °C for over a month [1]. Several experiments at −15, −10, −5, 0, 5, 10, and 15 °C were carried out where the detector was under bias for four weeks at −1000 V. Measured energy resolution from a typical pixel at −5 °C is 1.6% at 662 keV without any depth correction. Other spectroscopic properties such as photopeak amplitude and efficiency were studied over time.
FDI and Improvements in the Quality of Export Products in the Chinese Manufacturing Industry

ABSTRACT This paper proposes theoretically that FDI(Foreign Direct Investment) not only increases the share of high-quality export products in China’s manufacturing industry but it also exerts an effect of demonstration and competition on local enterprises, thus facilitating local enterprises to improve the quality of their export products. We empirically test this theory by using the customs database, which confirms that FDI has a positive impact on the quality of Chinese export products. On the one hand, the export products of foreign-funded enterprises, making up more than 50% of the share of China’s exports, are of a higher quality than those of China’s local enterprises. On the other hand, FDI strengthens the market competition of local enterprises and promotes the TFP (Total Factor Productivity) of Chinese enterprises, thereby positively affecting the quality of their export products.
Susceptibility of N'Dama and Boran cattle to tsetse‐transmitted primary and rechallenge infections with a homologous serodeme of Trypanosoma congolense

Summary Eight trypanotolerant N'Dama cattle controlled an infection of Trypanosoma congolense IL Nat 3.1 transmitted by Glossina marsitans centralis, more efficiently than a group of similarly infected trypanosuscepliblc Boran cattle. All eight N'Damas maintained their PCV above 15% throughout the primary infection whereas the PCV of six of the eight Borans dropped below 15%; these latter animals were treated with diminazene aceturate to prevent possible death. Lymphocyte, neutrophil and platelet counts also decreased in the Boran during the primary infection. In contrast, a lymphocytosis was observed in the N'Dama; and although the neutrophil and platelet counts decreased, the drop was less severe than in the Boran. Two years after the primary infection and immediately prior to a homologous rechallenge infection, all eight N'Damas had neutralizing anti‐metacyclic trypanosome variant‐specific antibodies present in their sera compared to five of the eight Borans. Following the homologous rechallenge infection the eight N'Damas became parasitacmic but there were no alterations in their erythrocyte or leukocyte counts. The Borans became highly parasitacmic and developed severe, chronic anaemia and leukopacnia. Thus, the trypanotoleranl N'Damas controlled a primary infection of T. congolense more efficiently than trypanosusceptible Boran cattle and eliminated a homologous rechallenge infection without the pathology associated with the disease.
Hyperinsulinemia Decreases Second-Phase But Not First-Phase Arginine-Induced Insulin Release in Humans

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of hyperinsulinemia on the first and second phase of arginine-induced insulin release in humans. Seven healthy subjects underwent three studies (lasting 360 min): a control study using saline infusion and two euglycemic clamps using a low-dose (0.33 mU · kg−1 · min−1) and a high-dose (1.20 mU · kg−1 · min−1) insulin infusion. After a 3-h equilibration period, arginine (25 g) was infused for 30 min, and insulin and C-peptide responses to arginine were followed for 180 min. At the end of the equilibration period, before arginine administration, steady-state insulin levels were (means ± SE) 60.0 ± 2.4, 165.6 ± 1.8, and 455.4 ± 7.8 pmol/l during saline, low-dose, and high-dose insulin infusions, respectively. The time course of insulin release during the arginine test was calculated from C-peptide concentrations by using C-peptide kinetic modeling and deconvolution. In particular, first-phase and second-phase insulin response was obtained by integrating the time course of the insulin release during either the first 5 min or the following 40 min of the arginine test, respectively. Whereas first-phase insulin release was independent of any effect induced by either insulin infusion, second-phase insulin release was reduced in a similar degree by both insulin infusion doses. First phase was 75.5 ± 10.1, 73.7 ± 12.8, and 73.4 ± 10.3 pmol/kg, whereas second phase was 266.1 ± 46.0, 143.1 ± 33.5, and 133.0 ± 30.2 pmol/kg for saline, low-dose, and high-dose insulin infusions, respectively. We conclude that second-phase, but not first-phase, arginine-induced insulin release is modulated by the pre-stimulus insulin levels. In addition, the inhibitory effect exerted by insulin on second-phase insulin response to arginine appears to be maximized at insulin levels only four times basal.
Biofuels and Food: Can Brazilian Ethanol Production Affect Domestic Food Prices?

The increasing production of biofuels has promoted a debate on the effect of biofuels on food prices. This paper examines the impact of Brazilian domestic ethanol production on several local agricultural food commodities, using a structural autoregressive model with error correction (VECM). Other variables are included in the model, such as oil prices and exchange rate. Overall, results indicate that Brazilian ethanol has a low impact on domestic food commodity prices, even less than impacts of oil and exchange rate. Simulated price shocks for ethanol do not seem to have significant influence overestimated commodity prices. Results suggest that concerns expressed in the biofuel-food debate have little relevance in the Brazilian ethanol context.