Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blood pressure lowering effect of olive is mediated through calcium channel blockade

Olive (Olea europea) is used in traditional medicine as a remedy for hypertension. The aqueous–methanolic crude extract of O. europea fruit (OeF.Cr) was studied in anaesthetized rats and its possible mechanism was elucidated using isolated cardiovascular preparations. Intravenous administration of OeF.Cr produced a dose-dependent (30–100 mg/kg) fall in arterial blood pressure in normotensive anaesthetized rats. This effect remained unaltered in atropinized animals. In the in vitro studies OeF.Cr (0.1–3.0 mg/ml) inhibited spontaneously beating guinea-pig atria. Moreover, it relaxed K+ and/or phenylephrine-induced contractions of rabbit aortic preparations over a dose range of 0.1–3.0 mg/ml, suggesting calcium channel blockade (CCB). The CCB effect was confirmed when pretreatment of the vascular preparations with OeF.Cr produced a dose-dependent rightward shift of the Ca2 + dose–response curves, similar to verapamil. These results suggest that the blood pressure lowering effect of olive is mediated through CCB, justifying its use in hypertension.
Robustness perspective on network-based prediction of gene essentiality

Essential genes are the genes that are indispensable to cell viability. It is very important to ascertain these genes for understanding the biological phenomena, as well as drug and therapy design. In the present paper, we understand the essential and nonessential genes from the perspective of robustness. Other than traditional homology study based methods, this article use structural analysis of functional subsystems of genome-scale metabolic networks. We give the structural analysis of the citric acid cycle as a case study, the result suggests that this systems-oriented method would help to ascertain gene essentiality.
Engineering DNA Nanoparticles as Immunomodulatory Reagents that Activate Regulatory T Cells

Nanoparticles containing DNA complexed with the cationic polymer polyethylenimine are efficient vehicles to transduce DNA into cells and organisms. DNA/polyethylenimine nanoparticles (DNPs) also elicit rapid and systemic release of proinflammatory cytokines that promote antitumor immunity. In this study, we report that DNPs possess previously unrecognized immunomodulatory attributes due to rapid upregulation of IDO enzyme activity in lymphoid tissues of mice. IDO induction in response to DNP treatment caused dendritic cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs) to acquire potent regulatory phenotypes. As expected, DNP treatment stimulated rapid increase in serum levels of IFN type I (IFN-αβ) and II (IFN-γ), which are both potent IDO inducers. IDO-mediated Treg activation was dependent on IFN type I receptor signaling, whereas IFN-γ receptor signaling was not essential for this response. Moreover, systemic IFN-γ release was caused by TLR9-dependent activation of NK cells, whereas TLR9 signaling was not required for IFN-αβ release. Accordingly, DNPs lacking immunostimulatory TLR9 ligands in DNA stimulated IFN-αβ production, induced IDO, and promoted regulatory outcomes, but did not stimulate potentially toxic, systemic release of IFN-γ. DNP treatment to induce IDO and activate Tregs blocked Ag-specific T cell responses elicited in vivo following immunization and suppressed joint pathology in a model of immune-mediated arthritis. Thus, DNPs lacking TLR9 ligands may be safe and effective reagents to protect healthy tissues from immune-mediated destruction in clinical hyperimmune syndromes.
Salivary alpha-amylase activity—An indicator of relaxation response in perioperative patients

The psychological stress of most perioperative patients has been reduced by many interventions. In order to evaluate the effects of these interventions, biomarkers are being considered as objective assessment tools in addition to the subjective assessment tools. It has been thought that salivary α-amylase (sAA) activity is associated with sympathetic nervous system activity, which reflects psychological stress. We examined the relationship between sAA, self-reported data, and autonomic nervous system activity to assess the reliability of sAA as a marker for relaxing response in surgery-related stress. The sAA, the State anxiety, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of pain, and heart rate variability were used to assess prior to and after the relaxation on the day before surgery, and on postoperative days (POD) 1, 2, 3, and 7. A total of 75 patients participated and 301 relaxing response readings were obtained. We found that the sAA significantly decreased depending upon the pain and anxiety by relaxation, but they were unrelated to sympathetic nervous system activity. There was weak correlation between the change in sAA, and anxiety and VAS pain. Thus, sAA appears to be an easy-to-use, non-invasive and good marker for relaxing response within a short period in surgery-related stress patients.
Evaluation of Operational Reliability of a Microgrid Using a Short-Term Outage Model

Island-capable microgrids can potentially improve customer reliability, but protection-related issues can adversely affect this reliability benefit. At the same time, average annualized indices often do not effectively convey a complete picture of load-point reliabilities in microgrids integrated with multiple weather-dependent microsources. The primary goal of this work is to investigate the impacts of protection system and operating conditions on the reliability indices of a microgrid. The proposed method utilizes a short-term outage model that quantifies the relationship between state variables and the outage rate of component. A hybrid approach is proposed, which combines scenario selection and enumerative analysis. Simulations on a test system illustrate the dependence of operational reliability on factors such as local meteorological conditions, correlation between variable generation and loads, as well as the effects of protection system operations. Finally, some recommendations on the parameter settings of protection system are provided to enhance the system reliability.
THE EFFECT OF SOME PROCESSING CONDITIONS ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BIODEGRADABLE MICROSPHERES OBTAINED BY AN EMULSION SOLVENT EVAPORATION PROCESS

Abstract - Unloaded microspheres were prepared from polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHB-HV) polymers using an oil-in-water emulsion solvent evaporation method. The study was conducted to evaluate how the polymer and some process parameters affect properties of the final microspheres such as particle size, superficial area, zeta potential, surface morphology and microsphere degradation. The variables included surfactant concentration in the emulsion water phase and solvent composition. From the results, it was found that the parameters affecting microsphere size the most were surfactant concentration in the emulsion water phase and solvent composition. Properties such as zeta potential, surface area and surface morphology remained pratically unchanged over the range of the processing conditions studied here. Keywords : microencapsulation, poly-hydroxybutirate-hydroxyvalerate, emulsification/evaporation. INTRODUCTION Polymers and copolymers of lactic and glycolic acids are the most commonly used to develop drug delivery systems due to their safe and authorized use applications in humans (Chulia et al., 1994). However, other biodegradable polymers have been studied to increase the number of biodegradable materials available for pharmaceutical and medical applications. One of these, the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) comprise a large family of bacterial storage polyesters. Their chemical structure (Figure 1) is very similar to the highly popular synthetic biodegradable polymers, the polylactides (PLA) and their copolymers with glycolides, poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), but they generally degrade at a much slower rate (Amass et al., 1998). Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and its copolymers with hydroxyvalerate (PHB-HV) are the most widely used members of this biopolymer group (Amass et al., 1998). They are produced biosynthetically by bacteria from natural raw materials and indeed can be readily broken down by microorganisms under different conditions. The polymers accumulate in discrete, membrane-bound granules in the bacterial cell, from which they can be extracted directly by organic solvents such as chloroform or by membrane-rupturing techniques such as mechanical, chemical and enzymatic disruption of cell walls.
Assertion-based debug infrastructure for SoC designs

In this paper, an infrastructure for debug of complex SoCs that employs assertions is introduced. The proposed infrastructure combines traditional off-chip analysis techniques with on-chip at-speed debug facilities. The main part of on-chip debug hardware consists of data and transaction monitors. The monitor hardware is automatically generated by synthesizing the assertions that were used for verification and validation before manufacturing. We have integrated the proposed method in a system-level design methodology. By synthesizing various assertions from different kinds in a case study we have studied the overhead of our method.
Purification, morphology, and genetics of a new fimbrial putative colonization factor of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli O159:H4

The ability to colonize the small intestine is essential for the pathogenesis of diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Colonization is mediated by fimbriae (pili), of which there are several antigenically distinct types, including colonization factor antigen I, colonization factor antigen II (CS1, CS2, and CS3), and PCF8775 (CS4, CS5, and CS6). These fimbriae are associated with certain ETEC O serogroups. Serogroup O159 has had no known colonization factor. We found a distinct plasmid-encoded fimbria composed of 19-kilodalton protein subunits associated with ETEC serotype O159:H4. Rabbit antibody against this purified fimbria reacted with a single 19-kilodalton protein band as seen by Western immunoblot of sheared-cell preparations. The rabbit antibody, treated with colloidal-gold-labeled goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G, bound specifically to fimbriae when cells were examined with an electron microscope. Of 10 available ETEC O159:H4 strains from Europe, Bangladesh, and Kenya, 6 expressed this type of fimbria; its true prevalence among ETEC strains is unknown. This putative colonization factor of O159:H4 joins other ETEC fimbriae as potentially useful immunogens against human diarrhea.
Achievement Goals and Maladaptive Learning: An Examination Within the Taiwanese Classroom

The present study investigated how Taiwanese children’s perceptions of classroom goal structure and personal goal orientations were related to each other and to their engagement in handicapping and test anxiety. Three hundred and twenty-six sixth-graders completed a self-report survey assessing their achievement goal orientations, perceptions of the classroom goal structure, use of self-handicapping strategies, and test anxiety. Results showed the consistently found effects of the perceived classroom goal structure on the analogous personal goal orientation. Moreover, significant effects of performance goal structure on students’ adoption of mastery goals were found in the present study, indicating the adaptive role of perceived multiple goal structures in Taiwanese students’ goal pursuits. In addition, findings regarding the significant interacting effects for mastery and performance goals on handicapping and test anxiety suggest that mastery goals may mitigate the maladaptive effects of performance goals. Implications of the findings for education are discussed.
“Feeling Poor”

Objective: This study examines the relationship between perceived economic position (PEP), objective socioeconomic status, and environmental mastery among older Americans. Method: Using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), I examine (a) whether PEP is associated with environmental mastery even after accounting for objective economic status and (b) whether the relationship between PEP and mastery varies by reference group (peers, Americans). Results: High PEP is associated with higher mastery while low PEP is associated with lower mastery, even after controlling for objective economic status. In general, the relationship between PEP and mastery does not vary whether PEP relative to peers or PEP relative to American families is examined. Discussion: These analyses provide insights into the important role of social comparisons in the connection between socioeconomic status and psychological well-being in the later life course.
Paired-Associate Learning and Free Recall of Nouns as a Function of Concreteness, Specificity, Imagery, and Meaningfulness

Abstractness-concreteness and generality-specificity of words were simultaneously varied in a factorial design on the stimulus and response sides of paired-associate lists constructed from 96 nouns. The analysis of recall scores from the auditory presentation of 2 alternating study trials and recall trials revealed significant (p < .001) effects of both variables on the stimulus side of pairs. A smaller effect on the response side was significant (p < .05) only in the case of specificity. A second experiment showed positive effects (p < .001) of both concreteness and specificity on free recall. Mean scores were also available for the nouns on their rated capacity to evoke sensory images (I) and on their meaningfulness (m). A correlational analysis indicated that, of the attributes involved, I correlated most highly with learning scores. Furthermore, consistent with the hypothesis that stimulus-evoked imagery can mediate response recall, the superiority of I was greatest when the items served as stimulus terms in PA learning.
Deep learning-based tree classification using mobile LiDAR data

Our work addresses the problem of extracting and classifying tree species from mobile LiDAR data. The work includes tree preprocessing and tree classification. In tree preprocessing, voxel-based upward-growing filtering is proposed to remove ground points from the mobile LiDAR data, followed by a tree segmentation that extracts individual trees via Euclidean distance clustering and voxel-based normalized cut segmentation. In tree classification, first, a waveform representation is developed to model geometric structures of trees. Then, deep learning techniques are used to generate high-level feature abstractions of the trees’ waveform representations. Quantitative analysis shows that our algorithm achieves an overall accuracy of 86.1% and a kappa coefficient of 0.8 in classifying urban tree species using mobile LiDAR data. Comparative experiments demonstrate that the uses of waveform representation and deep Boltzmann machines contribute to the improvement of classification accuracies of tree species.
A full wave fast and efficient tool for mm-wave coupled lines simulation

We applied the Spectral Domain Analysis to the simulation of an arbitrary multilayer structure of coupled lines, with no restriction on the number of lines and layers. The efficiency of the algorithm allows the implementation on a PC-based platform with a reasonably short computation time. All the field quantities are available, the external matrices and a time-domain analysis is held to give diagrams of signal propagation along the lines in order to characterize the coupling effects and the undesired crosstalk. Simulation results are in good agreement with both measured data and other e.m. techniques.
Serum fetuin-A and aortic calcification in hemodialysis patients.

To the Editor: In a recent issue of Kidney International, Stenvikel et al [1] showed that a low fetuin-A level was associated with malnutrition, inflammation, and carotid plaque formation in patients with end-stage renal diseases. They also found that those patients with a low fetuin-A level had higher mortality than those with a high fetuin-A level, supporting the finding reported by Ketteler et al [2]. Because fetuin-A has been reported to play an important role in inhibiting ectopic calcification, it might be associated with vascular calcification, which has frequently been found in hemodialysis (HD) patients. However, the previous studies have not shown any direct association between a low serum fetuin-A level and vascular calcification in HD patients. We have examined the association of the serum fetuinA level with aortic calcification and carotid atherosclerosis in 141 Japanese HD patients (85 males and 56 females) with a mean age of 66.5 ± 1.2 years. The aortic calcification was evaluated by measuring the calcified area of abdominal aorta in the level of L3 and L4 from x-ray computed tomography, while the calculated intima media area (CIMA) [3] was used as an index of carotid atherosclerosis. The mean serum fetuin-A concentration was 0.28 ± 0.01 g/L, this value being similar to that of Asian dialysis patients [4]. It was significantly correlated with age (r= −0.33, P < 0.001), and with albumin (r = 0.21, P < 0.05) and prealbumin (r = 0.32, P < 0.001) levels. After classifying the patients into two groups according to the serum fetuin-A level, the aortic calcification area was significantly higher in those patients with low fetuinA of <0.3 g/L than in those with high fetuin-A of ≥0.3 g/L (P < 0.05; Fig. 1, upper panel). Serum fetuin-A showed a significantly negative correlation with CIMA (r = −0.27, P < 0.01; Fig. 1, lower panel). Interestingly, there was a significantly positive correlation between serum fetuin-A and adiponectin, which is also known to have a protective role in atherosclerosis (r = 0.24, P < 0.01). In conclusion, the low fetuin-A level was associated with aortic calcification and progression of atherosclerosis in HD patients. These findings reinforce the previous observation that malnutrition would accelerate atherosclerosis in these patients.
Isolation of polymorphic microsatellite loci from the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis)

Ten microsatellite loci were isolated from the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis), using a partial genomic DNA library and an enrichment method. Fifty microsatellite repeats were screened from the library of 888 positive clones, 10 of which were polymorphic. These microsatellite loci developed here are another set of novel molecular markers for A. sinensis, and they will be suitable for population genetic studies as well as for kinship analysis.
Nutrition quality control in the prescription and administration of parenteral nutrition therapy for hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND Nutrition quality control in parenteral nutrition therapy (PNT) allows the identification of inadequate processes in parenteral nutrition (PN). The objective of this study was to assess the quality of PNT at a hospital with an established nutrition support team (NST). MATERIALS AND METHODS This observational, longitudinal, analytical, and prospective study examined 100 hospitalized PNT adult patients under the care of an NST for 21 days or until death/hospital discharge. The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) 2007 guidelines for PNT prescription were followed. RESULTS PNT indications were not in accordance with the A.S. P.E. N. 2007 guidelines in 15 patients. Among the remaining 85 patients, 48 (56.5%) did not receive adequate PNT (≥80% of the total volume prescribed). Non-NST medical orders, progression to and from enteral nutrition, changes in the central venous catheter, unknown causes, and operational errors (eg, medical prescription loss, PN nondelivery, pharmacy delays, inadequate PN bag temperature) were associated with PNT inadequacy (P < .005). Compared with patients who died, the discharged patients received PN volumes ≥80% on most days (P = .047). The quality indicators for nutrition therapy related to estimated energy expenditure and protein requirements and glycemia levels reached the expected targets; however, the central venous catheter infection rate was higher than 6 per 1000 catheters/d and did not meet the expected targets. CONCLUSION Despite an established NST, there was a moderate level of PNT inadequacy in indications, administration, and monitoring. It is important to establish periodic meetings among different health professionals who prescribe and deliver PNT to define responsibilities and protocols.
L-Invariant of the Symmetric Powers of Tate Curves

In my earlier paper [H07] and in my talk at the workshop on “Arithmetic Algebraic Geometry” at RIMS in September 2006, we made explicit a conjectural formula of the L-invariant of symmetric powers of a Tate curve over a totally real field (generalizing the conjecture of Mazur-Tate-Teitelbaum, which is now a theorem of Greenberg-Stevens). In this paper, we prove the formula for Greenberg’s L-invariant when the symmetric power is of adjoint type, assuming a standard conjecture (see Conjecture 0.1) on the ring structure of a Galois deformation ring of the symmetric powers. Let p be an odd prime and F be a totally real field of degree d b. Write Fj = Fpj for the pj-adic completion of F and qj ∈ F× j with j ≤ b for the Tate period of E/Fj . Put Qj = NFpj /Qp(qj). When b = 0, as a convention, we assume that E/F has good ordinary reduction at every p-adic place of F . We assume throughout the paper that E does not have complex
A Controlled Experiment on Team Meeting Style in Software Architecture Evaluation

Software architecture change can have a major impact on product and project quality. Software architecture evaluation systematically investigates architecture variants with respect to their quality attributes, e.g., modifiability and maintainability of a software system. Scenarios and system properties are key elements to focus architecture evaluation on most likely future changes in the software architecture. Scenario elicitation processes typically include individual scenario brainstorming and a team meeting of all relevant stakeholders to create an aligned list of important scenarios. A major research question is which meeting style, face-to-face meetings, nominal (i.e., non-communicating) teams, or distributed tool-supported team meetings are most effective. In this paper we report on a controlled experiment investigating the meeting style of scenario brainstorming processes. Major result is that face-to-face meetings outperformed in the experiment tool-supported meetings in finding more important scenarios.
The Degree of Pigmentation Modulates the Radiosensitivity of Human Melanoma Cells

Abstract Kinnaert, E. , Morandini, R. , Simon, S. , Hill, H. Z. , Ghanem, G. and Van Houtte, P. The Degree of Pigmentation Modulates the Radiosensitivity of Human Melanoma Cells. The relationship between cell pigmentation and radiosensitivity was investigated in two selected human melanoma cell lines with different melanin content (mixed type: eumelanin and pheomelanin, and pheomelanotic phenotypes). The same study was also done after stimulation of melanogenesis (1) by addition of the melanin precursor l-tyrosine to each of the cell lines separately and (2) by irradiation alone with doses ranging from 0 to 10 Gy. We found that a decrease in cell radiosensitivity was correlated with the type of melanin, with a clear involvement of eumelanin rather than pheomelanin. Increasing the intracellular content of both melanins promoted the growth of irradiated cells. Moreover, at a dose of 10 Gy, both tyrosinase activity and melanin cell content were significantly increased in the absence of any other melanogenesis promoter. Our data suggest that the amount of intracellular melanin is inversely related to the radiosensitivity of melanoma cells and may explain at least in part the controversial responses to ionizing radiations reported for melanoma.