Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discovery of Small Peptide Antagonists of PED/PEA15–D4α Interaction from Simplified Combinatorial Libraries

Most biological processes involve permanent and temporary interactions between different proteins: protein complexes often play key roles in human diseases and, as a consequence, molecules that prevent protein–protein interactions can be potential new therapeutic agents to treat diseases. Here, we describe a simplified approach by which small synthetic peptide libraries were screened to identify the inhibitors of the complex between phosphoprotein enriched in diabetes/phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes15 (PED/PEA15) and D4α, a functional domain of the phospholipase D1, that is involved in the molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance occurring in type 2 diabetes. By using an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)‐based screening, performed on a fully automated platform, we analyzed two simplified peptide libraries in a positional scanning format. This screening led to the identification of small peptides able to inhibit PED/PEA15–D4α interaction. The selection of inhibitors was carried out employing combined competitive and direct experiments, through ELISA and surface plasmon resonance techniques, providing peptides with IC50 values in the micromolar range. Our results showed that the protein complex PED/PEA15‐D4α is susceptible to peptides having H‐donor groups and aromatic rings on specific positions. These small sequences can be considered as promising scaffolds that could be converted into higher‐affinity inhibitor compounds.
ECT and memory loss.

The author reviews several studies that clarify the nature of the memory loss associated with ECT. Bilateral ECT produced greater anterograde memory loss than right unilateral ECT and more extensive retrograde amnesia than unilateral ECT. Reactivating memories just before ECT did not produce amnesia. Capacity for new learning recovered substantially by several months after ECT, but memory complaints were common in individuals who had received bilateral ECT. Other things being equal, right unilateral ECT seems preferable to bilateral ECT because the risks to memory associated with unilateral ECT are smaller.
Data caching-based query processing in multi-sink wireless sensor networks

In multi-sink Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), different sinks may issue same queries and therefore they can share some common query results. As a classical data-sharing method, data caching is employed widely in traditional databases and it can also bring benefits in WSNs thanks to the emergence of sensors with Flash Memory. Therefore, a query-processing method based on common subtree (CS) caching in multi-sink WSNs is proposed. We first construct CSs and then cache the results of processed queries at the roots of CSs. Subsequently, later common queries can obtain their expected results from the common roots. Furthermore, in order to achieve a higher degree of data sharing, we propose a loop-removing algorithm. Extensive simulations indicate that the proposed method can reduce the energy consumption and the query response time significantly for WSNs.
Discovery of the Most Lithium-rich Dwarf: Diffusion in Action

Using WIYN/Hydra observations, we report the first discovery of a super-Li-rich dwarf, the star J37 of the Hyades-aged cluster NGC 6633. This star's gargantuan surface Li abundance of A(Li) = 4.29 ± 0.07 [A(X) ≡ 12 + log(NX/NH)] is a factor of 10 larger than the Li abundances observed in meteorites and in minimally depleted young open cluster stars. J37 may be the smoking gun for the action of diffusion, models of which predict the existence of striking Li overabundances due to radiative acceleration (the "Li peak") in the extremely narrow Teff range of 6900-7100 K. The low-C, high-Fe, and higher Ni abundances in J37 also support the diffusion model, although other elemental abundances do not agree as well with the model predictions. We have discounted other Li-enrichment scenarios (spots, asymptotic giant branch contamination, planetesimal accretion). While slow mixing seems to be the universally dominant Li-depleting mechanism during the main-sequence evolution of F, G, and K dwarfs, the F dwarf J37 illustrates that Li diffusion can occur in solar-type stars under the right circumstances.
Priority-Slot-Based Continuous-Time MINLP Formulation for Crude-Oil Scheduling Problem with Two-Pipeline Transportation

Some oil refineries arrange low-fusion-point crude oil storage tanks and ones containing high-fusionpoint crude oil at two diverse locations. Refinery needs different pipeline to transport different fusion point oil, so, to transport diverse fusion point oil it needs two pipelines. Because of the constraints resulted from transporting high-fusion-point oil, to schedule such a system is very hard. Based on single-operation sequencing (SOS), this paper proposes a new MINLP formulation with transporting high-fusion-point oil and two pipelines transportation. The formulation is different from previous ones as it takes transporting high-fusion-point oil and two-pipeline transportation into account. It aims at minimizing the sum of high-fusion-point oil transportation cost. A simple two-stage MILP-NLP procedure is applied to solve this model and get a satisfactory optimality gap. Finally, this paper gives an intricate industrial example to illustrate application of the formulation.
Effects of Grammatical Gender on Object Description

Can grammatical gender influence how people conceptualize the referents of nouns? Using an implicit measure, we investigated whether such an effect could be found in a task where neither grammatical nor biological gender is highlighted. In the current study, conducted in English, speakers of French, German and Romanian with knowledge of English were asked to generate adjectives they associate with referents of nouns. Afterwards, the gender valence of the adjectives was measured. The results showed that participants generated more feminine adjectives for nouns with majority feminine translations compared to nouns with majority masculine translations. We found a stronger effect of grammatical gender for some semantic categories than for others. Significant effects of grammatical gender were present starting with the 2 adjective generated by participants (effects were stronger for adjectives generated 2 and 3 by participants, as opposed to the 1 adjective).
Impaired arousal from sleep: relationship to sudden infant death syndrome.

There is a relationship between deficient sleep arousal response to asphyxia, the presence of symptomatic apnea, and the risk for recurrent episodes of life-threatening sleep apnea. This documented abnormality in arousal responsiveness, which could result in the inability to respond to apnea-induced asphyxia, is the only respiratory control deficit that could result in sudden death. Inability to arouse from sleep in response to asphyxia may also be the underlying abnormality explaining numerous other behavioral deficits reported in infant groups with symptomatic apnea or otherwise thought to be at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), including awake behavioral differences in temperament. An arousal response deficit to asphyxia may thus be a critically important and fundamental pathophysiological component of the essential defect necessary for the occurrence of sudden death during sleep. As with any other observed abnormality, however, it has not yet been possible to design an asphyxic arousal response test with sufficient accuracy and sensitivity to identify prospectively those infants otherwise destined to die of SIDS. Although an impairment in arousal responsiveness may be necessary for SIDS to occur such a deficit may not be sufficient to cause SIDS unless or until another factor(s) occurs that can cause sleep-related asphyxia. Although impaired respiratory control appears to be the likely precipitating cause of sleep-related asphyxia, it is also possible that factors unrelated to respiratory control are important in causing asphyxia; superimposed on an underlying arousal deficit, these could result in SIDS. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Identification and Nonlinear PID Control of Hammerstein Model using Polynomial Structures

In this paper, a new nonlinear discrete-time PID is proposed to control Hammerstein model. This model is composed by a static nonlinearity gain associated to a linear dynamic sub-system. Nonlinear polynomial structures are used to identify and to control this class of systems. The determination of parameters is based on the use of RLS algorithm. A coupled two-tank process is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Epidemiological analysis of spatially misaligned data: a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus outbreak in Nigeria

SUMMARY This research is focused on the epidemiological analysis of the transmission of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus outbreak in Nigeria. The data included 145 outbreaks together with the locations of the infected farms and the date of confirmation of infection. In order to investigate the environmental conditions that favoured the transmission and spread of the virus, weather stations were realigned with the locations of the infected farms. The spatial Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for complete spatial randomness rejects the null hypothesis of constant intensity (P < 0·0001). Preliminary exploratory analysis showed an increase in the incidence of H5N1 virus at farms located at high altitude. Results from the Poisson log-linear conditional intensity function identified temperature (−0·9601) and wind speed (0·6239) as the ecological factors that influence the intensity of transmission of the H5N1 virus. The model also includes distance from the first outbreak (−0·9175) with an Akaike's Information Criterion of −103·87. Our analysis using a point process model showed that geographical heterogeneity, seasonal effects, temperature, wind as well as proximity to the first outbreak are very important components of spread and transmission of HPAI H5N1.
Gabor-Filtering-Based Nearest Regularized Subspace for Hyperspectral Image Classification

By coupling the nearest-subspace classification with a distance-weighted Tikhonov regularization, nearest regularized subspace (NRS) was recently developed for hyperspectral image classification. However, the NRS was originally designed to be a pixel-wise classifier which considers the spectral signature only while ignoring the spatial information at neighboring locations. Gabor features have currently been successfully applied for hyperspectral image analysis due to the ability to represent useful spatial information. In this paper, we mainly exploit the benefits of using spatial features extracted from a simple Gabor filter for the NRS classifier. The proposed Gabor-filtering-based classifier has been validated on several real hyperspectral datasets. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method significantly increases the classification accuracy compared to conventional pixel-wise classifiers as well as Gabor-filtering-based support vector machine and sparse-representation-based classification.
Tumor Cell Killing Enabled by Listeriolysin O-liposome-mediated Delivery of the Protein Toxin Gelonin*

Gelonin is a type I plant toxin that has potential as an effective anti-tumor agent by virtue of its enzymatic capacity to inactivate ribosomes and arrest protein synthesis, thereby effectively limiting the growth of cancer cells. Being a hydrophilic macromolecule, however, gelonin has limited access to its target subcellular compartment, the cytosol; it is effectively plasma membrane-impermeant and subject to rapid degradation within endosomes and lysosomes upon cellular uptake as it lacks the membrane-translocating capability that is typically provided by a disulfide-linked B polypeptide found in the type II toxins (e.g. ricin). These inherent characteristics generate the need for the development of a specialized cytosolic delivery strategy for gelonin as an effective anti-tumor therapeutic agent. Here we describe an efficient means of delivering gelonin to the cytosol of B16 melanoma cells. Gelonin was co-encapsulated inside pH-sensitive liposomes with listeriolysin O, the pore-forming protein that mediates escape of the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes from the endosome into the cytosol. In in vitro experiments, co-encapsulated listeriolysin O enabled liposomal gelonin-mediated B16 cell killing with a gelonin IC50 of ∼0.1 nm with an extreme efficiency requiring an incubation time of only 1 h. By contrast, cells treated with equivalent concentrations of unencapsulated gelonin or gelonin encapsulated alone in pH-sensitive liposomes exhibited no detectable cytotoxicity. Moreover, treatment by direct intratumor injection into subcutaneous solid tumors of B16 melanoma in a mouse model showed that pH-sensitive liposomes containing both listeriolysin O and gelonin were more effective than control formulations in curtailing tumor growth rates.
VND-INTERACTING2, a NAC Domain Transcription Factor, Negatively Regulates Xylem Vessel Formation in Arabidopsis[W][OA]

VND7 has been shown to regulate differentiation of xylem vessels. This work identifies VND-INTERACTING2 (VNI2), encoding a NAC domain transcription factor, as a protein that interacts with VND7 and demonstrates that VNI2 inhibits transcriptional activation activities of VND7 and negatively regulates xylem vessel differentiation. The Arabidopsis thaliana NAC domain transcription factor VASCULAR-RELATED NAC-DOMAIN7 (VND7) acts as a master regulator of xylem vessel differentiation. To understand the mechanism by which VND7 regulates xylem vessel differentiation, we used a yeast two-hybrid system to screen for proteins that interact with VND7 and identified cDNAs encoding two NAC domain proteins, VND-INTERACTING1 (VNI1) and VNI2. Binding assays demonstrated that VNI2 effectively interacts with VND7 and the VND family proteins, VND1-5, as well as with other NAC domain proteins at lower affinity. VNI2 is expressed in both xylem and phloem cells in roots and inflorescence stems. The expression of VNI2 overlaps with that of VND7 in elongating vessel precursors in roots. VNI2 contains a predicted PEST motif and a C-terminally truncated VNI2 protein, which lacks part of the PEST motif, is more stable than full-length VNI2. Transient reporter assays showed that VNI2 is a transcriptional repressor and can repress the expression of vessel-specific genes regulated by VND7. Expression of C-terminally truncated VNI2 under the control of the VND7 promoter inhibited the normal development of xylem vessels in roots and aerial organs. These data suggest that VNI2 regulates xylem cell specification as a transcriptional repressor that interacts with VND proteins and possibly also with other NAC domain proteins.
Genetic and Phenotypic Evaluation of Milk and Fat Production Traits and Their Interrelationship in (Zebu×European) Crossbred Cattle Using Parent Group Mixed Model

Data pertained to 335 crossbred cows comprising of 1/2 Friesian (F) + 1/2 Hariana (H), 1/2 F + 1/4 Jersey (J) + 1/4 H, 1/2 F + 1/4 Brown Swiss (BS) + 1/4 H, 1/2 F + 1/4 Red Dane (R) + 1/4 H, FR (I) and FRH (I) genetic groups extending over a period of 21 years (1970-1990) maintained at Animal Farm of CCS HAU, Hisar. The averages for first lactation milk yield was 2,486.24±80.26 kg and peak yield of first three lactation were 11.35±0.72 kg, 13.97±0.60 kg and 16.02±0.42 kg, respectively. The lifetime milk production was observed as 11,305.16±1,004.52 kg in crossbred cattle. The average first lactation fat yield was observed as 102.06±0.01 kg and peak fat yield of first three lactation were 0.458±0.01, 0.490±0.01 and 0.500±0.02 kg, respectively. The lifetime fat production was estimated as 502.31±45.90 kg. LTMP and LTFP had reasonably good additive genetic variance which could be exploited either through mass selection/combined with family or pedigree selection. FLMY, peak yields and LTMP had significant positive phenotypic correlation with FLFY and LTFP and the correlation at the genetic level were also higher and positive for these traits. Finally, peak week milk yield of first lactation (PMY1) was the earliest available trait having desirable and significant correlation at phenotypic and positive at genetic level with FLFY, PFY1 and PFY2, PFY3 and LTFP and selection for this trait will help in early evaluation of sires and dams and will increase genetic advancement per unit of time. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2003. Vol 16, No. 9 : 1242-1246)
Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus L.): Diverse medicinal and therapeutic benefits to humankind

The genus Catharanthus consists of eight species of which seven are native to Madagascar and one, C. pusillus , to India. Catharanthus roseus , Madagascar periwinkle is one of the few pharmacological plants that have a long history of therapeutic voyage from Mesopotamian folklore of 2600 BCE till today playing a considerable role as herbal and traditional medicine of various diseases. As previously published reviews on Madagascar periwinkle mostly concentrate on the pharmaceutical and chemical compounds of the herb, lack of information about the other features of the species is extremely tangible. This organised review provided insights into agro technological, biological, ecological, and medicinal aspects (particularly anticancer compounds) of Madagascar periwinkle along with possible pathways and mode of action. The diverse medicinal and therapeutic potentials of Catharanthus roseus have been revealed that this magical herb may be utilized to its full potential and future research orientation may be directed towards it.
Environmental, population and life-stage plasticity in the visual system of Atlantic cod

ABSTRACT The visual system is for many fishes essential in guiding behaviors, such as foraging, predator avoidance and mate choice. The marine environment is characterized by large spatio-temporal fluctuations in light intensity and spectral composition. However, visual capabilities are restricted by both space limitations set by eye size and by the genomic content of light-absorbing opsin genes. The rich array of visual opsins in teleosts may be used differentially to tune vision towards specific needs during ontogeny and to changing light. Yet, to what extent visual plasticity is a pre-programmed developmental event, or is triggered by photic environment, is unclear. Our previous studies on Atlantic cod revealed an evolutionary genomic loss of UV-sensitive sws1 and red-sensitive lws opsin families, while blue-sensitive sws2 and green-sensitive rh2 opsins had duplicated. The current study has taken an opsin expression approach to characterize visual plasticity in cod towards different spectral light during the larval stage, to maturation and extreme seasonal changes in the Barents Sea. Our data suggest that opsin plasticity in cod larvae is controlled by developmental programme rather than immediate light environment. The lack of expressional changes during maturation suggests a less important role for visual modulation related to mate choice. Although no seasonal effects on visual opsins were detected in migratory Northeast Arctic cod, the expressed opsin subset differed from the more stationary Norwegian coastal cod described in previous studies. Interestingly, these data provide the first indications of a population difference in actively used visual opsins associated with cod ecotypes. Highlighted Article: Clarification of the potential of visual tuning in Atlantic cod through differential opsin usage during changes in environmental light, with reference to the influence of developmental pre-programming and population ecotypes.
Does bronchopulmonary dysplasia contribute to the occurrence of cerebral palsy among infants born before 28 weeks of gestation?

Objective To evaluate the relationships among cerebral palsy (CP) phenotypes and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) severity and, in the process, to generate hypotheses regarding causal pathways linking BPD to CP. Study design We studied 1047 infants born before the 28th week of gestation. Receipt of supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA), with or without the need for mechanical ventilation (MV) at 36 weeks PMA, defined two levels of BPD. At 24 months, the children underwent neurologic examinations and CP diagnoses were made using an algorithm based on topographic localisation. Results The 536 infants with BPD were at increased risk of all three CP phenotypes. In time-oriented multivariable analyses that adjusted for potential confounders, receipt of supplemental oxygen without MV at 36 weeks PMA (BPD) was not associated with increased risk of any CP phenotype. In contrast, BPD accompanied by MV at 36 weeks PMA (BPD/MV) was associated with a nearly sixfold increased risk of quadriparesis and a fourfold increased risk of diparesis. Conclusions Combined treatment with both MV and supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks PMA strongly predicts the more common bilateral CP phenotypes. BPD without MV at 36 weeks PMA was not significantly associated with any form of CP.
Tobacco marketing and adolescent smoking: more support for a causal inference.

OBJECTIVES This prospective study examined the effect of tobacco marketing on progression to established smoking. METHODS Massachusetts adolescents (n = 529) who at baseline had smoked no more than 1 cigarette were reinterviewed by telephone in 1997. Analyses examined the effect of receptivity to tobacco marketing at baseline on progression to established smoking, controlling for significant covariates. RESULTS Adolescents who, at baseline, owned a tobacco promotional item and named a brand whose advertisements attracted their attention were more than twice as likely to become established smokers (odds ratio = 2.70) than adolescents who did neither. CONCLUSIONS Participation in tobacco marketing often precedes, and is likely to facilitate, progression to established smoking. Hence, restrictions on tobacco marketing and promotion could reduce addiction to tobacco.
Multiblock Copolymers of Styrene and Butyl Acrylate via Polytrithiocarbonate-Mediated RAFT Polymerization

When linear polytrithiocarbonates as Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT) agents are employed in a radical polymerization, the resulting macromolecules consist of several homogeneous polymer blocks, interconnected by the functional groups of the respective RAFT agent. Via a second polymerization with another monomer, multiblock copolymers—polymers with alternating segments of both monomers—can be prepared. This strategy was examined mechanistically in detail based on subsequent RAFT polymerizations of styrene and butyl acrylate. Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) of these polymers showed that the examined method yields low-disperse products. In some cases, resolved peaks for molecules with different numbers of blocks (polymer chains separated by the trithiocarbonate groups) could be observed. Cleavage of the polymers at the trithiocarbonate groups and SEC analysis of the products showed that the blocks in the middle of the polymers are longer than those at the ends and that the number of blocks corresponds to the number of functional groups in the initial RAFT agent. Furthermore, the produced multiblock copolymers were analyzed via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This work underlines that the examined methodology is very well suited for the synthesis of well-defined multiblock copolymers.
Voice/data integration: An applications perspective

This article discusses strategies for the integration of voice and data, introducing the concept of application-level (functional) integration and contrasting it with transmission channel (physical) integration. The author explores the market potential and technical requirements of functionally integrated applications, and suggests an open systems model through which those applications could be implemented. Voice/Data Integration: Reconsidering Goals