Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NMR Structural Studies of Endotoxin Receptor CD14 in Complex with Gram-Negative and Gram-Positive Endotoxin

Endotoxin recognition by the innate immune receptor CD14 is a critical part of the innate immune system’s early detection and activation of the inflammatory response during microbial invasion. The differential recognition and high affinity binding of endotoxins from gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria is performed by the innate immune receptor CD14. Upon endotoxin binding, CD14 transfers the specific endotoxins to a Toll-like receptor signaling complex, which is responsible for initiating the intracellular signaling cascade. In the presence of overwhelming infection, the effects of CD14 lead to the over-activation of the inflammatory response, which results in the life threatening condition known as sepsis. Preparation of a N isotopically labeled truncated version of soluble CD14, using Pichia pastoris, allowed direct structural observation of the binding interaction between CD14 and two endotoxin ligands, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA), from gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, respectively using solution NMR spectroscopy. These studies revealed that CD14 uses both a common set of residues, and endotoxin specific subsets of residues, to bind LPS and LTA. To further investigate the structural features of each endotoxin recognized by CD14, C N isotopically labeled Kdo2–Lipid A, a fully active chemically defined gram-negative endotoxin, and LTA lipid anchor, the minimal unit of LTA, were produced. This allowed detailed NMR spectral mapping of these agonist ligands bound to sCD14 which identified, for the first time, structural regions and features in each that are strongly affected during complex formation with sCD14.
U.S. parent perspectives on media guidance from pediatric autism professionals

ABSTRACT Screen media guidelines for children set by medical organizations (e.g., the American Academy of Pediatrics) play a significant role in public discourse regarding media and parenting. Physician mediation theory, an adaptation of parental mediation theory, suggests that physician-patient discussion about media content (e.g., online searches) directly shapes patient engagement with said content. Little attention has been paid though as to how guidance about children’s media use is delivered to parents by pediatric clinical professionals and its utility from the perspective of diverse families. Interviews and home observations were conducted with families of 26 children ages 3–13 on the autism spectrum. Two main social contexts for media guidance were identified: advising on children’s media use 1) as part of therapy and 2) as recreation. Prior research indicates that physician mediation takes three forms: positive (encouraging media use), negative (discouraging), and redirective (suggesting alternatives). Within the two contexts, positive physician mediation was more prominent in therapeutic than recreational contexts. Poor and working-class families also tended to report media guidance less than upper- and middle-class families, partly due to barriers in accessing clinical care. Implications are discussed for improving physician mediation theory as well as enhancing caregiver-clinician communication about children’s media use.
The effect of cadmium ions on the cell cycle of the green flagellate Chlamydomonas noctigama

Using synchronous cultures, the effect of different concentrations of cadmium ions on the growth and reproductive processes, both in the nucleocytoplasmic and chloro- plast compartrnent of the cells of the tlagellate Chlamydomonas noctigama was studied. A loss of motility of cells was the first striking effect of cadmium. The concentrations of metalless than 20 ! lM had insignificant effect on the growth whereas at concentrations higher than 100 ! lM cell growth was completely blocked. With increasing concentration of cadmium ions, the number of commitment points in the cel I cycle decreased and dis- tance between them prolonged. The growth ofthe cells was slowed down and the cel I cy- cle prolonged proportionally to the concentration of cadmium ions except of 5 ! lM which shorten the cell cycle. With exception of cytokinesis, the course of reproductive processes was not affected in the presence of cadmium ions. The formation of daughter cells at high- er ion concentrations was irregular or blocked. In the chloroplast compartrnent, presence of cadmium ions caused destruction of chloroplasts and DNA-containing structures (nu- cleoids).
Investigation on Ash Slag from Combustion of Medium-Density Fiberboard Production Residues

Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF) is made by breaking down of wood as conifer wood thinnings and wood processing industry residues including sawdust, which is glued and pressed together, and is widely used as a building material. Woody residues from production of MDF (MDFres) is a large and available amount and can be combusted for heat and energy production. In this study, MDFres fuel properties and ash melting behavior were investigated. The ash slag from combustion of MDFres in a residential combustion appliance was collected and analyzed with scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDX). The results show that MDFres ash contains considerably high content of calcium, silicon, potassium and sodium. The ash has a very low fusion temperature, of about 878 °C in oxidizing atmosphere. The ash slag collected from combustion of the MDFres has dense and intact structure and glass-like morphology, indicating that the ash experienced intensive melting. EDX spot analyses on the chemical composition of the slag reveal that Ca, Si, Al, Mg, K and Na are the main elements contained in the slag. Together with the spot analysis, EDX mapping analyses results indicate strong correlations between the elements Ca, Si and K and indicates formation of alkali silicates that have low melting temperatures during combustion of MDFres. Formation and presence of these low temperature melting compounds are the main reason for ash sintering and slagging at a sufficiently high combustion temperature.
Automated testing in robotic process automation projects

Robotic process automation (RPA) has received increasing attention in recent years. It enables task automation by software components, which interact with user interfaces in a similar way to that of humans. An RPA project life cycle is closely resembling a software project one. However, in certain contexts (e.g., business process outsourcing), a testing environment is not always available. Thus, deploying the robots in the production environment entails high risk. To mitigate it, an innovative approach to automatically generate a testing environment and a test suite for an RPA project is presented. The activities of the humans whose processes are to be robotized are monitored and a UI log is confirmed. On one side, the test environment is generated as a fake application, which mimics the real environment by leveraging the UI log information. The control flow of the application is governed by an invisible control layer that decides which image to show depending on the interface actions that it receives. On the other side, the test case checks whether the robot can reproduce the behaviour of the UI log. Promising results were obtained and a number of limitations were identified such that it may be applied in more realistic domains.
TEG PlateletMapping assay results may be misleading in the presence of cold stored platelets

Viscoelastic tests (VETs) are used widely to monitor hemostasis in settings such as cardiac surgery. There has also been renewed interest in cold stored platelets (CSPs) to manage bleeding in this setting. CSPs are reported to have altered hemostatic properties compared to room temperature platelets (RTPs), including activation of GPIIb/IIIa. We investigated whether the functional differences between CSP and RTP affected the performance of the PlateletMapping VET on the TEG 5000 and 6s analyzer.
The Irresponsible Self-Regulation of Media in Spain: High-Grade Alcoholic Beverage Advertising in Sports Radio Programmes

Media must behave ethically towards their audiences since the latter play a fundamental role in shaping reality and public opinion. In this sense, the conduct of all media must be based on social responsibility, with ethical values and in compliance with laws and regulations. The present study analyses the presence of advertising for high-alcoholic-content beverages in sports programs through mentions by the host radio stations or collaborators, taking into consideration that the European directive, as well as Spanish legislation, prohibits the broadcasting of this type of advertising through audio-visual media (television and radio) channels, particularly in sports programs. To this purpose, three stations have been selected for analysis (COPE, Cadena Ser and Onda Cero) according to their daily audience numbers as reported by the General Media Study (a total of 9,000,000 daily listeners). The study was carried out between January and December 2017. A total of 355 mentions of high-alcoholic-content beverages were found, being the figure of the host radio the one that made more this type of advertising. Likewise, this research shows that most mentions of alcoholic beverages occurred in the afternoon (16:00–19:59), with rum (55.8%) and herb liqueurs (36.6%) being the most frequently advertised. It is also important to note that COPE, a radio station that has been sanctioned by the Spanish CNMV for this type of advertising, is precisely the radio station that has the highest frequency of alcoholic beverage advertising in this study (91.8%), which is evidence of the failure of the media self-regulation system in Spain.
Sociogenomics Takes Flight

The loss of wings in worker ants has contributed to their spectacular ecological success. In his Perspective, [Robinson][1] discusses new work ([Abouheif and Wray][2]) that analyzes the expression of genes involved in wing development of worker and queen ants of different species. As Robinson explains, the unexpectedly different gene expression profiles that the authors detected highlight how different genomes can achieve the same end in different ways, an important lesson to bear in mind as the new field of sociogenomics develops. [1]: http://www.sciencemag. org/cgi/content/full/297/5579/204 [2]: http://www.sciencemag. org/cgi/content/short/297/5579/249
Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Low-Density Al20+xCr20-xMo20-yTi20V20+y Alloys

Refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) Al20+xCr20-xMo20-yTi20V20+y ((x, y) = (0, 0), (0, 10), and (10, 15)) were computationally studied to obtain a low density and a better mechanical property. The density functional theory (DFT) method was employed to compute the structural and mechanical properties of the alloys, based on a large unit cell model of randomly distributed elements. Debye–Grüneisen theory was used to study the thermal properties of Al20+xCr20-xMo20-yTi20V20+y. The phase diagram calculation shows that all three RHEAs have a single body-centered cubic (BCC) structure at high temperatures ranging from 1000 K to 2000 K. The RHEA Al30Cr10Mo5Ti20V35 has shown a low density of 5.16 g/cm3 and a hardness of 5.56 GPa. The studied RHEAs could be potential candidates for high-temperature application materials where high hardness, ductility, and low density are required.
Oocyte physiology and development in domestic animals.

Oocyte Physiology and Development in Domestic Animals reviews the most recent advances in the research of physiological and biochemical mechanisms underlying oocyte growth and development, providing readers with the fundamental understanding of these key processes and summarizing this important field of research. The book covers multiple molecular and physiological mechanisms including initiation of oocyte growth during folliculogenesis and in vitro follicle culture to support oocyte competence, that are critical to health and quality. Physiological process ranging from gene expression to metabolism will be covered with an eye toward using these factors to uncover biomarkers that will further advance the field. In addition, the text looks at the effects of in vitro maturation environments on oocyte quality and developmental outcome.
An Improved Power System Transient Stability Prediction Model Based on mRMR Feature Selection and WTA Ensemble Learning

Fast online transient stability assessment (TSA) is very important to maintain the stable operation of power systems. However, the existing transient stability assessment methods suffer the drawbacks of unsatisfactory prediction accuracy, difficult applicability, or a heavy computational burden. In light of this, an improved high accuracy power system transient stability prediction model is proposed, based on min-redundancy and max-relevance (mRMR) feature selection and winner take all (WTA) ensemble learning. Firstly, the contributions of four different series of raw sampled data from all of the three-time stages, namely the pre-fault, during-fault and post-fault, to transient stability are compared. The new feature of generator electromagnetic power is introduced and compared with three conventional types of input features, through a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. Furthermore, the two types of most contributive input features are obtained by the mRMR feature selection method. Finally, the prediction results of the electromagnetic power of generators and the voltage amplitude of buses are combined using the WTA ensemble learning method, and an improved transient stability prediction model with higher accuracy for unstable samples is obtained, whose overall prediction accuracy would not decrease either. The real-time data collected by wide area monitoring systems (WAMS) can be fed into this model for fast online transient stability prediction; the results can also provide a basis for the future emergency control decision-making of power systems.
An assessment of the learning styles of first year medical and dental students of North Bengal Medical College, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India

Background: Learning is the act of acquiring, modifying and reinforcing existing knowledge, behavior, skills and values. This phenomenon of learning is dominated by an individual’s learning style. Learning style is a popular concept in psychology and education, and it refers to how a person learns best. This study aims to identify the Learning Styles of the first year MBBS and BDS students at NBMC by administering the questionnaire of the VARK model. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in the Department of Physiology at North Bengal Medical College, West Bengal after. The VARK questionnaire 7.8 version was administered to 180 first year MBBS and BDS students from the 2017-2018 batch who had volunteered for the study. The Questionnaire consisted of 16 questions, along with a scoring chart. Students were allowed to choose more than one option. If in majority of the questions they opted for a single sensory modality they were considered as unimodal learners and if they chose multiple options, they were recognized as multimodal learners. Results: The study showed 57% of the students to be multimodal learners and 43% to be unimodal learners. Read/Write was the most preferred (31.22%) sensory modality followed by kinesthetic mode (29.57%). Conclusions: As majority of our students are multimodal learners teachers should incorporate active teaching and learning strategies to cater to all types of learners. Also, as the most preferred method is Read/Write which includes googling and the use of internet to browse for information, we must try and incorporate e-learning into our curriculum.
Procrastination And Its Relationship With Business Students’ Cheating Perceptions

The epidemic of college cheating is evolving to include more sophisticated schemes that are more difficult to detect. Business students’ cheating is even more concerning because such behavior in college predicts workplace cheating (Nonis & Swift, 2001). The current study examines procrastination as a personality variable that affects business students’ perceptions of cheating ethics. A survey of 370 undergraduate and graduate business students was conducted. The results showed that low procrastinators were more likely to view cheating actions as more unethical compared to high procrastinators. Low procrastinators also had higher academic performance.
Controlling Wetting Properties on Nanostructure Surfaces by the Coupled Effect of the Structural Parameter and Roughness Factor

Methods: The simulation results show that the structural parameter h/b can determine the wetting transition of droplets on surfaces. In addition, the critical structural parameter values are 1.5, 1.5, 2.08 and 2.24 for the square pillar, cylinder, frustum and cone nanostructures, respectively. Due to the restriction of the wedge surface on water molecules, the effect of the wedge surface is not the same when the theoretical gap and height of the nanostructures are changed on different surfaces.
Cystine and Glutathione Reductases in the Clothes Moth Tineola Bisselliella

The larva of the clothes moth Tineola bisselliella possesses an enzyme which catalyses the reduction of L-cystine by reduced triphospyridine nucleotide (TPNH). Extracts of whole larvae reduce up to 14 pmoles of cystine per g larvae per hr at pH 7· 3. Reduced diphosphopyridine nucleotide (DPNH)-linked cystine reductase and DPNH- and TPNH-linked glutathione reductase of somewhat lower activity are also present in the clothes moth extracts.
Studies on a climosequence of soils in tussock grasslands

Nematodes were extracted and identified from tussocks growing on eight soil types (Conroy, Cluden, Tawhiti, Lammerlaw, Carrick, McKerrow, Obelisk, Harihari) from altitudes of 80–1550 m. Most soils were from schist parent material in Otago. Samples from the bottom 5 cm of the leaves and the 0–5‐cm and 8–12‐cm soil strata were analysed separately. Altogether 4455 specimens of nematodes were identified, and the percentage composition in each stratum was calculated. Seventy species were found; only 1 occurred at all sites, 22 were found at only 1 site; 28 occurred in all 3 strata, 18 in only 1 stratum. A strong site factor was noted in species distribution, and there was distinct stratification. Correlation coefficients were calculated for nematode abundance and diversity with altitude, rainfall, and chemical factors (pH, organic C, and soil N); calculations were also made for only six sites by omitting Lammerlaw and Harihari, which did not reflect stages in the climosequence. Considering the six sites, total.
An Accelerated Cue Combination Principle Accounts for Multi-cue Depth Perception

Abstract For the visual world in which we operate, the core issue is to conceptualize how its three-dimensional structure is encoded through the neural computation of multiple depth cues and their integration to a unitary depth structure. One approach to this issue is the full Bayesian model of scene understanding, but this is shown to require selection from the implausibly large number of possible scenes. An alternative approach is to propagate the implied depth structure solution for the scene through the “belief propagation” algorithm on general probability distributions. However, a more efficient model of local slant propagation is developed as an alternative.The overall depth percept must be derived from the combination of all available depth cues, but a simple linear summation rule across, say, a dozen different depth cues, would massively overestimate the perceived depth in the scene in cases where each cue alone provides a close-to-veridical depth estimate. On the other hand, a Bayesian averaging or “modified weak fusion” model for depth cue combination does not provide for the observed enhancement of perceived depth from weak depth cues. Thus, the current models do not account for the empirical properties of perceived depth from multiple depth cues.The present analysis shows that these problems can be addressed by an asymptotic, or hyperbolic Minkowski, approach to cue combination. With appropriate parameters, this first-order rule gives strong summation for a few depth cues, but the effect of an increasing number of cues beyond that remains too weak to account for the available degree of perceived depth magnitude. Finally, an accelerated asymptotic rule is proposed to match the empirical strength of perceived depth as measured, with appropriate behavior for any number of depth cues.
Prostate cancer stem cell fate: β-catenin and the Wnt pathway

A major problem in prostate cancer is the high relapse rate post therapy. This is believed to be due to the presence of a small number of prostate cancer stem cells within a tumour. Tumour initiation, maintenance and spreading have been attributed to this subpopulation of tumour cells. Wnt activity and β-catenin signalling have been associated with different types of cancer and microarray data from our laboratory highlighted upregulation of members of the Wnt pathway in primary prostate cancer stem cells. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the consequences of β-catenin downregulation on prostate cancer stem cell fate and to identify whether aberrant Wnt signalling and β-catenin levels and location play a role in prostate tumour initiation, growth and dissemination. Our strategy was to develop and use lentiviral vectors containing short-hairpin RNAs to downregulate β-catenin in prostate cancer cell lines and primary, cultured cells. This work shows that PC-3 prostate cancer cells, infected with β-catenin-shRNA-lentiviruses (PC-3v), displayed a significant downregulation of β-catenin at the protein level. These cells also exhibited reduced growth in vitro as well as a significantly lower invasiveness. In vivo, PC-3v cells showed slower tumour onset in immunocompromised mice. To assess Wnt activity in individual cells the localisation of β-catenin in prostate cancer cell lines and cultured primary cells was determined. Cells were stained for active, dephosphorylated β-catenin and various forms of phosphorylated β-catenin using immunofluorescence. Cultured, primary prostate cells were infected with a GFP containing lentivirus to establish an optimal infection protocol for primary cells. Primary cells were also infected with shRNA-containing viruses and changes in cell morphology were observed. This is the first study to examine the biological consequences of β-catenin downregulation by shRNAs in prostate cancer cell lines and prostate primary cells.
The complete mitochondrial genome of a tussock moth: Euproctis seitzi (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Lymantriinae)

Abstract We describe the mitogenome sequence of Euproctis seitzi collected in the Mt. Luofu, which located in the southeast of China. The assembled mitogenome is 15, 276 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer-RNA genes, 2 ribosomal-RNA genes, and one A + T rich region. The most common start codon for 13 PCGs is ATT and the most common termination codon is TAA. The overall G + C content was only 18.57% in the heavy strand. The result of the phylogenetic analysis shows that the relationship of E. seitzi is close to the species in the same subfamily.