Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MiR-21 modulates human airway smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration in asthma through regulation of PTEN expression

ABSTRACT Background: Asthma is characterized by airway remodeling arising from an increase in airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass. This increase is regulated in part by ASM cell proliferation and migration. MicroRNA (miR)-21 also plays a role in asthma, but the molecular mechanisms underlying its effects are not completely understood. This study investigated the effects and mechanism of miR-21 on the human ASM (HASM) cell proliferation and migration. Materials and Methods: HASM cells were transduced with a miR-21 vector, and the expression of miR-21 was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The effect of the miR-21 on HASM cell proliferation and migration was analyzed by CCK8 and transwell assay. The expression level of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) in HASM cells was assessed by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Meanwhile, the activity of PTEN was measured by PTEN malachite green assay kit. Results: Lentivirus-mediated miR-21 overexpression markedly enhanced the proliferation and migration of HASM cells (P < .05), and ablation of miR-21 by anti-miR-21 inhibitor markedly reduced cell proliferation and migration. We demonstrated that miR-21 overexpression significantly reduced the expression of PTEN (P < .05), while PTEN knock-down markedly increased HASM cell proliferation and migration. Furthermore, we found that overexpression of PTEN led to a decrease of HASM cell proliferation and migration. MiR-21 mediated HASM cell proliferation and migration through activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway. Conclusions: This study provides the first in vitro evidence that overexpression of miR-21 in HASM cells can trigger cell proliferation and migration, and the effects of miR-21 depend on the level of PTEN.
Release of Endothelium‐Derived Relaxing Factors from Canine Cardiac Valves

In the present study, the ability of intact cardiac valvular endothelial cells to release vasodilatory prostanoids and endothelium-derived relaxing factor was investigated. Endothelium-denuded canine coronary arteries were used for bioassay and contractile force recording. Insertion of small segments of cardiac valve (20–30 mm2) with intact endothelium into endothelium-denuded coronary arterial rings did not markedly alter the sensitivity nor magnitude of the coronary artery contractile response to KCl. In contrast, the prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α)-induced contraction was significantly depressed (70% decrease in magnitude and 216% increase in ED50), compared with contraction in the absence of valvular endothelium (5.52 ± 0.49 g and ED50 of 1.18 ± 0.02 μM, respectively). These alterations in PGF2α-induced contractions were reduced to 38% decrease in magnitude and + 66% in ED50 in the presence of 5 μM indomethacin. Addition of acetylcholine (0.1–30 μM) into these endothelium-denuded coronary artery/valve preparations resulted in a dose-dependent relaxation, reaching a maximum of −59.9 ± 1.6% (mean ± SEM of seven vessels). Preincubation of valvular endothelium with 5 μM indomethacin also reduced these acetylcholine-induced valvular endothelium-dependent relaxations to 40.4 ± 5.5% (mean ± SEM of 13 vessels). Addition of hemoglobin (3 μM) further attenuated relaxation to −16.0 ± 7.7% (mean ± SEM of 14 vessels), while superoxide dismutase (20 units/ml) potentiated the relaxant response to −81.3 ± 9.4% (mean ± SEM of 11 vessels) in the presence of indomethacin. These findings suggest that there is a continuous basal release of vasodilatory prostanoids and endothelium-derived relaxing factor from the valvular endothelium, which can be further stimulated with acetylcholine and superoxide dismutase, and inhibited by indomethacin and hemoglobin.
The mechanical properties of chick (Gallus domesticus) sensory hair bundles: relative contributions of structures sensitive to calcium chelation and subtilisin treatment

Up to four link types are found between the stereocilia of chick vestibular hair bundles: tip links, horizontal top connectors, shaft connectors and ankle links. A fifth type, the kinocilial link, couples the hair bundle to the kinocilium. Brownian‐motion microinterferometry was used to study the mechanical properties of the hair bundle and investigate changes caused by removing different links with the calcium chelator BAPTA or the protease subtilisin. Immunofluorescence with an antibody to the hair‐cell antigen (HCA) and electron microscopy were used to verify destruction of the links. The root mean square displacement and the corresponding absolute stiffness of untreated hair bundles were 4.3 nm and 0.9 mN m−1, respectively. The ratio of Brownian‐motion spectra before and after treatment was calculated and processed using a single oscillator model to obtain relative stiffness. Treatment with BAPTA, which cleaves tip, kinocilial and ankle links, reduces hair‐bundle stiffness by 43%, whilst subtilisin treatment, which breaks ankle links and shaft connectors, reduces stiffness by 48%. No changes were detected in viscous damping following either treatment. The time course of the subtilisin‐induced stiffness change was close to that of HCA loss, but not to the disappearance of the ankle links, suggesting that shaft connectors make a more significant contribution to hair‐bundle stiffness. Sequential treatments of the hair bundles with BAPTA and subtilisin show that the effects are additive. The implication of complete additivity is that structures resistant to both agents (e.g. top connectors and stereocilia pivots) are responsible for approximately 9% of the overall bundle stiffness.
Accumulation of central fat correlates with an adverse oxidative balance in non-obese postmenopausal women

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate whether accumulation of central fat is correlated with systemic oxidative stress (OxS) in non-obese apparently healthy postmenopausal women. Serum parameters of OxS (hydroperoxides and non-enzymatic antioxidants) along with body fat distribution, as assessed by dual-energy-X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), were evaluated in 134 non-obese postmenopausal women. Multiple regression analysis showed that central (trunk) fat significantly correlated with both markers of OxS independently of confounding factors (i.e. BMI, smoking, age, hypertension, legs and arms fat mass). In specific, the standardized regression coefficient was positive for hydroperoxides (β = 0.324, p < 0.05) and negative for antioxidants (β = −0.495, p < 0.01) level. In conclusion, the current data showed that the increase in central fat is an independent predictor of OxS condition among non-obese women in postmenopausal status. The possible pro-oxidant effects of the excess in central adiposity might be more harmful among post- than among pre-menopausal women, due to the postulated ability of E2 to contrast oxidative challenge and the related diseases.
Transgenic models of tolerance and autoimmunity: with special reference to systemic lupus erythematosus

Transgenic and knockout mouse carrying rearranged antigen-receptor genes have been invaluable for the elucidation of basic mechanisms in autoimmunity and have contributed new models of human autoimmune diseases. Several examples of transgenic models expressing rearranged immunoglobulin genes have been described. These models have provided a window into the events involved in this process, allowing the development and fate of self-reactive lymphocytes to be followed in vivo. In the B cell lineage, as in T cells, self-reactive cells have been found to undergo several distinct fates in vivo: they can be physically eliminated, functionally inactivated, or they can persist unchanged or become activated. Nevertheless the precise understanding of the molecular events leading to lymphocyte deletion, anergy or activation remains a challenge.
Physiology and biochemistry of leaf bleaching in prematurely aging maple (Acer saccharinum L.) trees: I. Hydrogen peroxide level, antioxidative responses and photosynthetic pigments

Physiology and biochemistry of leaf bleaching in prematurely aging maple (Acer saccharinum L.) trees: I. Hydrogen peroxide level, antioxidative responses and photosynthetic pigments Essential signaling processes such as changes in calcium mobilization, protein phosphorylation and gene expression are known to be modulated by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). A lot of silver maple trees in the city of Osijek (Croatia) were noticed to have bleached leaves by early summer as well as during the whole vegetation season. In this study we aimed to investigate the processes that regulate H2O2 levels in healthy (green) and prematurely aged (bleached) leaves. For that purpose, photosynthetic performance and antioxidative response of green and bleached silver maple leaves were studied. Bleached leaves had higher hydrogen peroxide level, a three-fold level of total soluble proteins as well as a lower level of ascorbic acid. Concentrations of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophylls and total carotenoids as well as maximum quantum yield of photosystem II were lower in bleached leaves. This indicated their impaired photosynthetic performance. Further more, bleached leaves were characterized by lower specific activities of the main antioxidative enzymes, which influenced their reactive oxygen species scavenging capability. The higher level of H2O2 content in bleached leaves as the consequence of reduced antioxidative enzyme specific activities as well as ascorbic acid level could be the reason for the down-regulation of photosynthetic performance and premature aging of those leaves.
Watching the watchers: "voluntary monitoring" of infosec employees

Purpose – While many papers discuss the privacy implications of workplace monitoring, the purpose of this paper is to describe the positive aspects to voluntary monitoring in the workplace.Design/methodology/approach – These aspects were identified through in‐depth qualitative interviews with employees of various organizations chosen for the invasiveness of their monitoring procedures. Specifically, the authors worked with individuals who had high‐level government clearances, working in information security (infosec), who were subjected to comprehensive monitoring both before being employed and during the term of their employment.Findings – Through these interviews, the paper identifies four positive results of employee monitoring, four procedural issues that affected employee perception of the monitoring, and two secondary aspects that are specific benefits of holding a clearance, as opposed to benefits from the monitoring itself.Research limitations/implications – The research reported here is gathered .
Assessment of a Composite Right/Left-Handed Transmission Line-based Distributed Amplifier implemented in microstrip technology

The use of composite right/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH TLs) in the design of active distributed circuits such as distributed amplifiers or distributed mixers has led to potential new applications for these kinds of microwave circuits. In particular, CRLH TL-based distributed amplifiers (DAs), which exhibit multiband amplification performance, have recently been proposed by the authors. In this paper a microstrip implementation of CRLH TL-based DAs is proposed and discussed. The proposed implementation allows for the biasing of the active devices without degrading RF performance. Preliminary simulated results suggest that these new distributed amplifiers can be implemented in microstrip technology without deteriorating their intrinsic multiband amplification performance
Negative regulation of sigma 54-dependent dctA expression by the transcriptional activator DctD

In Rhizobium meliloti, the presence of the C4-dicarboxylate transport protein DctA is required for symbiotic N2 fixation in alfalfa root nodules. Expression of dctA is inducible and is mediated by a sensor and activator gene pair encoded by dctB and dctD. In the presence of C4-dicarboxylates, the DCTB sensor protein is believed to phosphorylate and activate DCTD, which in turn activates transcription at the sigma 54-dependent dctA promoter. Here, we present evidence that in addition to activating dctA transcription, DCTD can also repress expression of dctA. By employing an ntrC allele, ntrC283, whose product appears to activate dctA transcription independently of DCTD, we found that while ntrC283 leads to constitutive dctA expression in the absence of dctB and dctD, in a dctB+ dctD+ ntrC283 background high-level expression of dctA occurred in succinate but not in glucose-grown cells. This result suggested that in uninduced cells, inactive DCTD binds to the dctA promoter and prevents its activation by NTRC283. Consistent with the latter interpretation was the observation that overexpression of DCTD from a plasmid promoter prevents dctA expression and results in a Dct- phenotype. Moreover the Dct- phenotype resulting from the overexpression of dctD was dominant to ntrC283. Results from studies of the ability of ntrC283 to suppress the Dct- phenotype of dctB alleles, together with the finding that the Fix- phenotype of a particular dctB allele was dctD dependent, suggest that in particular dctB alleles, sufficient dctD transcription occurs such that the resulting inactive DCTD prevents activation of dctA transcription by NtrC283 or alternate symbiotic regulators. The latter suggestion is supported by the observation that in symbiosis, R. meliloti strains in which DCTD was overexpressed formed nodules which failed to fix nitrogen.
On Internet Traffic Classification: A Two-Phased Machine Learning Approach

Traffic classification utilizing flow measurement enables operators to perform essential network management. Flow accounting methods such as NetFlow are, however, considered inadequate for classification requiring additional packet-level information, host behaviour analysis, and specialized hardware limiting their practical adoption. This paper aims to overcome these challenges by proposing two-phased machine learning classification mechanism with NetFlow as input. The individual flow classes are derived per application through k-means and are further used to train a C5.0 decision tree classifier. As part of validation, the initial unsupervised phase used flow records of fifteen popular Internet applications that were collected and independently subjected to k-means clustering to determine unique flow classes generated per application. The derived flow classes were afterwards used to train and test a supervised C5.0 based decision tree. The resulting classifier reported an average accuracy of 92.37% on approximately 3.4 million test cases increasing to 96.67% with adaptive boosting. The classifier specificity factor which accounted for differentiating content specific from supplementary flows ranged between 98.37% and 99.57%. Furthermore, the computational performance and accuracy of the proposed methodology in comparison with similar machine learning techniques lead us to recommend its extension to other applications in achieving highly granular real-time traffic classification.
The Relationship between WTC Level and LLS Use among Turkish EFL Learners

Recent investigations in the field of applied linguistics have tended to transfer psychological concepts into second language acquisition. Willingness to communicate, as a psychological concept, has been taken as a research topic in the field. On the other hand, language learning strategy use has been accepted as a notion affecting the success in second/foreign language learning. In this respect, this study investigates the relationship between the levels of Willingness to Communicate inside the Classroom (WTC) and Language Learning Strategy (LLS) use among Turkish university students. 80 first-year university students responded to two questionnaires: WTC questionnaire developed by McIntyre et al (2001) and the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), version 5.1 by Oxford (1990). The results of the quantitative analyses, first, revealed that Turkish EFL learners were willing to communicate in the classroom in a range from half of the time to usually willing in both overall mean score and in separate components such as speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension. Second, the participants were found to be medium strategy users. Finally, correlation analyses showed that there was a significant positive correlation between these two concepts. In specific, certain aspects of the levels of WTC inside classroom matched with certain sub-components of the SILL. After the study, a number of recommendations for language learning and teaching as well as some implications for further research are provided
An Improved Parallel Prefix Algorithm on Otis-mesh

Wang and Sahni [4] reported two parallel algorithms for N-point prefix computation on an N-processor OTIS-Mesh optoelectronic computer. The overall time complexity for both SIMS and MIMD models of their first algorithm was shown to be (8 N1/4 - 1) electronic moves and 2 OTIS moves. This was further reduced to (7 N1/4 - 1) electronic moves and 2 OTIS moves in their second algorithm. We present here an improved parallel algorithm for N-point prefix computation on an N-processor OTIS-Mesh, which needs (5.5 N1/4 + 3) electronic moves and 2 OTIS moves. Our algorithm is based on the general theme of parallel prefix algorithm proposed in [4] but following the data distribution and local prefix computation similar to that of [1].
Structural Insights into the Protein Splicing Mechanism of PI-SceI*

PI-SceI is a member of a class of proteins (inteins) that excise themselves from a precursor protein and in the process ligate the flanking protein sequences (exteins). We report here the 2.1-Å resolution crystal structure of a PI-SceI miniprecursor (VMA29) containing 10 N-terminal extein residues and 4 C-terminal extein residues. Mutations at the N- and C-terminal splicing junctions, blocking in vivo protein splicing, allowed the miniprecursor to be purified and crystallized. The structure reveals both the N- and C-terminal scissile peptide bonds to be in distortedtrans conformations (τ ≈ 100°). Modeling of the wild-type PI-SceI based on the VMA29 structure indicates a large conformational change (movement of >9 Å) must occur to allow transesterification to be completed. A zinc atom was discovered at the C-terminal splicing junction. Residues Cys455, His453, and Glu80 along with a water molecule (Wat53) chelate the zinc atom. The crystal structure of VMA29 has captured the intein in its pre-spliced state.
Summer dormancy, drought survival and functional resource acquisition strategies in California perennial grasses.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Evidence suggests drought severity is increasing due to climate change, but strategies promoting severe drought survival in perennial grasses have been seldom explored. This is particularly true of summer dormancy, an adaptation common in summer-dry Mediterranean-type climates. In addition, though theory predicts superior drought survival results in lower potential productivity, studies rarely measure both drought survival and growth under optimal conditions. METHODS Physiological and functional ecological approaches were integrated to quantify interspecific variation in foliar and root traits in a suite of eight California perennial grass species. In a glasshouse experiment, summer dormancy, foliar functional trait variation, and seasonal growth and phenology under non-limiting water conditions and dehydration tolerance under progressive drought were quantified. In a second glasshouse study, root functional traits were quantified under non-limiting water conditions in rhizotrons. KEY RESULTS Summer dormancy was associated with higher dehydration tolerance, and negatively associated with traits conferring dehydration avoidance. Species with greater summer dormancy were characterized by greater springtime productivity, earlier reproduction, and a shallow and fine root system, which are indicative of dehydration escape. Summer dormancy was associated with an acquisitive, competitive functional strategy in spring, and a conservative strategy in summer. CONCLUSIONS Both the escape and acquisitive springtime strategies observed in summer dormant perennial taxa are typically associated with annual grasses. California grasslands were once dominated by perennial species, but have been overtaken by non-native Mediterranean annual grasses, which are expected to be further favoured by climate change. Owing to functional similarity with these exotic annuals, it is suggested that native summer dormant taxa may play an important ecological role in the future of both natural and restored California grasslands.
Towards simultaneous categorization and mapping among multimodalities based on subjective consistency

This paper proposes a method for acquiring categories in one modality and mappings between these categories and those in other modalities. Subjective consistency through multimodal mappings is introduced to judge to what extent a perceived signal and inferred ones from other modalities are reliable for categorization and mapping. Based on the proposed method, a simulated infant robot learns categories and mappings by using not only statistics on one perceptual modality but also mappings among the categories in other modalities. The proposed method enables partly simultaneous categorization and mappings.
Division of Giardia isolates from humans into two genetically distinct assemblages by electrophoretic analysis of enzymes encoded at 27 loci and comparison with Giardia muris

SUMMARY Giardia that infect humans are known to be heterogeneous but they are assigned currently to a single species, Giardia intestinalis (syn. G. lamblia). The genetic differences that exist within G. intestinalis have not yet been assessed quantitatively and neither have they been compared in magnitude with those that exist between G. intestinalis and species that are morphologically similar (G. duodenalis) or morphologically distinct (e.g. G. muris). In this study, 60 Australian isolates of G. intestinalis were analysed electrophoretically at 27 enzyme loci and compared with G. muris and a feline isolate of G. duodenalis. Isolates of G. intestinalis were distinct genetically from both G. muris (approximately 80% fixed allelic differences) and the feline G. duodenalis isolate (approximately 75% fixed allelic differences). The G. intestinalis isolates were extremely heterogeneous but they fell into 2 major genetic assemblages, separated by fixed allelic differences at approximately 60% of loci examined. The magnitude of the genetic differences between the G. intestinalis assemblages approached the level that distinguished the G. duodenalis isolate from the morphologically distinct G. muris. This raises important questions about the evolutionary relationships of the assemblages with Homo sapiens, the possibility of ancient or contemporary transmission from animal hosts to humans and the biogeographical origins of the two clusters.
Can the Placebo Be the Cure?

A promising new drug for depression failed to clear efficacy tests this year, illuminating a decades-old problem in psychopharmacology that researchers say deserves more study: the placebo effect, in which patients receiving a dummy pill do almost as well as those on the drug being tested, thereby wiping out the rationale for the new drug. Drug developers regard it as an occupational hazard that masks the effects of potentially useful compounds. But some psychiatrists and clinical psychologists are fascinated by the power of the placebo effect, viewing it not as a problem but as a source of insight into mental health. And a few go further, arguing that many compounds may be little more than sophisticated placebos themselves.