Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of quantum dots on different renal proximal tubule cell models and on gel-free renal tubules generated in vitro

Abstract We investigated the interactions of different types of human and porcine renal proximal tubule-derived cells with core-shell CdSe@ZnS quantum dots (QDs) coated with polymerized histidine-formaldehyde (pHF). The results revealed that porcine and human proximal tubule cells showed a markedly different uptake behavior. This applied to flat epithelial monolayers, as well as to proximal tubules formed on two-dimensional (2D) surfaces in vitro. Primary human cells were most sensitive to the cytotoxic effects of QDs, but displayed inter-donor variability, which appeared to depend on the state of differentiation. The results suggested that human proximal tubule-derived cells were more appropriate than porcine cells for in vitro nanotoxicology. Primary human cells might be suitable when their state of differentiation and inter-donor variability were well-controlled. Furthermore, the results suggested that gel-free proximal tubules formed in vitro could be used as test system to address uptake and transport of nanometer-sized particles in human renal structures.
FiveNovelPlasmid-Determined r-Lactamases

Five novel plasmid-determined I8-lactamases named TLE-1, OXA-4, OXA-5, OXA-6, and OXA-7 were detected in ampicillin-resistant isolates of Escherichia coli and carbenicillin-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. TLE-1 resembled TEM-1 in substrate profile and reactions with inhibitors but differed in isoelectric point (5.55) and enzyme banding pattern on flat-bed electrofocusing. OXA-4, OXA-5, OXA-6, and OXA-7 hydrolyzed oxacillin, methicillin, and cloxacillin readily but differed from OXA-1, OXA-2, and OXA-3 in substrate profiles, inhibitor reactions, and isoelectric points (7.5 to 7.8). OXA-4 and OXA-6 were unusual for members of the OXA group in their sensitivity to inhibition by cloxacillin. OXA-5 eand OXA-7 had isoelectric points close to that of SHV-1, emphasizing the need in ,-lactamase classification for studies in addition to isoelectric focusing. These five new enzymes bring the number of plasmid-determined ,-lactamases known in gram-negative organisms to more than 20. The evolution of such enzymatic diversity remains to be explored.
California's new Assembly and Senate districts: geographic disparities in health insurance coverage.

Author(s): Mendez-Luck, Carolyn A. ; Wallace, Steven P.; Yu, Hongjian; Meng, Ying-Ying; al., et | Abstract: This policy brief highlights the differences in uninurance rates among the new California Assembly and Senate districts resulting from redistricting based on the 2000 Census. Funded by The California Endowment, this report is particularly relevant at this time when the lack of health insurance has moved higher on political agendas at the state and national levels. Uninsured rates at the district levels are estimates created by a small-area-methodology with data from 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001), the March 2000-2002 Current Population Surveys, and the 2000 Census. This first-of-its-kind information contributes valuable and timely data needed by California’s community and health advocacy groups as well as legislators to support their respective policy development roles and to inform and focus their efforts on high-priority health and medical care issues, locally and statewide. In addition to the data presented in this policy brief, several supplemental California Assembly and Senate exhibits (tables and maps) are available on this Web site: maps by district of uninsured rates for children (ages 0-17) and for adults (ages 18-64); demographic tables of district population distributions by race/ethnicity and income-to-poverty ratios; and confidence intervals (or precision estimates) for the published uninsured rates. Among the key findings are: Rates of uninsurance are particularly acute in legislative districts located in the Central Valley and in Southern California. There are substantial geographic disparities in health insurance coverage for children and adults among the newly redrawn California Assembly and Senate districts. Legislative district uninsured rates range from a low of 7% for children ages 0-17 in Assembly District 15 to a high of 50% for adults ages 18-64 in Assembly District 46. Even the districts with the lowest rates of uninsurance have a considerable number of uninsured residents. For example, Assembly District 15 has 38,000 uninsured persons under age 65, and the Senate District with the lowest rate of uninsurance (SD 7) is home to 78,000 persons under age 65 who have no insurance. Key Policy Recommendation More extensive outreach efforts must be implemented to ensure that all children and adults who are eligible for public programs get enrolled into them. The findings in this brief identify the locations in the state where outreach and enrollment efforts can be most effective.
Myrtenal alleviates hyperglycaemia, hyperlipidaemia and improves pancreatic insulin level in STZ-induced diabetic rats

Abstract Context: Myrtenal is monoterpene a constituent of essential oils found mainly in herbs such as mint, pepper, cumin, etc. It exerts admirable pharmacological activities against many diseases including diabetes. Hyperlipidaemia is a secondary complication of diabetes and also a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Objective: The present study investigated the possible antihyperlipidaemic efficacy of myrtenal on plasma glucose, pancreatic insulin, plasma and tissue lipid levels in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Materials and methods: Diabetes was induced in male Wistar rats by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (40 mg/kg b.w.). Myrtenal (80 mg/kg) was administered orally to diabetic rats for a period of 28 d. Plasma glucose, pancreatic insulin, TC, TGs, FFAs, PLs, LDL-C, HDL-C, VLDL, atherogenic index, (HMG-CoA) reductase, LPL, LCAT and liver histology were analyzed. Results: Diabetic rats showed significantly (p < 0.05) increased plasma glucose (273.18 mg/dL), total cholesterol (142 mg/dL), triglycerides (126 mg/dL), free fatty acids (118 mg/dL), phospholipids (153 mg/dL), low-density lipoprotein (88.07 mg/dL), very low-density lipoprotein (25.2 mg/dL), atherogenic index, whereas a decrease in the levels of pancreatic insulin (97.48 ng/mg) and high-density lipoprotein (29.12 mg/dL). In addition, the activity of 3-hydroxy 3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase (0.94 HMG-CoA ratio/(mevalonate) increased significantly in contrast to the activities of lipoprotein lipase (4.87 μmoles of glycerol liberated/h/L) and lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (54.61 μmoles of cholesterol esterified/h/L) in diabetic rats. Treatment with myrtenal significantly (p < 0.05) improved the levels of plasma glucose, pancreatic insulin and lipid profiles. Moreover, the histopathological analysis of liver was also in agreement with the biochemical findings. Discussion and conclusions: The present study indicates that myrtenal possess antihyperglycaemic and antihyperlipidemic properties, and could potentially be a useful phytochemical in treating diabetes.
The Lon protease-like domain in the bacterial RecA paralog RadA is required for DNA binding and repair

Homologous recombination (HR) plays an essential role in the maintenance of genome integrity. RecA/Rad51 paralogs have been recognized as an important factor of HR. Among them, only one bacterial RecA/Rad51 paralog, RadA, is involved in HR as an accessory factor of RecA recombinase. RadA has a unique Lon protease-like domain (LonC) at its C terminus, in addition to a RecA-like ATPase domain. Unlike Lon protease, RadA's LonC domain does not show protease activity but is still essential for RadA-mediated DNA repair. Reconciling these two facts has been difficult because RadA's tertiary structure and molecular function are unknown. Here, we describe the hexameric ring structure of RadA's LonC domain, as determined by X-ray crystallography. The structure revealed the two positively charged regions unique to the LonC domain of RadA are located at the intersubunit cleft and the central hole of a hexameric ring. Surprisingly, a functional domain analysis demonstrated the LonC domain of RadA binds DNA, with site-directed mutagenesis showing that the two positively charged regions are critical for this DNA-binding activity. Interestingly, only the intersubunit cleft was required for the DNA-dependent stimulation of ATPase activity of RadA, and at least the central hole was essential for DNA repair function. Our data provide the structural and functional features of the LonC domain and their function in RadA-mediated DNA repair.
Isolation and characterization of nuclear microsatellite loci from Ceratopetalum apetalum (Cunoniaceae)

We identified 16 polymorphic nuclear microsatellite loci from an AG‐enriched library of Ceratopetalum apetalum. These loci were tested across two populations of C. apetalum, a single population of C. gummiferum and representatives of four other congeneric taxa. Fourteen loci were identified as polymorphic in at least one other species. These microsatellites will be used to look at population dynamics of species with varying distributions and presumed low dispersal capabilities within the genus Ceratopetalum.
Neural predictors of sensorimotor adaptation rate and savings

In this study, we investigate whether individual variability in the rate of visuomotor adaptation and multiday savings is associated with differences in regional gray matter volume and resting‐state functional connectivity. Thirty‐four participants performed a manual adaptation task during two separate test sessions, on average 9 days apart. Functional connectivity strength between sensorimotor, dorsal cingulate, and temporoparietal regions of the brain was found to predict the rate of learning during the early phase of the adaptation task. In contrast, default mode network connectivity strength was found to predict both the rate of learning during the late adaptation phase and savings. As for structural predictors, greater gray matter volume in temporoparietal and occipital regions predicted faster early learning, whereas greater gray matter volume in superior posterior regions of the cerebellum predicted faster late learning. These findings suggest that the offline neural predictors of early adaptation may facilitate the cognitive aspects of sensorimotor adaptation, supported by the involvement of temporoparietal and cingulate networks. The offline neural predictors of late adaptation and savings, including the default mode network and the cerebellum, likely support the storage and modification of newly acquired sensorimotor representations.
Bicalutamide Functions as an Androgen Receptor Antagonist by Assembly of a Transcriptionally Inactive Receptor*

Prostate cancers (PCa) that relapse after androgen deprivation therapy invariably express high levels of androgen receptor (AR) and AR-regulated genes. Most do not respond to secondary hormonal therapies, including AR antagonists, and the mechanisms of AR activation in these clinically androgen-independent tumors are unclear. Bicalutamide, the most widely used AR antagonist, is a competitive antagonist shown previously to stabilize AR association with cytosolic heat shock protein complexes. This study found nuclear AR expression in bicalutamide-treated androgen-independent PCa and found that bicalutamide could stimulate AR nuclear translocation. Moreover, specific DNA binding by the bicalutamide-liganded AR was demonstratedin vivo using a VP16-AR fusion protein and was confirmed by chromatin immunoprecipitation showing binding to the prostate-specific antigen enhancer in LNCaP PCa cells. Nonetheless, bicalutamide could not stimulate interactions between the AR N and C termini or recruitment of steroid receptor coactivator proteins (SRC-1 or -2), although SRC transfection augmented AR activity in the presence of dihydrotestosterone and inhibitory concentrations of bicalutamide. These results demonstrate that bicalutamide stimulates the assembly of a transcriptionally inactive AR on DNA and support altered coactivator (or corepressor) expression as a mechanism of bicalutamide-resistant androgen-independent PCa.
Distinguishing the Unexplainable from the Merely Unusual : Adding Explanations to Outliers to Discover and Detect Significant Complex Rare Events

Ensemble analysis is a widely used meta-algorithm for many data mining problems such as classification and clustering. Numerous ensemble-based algorithms have been proposed in the literature for these problems. Compared to the clustering and classification problems, ensemble analysis has been studied in a limited way in the outlier detection literature. In some cases, ensemble analysis techniques have been implicitly used by many outlier analysis algorithms, but the approach is often buried deep into the algorithm and not formally recognized as a generalpurpose meta-algorithm. This is in spite of the fact that this problem is rather important in the context of outlier analysis. This talk discusses the various methods which are used in the literature for outlier ensembles and the general principles by which such analysis can be made more effective. A discussion is also provided on how outlier ensembles relate to the ensemble-techniques used commonly for other data mining problems. Bio Charu Aggarwal is a Research Scientist at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. He completed his B.S. from IIT Kanpur in 1993 and his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1996. His research interest during his Ph.D. years was in combinatorial optimization (network flow algorithms), and his thesis advisor was Professor James B. Orlin . He has since worked in the field of performance analysis, databases, and data mining. He has published over 200 papers in refereed conferences and journals, and has applied for or been granted over 80 patents. Because of the commercial value of the above-mentioned patents, he has received several invention achievement awards and has thrice been designated a Master Inventor at IBM. He is a recipient of an IBM Corporate Award (2003) for his work on bio-terrorist threat detection in data streams, a recipient of the IBM Outstanding Innovation Award (2008) for his scientific contributions to privacy technology, and a recipient of an IBM Research Division Award (2008) for his scientific contributions to data stream research. He has served on the program committees of most major database/data mining conferences, and served as program vice-chairs of the SIAM Conference on Data Mining , 2007, the IEEE ICDM Conference, 2007, the WWW Conference 2009, and the IEEE ICDM Conference, 2009. He served as an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering Journal from 2004 to 2008. He is an associate editor of the ACM TKDD Journal , an action editor of the Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery Journal , an associate editor of the ACM SIGKDD Explorations, and an associate editor of the Knowledge and Information Systems Journal. He is a fellow of the IEEE for "contributions to knowledge discovery and data mining techniques", and a life-member of the ACM. Copyright is held by the author. ODD’13, August 11, 2013, Chicago, IL, USA. ACM 978-1-4503-2335-2.
Effects of Condensed Tannins on Endoglucanase Activity and Filter Paper Digestion by Fibrobacter succinogenes S85

The effect of condensed tannins from birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) on the cellulolytic rumen bacterium Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 was examined. Condensed tannins inhibited endoglucanase activity in the extracellular culture fluid, at concentrations as low as 25 μg ml-1. In contrast, cell-associated endoglucanase activity increased in concentrations of condensed tannins between 100 and 300 μg ml-1. Inhibition of endoglucanase activity in both the extracellular and the cell-associated fractions was virtually complete at 400 μg of condensed tannins ml-1. Despite the sharp decline in extracellular endoglucanase activity with increasing concentrations of condensed tannins, filter paper digestion declined only moderately between 0 and 200 μg of condensed tannins ml-1. However, at 300 μg ml-1, filter paper digestion was dramatically reduced and at 400 μg ml-1, almost no filter paper was digested. F. succinogenes S85 was seen to form digestive grooves on the surface of cellulose, and at 200 μg ml-1, digestive pits were formed which penetrated into the interior of cellulose fibers. Cells grown with condensed tannins (100 to 300 μg ml-1) possessed large amounts of surface material, and although this material may have been capsular carbohydrate, its osmiophilic nature suggested that it had arisen from the formation of tannin-protein complexes on the cell surface. The presence of electron-dense extracellular material suggested that similar complexes were formed with extracellular protein.
The Kaplan Meier Estimate in Survival Analysis

Kaplan-Meier is a statistical method used in the analysis of time to event data. Time to event means the time from entry into a study until a particular event, for example onset of illness. This method is very useful in survival analysis as it is used by the researchers to determine and/or analyze the patients or participants who lost to follow up or dropped out of the study, those who developed the disease of interest or survived it. It is also used to compare two groups of subjects such as a control group, the one that is given placebo and the other treatment group that is the one given the genuine drug. The method is not only applicable to the fields of public health, medicine and epidemiology, but it is also useful in other disciplines such as engineering, economics, among others. Most of the studies that use Kaplan Meier estimate are longitudinal in nature like a cohort study. Examples of studies that Kaplan-Meier estimate can be applicable include death times of kidney transplant patients, times to infection for burn patients and times to death for a breast-cancer trial. A fictive data was created concerning the treatment and control groups who were given Drug A and placebo respectively. The participants in each these two groups are ten and they were followed for 2 years (24 months). A survival table and Kaplan-Meier estimate curve were generated from the SPSS software using the fictive data and these were used to analyze the 24 month study.
Pebble Automata for Data Languages : Expressiveness and Decidability

In this paper we study pebble automata (PA) for data languages. Namely, we show that the expressive power of PA increases as the number of pebbles increases and that PA is strictly less expressive than monadic second order logic. We also determine a subclass of PA languages for which the emptiness problem is decidable. This subclass is robust: The alternating, nondeterministic and deterministic versions are all equally powerful. It is also strong enough to capture all data languages expressible in Linear Temporal Logic with one register freeze quantifier and the future-time operators.
Mathematical modelling of host-parasitoid systems: effects of chemically mediated parasitoid foraging strategies on within- and between-generation spatio-temporal dynamics.

In this paper we develop a novel discrete, individual-based mathematical model to investigate the effect of parasitoid foraging strategies on the spatial and temporal dynamics of host-parasitoid systems. The model is used to compare naïve or random search strategies with search strategies that depend on experience and sensitivity to semiochemicals in the environment. It focuses on simple mechanistic interactions between individual hosts, parasitoids, and an underlying field of a volatile semiochemical (emitted by the hosts during feeding) which acts as a chemoattractant for the parasitoids. The model addresses movement at different spatial scales, where scale of movement also depends on the internal state of an individual. Individual interactions between hosts and parasitoids are modelled at a discrete (micro-scale) level using probabilistic rules. The resulting within-generation dynamics produced by these interactions are then used to generate the population levels for successive generations. The model simulations examine the effect of various key parameters of the model on (i) the spatio-temporal patterns of hosts and parasitoids within generations; (ii) the population levels of the hosts and parasitoids between generations. Key results of the model simulations show that the following model parameters have an important effect on either the development of patchiness within generations or the stability/instability of the population levels between generations: (i) the rate of diffusion of the kairomones; (ii) the specific search strategy adopted by the parasitoids; (iii) the rate of host increase between successive generations. Finally, evolutionary aspects concerning competition between several parasitoid subpopulations adopting different search strategies are also examined.
Q-switching instability in a mode-locked semiconductor laser

We suggest semianalytic estimates for the Q-switching instability boundary of the continuous-wave (cw) mode-locking regime domain for a ring-cavity semiconductor laser. We use a differential delay laser model that allows us to assume large gain and loss in the cavity, which is a typical situation for this class of lasers. The Q-switching instability boundary is obtained as a Neimark-Sacker bifurcation curve of a map describing the transformation of pulse parameters after a round trip in the cavity. We study the dependence of this boundary on laser parameters and show that our theoretical results are in qualitative agreement with the experimental data obtained with a passively mode-locked monolithic semiconductor laser.
Thermal analysis of electromagnetic levitation coil

This paper presents analytical and numerical thermal analysis of three different toroidal coils levitated on an aluminum plate. The analytical method consists of a network of thermal resistances that make it possible to estimate the average temperature of the coils. In the numerical method, by using the FEM thermal and magnetic analysis, the average temperature of the coils and the amount of the in-rush levitation current are calculated. All the numerical and analytical results are compared with experimental results and they show very good agreement. The effects of optimization parameters on the levitation system are considered.
Cis‐acting Allelic Variation in MUC5B mRNA Expression is Associated with Different Promoter Haplotypes

Mucins play a critical role in protecting and clearing the airways of noxious materials. Genetic variation that influences this environmental response is likely to affect respiratory disease susceptibility. It has been reported previously that variation in the promoter of MUC5B, the gene that encodes one of the two major gel‐forming mucins (MUC5B) of the mucus of the respiratory tract, is associated with susceptibility to diffuse panbronchiolitis, and that a genetic difference in promoter activity can be detected in vitro. The aim of this study was to determine whether this genetic difference in promoter activity can be detected in vivo. Here, we undertake RNA transcript expression studies, making use of human fetal tissue to explore constitutive differences. We compare in vivo transcript expression levels in heterozygotes and use the Bayesian method, PHASE to associate exonic simple nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with promoter SNPs to generate haplotypes. We successfully show haplotypic differences in MUC5B expression in vivo. This genetic variation should be taken into account in future studies on MUC5B in respiratory disease.