Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural Analysis of Respirasomes in Electron Transfer Pathway of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans: A Computer-Aided Molecular Designing Study

Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans obtains its metabolic energy by reducing extracellular ferrous iron with either downhill or uphill electron transfer pathway. The downhill electron transfer pathway has been substantially explored in recent years to underpin the mechanism of iron respiration but, there exists a wide gap in our present understanding on how these proteins are organized as a supercomplex and what sort of atomic level interactions governs their stability in the iron respiratory chain. In the present study, we aimed at unraveling the structural basis of supermolecular association of respirasomes using protein threading, protein-protein docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation protocols. Our results revealed that Phe312 of outer membrane cytochrome c plays a crucial role in diffusing electrons from heme C group to Asp73 of rusticyanin. In line with the previous experimental results, His143 of rusticyanin was found to have a stable interaction with Glu121 of periplasmic cytochrome c4. Cytochrome c4 interacts with subunit B of cytochrome c oxidase through Lys146 and Thr148 of the conserved hydrophobic/aromatic motif 145-WKWTFSY-151 to attain stability during simulation. Phe468 of cytochrome c oxidase was found indispensable for stabilizing heme aa3 during MD simulation. Taken together, we conclude that the molecular interactions of charged and hydrophobic amino acids present on the surface of each respirasome form a hypothetical electron wire in the iron respiratory supercomplex of A. ferrooxidans.
The Pierre-Robin syndrome: a surgical emergency in the neonatal period.

Summary This syndrome of congenital, small, recessive mandible, usually associated with a cleft of the soft palate, is described and possible causes for the symptomatology are discussed in the light of the series of cases under review. An operation for anterior fixation and the tongue is described, and complications and causes of death are listed and analysed. A table listing the results of treatment and subsequent progress of eighteen infants suffering from the Pierre-Robin syndrome is included. In our experience an infant suffering from a severe degree is this congenital abnormality is likely to present as an acute emergency, and it is our conviction that such a case should be treated surgically for relief of the respiratory crises. We believe that in many cases this line of treatment offers the only hope for continued suvival.
Dietary Yucca schidigera supplementation reduces arsenic-induced oxidative stress in Swiss albino mice

The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of dietary supplementation with Yucca schidigera (Ys) on lipid peroxidation (LPO), antioxidant activity, some biochemical parameters and histopathological changes in arsenic-exposed mice. Forty Swiss albino male mice were divided into five equal groups. Group I (control group) was given normal diet and tap water for 28 days. Group II (arsenic group) was given normal diet and 100 mg/L arsenic along with drinking water for 28 days. Groups III–V were given three different doses of Ys (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) in supplemented diet and arsenic (100 mg/L) along with drinking water throughout the entire period of 28 days. The arsenic significantly increased serum biochemical parameters and malondialdehyde levels in blood and tissue. However, arsenic significantly decreased tissue glutathione concentration, erythrocyte superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. In contrast, dietary supplementation of Ys, in a dose-dependent manner, resulted in reversal of arsenic-induced oxidative stress, LPO and activities of antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, Ys also exhibited protective action against the arsenic-induced focal gliosis and hyperemi in brain, necrosis and degeneration in liver, degeneration and dilatation in Bowman’s capsule of kidney and hyaline degeneration in heart tissue of mice. Consequently, our results demonstrate that Ys especially high-dose supplementation in diet decreases arsenic-induced oxidative stress and enhances the antioxidant defence mechanism and regenerate of tissues in Swiss albino mice.
The COMPASS Subunit Spp1 Links Histone Methylation to Initiation of Meiotic Recombination

Repair and Recombination In most sexually reproducing organisms, the haploid gametes are produced by meiosis, a specialized cell-division during which recombination between the parental chromosomes ensures proper chromosome segregation. Double-strand breaks (DSB) generated in the DNA drive this recombination and are linked to recombination hotspots in the chromatin where histone H3 is methylated on lysine residue 4 (H3K4me) by the Set1C/COMPASS enzyme complex. Acquaviva et al. (p. 215, published online 15 November) show that the Mer2/Mei4/Rec114 complex of the DSB generating machinery is linked to the Set1C/COMPASS enzyme complex through the Spp1 subunit, which contains a PHD-finger capable of binding to H3K4me. The Spp1 subunit recruits the Mer2 protein to sites where recombination will occur, probably by binding to both the H3K4me-marked chromatin and other factors. A protein involved in histone methylation targets the meiotic recombination machinery to chromatin. During meiosis, combinatorial associations of genetic traits arise from homologous recombination between parental chromosomes. Histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation marks meiotic recombination hotspots in yeast and mammals, but how this ubiquitous chromatin modification relates to the initiation of double-strand breaks (DSBs) dependent on Spo11 remains unknown. Here, we show that the tethering of a PHD-containing protein, Spp1 (a component of the COMPASS complex), to recombinationally cold regions is sufficient to induce DSB formation. Furthermore, we found that Spp1 physically interacts with Mer2, a key protein of the differentiated chromosomal axis required for DSB formation. Thus, by interacting with H3K4me3 and Mer2, Spp1 promotes recruitment of potential meiotic DSB sites to the chromosomal axis, allowing Spo11 cleavage at nearby nucleosome-depleted regions.
Collaborative estimation of gradient direction by a formation of AUVs under communication constraints

This work deals with the source-seeking problem in which the task is to locate the source of some signal using a fleet of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). The present paper proposes a distributed solution in which a group of vehicles uniformly distributed in a fixed circular formation, estimates the gradient direction of the signal propagation. The distributed algorithm takes into account the communication constraints and depends on direct signal measurements. Our approach is based on the previous results in formation control to stabilize the fleet in a circular formation with time-varying center and in a collaborative source-seeking algorithm. The results are supported through computer simulations.
DLR's torque-controlled light weight robot III-are we reaching the technological limits now?

A third generation of torque-controlled light weight robots has been developed in DLR's robotics and mechatronics lab which is based on all the experiences that have been had with the first two generations. It aims at reaching the limits of what seems achievable with present day technologies not only with respect to light-weight, but also with respect to minimal power consumption and losses. One of the main gaps we tried to close in version III was the development of a new, robot-dedicated high energy motor designed with the best available techniques of concurrent engineering, and the renewed efforts to save weight in the links by using ultralight carbon fibres.
Histological, ultrastructural and immunohistochemical studies on the protective effect of ginger extract against cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in male rats

Cisplatin (CP) is a widely used anticancer drug; however, it has several side effects such as nephrotoxicity. Ginger, the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, consumed since ancient times has numerous health benefits. The objective of this work was to evaluate the protective effect of ginger extract (GE) against CP-induced nephrotoxicity. CP group displayed a marked renal failure characterized by a significant increase in serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels in addition to severe histopathological and ultrastructural renal alterations. Also, CP group showed an increase in the immunohistochemical expression of Bax proapoptotic protein. In contrast, GE+CP group showed significant decrease in the elevated serum creatinine and BUN levels and an improvement in the histopathological and ultrastructural renal injury induced by CP. The overexpression of Bax proapoptotic protein was significantly decreased in the GE+CP group. Hence, the present results indicated that GE has a protective effect against CP-induced renal damage in rats. Thereby, such findings recommended the usage of GE to prevent and/or decrease the renal damage induced by CP chemotherapeutic treatment.
Double spherical joint and backlash clutch for lower limbs of humanoids

In this paper, we develop two mechanisms for improving humanoid robot motions. The double spherical joint is a six DOF mechanism whose axes intersect in one point. This mechanism is used for humanoid hip joints with a waist joint function without increasing the actuator. The backlash clutch realizes a high torque driving and a free joint using backlash mechanisms is used for knee joints. The free mode will play a role in humanoid behavior that is dynamically coupled with the environment. The humanoid robot with these two mechanisms is developed and results of preliminary experiments are shown.
Special Care Babies and their Developing Relationships

Anne McFadyen Routledge, £12.99, pp 194 ISBN 0 415 10614 1 In Special Care Babies and their Developing Relationships Anne McFadyen first provides a useful review of theoretical perspectives and outcome studies (10 impressive pages of references) and then switches to binocular vision. She differentiates “old science,” with its faith in single measurable objective truths, from “new science” (familiar to physicists), which grapples with uncertainty and accepts that truth is changeable and that the acts of observing and measuring cannot be processed out of knowing the real world. The heart of this book beats in the middle …
Similarity of Scattering Rates in Metals Showing T-Linear Resistivity

Quantum Critical Scattering The temperature (T) dependence of the electrical resistivity offers clues about the behavior of electrical carriers. One of the more puzzling observations is the T-linear resistivity found in systems known or suspected to exhibit quantum criticality, such as cuprate and organic superconductors, and heavy fermion materials; the origin of this behavior remains elusive. Bruin et al. (p. 804) find that the ruthenate Sr3Ru2O7 also exhibits T-linear resistivity in the vicinity of its quantum critical point, and that its scattering rate per kelvin is approximately given by the inverse of a characteristic time made up of the Planck and Boltzmann constants. A comprehensive analysis of other systems with T-linear resistivity, including ordinary metals at high temperatures, indicates that their scattering rates are similarly close to the characteristic rate. That the rates are similar across a wide range of materials with diverse microscopic scattering mechanisms may indicate universal behavior. Transport measurements show little variation across metals with resistivity that scales linearly with temperature. Many exotic compounds, such as cuprate superconductors and heavy fermion materials, exhibit a linear in temperature (T) resistivity, the origin of which is not well understood. We found that the resistivity of the quantum critical metal Sr3Ru2O7 is also T-linear at the critical magnetic field of 7.9 T. Using the precise existing data for the Fermi surface topography and quasiparticle velocities of Sr3Ru2O7, we show that in the region of the T-linear resistivity, the scattering rate per kelvin is well approximated by the ratio of the Boltzmann constant to the Planck constant divided by 2π. Extending the analysis to a number of other materials reveals similar results in the T-linear region, in spite of large differences in the microscopic origins of the scattering.
Investigation of cytotoxic, genotoxic and oxidative properties of carvacrol in human blood cells

Carvacrol (CVC), a major constituent of genera Origanum and Thymus, is such a substance that has attracted attention because of its wide variety of beneficial biological activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer effects. However, there are limited data on the cytogenetic and antioxidant effects of CVC in cultured human blood cells. The aim of this study was to investigate for the first time the genetic, oxidative, and cytotoxic effects of CVC in cultured human blood cells (n = 5). Human blood cells were treated with CVC (0–200 mg/L) for 24 and 48 h and then cytotoxicity detected by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and (3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl) 2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay, while DNA damage was also analyzed by micronucleus (MN) assay, chromosomal aberration (CA) assay and 8-oxo-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) level. In addition, biochemical parameters (total antioxidant capacity [TAC] and total oxidative stress [TOS]) were examined to determine the oxidative effects. The results of LDH and MTT assays showed that CVC (at concentrations above 100 mg/L) decreased cell viability. In our in vitro test systems, it was observed that CVC had no mutagenic effects on human lymphocytes. On the other hand, CVC (at 50, 75, and 100 mg/L) treatment caused statistically important (p < 0.05) increases in TAC and TOS levels (at 150 and 200 mg/L) on human lymphocytes. In conclusion, CVC can be a new resource of therapeutics as recognized in this study with their nonmutagenic and antioxidant features.
Adapting an immersive virtual reality system for rehabilitation

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the adaptations that have been done to VividGroup's Gesture Xtreme projected VR scenarios in order to facilitate their use in neurological rehabilitation. First, the scenarios and the adaptation (control of the type, speed, location and direction of all stimuli) are briefly described. The advantages and limitations of the adapted VR system as a rehabilitation tool are presented. Next, initial results and two examples of case studies, one a patient following stroke and one who requires balance training as a result of complete spinal cord injury, are used to illustrate applications of this VR system to rehabilitation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Flows of Research Manuscripts Among Scientific Journals Reveal Hidden Submission Patterns

Fathoming Publication Strategies While many studies have tracked numbers of citations after publication, such studies cannot reveal how prepublication dynamics affects subsequent citation history. Calcagno et al. (p. 1065, published online 11 October) surveyed the submission history of more than 80,000 articles published in 16 fields of biology in 2006–2008 and constructed a social network based on manuscript flows among scientific journals. High-impact journals occupied central positions in the network. A majority of manuscripts were published in the first journal to which they were submitted. However, submission history affected the post-publication impact (citation count) of articles, with manuscripts requiring resubmission eventually receiving more citations. A large-scale study of biological manuscript submission history reveals how authors strategically submit their research. The study of science-making is a growing discipline that builds largely on online publication and citation databases, while prepublication processes remain hidden. Here, we report on results from a large-scale survey of the submission process, covering 923 scientific journals from the biological sciences in years 2006 to 2008. Manuscript flows among journals revealed a modular submission network, with high-impact journals preferentially attracting submissions. However, about 75% of published articles were submitted first to the journal that would publish them, and high-impact journals published proportionally more articles that had been resubmitted from another journal. Submission history affected post-publication impact: Resubmissions from other journals received significantly more citations than first-intent submissions, and resubmissions between different journal communities received significantly fewer citations.
The arts in dementia care education: a developmental study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline the first stage of an innovative developmental study addressing the educational and emotional needs of dementia care home staff using arts-based materials. Design/methodology/approach – The arts workshop was developed using a mixed methods approach. This included ethnographic observation within a dementia care home, in-depth interviews with senior care home managers, a thematic analysis of focus groups and the development of a comic. At all stages, the multi-disciplinary project team collaborated closely with the care home staff. A comprehensive literature review of the policy, practice and academic background to dementia workforce education provided a contextual framework for the study. Perspectives from the medical humanities informed the project. Findings – Despite the high prevalence of people living with dementia in care homes, there is a lack of appropriate training for the workforce that provides their care. This study found that an arts-based works.
Statistical analysis and comparison of questionnaire results of subjective evaluations of seal robot in Japan and UK

This paper describes research on mental commit robot that seeks a different direction from industrial robot, and that is not so rigidly dependent on objective measures such as accuracy and speed. The main goal of this research is to explore a new area in robotics, with an emphasis on human-robot interaction. In the previous research, we categorized robots into four categories in terms of appearance. Then, we introduced a cat robot and a seal robot, and evaluated them by interviewing many people in Japan. The results showed that physical interaction improved subjective evaluation. Moreover, a priori knowledge of a subject has much influence into subjective interpretation and evaluation of mental commit robot. In this paper, 440 subjects evaluated the seal robot, Paro by questionnaires in an exhibition at Science Museum in London, UK. This paper reports the results of statistical analysis of evaluation data, and compares them with those obtained in Japan.
Unique Meteorite from Early Amazonian Mars: Water-Rich Basaltic Breccia Northwest Africa 7034

So Different and So Similar Most known meteorites from Mars fit into one class. Agee et al. (p. 780, published online 3 January; see the Perspective by Humayun) describe a meteorite, NWA 7034, which shares some characteristics with other martian meteorites but does not fit within the usual classification. NWA 7034 matches the composition of Mars' surface but is also richer in water than other martian meteorites, and has different oxygen isotope composition, which suggests the existence of multiple oxygen isotopic reservoirs within Mars. Its radiometric age of 2.1 billion years makes it a unique sample of the Amazonian period on Mars. Detailed analysis of a meteorite shows that it matches the surface of Mars yet is unlike any other martian meteorite. [Also see Perspective by Humayun] We report data on the martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, which shares some petrologic and geochemical characteristics with known martian meteorites of the SNC (i.e., shergottite, nakhlite, and chassignite) group, but also has some unique characteristics that would exclude it from that group. NWA 7034 is a geochemically enriched crustal rock compositionally similar to basalts and average martian crust measured by recent Rover and Orbiter missions. It formed 2.089 ± 0.081 billion years ago, during the early Amazonian epoch in Mars' geologic history. NWA 7034 has an order of magnitude more indigenous water than most SNC meteorites, with up to 6000 parts per million extraterrestrial H2O released during stepped heating. It also has bulk oxygen isotope values of Δ17O = 0.58 ± 0.05 per mil and a heat-released water oxygen isotope average value of Δ17O = 0.330 ± 0.011 per mil, suggesting the existence of multiple oxygen reservoirs on Mars.
A phase II trial of partially incompatible bone marrow transplantation for high‐risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children: prevention of graft rejection with anti‐LFA‐1 and anti‐CD2 antibodies

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from matched sibling donors has been useful for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children with a poor prognosis but is not available to more than two‐thirds of patients who do not have a matched allogeneic donor. This study was undertaken to assess one strategy of marrow graft rejection prevention when alternative marrow sources such as HLA‐phenoidentical unrelated volunteers and HLA‐partially incompatible relatives were used. Results have been compared with two matched groups of children with the same risks factors and disease status who underwent HLA‐genoidentical or autologous BMT. The conditioning regimen was the same for the three groups of patients; in the study group anti‐LFA‐1 and anti‐CD2 monoclonal antibodies combined with T‐cell depletion of the marrow was added to prevent graft rejection and graft‐versus‐host disease. Nineteen patients were included and followed for a median of 25 months (14 months to 3 years). Bone marrow engraftment occurred in 83% of the evaluable patients. Post‐transplantation infectious diseases were the most frequent causes of death in the study group, occurring in 31% of patients. No fatal infections occurred in the two control groups. Post‐transplantation relapse of leukaemia occurred in 26% of study group's patients, in 58% of autologous BMT control group's patients and in 5% of HLA‐genoidentical allogeneic group's patients. The event‐free survival was 83% in the HLA‐genoidentical control group, and 30% and 24% in the study group and in the autologous control group, respectively. In conclusion, a high rate of engraftment was achieved by the use of anti‐LFA‐1 and anti‐CD2 antibodies. Occurrence of a long‐lasting immunodeficiency, however, led to a high incidence of lethal infections and relapses. Combined approaches are therefore to be investigated accelerating immune reconstitution after transplantations of T‐depleted HLA partially incompatible marrow.