Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Title Crosslinking-induced endocytosis of acetylcholine receptors byquantum dots

In a majority of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies target postsynaptic AChR clusters and thus compromise the membrane integrity of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) and lead to muscle weakness. Antibody-induced endocytosis of AChRs in the postsynaptic membrane represents the initial step in the pathogenesis of MG; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying AChR endocytosis remain largely unknown. Here, we developed an approach to mimic the pathogenic antibodies for inducing the crosslinking and internalization of AChRs from the postsynaptic membrane. Using biotin-a-bungarotoxin and quantum dot (QD)-streptavidin, cell-surface and internalized AChRs could be readily distinguished by comparing the size, fluorescence intensity, trajectory, and subcellular localization of the QD signals. QD-induced AChR endocytosis was mediated by clathrin-dependent and caveolin-independent mechanisms, and the trafficking of internalized AChRs in the early endosomes required the integrity of microtubule structures. Furthermore, activation of the agrin/MuSK (muscle-specific kinase) signaling pathway strongly suppressed QDinduced internalization of AChRs. Lastly, QD-induced AChR crosslinking potentiated the dispersal of aneural AChR clusters upon synaptic induction. Taken together, our results identify a novel approach to study the mechanisms of AChR trafficking upon receptor crosslinking and endocytosis, and demonstrate that agrin-MuSK signaling pathways protect against crosslinking-induced endocytosis of AChRs. Citation: Lee CW, Zhang H, Geng L, Peng HB (2014) Crosslinking-Induced Endocytosis of Acetylcholine Receptors by Quantum Dots. PLoS ONE 9(2): e90187. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0090187 Editor: William Phillips, University of Sydney, Australia Received November 8, 2013; Accepted January 31, 2014; Published February 25, 2014 Copyright: 2014 Lee et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This study was partly supported by a research development grant (186316) from Muscular Dystrophy Association and a start-up grant (2012-067-SU-01) from National University of Singapore to C.W. L. , and a General Research Fund grant (662312) from Hong Kong Research Grants Council to H.B. P. and C.W. L. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: leechiwai@nuhs.edu. sg (CWL); penghb@ust.hk (HBP) . These authors contributed equally to this work. ¤ Current address: Department of Education, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing, China
Neurobiology of Inflammation-Associated Anorexia

Compelling data demonstrate that inflammation-associated anorexia directly results from the action of pro-inflammatory factors, primarily cytokines and prostaglandins E2, on the nervous system. For instance, the aforementioned pro-inflammatory factors can stimulate the activity of peripheral sensory neurons, and induce their own de novo synthesis and release into the brain parenchyma and cerebrospinal fluid. Ultimately, it results in the mobilization of a specific neural circuit that shuts down appetite. The present article describes the different cell groups and neurotransmitters involved in inflammation-associated anorexia and examines how they interact with neural systems regulating feeding such as the melanocortin system. A better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying inflammation-associated anorexia will help to develop appetite stimulants for cancer and AIDS patients.
Effect of the Impact Load on Joining Region of the Friction Stir Jointing for 7022 Aluminum Alloy

The impact experiment of the joining workpiece of the friction stir jointing for 7022 aluminum alloy was made by the impact load experiment machine. The objective was studying the effect of the different joining process parameters of the FSJ on impact toughness. The results showed the impact toughness of the joining region was lower than that of the base metal when the rotation speed of the tool was 300rpm and the feed speed was 30 and 50mm•min-1, the impact toughness of the joining region of the other joining process parameters was higher than that of the base metal. The impact toughness of the joining region was the best when the rotation speed of the tool was 400rpm and the feed speed was 100mm•min-1. It is higher than 22.3% of the base metal. The impact fracture of the joining region was mainly dimple; only fracture edge appeared a small amount of the quasi cleavage. The fracture presented good toughness.
Symmetries and control in generative neural nets

We study generative nets which can control and modify observations, after being trained on real-life datasets. In order to zoom-in on an object, some spatial, color and other attributes are learned by classifiers in specialized attention nets. In field-theoretical terms, these learned symmetry statistics form the gauge group of the data set. Plugging them in the generative layers of auto-classifiers-encoders (ACE) appears to be the most direct way to simultaneously: i) generate new observations with arbitrary attributes, from a given class, ii) describe the low-dimensional manifold encoding the "essence" of the data, after superfluous attributes are factored out, and iii) organically control, i.e., move or modify objects within given observations. We demonstrate the sharp improvement of the generative qualities of shallow ACE, with added spatial and color symmetry statistics, on the distorted MNIST and CIFAR10 datasets.
In situ single photon confocal imaging of cardiomyocyte T-tubule system from Langendorff-perfused hearts

Transverse tubules (T-tubules) are orderly invaginations of the sarcolemma in mammalian cardiomyocytes. The integrity of T-tubule architecture is critical for cardiac excitation–contraction coupling function. T-tubule remodeling is recognized as a key player in cardiac dysfunction. Early studies on T-tubule structure were based on electron microscopy, which uncovered important information about the T-tubule architecture. The advent of fluorescent membrane probes allowed the application of confocal microscopy to investigations of T-tubule structure. Studies have now been extended beyond single cardiomyocytes to examine the T-tubule network in intact hearts through in situ confocal imaging of Langendorff-perfused hearts. This technique has allowed visualization of T-tubule organization in their natural habitat, avoiding the damage induced by isolation of cardiomyocytes. Additionally, it is possible to obtain T-tubule images in different subepicardial regions in a single intact heart. We review how this state-of-the-art imaging technique has provided important mechanistic insights into maturation of T-tubules in developing hearts and defined the role of T-tubule remodeling in development and progression of heart failure.
MEK1/2 Regulates Microtubule Organization, Spindle Pole Tethering and Asymmetric Division During Mouse Oocyte Meiotic Maturation

It is well known that MAPK plays pivotal roles in oocyte maturation, but the function of MEK (MAPK kinase) remains unknown. We have studied the expression, subcellular localization and functional roles of MEK during meiotic maturation of mouse oocytes. We found that MEK1/2 phoshorylation (p-MEK1/2, indicative of MEK activation) was low in GV (germinal vesicle) stage, increased 2h after GVBD (germinal vesicle breakdown), and reached the maximum at metaphase II. Secondly, we found that P-MEK1/2 was restricted in the GV prior to GVBD. In prometaphase I and metaphase I, p-MEK1/2 was mainly associated with the spindle, especially with the spindle poles. At anaphase I and telophase I, p-MEK1/2 became diffusely distributed in the region between the separating chromosomes, and then became associated with the midbody. The association of p-MEK1/2 with spindle poles was further confirmed by its colocalization with the centrosomal proteins, γ-tubulin and NuMA. Thirdly, we have investigated the possible functional role of MEK1/2 activation by intravenous administration and intrabursal injection of a specific MEK inhibitor, U0126, and by microinjection of MEK siRNA into oocytes. All these manipulations cause disorganized spindle poles and spindle structure, misaligned chromosomes and larger than normal polar bodies. Our results suggest that MEK1/2 may function as a centrosomal protein and may have roles in microtubule organization, spindle pole tethering and asymmetric division during mouse oocyte maturation.
A novel approach to communications for DVB-T and DVB-H

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) is a system that is now used in a number of communication systems. It is a powerful technique that uses an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) at the transmitter to modulate a high bit-rate signal onto a number of carriers. The problem with this technique is that it is inherently inflexible and requires a complex IFFT core. This paper provides an analysis of a new technique that will offer an alternative to OFDM called Orthogonal Wavelet Division Multiplex that has a lower computational complexity and increased flexibility. This paper provides the next level analysis of this new system comparing different wavelet filters.
The Prediction of Fatigue Crack Initiation Life in Spot Welds

Abstract: In this paper, strain‐based fatigue life prediction method has been used to estimate the fatigue crack initiation life of spot‐welded joints of Mild Steel JSC270D and Ultra‐High Strength Steel JSC980Y. To do so, the joints were simulated using three‐dimensional finite‐element (FE) models, and then nonlinear FE analysis was performed to obtain the local stress and strain ranges and finally, the Morrow equation was applied to estimate the crack initiation lives. The results have been compared with those obtained from experimental crack growth morphology. In addition, the difference between fatigue limits for smooth specimens and spot‐welded joints for mentioned materials has been briefly discussed. It has been shown that mean stress values in the Ultra‐High Strength Steel can significantly decrease the fatigue limit of spot‐welded joint because even at very low load level the stresses exceed the yield point at the root of nugget of spot‐welded joint, while the amount of mean stress in the Mild Steel for the same load level is much less than that of Ultra‐High Strength Steel. The comparison between numerical results of fatigue crack initiation lives and experimental data provided good agreement between numerical predictions and crack growth morphology observations. The results also shows that in some cases, depending on the joint type, the life spent in the nucleation phase can be an important part of the final failure lifetime.
Screening of Matrix Metalloproteinases Available from the Protein Data Bank: Insights into Biological Functions, Domain Organization, and Zinc Binding Groups

A total of 142 matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) X-ray crystallographic structures were retrieved from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) and analyzed by an automated and efficient routine, developed in-house, with a series of bioinformatic tools. Highly informative heat maps and hierarchical clusterograms provided a reliable and comprehensive representation of the relationships existing among MMPs, enlarging and complementing the current knowledge in the field. Multiple sequence and structural alignments permitted better location and display of key MMP motifs and quantification of the residue consensus at each amino acid position in the most critical binding subsites of MMPs. The MMP active site consensus sequences, the C-alpha root-mean-square deviation (RMSd) analysis of diverse enzymatic subsites, and the examination of the chemical nature, binding topologies, and zinc binding groups (ZBGs) of ligands extracted from crystallographic complexes provided useful insights on the structural arrangements of the most potent MMP inhibitors.
Serum complement determinations in patients with quiescent systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether complement component analyses during a period of inactive disease can define clinically important subgroups and predict morbidity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS We identified 277 patients with SLE whose disease became clinically inactive at some point after diagnosis. Serum samples were obtained at that time and tested for total complement activity (CH100) and antigenic levels of C1q, C1r, C1s, C3 and C4. Results of complement determinations were correlated with demographic characteristics and clinical findings in the followup period (mean observation period 4.25 years). RESULTS We identified 25 (9%) patients with multiple complement determinations below the normal range. 24 other patients (8.5%) had a very low level of a single complement component. The group with multiple complement determinations below the normal range was much more likely than the normocomplementemic SLE controls to progress to renal insufficiency. In other respects, complement component determinations were neither reflective nor predictive of clinical course. CONCLUSION In this group of patients with inactive SLE, complement component analyses did not generally correlate with longterm outcome; however, multiple low complement component determinations during disease quiescence was associated with increased risk of renal insufficiency.
Mining Domain Information from Social Contents Based on News Categories

In this paper, to help users find the domain information from tweets they are interested in and further support the work of domain explorers and social content retrieval, a classification method on the social contents in Twitter is proposed, based on news categories. The classification method uses traditional "bag of words" features and explicit features extracted from tweets to facilitate the classification. Since data sparseness is always a serious problem when considering "bag of words" features in the text classification, we further employ dimensionality reduction methods on "bag of words" features and observe their performances. The experimental results show that 1) our proposed method can achieve good performances in the tweet classification and 2) using dimensionality reduction methods can achieve higher accuracy than not using them.
Antioxidant and Anti‐Inflammatory Properties of the Citrus Flavonoids Hesperidin and Hesperetin: An Updated Review of their Molecular Mechanisms and Experimental Models

Inflammation and oxidative stress are two major causes of various life‐threatening diseases. Hesperidin (Hsd) and its aglycone, hesperetin (Hst), are two flavonoids from citrus species that have numerous biological properties, particularly antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory. New findings showed that the antioxidant activity of Hsd/Hst was not only limited to its radical scavenging activity, but it augmented the antioxidant cellular defenses via the ERK/Nrf2 signaling pathway as well. Various in vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted to evaluate Hsd, its metabolites, or its synthetic derivatives at reducing inflammatory targets including NF‐κB, iNOS, and COX‐2, and the markers of chronic inflammation. In this review, new findings regarding the molecular targets of Hsd and Hst in the reduction of oxidative stress are discussed. Also, in the anti‐inflammatory section, we provide a summary of significant investigations concerning the mechanisms of action based on the studied inflammation models. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Increased Resin Collection after Parasite Challenge: A Case of Self-Medication in Honey Bees?

The constant pressure posed by parasites has caused species throughout the animal kingdom to evolve suites of mechanisms to resist infection. Individual barriers and physiological defenses are considered the main barriers against parasites in invertebrate species. However, behavioral traits and other non-immunological defenses can also effectively reduce parasite transmission and infection intensity. In social insects, behaviors that reduce colony-level parasite loads are termed “social immunity. ” One example of a behavioral defense is resin collection. Honey bees forage for plant-produced resins and incorporate them into their nest architecture. This use of resins can reduce chronic elevation of an individual bee's immune response. Since high activation of individual immunity can impose colony-level fitness costs, collection of resins may benefit both the individual and colony fitness. However the use of resins as a more direct defense against pathogens is unclear. Here we present evidence that honey bee colonies may self-medicate with plant resins in response to a fungal infection. Self-medication is generally defined as an individual responding to infection by ingesting or harvesting non-nutritive compounds or plant materials. Our results show that colonies increase resin foraging rates after a challenge with a fungal parasite (Ascophaera apis: chalkbrood or CB). Additionally, colonies experimentally enriched with resin had decreased infection intensities of this fungal parasite. If considered self-medication, this is a particularly unique example because it operates at the colony level. Most instances of self-medication involve pharmacophagy, whereby individuals change their diet in response to direct infection with a parasite. In this case with honey bees, resins are not ingested but used within the hive by adult bees exposed to fungal spores. Thus the colony, as the unit of selection, may be responding to infection through self-medication by increasing the number of individuals that forage for resin.
Energy-level structure of nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots

The doping of carbon-based materials is of great importance due to its ability to modulate their optical, electrical and optoelectronic properties. Nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) have received significant attention due to their superior electrocatalytic activity, optical properties and biocompatibility. The energy-level structure of N-GQDs remains unknown, which hinders the development of N-GQDs for various applications. Here, we report a one-pot synthesis method to prepare large-quantity N-GQDs at room temperature and atmospheric pressure under a prolonged reaction time. Using this approach, we can effectively dope N into the N-GQDs. As revealed by electron energy loss spectroscopy, N-doping introduces a new energy level into the electronic structure, which is responsible for tuning the optical properties of the N-GQDs.
Effect of SF 6 flow rate on the etched surface profile and bottom grass formation in deep reactive ion etching process

While deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) has proven to be a boon for silicon micromachining applications, certain factors still exist which affect the satisfactory performance of DRIE. Some of the process limitations include bottom grass formation, RIE lag, loading and notching effects and aspect ratio dependent etching. This paper presents the effect of SF6 flow rate and etching/passivation cycle time on the etched shape profile and bottom grass formation. Rectangular trenches of varying widths are etched using Alcatel etching system. Critical DRIE process parameters, such as SF6 flow rate and ratio of etching and passivation cycle time, are varied to explore the dependence of etched shape profile on these parameters. It is found that low SF6 flow rate, i.e. 250 sccm, results in relatively smooth bottom surface. As SF6 flow rate is increased, bottom surface roughness increases and grass forms on the bottom of etched trenches. Shape of etched surface profile was found to be changed from positive profile to negative profile, when the SF6 flow rate was increased. Ratio of etching/passivation cycle was also found to be critical for prevention of bottom grass formation. DRIE process parameters were optimised to get smooth and vertical sidewalls.
DISTURBANCE ESTIMATION AND CANCELLATION FOR LINEAR UNCERTAIN SYSTEMS

Abstract This paper considers a class of linear uncertain systems in which the uncertainty is an additive perturbation of a known (nominal) linear model. It is supposed that the uncertainty and/or disturbance is known to be bounded, but its bound is unkown. A novel, easy to implement, adaptive feedback control law is designed to estimate the bounded disturbance on-line. This information is then used to cancel the effect of the disturbance in the system. The main advantage is that, if further design objectives are to be realized (for example, with respect to a tracking problem), the controls can be designed on the information from the nominal model only and not on the uncertain model.
Effect of Rare Earth Addition in Plasma Nitriding on Microstructure of Chromium Electro-Plating

As an active metal, chromium is easy to form oxides film on the surface, which acts as an obstacle to the nitrogen diffusion in plasma nitriding. Rare earth (RE) was introduced into the conventional plasma nitriding (CPN) to improve the nitriding behavior. Chromium coatings were treated by CPN and rare earth plasma nitriding (REPN) at 620°C for 5 and 10 hours respectively. Comparative study showed that the addition of RE prompted greatly the formation of higher nitrogen containing phase CrN, rather than Cr2N. It created a crack-free, much denser and thicker nitrides layer, which contributed to the increase of hardness. The dynamic ultra micro hardness of the samples treated by REPN was nearly 1600GPa, which was much higher than the original and the CPN treated samples. The conclusion could be drawn that compared to CPN, REPN are more efficient for chromium coating nitriding.
Characteristics of Non-typhoidal Salmonella Isolates from Human and Broiler-chickens in Southwestern Seoul, Korea

Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) is an important commensal microorganism. The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiological relation between NTS isolates from livestock and NTS isolates from human by analyzing antimicrobial susceptibilities and performing molecular typing. We determined the serotypes of 36 human clinical isolates and 64 livestock isolates, performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing against 8 antibiotics, and determined the molecular types of isolated NTS spp. by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). In human isolates, S. enteritidis was the most common serotype (17 isolates; 47.2%) and S. typhimurium the second most (8 isolates; 22.2%). In livestock isolates, S. typhimurium was the most common serotype (15 isolates; 23.44%), and S. enteritidis was the second most (14 isolates; 21.88%). Ampicillin and tetracycline resistance were 50% (32/64 isolates) each among broiler-chicken NTS isolates. No human or livestock NTS isolates showed resistance to ciprofloxacin, TMP-SMX, or ceftriaxone. However, 19.4% (7/36) and 46.8% (30/64) of the human and livestock NTS isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid (MIC ≥16 mg/mL), respectively. The presence of the three identical PFGE molecular types from human and broiler-chicken NTS isolates suggests the possibility of transmission from livestock to humans.