Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A unifying theory for physiological transmembrane transport derived from thermodynamic principles

Cellular homeostasis involves transmembrane molecular transport mediated by membrane-spanning proteins. Such proteins either carry the molecules across the membrane, or facilitate their diffusion. A generic formulation that describes transmembrane fluxes, derived from basic thermodynamic principles, and describing fluxes mediated by carrier proteins or by open channels using the same functional form is presented here. An alternative derivation from the Nernst-Planck equation that yields the same generic formulation can be obtained for the case of channel- mediated electrodiffusion. In general terms, the generic formulation is a product of an amplitude and a driving force. The amplitude models properties of the protein mediating the transport including basal rates of transport. The driving force term that depends non-linearly on the transmembrane concentrations of the molecules being transported, and possibly the transmembrane potential. The model applied for channel mediated currents is capable of displaying rectification. Further, an extension for channel gating derived en passage allows fitting of currents recorded in voltage-clamp without using powers for the gating variables. The generic formulation explicitly shows that the basal rate at which ions cross the membrane is the main macroscopic difference between currents mediated by carrier proteins and channels. Many functional forms that were not always derived from the same assumptions can be found in modelling studies of transmembrane transport, especially those studies focusing on the membrane potential of excitable cells. The derivations presented here unify the theory of biological transmembrane transport. Of particular interest, electrogenic transmembrane fluxes described with the general formulation can be converted to currents for the construction of models of membrane excitability; all based on the same assumptions and having the same functional form. The applicability of the generic derivations presented here is illustrated with models of excitability for neurones and pacemaker cardiocytes.
Efficient Relay Selection Scheme based on Fuzzy Logic for Cooperative Communication

The performance of cooperative network can be increased by using relay selection technique. Therefore, interest in relay selection is sloping upward. We proposed two new relay selection schemes based on fuzzy logic for dual hop cooperative communication. These relay selection schemes require SNR (signal to noise ratio), cooperative gain and channel gain as input fuzzy parameters for selection of best relay. The performance of first proposed relay selection scheme is evaluated in term of BER (bit error rate) in Nakagami, Rician and Rayleigh fading channels. In second proposed relay selection scheme, threshold is used with the objective to minimize the power consumption and channel estimation load. Its performance is analyzed in term of BER, number of active relays and load of number of channel estimations.
Optogenetic control of insulin secretion in intact pancreatic islets with β-cell-specific expression of Channelrhodopsin-2

Insulin is secreted from the pancreatic β-cells in response to elevated glucose. In intact islets the capacity for insulin release is determined by a complex interplay between different cell types. This has made it difficult to specifically assess the role of β-cell defects to the insulin secretory impairment in type 2 diabetes. Here we describe a new approach, based on optogenetics, that enables specific investigation of β-cells in intact islets. We used transgenic mice expressing the light-sensitive cation channel Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) under control of the insulin promoter. Glucose tolerance in vivo was assessed using intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests, and glucose-induced insulin release was measured from static batch incubations. ChR2 localization was determined by fluorescence confocal microscopy. The effect of ChR2 stimulation with blue LED light was assessed using Ca2+ imaging and static islet incubations. Light stimulation of islets from transgenic ChR2 mice triggered prompt increases in intracellular Ca2+. Moreover, light stimulation enhanced insulin secretion in batch-incubated islets at low and intermediate but not at high glucose concentrations. Glucagon release was not affected. Beta-cells from mice rendered diabetic on a high-fat diet exhibited a 3.5-fold increase in light-induced Ca2+ influx compared with mice on a control diet. Furthermore, light enhanced insulin release also at high glucose in these mice, suggesting that high-fat feeding leads to a compensatory potentiation of the Ca2+ response in β-cells. The results demonstrate the usefulness and versatility of optogenetics for studying mechanisms of perturbed hormone secretion in diabetes with high time-resolution and cell-specificity.
The Magic Machine Workshops: Making Personal Design Knowledge

New technologies emerge into an increasingly complex everyday life. How can we engage users further into material practices that explore ideas and notions of these new things? This paper proposes a set of qualities for short, intense, workshop-like experiences, created to generate strong individual commitments, and expose underlying personal desires as drivers for ideas. By making use of open-ended making to engage participants in the imagination of new things, we aim to allow a broad range of knowledge to materialise, focused on the making of work that is about technology, rather than of technology.
Contribution of the subfornical organ to angiotensin II-induced hypertension.

Previous studies clearly demonstrated acute actions of angiotensin II (ANG II) at one of the central circumventricular organs, the subfornical organ (SFO), but studies demonstrating a role for the SFO in the chronic actions of ANG II remain uncertain. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the SFO in the chronic hypertensive phase of ANG II-induced hypertension. We hypothesized that the SFO is necessary for the full hypertensive response observed during the chronic phase of ANG II-induced hypertension. To test this hypothesis, male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to sham operation (sham rats) or electrolytic lesion of the SFO (SFOx rats). After 1 wk, the rats were instrumented with venous catheters and radiotelemetric transducers for intravenous administration of ANG II and measurement of blood pressure and heart rate, respectively. Rats were then allowed 1 wk for recovery. After 3 days of saline control infusion (7 ml of 0.9% NaCl/day), sham and SFOx rats were infused with ANG II at 10 ng.kg(-1). min(-1) i.v. for 10 consecutive days and then allowed to recover for 3 days. A 0.4% NaCl diet and distilled water were provided ad libitum. At day 5 of ANG II infusion, mean arterial pressure increased 11.7 +/- 3.0 mmHg in sham rats (n = 9) but increased only 3.7 +/- 1.4 mmHg in SFOx rats (n = 9). This trend continued through day 10 of ANG II treatment. These results support the hypothesis that the SFO is necessary for the full hypertensive response to chronic ANG II administration.
Decomposed Fuzzy Systems and Their Application in Direct Adaptive Fuzzy Control

In this paper, a novel fuzzy structure termed as the decomposed fuzzy system (DFS) is proposed to act as the fuzzy approximator for adaptive fuzzy control systems. The proposed structure is to decompose each fuzzy variable into layers of fuzzy systems, and each layer is to characterize one traditional fuzzy set. Similar to forming fuzzy rules in traditional fuzzy systems, layers from different variables form the so-called component fuzzy systems. DFS is proposed to provide more adjustable parameters to facilitate possible adaptation in fuzzy rules, but without introducing a learning burden. It is because those component fuzzy systems are independent so that it can facilitate minimum distribution learning effects among component fuzzy systems. It can be seen from our experiments that even when the rule number increases, the learning time in terms of cycles is still almost constant. It can also be found that the function approximation capability and learning efficiency of the DFS are much better than that of the traditional fuzzy systems when employed in adaptive fuzzy control systems. Besides, in order to further reduce the computational burden, a simplified DFS is proposed in this paper to satisfy possible real time constraints required in many applications. From our simulation results, it can be seen that the simplified DFS can perform fairly with a more concise decomposition structure.
The in Vitro Propagation Techniques for Producing Banana Using Shoot Tip Cultures

Banana is an important food crop and the second most important fruit crop. Despite the significant commercial value of the crop, the main production constrain is the availability of reliable and safe planting material. The planting materials obtained through conventional methods (suckers) do not meet the increasing demand for planting and they are of poor quality. Tissue culture is the approach which can solve these problems. Micro propagation of the crop is also faced with challenges which need to be addressed in order to improve its production. Some of the problems which hinder the success of the crop include oxidative browning of the wounded tissues and low number of shoots produce per explant. This review highlights the challenges encountered in tissue culture of banana and explores the in vitro propagation techniques by using shoot tip cultures of banana as the possibilities to overcome these problems.
Tanshinone IIA inhibits human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells by decreasing LC3-II, Erb-B2 and NF-κBp65

The ability of tanshinone IIA (Tan-IIA) to inhibit the proliferation of human breast cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo is well documented. However, the molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, MDA-MB-231 cells were treated with different concentrations of Tan-IIA for 48 h, followed by protein extraction for western blotting. For an in vivo study, MDA-MB-231 cells were implanted directly into female SCID mice which were divided randomly into three groups to be treated with vehicle, Tan-IIA (20 mg/kg) and Tan-IIA (60 mg/kg) every other day orally, with treatment starting 4 weeks after inoculation with the MDA-MB-231 cells. The results showed that Tan-IIA inhibited the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells and decreased the protein expression of LC3-II and Erb-B2 in vitro. Treatment with Tan-IIA (20 or 60 mg/kg) for 90 days resulted in a reduction in tumor size and weight compared to the control group. The protein expression of NF-κBp65 was reduced, while caspase-3 was up-regulated compared to the control group. These findings indicate that Tan-IIA inhibits tumor growth in a MDA-MB-231 xenograft animal model. One of the molecular mechanisms may be through a decrease in NF-κBp65 and an increase in caspase-3 expression.
Osteosarcoma of the jaw

The records of 66 patients with osteosarcoma of the jaw were reviewed. The ages of the 42 males and 24 females ranged from 12 to 79 years (mean, 34.2 years). Swelling and pain, the most frequent presenting complaints, were noted an average of three months before the patient was seen by a physician. Fifty‐one percent of the lesions involved the maxilla and 49% involved the mandible. The most common sites of involvement were the body of the mandible and the alveolar ridge of the maxilla. Radiologically, most of the lesions in the maxilla were osteoblastic (50%), whereas most of those in the mandible were osteolytic (43%). Chondroblastic osteosarcoma was the most frequent histologic type (48%) and was associated with the best survival rate (47%). Treatment included radical and local surgery with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or various combinations. The recurrence rate for all treatment modalities was 70%. Patients treated by initial radical surgery had the best survival (80%). Survival decreased to 27% with local surgery. Of the 43 (65%) patients who died, most died with uncontrolled local disease; only four patients had documented distant metastasis, which involved lung, cervical lymph nodes, spinal column, and brain.
Integrated Drives for Transport - A Review of the Enabling Thermal Management Technology

Electric drives which are deployed in transport applications often have stringent volume/mass constraints requiring that the subsystems of electric drives are incorporated in a tightly packaged mechanical arrangement. As integration of mechanical and electronic subsystems becomes more intricate the thermal management issues relating to dealing with the loss in the converter and actuator in tandem become more complex. This paper presents a review of the state of the art manufacturing techniques and technologies which are enabling ever greater integration in electric drives for transport applications through better thermal management.
Study of Hybrid Cascaded AWG-based Access Network Topology

We describe an upgrade scenario from current passive optical networks (PON) to wavelength routed fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks. The theoretical and experimental study of a bidirectional access network topology based on cascaded arrayed waveguide gratings (AWG) is presented. By combining a 16times16 AWG in the exchange point and multiple 1times16 AWGs in the distribution points, N2 users can be addressed when N wavelengths are transmitted. 16 ITU wavelengths have been multiplexed at the exchange point and successfully transmitted at 2.5 Gb/s data rates for simultaneous bidirectional transmission. Bit error rate measurements have shown error free transmission is achievable for both directions and minimal crosstalk between the channels can be noticed in the retrieved eye diagrams
Gaze-Guided Narratives: Adapting Audio Guide Content to Gaze in Virtual and Real Environments

Exploring a city panorama from a vantage point is a popular tourist activity. Typical audio guides that support this activity are limited by their lack of responsiveness to user behavior and by the difficulty of matching audio descriptions to the panorama. These limitations can inhibit the acquisition of information and negatively affect user experience. This paper proposes Gaze-Guided Narratives as a novel interaction concept that helps tourists find specific features in the panorama (gaze guidance) while adapting the audio content to what has been previously looked at (content adaptation). Results from a controlled study in a virtual environment (n=60) revealed that a system featuring both gaze guidance and content adaptation obtained better user experience, lower cognitive load, and led to better performance in a mapping task compared to a classic audio guide. A second study with tourists situated at a vantage point (n=16) further demonstrated the feasibility of this approach in the real world.
The Effects of Interruption Timings on Autonomous Height-Adjustable Desks that Respond to Task Changes

Actuated furniture, such as electric adjustable sit-stand desks, helps users vary their posture and contributes to comfort and health. However, studies found that users rarely initiate height changes. Therefore, in this paper, we look into furniture that adjusts itself to the user's needs. A situated interview study indicated task-changing as an opportune moment for automatic height adjustment. We then performed a Wizard of Oz study to find the best timing for changing desk height to minimize interruption and discomfort. The results are in line with prior work on task interruption in graphical user interfaces and show that the table should change height during a task change. However, results also indicate that until users build trust in the system, they prefer actuation after a task change to experience the impact of the adjustment. Based on the results, we discuss design guidelines for interactive desks with agency.
Performance study of IEEE 802.16d under Stanford University Interim (SUI)Channel

Wireless communications are subject to three major constraints: (i) a complex andunpredictable fading channel, (ii) a scarce radio spectrum, and (iii) limitations on the power and the size of handheld terminals. New technologies have been introduced and evolved based on these constraints. Among all of these technologies Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) has drawn considerable attention for broadband wireless communication.The WiMax technology has been standardized underIEEE 802.16d and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multipl exing (OFDM) is the core of the WiMax technology.In order to investigate the performances of WiMax system a practical channel model is required. M any channel models have been proposed to mimic a real world scenarioincluding Stanford University Interim (SUI)channel. This model has attracted considerable attention s of the researchers in the last few years. In this paper, the performances in terms of bit error rate (BER)of IEEE 802.16d have been investigated by usingdifferent SUI channel model. Some popular digital modulations like BPSKand QPSK have been considered.The simulation results have been presented and comparedfor different SUI channelmodels.
Kernel multimodal discriminant analysis for speaker verification

In this paper, we propose a robust speaker feature extraction method using kernel multimodal Fisher discriminant analysis (kernel MFDA). Kernel MFDA has been designed to have the characteristics both of kernel principal component analysis (kernel PCA) and kernel Fisher discriminant analysis (kernel FDA). Therefore, the feature vectors extracted by kernel MFDA are denoised as well as discriminated. For evaluation, we compare our proposed method with principal component analysis (PCA) and kernel PCA on the speaker verification systems.
Metal Removal from Wastewater by Bacterial Sorption : Kinetics and Competition Studies

Biosorption has distinct advantages such as high efficiency and cost-effectiveness for removal of metal ions from wastewater. However, most studies of bacterial biosorption have focused on the removal of a single metal ion from aqueous solutions, even though natural water and wastewater rarely contain only one kind of heavy metal. This study investigated competitive biosorption of Co2+, Ni2+ and Cr3+ in different combinations at various concentrations under conditions of co-existence in a synthetic wastewater system utilizing the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In a binary system with Co2+ and Ni2+, the presence of the same concentration of dissolved Ni2+ led to a significant decrease in the amount of Co2+ adsorbed onto cells when compared with a single Co2+ system in which Ni2+ was absent. This result is most likely due to the similar competitive affinity of these equivalent cations for sorption sites located on the cells of the bacterium. However, the presence of Cr3+ with either Co2+ or Ni2+ led to a strong reduction in the uptake of each of these bivalent ions by cells, whereas Cr3+ adsorption was unhindered. Cr3+ also significantly inhibited the adsorption of both Co2+ and Ni2+ onto cells in a ternary system involving Co2+-Ni2+-Cr3+, with the order of preferential metal uptake being Cr3+ > Co2+ ≅ Ni2+. Removal efficiency of the heavy metals reached 100 % at low concentrations ([Cr3+]=[Co2+]=[Ni2+]=20 μM) in a multi-metal system. The results of this study indicate that pre-determination of co-existing heavy metals in wastewater and examination of their competition for the sorption sites of biosorbents are required for the efficient removal of inorganic toxicants utilizing biosorption processes.
Human Cytomegalovirus Impairs the Function of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Lymphoid Organs

Human dendritic cells (DCs) are the main antigen presenting cells (APC) and can be divided into two main populations, myeloid and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), the latter being the main producers of Type I Interferon. The vast majority of pDCs can be found in lymphoid organs, where the main pool of all immune cells is located, but a minority of pDCs also circulate in peripheral blood. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) employs multiple mechanisms to evade the immune system. In this study, we could show that pDCs obtained from lymphoid organs (tonsils) (tpDCs) and from blood (bpDCs) are different subpopulations in humans. Interestingly, these populations react in opposite manner to HCMV-infection. TpDCs were fully permissive for HCMV. Their IFN-α production and the expression of costimulatory and adhesion molecules were altered after infection. In contrast, in bpDCs HCMV replication was abrogated and the cells were activated with increased IFN-α production and upregulation of MHC class I, costimulatory, and adhesion molecules. HCMV-infection of both, tpDCs and bpDCs, led to a decreased T cell stimulation, probably mediated through a soluble factor produced by HCMV-infected pDCs. We propose that the HCMV-mediated impairment of tpDCs is a newly discovered mechanism selectively targeting the host's major population of pDCs residing in lymphoid organs.
Cyclins A and B associate with chromatin and the polar regions of spindles, respectively, and do not undergo complete degradation at anaphase in syncytial Drosophila embryos

Maternally contributed cyclin A and B proteins are initially distributed uniformly throughout the syncytial Drosophila embryo. As dividing nuclei migrate to the cortex of the embryo, the A and B cyclins become concentrated in surface layers extending to depths of approximately 30-40 microns and 5-10 microns, respectively. The initiation of nuclear envelope breakdown, spindle formation, and the initial congression of the centromeric regions of the chromosomes onto the metaphase plate all take place within the surface layer occupied by cyclin B on the apical side of the blastoderm nuclei. Cyclin B is seen mainly, but not exclusively, in the vicinity of microtubules throughout the mitotic cycle. It is most conspicuous around the centrosomes. Cyclin A is present at its highest concentrations throughout the cytoplasm during the interphase periods of the blastoderm cycles, although weak punctate staining can also be detected in the nucleus. It associates with the condensing chromosomes during prophase, segregates into daughter nuclei in association with chromosomes during anaphase, to redistribute into the cytoplasm after telophase. In contrast to the cycles following cellularization, neither cyclin is completely degraded upon the metaphase-anaphase transition.
Process planning service model design for cloud manufacturing

Aiming at the problem of complex parts machining process division and optimization, combined with the utility rules, process division and optimization constraints of current machine and cutting tools, the process planning service model for cloud manufacturing is proposed according to the idea of “manufacturing as a service” in this paper. The model, based on cloud computing SaaS (software-as-a-service) service model and hybrid cloud deployment model, takes the principle of service-oriented, personalization and flexibility into account. Cloud-platform-based process service scene is designed, meanwhile the framework of information model for cloud process planning system is constructed. Resources such as process planning software, manufacturing workshop and process knowledge are encapsulated into cloud services, achieving the information integration of workshop resource service, cloud platform with machining process planning service. Finally, multi-users and multi-tasks parallel machining process planning and dynamic machining resources decision-making are realized.