Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Heme Oxygenase, Inflammation, and Fibrosis: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?

Upon injury, prolonged inflammation and oxidative stress may cause pathological wound healing and fibrosis, leading to formation of excessive scar tissue. Fibrogenesis can occur in most organs and tissues and may ultimately lead to organ dysfunction and failure. The underlying mechanisms of pathological wound healing still remain unclear, and are considered to be multifactorial, but so far, no efficient anti-fibrotic therapies exist. Extra- and intracellular levels of free heme may be increased in a variety of pathological conditions due to release from hemoproteins. Free heme possesses pro-inflammatory and oxidative properties, and may act as a danger signal. Effects of free heme may be counteracted by heme-binding proteins or by heme degradation. Heme is degraded by heme oxygenase (HO) that exists as two isoforms: inducible HO-1 and constitutively expressed HO-2. HO generates the effector molecules biliverdin/bilirubin, carbon monoxide, and free iron/ferritin. HO deficiency in mouse and man leads to exaggerated inflammation following mild insults, and accumulating epidemiological and preclinical studies support the widely recognized notion of the cytoprotective, anti-oxidative, and anti-inflammatory effects of the activity of the HO system and its effector molecules. In this review, we address the potential effects of targeted HO-1 induction or administration of HO-effector molecules as therapeutic targets in fibrotic conditions to counteract inflammatory and oxidative insults. This is exemplified by various clinically relevant conditions, such as hypertrophic scarring, chronic inflammatory liver disease, chronic pancreatitis, and chronic graft rejection in transplantation.
A rho-like protein is involved in the organisation of the contractile ring in dividing sand dollar eggs

Sand dollar eggs were microinjected with botulinum C3 exoenzyme, an ADP-ribosyltransferase from Clostridium botulinum that specifically ADP-ribosylates and inactivates rho proteins. C3 exoenzyme microinjected during nuclear division interfered with subsequent cleavage furrow formation. No actin filaments were detected in the equatorial cortical layer of these eggs by rhodamine-phalloidin staining. When microinjected into furrowing eggs, C3 exoenzyme rapidly disrupted the contractile ring actin filaments and caused regression of the clevage furrows. C3 exoenzyme had no apparent effect on nuclear division, however, and multinucleated embryos developed from the microinjected eggs. By contrast, C3 exoenzyme did not affect the organisation of cortical actin filaments immediately after fertilisation. Only one protein (molecular weight 22000) was ADP-ribosylated by C3 exoenzyme in the isolated cleavage furrow. This protein co-migrated with ADP-ribosylated rhoA derived from human paltelets when analysed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. These results strongly suggest that a rho-like, small GTP-binding protein is selectively in the organisation and maintenance of the contractile ring.
Exposure Time of Enamel and Dentine to Saliva for Protection against Erosion: A Study in vitro

Previous research, mainly on enamel, supports a protective role for salivary pellicle against erosion. Pretreatments have tended to be lengthy (24 h or more) and of questionable relevance to the regular intake of acidic food and drink by many individuals. The aim of this study in vitro was to determine the protective effect of salivary pellicle formed on enamel and dentine over time periods up to 4 h. Flattened, polished human enamel and dentine specimens were pretreated with unstimulated human saliva from a single donor for 2 min, 30 min (enamel only), 1, 2, or 4 h. Controls were exposed to water for the same times. Specimens were then exposed to 0.3% citric acid, pH 3.2 for 10 min with stirring. This cycle was carried out 12 times. Tissue loss was measured by profilometry after 3, 6, 9 and 12 cycles. For enamel, statistically significant protection was found at ≧1 h. For dentine, significant protection was achieved at 2 min. Salivary pellicle offered proportionately greater protection to enamel than dentine. Cautiously extrapolating these in vitro data suggests that pellicle should offer erosion protection to individuals who imbibe acidic drinks at frequencies of 1 h or less.
Simultaneous shield and buffer insertion for crosstalk noise reduction in global routing

We present a method for incorporating crosstalk reduction criteria into global routing under an innovative power supply architecture, while considering the constraints imposed by limited routing and buffering resources. An iterative procedure is employed to route the signal wires, assign supply shields, and insert buffers so that both buffer/routing capacity and signal integrity goals are met. In each iteration, shield assignment and buffer insertion are considered simultaneously via a dynamic programming-like approach. Our noise calculations are based on Devgan's noise metric, and our work shows, for the first time, that this metric shows good fidelity on average. Experimental results on testcases with up to about 10,000 nets point towards an asymptotic run time that increases linearly with the number of nets. Our algorithm achieves noise reduction improvements of up to 53% and 28%, respectively, compared to methods considering only buffer insertion, or only shield insertion after buffer planning.
Adaptive patch based texture synthesis using wavelet

A wavelet based approach for selecting patches in adaptive patch based texture synthesis is presented in this paper. The algorithm starts with patches of as bigger size as possible. A patch that satisfies the minimum error criterion computed using wavelet coefficients is selected as the candidate patch. Whenever the mismatch error between the synthesized patch and the to be synthesized patch exceeds the error criterion, the patch size is reduced by a factor of four and thereafter the synthesis is performed with patches of smaller size. The process of reduction in patch size continues in a recursive manner. Further reduction of patches would not takes place whenever the mismatch error is lesser than the given threshold or when further splitting of patches are not permitted. A modified algorithm is used to determine the boundary between the patches. The quality of the synthesized outputs is quite satisfactory.
SENSORY AND INSTRUMENTAL ANALYSIS OF THE JUICINESS OF STRAWBERRIES

ABSTRACT Juiciness is an important quality characteristic of strawberries. However, at present there is no easy instrumental method to analyze the juiciness, that is independent of the operator. Furthermore, the correlation of the existing methods with sensorial analyses is not always completely established. In this study, a new instrumental method is developed and compared with existing instrumental methods and with sensory evaluation by a trained sensory panel. Fifteen types of strawberries (different varieties and ripeness) are used for the evaluation. The best instrumental method starts with freezing the strawberries. After chopping the frozen strawberries in a blixer, the strawberry pieces are thawed in a known volume of water. The total amount of liquid, filtrated through a Buchner funnel, is weighed and the instrumental juiciness is calculated from the weight difference. This method has the lowest variation coefficient and the best correlation with the juiciness determined by the sensory panel. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Juiciness is an important parameter for most fruit types and it certainly is for strawberries. A reliable, instrumental method to determine the juiciness is therefore highly wanted by all stakeholders (growers, traders, industry). The instrumental method developed in this research shows a good correlation with sensory analyses and a high reproducibility. In addition, the method requires only standard lab equipment. This method can, therefore, be easily implemented in all labs, which allows a widespread application.
Eventual Leader Election in the Crash-Recovery Failure Model

Unreliable failure detectors provide information about process failures. A particular failure detector called Omega has been shown to be the weakest for solving consensus with a majority of correct processes. This work addresses the implementation of Omega in the crash-recovery failure model. Firstly, the definition of Omega is adapted to that model, assuming that processes do not use stable storage. After that, an algorithm implementing Omega under some weak assumptions on communication reliability and synchrony is proposed.
Brucella central carbon metabolism: an update

Abstract The brucellae are facultative intracellular pathogens causing brucellosis, an important zoonosis. Here, we review the nutritional, genetic, proteomic and transcriptomic studies on Brucella carbon uptake and central metabolism, information that is needed for a better understanding of Brucella virulence. There is no uniform picture across species but the studies suggest primary and/or secondary transporters for unknown carbohydrates, lactate, glycerol phosphate, erythritol, xylose, ribose, glucose and glucose/galactose, and routes for their incorporation to central metabolism, including an erythritol pathway feeding the pentose phosphate cycle. Significantly, all brucellae lack phosphoenolpyruvate synthase and phosphofructokinase genes, which confirms previous evidence on glycolysis absence, but carry all Entner–Doudoroff (ED) pathway and Krebs cycle (and glyoxylate pathway) genes. However, glucose catabolism proceeds through the pentose phosphate cycle in the classical species, and the ED pathway operates in some rodent-associated brucellae, suggesting an ancestral character for this pathway in this group. Gluconeogenesis is functional but does not rely exclusively on classical fructose bisphosphatases. Evidence obtained using infection models is fragmentary but suggests the combined or sequential use of hexoses/pentoses, amino acids and gluconeogenic substrates. We also discuss the role of the phosphotransferase system, stringent reponse, quorum sensing, BvrR/S and sRNAs in metabolism control, an essential aspect of the life style of facultative intracellular parasites.
Fatigue Performance of Semiconductor Strain Gauges in GFRP Laminate

Semiconductor strain gauges have good potential for embedded structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. Silicon mechanical and thermal properties are similar to glass fiber. In this paper the high cycle loading of specimens with embedded and surface mounted semiconductor strain gauges is conducted. The base material is glass fiber laminate. Two different matrixes are used: polyester and epoxy resins. Hygrothermal loading is introduced to weaken the sensor-matrix interface and to imitate real application conditions.
Antimalarial Activity of 4-Metoxychalcones: Docking Studies as Falcipain/Plasmepsin Inhibitors, ADMET and Lipophilic Efficiency Analysis to Identify a Putative Oral Lead Candidate

Herein, we report the antimalarial activity of nine 4-methoxychalcone derivatives 1a–i and an initial analysis of their ADMET properties. All compounds showed potent activity against the P. falciparum chloroquine-resistant clone W2, with IC50 values ranging from 1.96 µM to 10.99 µM, with moderate or low cytotoxicity against the HeLa cell line. The compound 1a (IC50 = 2.06 µM) had the best selectivity index (9.0). All the sulfonamide 4-metychalcone derivatives synthesized had cLogP values between 2 and 5 (mean value 3.79) and molecular weights (MWs) below 500. The substitution of the pyrrolidine group in 1i by a morpholine group in 1a reduced the cLogP value from 3.05 in compound 1i to 2.34 in compound 1a. Indeed, compound 1a had the highest LipE value. The binding free energy of compound 1a showed it to be the most optimal chalcone derivative for plasmepsin-2 (−7.3 Kcal/mol). The physicochemical properties and LipE analysis of the dataset allowed us to establish that compound 1a is the highest quality compound of the series and a potential oral lead candidate.
TLR2 ligation protects effector T cells from regulatory T-cell mediated suppression and repolarizes T helper responses following MVA-based cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy is hampered by the immunosuppression maintained by regulatory T cells (Tregs) in tumor-bearing hosts. Stimulation of the Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) by Pam3Cys is known to affect Treg-mediated suppression. We found that Pam3Cys increases the proliferation of both CD4+ effector T cells (Teffs) and Tregs co-cultured in vitro, but did not induce the proliferation of Tregs alone upon CD3 and CD28 stimulation. In a mouse model of RMA-MUC1 tumors, Pam3Cys was administered either alone or in combination with a modified vaccinia ankara (MVA)-based mucin 1 (MUC1) therapeutic vaccine. The combination of Pam3Cys with MVA-MUC1 (1) diminished splenic Treg/CD4+ T-cell ratios to those found in tumor-free mice, (2) stimulated a specific anti-MUC1 interferon γ (IFNγ) response and (3) had a significant therapeutic effect on tumor growth and mouse survival. When CD4+ Teffs and Tregs were isolated from Pam3Cys-treated mice, Teffs had become resistant to Treg-mediated suppression while upregulating the expression of BclL-xL. Tregs from Pam3Cys-treated mice were fully suppressive for Teffs from naïve mice. Bcl-xL was induced by Pam3Cys with different kinetics in Tregs and Teffs. Teff from Pam3Cys-treated mice produced increased levels of Th1 and Th2-type cytokines and an interleukin (IL)-6-dependent secretion of IL-17 was observed in Teff:Treg co-cultures, suggesting that TLR2 stimulation had skewed the immune response toward a Th17 profile. Our results show for the first time that in a tumor-bearing host, TLR2 stimulation with Pam3Cys affects both Tregs and Teffs, protects Teff from Treg-mediated suppression and has strong therapeutic effects when combined with an MVA-based antitumor vaccine.
Young Massive Clusters as probes of stellar evolution

Young Massive Clusters (YMCs) represent ideal testbeds in which to study massive stellar evolution as they contain large, coeval, chemically homogeneous, samples of massive stars. By studying YMCs with a range of ages (and hence turn-off masses), we can investigate the post main-sequence evolution of massive stars as a function of initial mass. Recent discoveries of YMCs over a range of ages within our own Galaxy - where we can successfully resolve individual stars - offers the unprecedented opportunity to test our ideas of massive stellar evolution. Here, I review some of the recent works in this field, and describe how we can use YMCs to investigate several topics, including (a) the evolutionary state of H-rich Wolf-Rayet stars; (b) the influence of binarity on stellar evolution in dense clusters; and (c) Red Supergiants and the post-supernova remnants they leave behind.
Use of refractometry to determine nitrogen accumulation in close d circuits.

We have described a technique by which a portable interference refractometer may be used to determine the accumulation of nitrogen in a totally closed anaesthetic circuit. The inspired mixture contained halothane, oxygen, nitrous oxide and nitrogen. The concentrations of the first two were controlled with u.v. paramagnetic analysers respectively. It was then possible to determine the percentage of nitrous oxide replaced by nitrogen by measuring the refractive power of the mixture.
Solid Polymer Electrolytes: Fundamentals and Technological Applications

The general concern for future energy generation and conservation has seen a rapid growth in research and developments relating to new polymer electrolytes. Intended for materials scientists, electrochemists and solid state physicists, this book provides a comprehensive account of current knowledge in both fundamental and applied aspects of the field. It describes both theoretical methods and experimental techniques relating to microscopic dynamic properties. Other topics discussed include battery research and devices for ion transport, and the significance and interpretation of experimental data regarding charge carriers and modes of transport.
Cholinergic effects on constructional abilities and on mnemonic processes: a case report

Synopsis The effects of physostigmine on test performance of a patient with multiple cognitive deficits were observed in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Scores on tests of learning and memory and tests of visuo-spatial and constructional ability were both improved by physostigmine, while lecithin improved scores only on the former tests.
Trisomy 18 and Complex Congenital Heart Disease: Seeking the Threshold Benefit Ethics Rounds

abstract A prenatal diagnosis of ductal-dependent, complex congenital heart disease was made in a fetus with trisomy 18. The parents requested that the genetic diagnosis be excluded from all medical and surgical decision-making and that all life-prolonging therapies be made available to their infant. There was conflict among the medical team about what threshold of neonatal benefit could outweigh maternal and neonatal treatment burdens. A prenatal ethics consultation was requested. Dr Boss conceptualized, designed, and wrote the initial draft of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript as submitted; and Drs Holmes, Althaus, and Rushton and Mrs and Mr McNee reviewed and revised the manuscript and approved the final manuscript as submitted. A prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 18 often results in fetal demise or infant death. A small number of patients survive beyond the first year of life with profound neurodevelopmental disabilities. As parents and clinicians, we describe the process of decision-making after a prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 18 and complex congenital heart disease. The parents desired extensive obstetric, neonatal, and surgical interventions for their daughter to promote any chance of prolonging her life. Clinicians requested assistance from ethics consultants to balance parent autonomy , infant burden, and claims of conscience. A couple was referred to a regional hospital after a prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of fetal cardiac anomaly. Fe-tal evaluation revealed a female fetus with a double-outlet right ventricle and undersized left ventricle, other minor anomalies, and growth restriction. Am-niocentesis confirmed trisomy 18, and the family was offered termination of pregnancy. They declined and said that their religious beliefs would not permit that option. A repeat fetal echocardiogram was worrisome for significant left ven-tricular hypoplasia and a ductal-dependent anatomy. Cardiologists and cardiac surgeons were concerned that a 2-ventricle repair might be impossible. A multidisciplinary team from maternal-fetal medicine, genetics , pediatric cardiology, and neo-natology met with the parents. The parents requested any maternal or neonatal interventions be performed that could extend their daughter' s life. They also indicated that, if the cardiac anomaly was deemed inoperable with 100% certainty, they would accept the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies. They requested that the trisomy 18 diagnosis be excluded from all decision-making about their daughter , whom they named Faith. Some clinicians did not want to participate in any maternal or neonatal interventions, believing that the growth restriction and predicted life span of days to weeks made the burdens of these interventions outweigh …
Down‐regulation of lipocalin 2 contributes to chemoresistance in glioblastoma cells

Malignant gliomas are the most common primary brain tumor and have a poor clinical prognosis. 1, 3‐Bis (2‐chloroethyl)‐1‐nitrosourea (BCNU) is an alkylating agent that is commonly used in glioma therapy. However, BCNU chemotherapy often fails due to drug resistance. To gain better understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying the drug resistance of glioma, a BCNU‐resistant variant (C6R) of C6 rat glioma cells was selected and characterized. The established C6R cells were resistant to BCNU‐induced cell death and cell cycle arrest as confirmed by 3‐(4, 5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2, 5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide reduction assay and flow cytometric analysis of DNA content. C6R cells showed an increased expression of common drug resistance‐related genes such as O6‐methylguanine‐DNA methyltransferase and multiple drug resistance 1. In contrast, C6R cells showed a decreased expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein, therefore, displaying shorter cellular processes compared with parental C6 cells. More importantly, in conjunction with the morphological changes, the expression of lipocalin‐2 (lcn2), a 25‐kDa secreted proapoptotic protein, was markedly reduced in the BCNU‐resistant C6R cells. However, there was no significant change in the expression of lcn2 receptors. Addition of recombinant LCN2 protein or introduction of lcn2 cDNA significantly increased the sensitivity of C6 cells and human glioma cells to BCNU or other anticancer drugs, while knockdown of lcn2 expression by antisense cDNA transfection decreased the sensitivity. When lcn2 was re‐expressed in C6R cells, the BCNU sensitivity was restored. Lcn2 enhanced BCNU‐induced Akt dephosphorylation providing a molecular basis of apoptosis sensitization. These results suggest that LCN2 protein may be involved in glioma drug resistance and may provide a new approach to sensitizing glioblastoma to chemotherapy.
Advances in Predicate Abstraction

With the growing increase in software/hardware system scale and function, the further development and application of model checking has been greatly limited by state space explosion, which becomes the bottleneck of verifying large industrial designs. Predicate abstraction, as one of the most effective ways to address state explosion, has been fueled over the recent years. This paper presents a survey of the latest developments in predicate abstraction. A basic algorithm for predicate abstraction is introduced first, followed by comparison among several solvers. Emphases are put on counterexample-guided abstraction refinement and interpolation-based abstraction refinement, including the principles and improvements. The qualities of the new predicate generation methods are also analyzed. Finally, the major challenges in making this technology more pervasive in industrial design
Demonstration abstract: Simply RIOT — Teaching and experimental research in the Internet of Things

Manufacturers announce on a regular basis the availability of novel tiny devices, most of them featuring network interfaces: the Internet of Things (IoT) is already here - from the hardware perspective. On the software side however, embedded platforms available so far made it uneasy for developers to build apps that run across heterogeneous IoT hardware. Linux does not scale down to small, energy-constrained devices, while alternatives such as Contiki yield a steep learning curve and lengthy development life-cycles because they rule out standard programming and debugging tools. RIOT is a new open source software platform bridging this gap. RIOT allows just about any programmer to develop IoT application with zero learning curve. This is achieved by allowing standard C and C++ application programming with multi-threading, using well-known debugging tools (gdb, Valgrind, profilers etc.), while requiring only a minimum of 1.5 kB of RAM. RIOT also provides built-in energy efficiency and real-time capabilities. These characteristics make this platform attractive in several contexts, including teaching in the field of the Internet of Things, and experimental research in the domain of sensor networks and the IoT.