Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. LXXXVI. Orexin Receptor Function, Nomenclature and Pharmacology

Orexin signaling is essential for normal regulation of arousal and behavioral state control and represents an attractive target for therapeutics combating insomnia. Alternatively termed hypocretins, these neuropeptides were named to reflect sequence similarity to incretins and their potential to promote feeding. Current nomenclature reflects these molecular and biochemical discovery approaches in which HCRT, HCRTR1, and HCRTR2 genes encode prepro-orexin, the orexin 1 receptor (OX1) and the orexin 2 receptor (OX2)—gene names designated by the Human Genome Organization and receptor names designated by the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. Orexinergic neurons are most active during wakefulness and fall silent during inactive periods, a prolonged disruption in signaling most profoundly resulting in hypersomnia and narcolepsy. Hcrtr2 mutations underlie the etiology of canine narcolepsy, deficiencies in orexin-producing neurons are observed in the human disorder, and ablation of mouse orexin neurons or the Hcrt gene results in a narcolepsy-cataplexy phenotype. The development of orexin receptor antagonists and genetic models targeting components of the orexin pathway have elucidated the OX2 receptor-specific role in histamine-mediated arousal and the contribution of both receptors in brainstem pathways involved in vigilance state gating. Orexin receptor antagonists of varying specificity uncovered additional roles beyond sleep and feeding that include addiction, depression, anxiety, and potential influences on peripheral physiology. Combined genetic and pharmacological approaches indicate that orexin signaling may represent a confluence of sleep, feeding, and reward pathways. Selective orexin receptor antagonism takes advantage of these properties toward the development of novel insomnia therapeutics.
Gastric retention controlled drug delivery system

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The Gametocytes of Leucocytozoon sabrazesi Infect Chicken Thrombocytes, Not Other Blood Cells

Leucocytozoon parasites infect a large number of avian hosts, including domestic chicken, and cause significant economical loss to the poultry industry. Although the transmission stages of the parasites were observed in avian blood cells more than a century ago, the specific host cell type(s) that the gametocytes infect remain uncertain. Because all the avian blood cells, including red blood cells (RBCs), are nucleated, and the developing parasites dramatically change the morphology of the infected host cells, it has been difficult to identify Leucocytozoon infected host cell(s). Here we use cell-type specific antibodies to investigate the identities of the host cells infected by Leucocytozoon sabrazesi gametocytes. Anti-RBC antibodies stained RBCs membrane strongly, but not the parasite-infected cells, ruling out the possibility of RBCs being the infected host cells. Antibodies recognizing various leukocytes including heterophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, and macrophages did not stain the infected cells either. Antisera raised against a peptide of the parasite cytochrome B (CYTB) stained parasite-infected cells and some leukocytes, particularly cells with a single round nucleus as well as clear/pale cytoplasm suggestive of thrombocytes. Finally, a monoclonal antibody known to specifically bind chicken thrombocytes also stained the infected cells, confirming that L. sabrazesi gametocytes develop within chicken thrombocytes. The identification of L. sabrazesi infected host cell solves a long unresolved puzzle and provides important information for studying parasite invasion of host cells and for developing reagents to interrupt parasite transmission.
A Framework for Supporting the Software Architecture Evaluation Process in Global Software Development

Software Architecture (SA) evaluation process requires a large number of stakeholders to be collocated for evaluation sessions. Given the increasing trend of using globally distributed software development teams, organizations are likely to be discouraged from introducing disciplined architectural evaluation practices that require stakeholders to be collocated. To address this issue, we propose that SA evaluation can be carried out using suitable groupware systems. In this paper, we present a framework for supporting the SA evaluation process using groupware systems. The framework highlights the changes required in the existing SA evaluation processes. We provide an illustrated example of modeling and mapping the activities of the proposed process on electronic workspaces provided by a groupware system. We have also identified some of the features a groupware system should have to successfully support the process.
Is horizontal transmission really a problem for phylogenetic comparative methods? A simulation study using continuous cultural traits

Phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs) provide a potentially powerful toolkit for testing hypotheses about cultural evolution. Here, we build on previous simulation work to assess the effect horizontal transmission between cultures has on the ability of both phylogenetic and non-phylogenetic methods to make inferences about trait evolution. We found that the mode of horizontal transmission of traits has important consequences for both methods. Where traits were horizontally transmitted separately, PCMs accurately reported when trait evolution was not correlated even at the highest levels of horizontal transmission. By contrast, linear regression analyses often incorrectly concluded that traits were correlated. Where simulated trait evolution was not correlated and traits were horizontally transmitted as a pair, both methods inferred increased levels of positive correlation with increasing horizontal transmission. Where simulated trait evolution was correlated, increasing rates of separate horizontal transmission led to decreasing levels of inferred correlation for both methods, but increasing rates of paired horizontal transmission did not. Furthermore, the PCM was also able to make accurate inferences about the ancestral state of traits. These results suggest that under certain conditions, PCMs can be robust to the effects of horizontal transmission. We discuss ways that future work can investigate the mode and tempo of horizontal transmission of cultural traits.
Generalized Gray Codes for Local Rank Modulation

We consider the local rank-modulation scheme, in which a sliding window going over a sequence of real-valued variables induces a sequence of permutations. Local rank-modulation is a generalization of the rank-modulation scheme, which has been recently suggested as a way of storing information in flash memory. We study gray codes for the local rank-modulation scheme in order to simulate conventional multilevel flash cells while retaining the benefits of rank modulation. Unlike the limited scope of previous works, we consider code constructions for the entire range of parameters including the code length, sliding-window size, and overlap between adjacent windows. We show that the presented codes have asymptotically optimal rate. We also provide efficient encoding, decoding, and next-state algorithms.
Burnout in the intensive care unit professionals

Background:Burnout has been described as a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stress on the job that is often the result of a period of expending excessive effort at work while having too little recovery time. Healthcare workers who work in a stressful medical environment, especially in an intensive care unit (ICU), may be particularly susceptible to burnout. In healthcare workers, burnout may affect their well-being and the quality of professional care they provide and can, therefore, be detrimental to patient safety. The objectives of this study were: to determine the prevalence of burnout in the ICU setting; and to identify factors associated with burnout in ICU professionals. Methods:The original articles for observational studies were retrieved from PubMed, MEDLINE, and Web of Science in June 2016 using the following MeSH terms: “burnout” and “intensive care unit”. Articles that were published in English between January 1996 and June 2016 were eligible for inclusion. Two reviewers evaluated the abstracts identified using our search criteria prior to full text review. To be included in the final analysis, studies were required to have employed an observational study design and examined the associations between any risk factors and burnout in the ICU setting. Results:Overall, 203 full text articles were identified in the electronic databases after the exclusion of duplicate articles. After the initial review, 25 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of burnout in ICU professionals in the included studies ranged from 6% to 47%. The following factors were reported to be associated with burnout: age, sex, marital status, personality traits, work experience in an ICU, work environment, workload and shift work, ethical issues, and end-of-life decision-making. Conclusions:The impact of the identified factors on burnout remains poorly understood. Nevertheless, this review presents important information, suggesting that ICU professionals may suffer from a high level of burnout, potentially threatening patient care. Future work should address the effective management of the factors negatively affecting ICU professionals.
Optical fibers in the monitoring of engineering structures

The majority of structural health monitoring systems is created using spot measurements, aided with a numerical model. However, in the near future fiber optic measurement technique has a chance to introduce a new quality to the field of knowledge covering structural monitoring of buildings. It allows for measuring selected physical quantities (e.g. strain or temperature) continuously over its entire length. For example, attaching the optical fiber along concrete, load-carrying beam, it is possible to obtain information about the time and place (the reason) of occurring cracks and about the width of its opening. Implementation of optical fibers for general applications in the construction industry, however, still requires much researches and testing. This paper presents an overview of current projects and studies related to the applications of optical fibers in structural health monitoring of engineering structures, as well as an overview of selected studies carried out in this field at the Institute of Building Materials and Structures (Cracow University of Technology).
Phenotypic characteristics of 31 strains of Corynebacterium striatum isolated from clinical samples

During a 34-month period (January 1991 to October 1993), 31 Corynebacterium striatum stains recovered from clinical samples from 24 patients were characterized. Twenty (64%) strains were isolated from wound exudates, 5 (16%) were isolated from bronchial aspirates, 2 (7%) were isolated from urine, 2 (7%) were isolated from endotracheal tubes, 1 (3%) was isolated from a catheter, and 1 (3%) was isolated from empyema. The organisms were identified by conventional culture and phenotypic characterization, the API CORYNE system, and cellular fatty acid composition analyses. The colonies of C. striatum could be confused with those of coagulase-negative staphylococci upon primary isolation from clinical material. A consistent phenotypic pattern was observed: all strains reduced nitrate, hydrolyzed tyrosine, and produced acid from glucose, fructose, and sucrose but not from maltose. API CORYNE profile numbers were 3100105 (28 strains) and 3000105 (3 strains). Susceptibility testing of C. striatum was performed by disk diffusion. All strains were susceptible to both imipenem and vancomycin and resistant to fosfomycin; most strains were susceptible to ampicillin and cephalosporins and resistant to clindamycin, erythromycin, and tetracycline. Performing a Gram stain of fosfomycin-resistant "Staphylococcus-like" colonies was critical in order to identify C. striatum.
Leptospiral Proteins Recognized during the Humoral Immune Response to Leptospirosis in Humans

ABSTRACT Leptospirosis is an emerging zoonosis caused by pathogenic spirochetes belonging to the genus Leptospira. An understanding of leptospiral protein expression regulation is needed to develop new immunoprotective and serodiagnostic strategies. We used the humoral immune response during human leptospirosis as a reporter of protein antigens expressed during infection. Qualitative and quantitative immunoblot analysis was performed using sera from 105 patients from Brazil and Barbados. Sera from patients with other diseases and healthy individuals were evaluated as controls. Seven proteins, p76, p62, p48, p45, p41, p37, and p32, were identified as targets of the humoral response during natural infection. In both acute and convalescent phases of illness, antibodies to lipopolysaccharide were predominantly immunoglobulin M (IgM) while antibodies to proteins were exclusively IgG. Anti-p32 reactivity had the greatest sensitivity and specificity: positive reactions were observed in 37 and 84% of acute- and convalescent-phase sera, respectively, while only 5% of community control individuals demonstrated positive reactions. Six immunodominant antigens were expressed by all pathogenic leptospiral strains tested; only p37 was inconsistently expressed. Two-dimensional immunoblots identified four of the seven infection-associated antigens as being previously characterized proteins: LipL32 (the major outer membrane lipoprotein), LipL41 (a surface-exposed outer membrane lipoprotein), and heat shock proteins GroEL and DnaK. Fractionation studies demonstrated LipL32 and LipL41 reactivity in the outer membrane fraction and GroEL and DnaK in the cytoplasmic fraction, while p37 appeared to be a soluble periplasmic protein. Most of the other immunodominant proteins, including p48 and p45, were localized to the inner membrane. These findings indicate that leptospiral proteins recognized during natural infection are potentially useful for serodiagnosis and may serve as targets for vaccine design.
RecQ helicases: Multiple structures for multiple functions?

Approximately 1% of the open reading frames in the human genome encode proteins that function as DNA or RNA helicases. These enzymes act in all aspects of nucleic acid metabolism where the complementary strands of DNA:DNA or DNA:RNA duplexes require to be transiently opened. However, they perform wider roles in nucleic acid metabolism due to their ability to couple the energy derived from hydrolysis of ATP to their unidirectional translocation along strands of DNA/RNA. In this way, helicases can displace proteins from DNA/RNA, drive the migration of DNA junctions (such as the Holliday junction recombination intermediate), or generate superhelical tension in nucleic acid duplexes. Here, we review a subgroup of DNA helicase enzymes, the RecQ family, that has attracted considerable interest in recent years due to their role not only in suppression of genome instability, but also in the avoidance of human disease. We focus particularly on the protein structural motifs and the multiple assembly states that characterize RecQ helicases and discuss novel biophysical techniques to study the different RecQ structures present in solution. We also speculate on the roles of the different domains and oligomeric forms in defining which DNA structures will represent substrates for RecQ helicase‐mediated transactions.
Tangential interpolatory projection for model reduction of completely passive linear quantum stochastic systems

This paper presents a tangential interpolatory projection model reduction method for the class of completely passive linear quantum stochastic systems, often encountered in quantum optics and related fields. We show that the important physical realizability property of the full-order system is preserved through the interpolatory projection approximation. Sufficient conditions that guarantee asymptotic stability and minimality of the reduced-order approximation are established. We also present an optimization based routine for selection of interpolation points and propose a heuristic approach to select tangent directions, the key elements of the interpolatory projection method for multiple-input multiple-output systems. An example is presented to illustrate the utility of our proposed approach.
NATURAL FIBER REINFORCED POLYURETHANE RIGID FOAM

The main objective of this study was to prepare polyurethane foam reinforced with local Turkish natural resources. In this work, olive kernel and nutshell fibers were used for reinforcing the polyurethane foam. In order to characterize reinforced polyurethane samples, mechanical, chemical, thermal, and morphological methods were used. Mechanical properties of polyurethane foam were measured by compression test. With compression test, it was observed that compressive strength of polyurethane foam was increased with 2.5 wt% olive kernel. Functional groups of polyurethane foams were determined by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Thermal behavior of polyurethane foam was analyzed with thermo gravimetric analyzer device. Among biocomposites, polyurethane foam filled with nutshell indicated higher thermal degradation than polyurethane foam filled with olive kernel. Scanning electron microscopy observations revealed that foam structure was formed with biofiber addition.
Photosynthetic acclimation: Structural reorganisation of light harvesting antenna – role of redox‐dependent phosphorylation of major and minor chlorophyll a/b binding proteins

In order to carry out photosynthesis, plants and algae rely on the co‐operative interaction of two photosystems: photosystem I and photosystem II. For maximum efficiency, each photosystem should absorb the same amount of light. To achieve this, plants and green algae have a mobile pool of chlorophyll a/b‐binding proteins that can switch between being light‐harvesting antenna for photosystem I or photosystem II, in order to maintain an optimal excitation balance. This switch, termed state transitions, involves the reversible phosphorylation of the mobile chlorophyll a/b‐binding proteins, which is regulated by the redox state of the plastoquinone‐mediating electron transfer between photosystem I and photosystem II. In this review, we will present the data supporting the function of redox‐dependent phosphorylation of the major and minor chlorophyll a/b‐binding proteins by the specific thylakoid‐bound kinases (Stt7, STN7, TAKs) providing a molecular switch for the structural remodelling of the light‐harvesting complexes during state transitions. We will also overview the latest X‐ray crystallographic and electron microscopy‐derived models for structural re‐arrangement of the light‐harvesting antenna during State 1‐to‐State 2 transition, in which the minor chlorophyll a/b‐binding protein, CP29, and the mobile light‐harvesting complex II trimer detach from the light‐harvesting complex II–photosystem II supercomplex and associate with the photosystem I core in the vicinity of the PsaH/L/O/P domain.
Development of a Serum Biomarker Assay That Differentiates Tumor-Associated MUC5AC (NPC-1C ANTIGEN) from Normal MUC5AC

A serum ELISA using a monoclonal antibody that detects a MUC5AC-related antigen (NPC-1C antigen) expressed by pancreatic and colorectal cancer was developed. The NPC-1C antibody reacts with specific epitopes expressed by tumor-associated MUC5AC that does not appear on MUC5AC from normal tissues. Based on observations of a highly specific antibody, we tested the ELISA to differentiate serum from healthy blood donors compared to serum from patients with colorectal or pancreatic cancer. Additionally, patient tumor tissue was stained to examine the expression pattern of MUC5AC-related antigen in pancreatic and colorectal cancers. The results indicate the NPC-1C antibody ELISA distinguished serum of cancer patients from normal donors with very good sensitivity and specificity. Most patient's tumor biopsy exhibited NPC-1C antibody reactivity, indicating that tumor-associated MUC5AC antigen from tumor is shed into blood, where it can be detected by the NPC-1C antibody ELISA. This serum test provides a new tool to aid in the diagnosis of these cancers and immune monitoring of cancer treatment regimens.
Using All-or-Nothing Encryption to Enhance the Security of Searchable Encryption

Outsourcing data to cloud servers is a trend in the development of the computer. Encrypting the data while maintain the search ability of it is an important technology for cloud storage. Many works on the searchable encryption focus on how to securely search over encrypted data but ignore the security of the encryption. In searchable encryption, the words must be encrypted separately. The encryption function in many searchable encryption schemes is a deterministic algorithm. These characteristics bring security defects to the encryption. In this paper, we encrypt the documents into n pieces with a secret sharing algorithm and disperse them to different clouds. Each piece will reveal no information about the document. But the attacker can get all pieces through intercept the communication between the client and the cloud. For solving this problem, we encrypt one or more of pieces with an all-or-nothing encryption (AONE). The AONE can increases the time for brute force. Attacker who wants to crack any one encrypt word must crack the encrypted piece firstly. Our scheme also has some problems. Encrypting some pieces with the AONE will bring some errors to the search result. We will prove the error probability is low when we choose the reasonable parameters.
A study of seasonal incidence of congenital malformations in the United States.

Seasonal variation in the incidence of isolated cleft lip cleft lip and palate anencephaly spina bifida hydrocephaly congenital heart disease anorectal defects hypospadias positional foot defects polydactyly snydactyly reduction deformities and Downs syndrome was investigated using data generated through the National Cleft Lip and Palate Intelligence Service (NIS) for 1962-1965. Only cleft lip with or without cleft palate hypospadias and positional foot defects showed a statistically seasonal trend. Cleft lip/palate showed a seasonal trend for the entire NIS region (U.S.) but only the area with a hot summer and a moderate winter showed a significant climatic trend with a peak incidence in January 2 months earlier than the national trend. Hypospadias had a maximum incidence in April for the entire area with a seasonal variation in the moderate summer-moderate winter regions. The national incidence of positional foot defects was greatest in March. A similar trend was noted in the hot summer-cold winter region.