Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Analysis of MicroRNAs in Vaccinia virus Infection Reveals Diversity in Their Susceptibility to Modification and Suppression

Vaccinia virus (VACV) is a large cytoplasmic DNA virus that causes dramatic alterations to many cellular pathways including microRNA biogenesis. The virus encodes a poly(A) polymerase which was previously shown to add poly(A) tails to the 3’ end of cellular miRNAs, resulting in their degradation by 24 hours post infection (hpi). Here we used small RNA sequencing to quantify the impact of VACV infection on cellular miRNAs in human cells at both early (6 h) and late (24 h) times post infection. A detailed quantitative analysis of individual miRNAs revealed marked diversity in the extent of their modification and relative change in abundance during infection. Some miRNAs became highly modified (e.g. miR-29a-3p, miR-27b-3p) whereas others appeared resistant (e.g. miR-16-5p). Furthermore, miRNAs that were highly tailed at 6 hpi were not necessarily among the most reduced at 24 hpi. These results suggest that intrinsic features of human cellular miRNAs cause them to be differentially polyadenylated and altered in abundance during VACV infection. We also demonstrate that intermediate and late VACV gene expression are required for optimal repression of some miRNAs including miR-27-3p. Overall this work reveals complex and varied consequences of VACV infection on host miRNAs and identifies miRNAs which are largely resistant to VACV-induced polyadenylation and are therefore present at functional levels during the initial stages of infection and replication.
Unsupervised Segmentation of Medical Images using DCT Coefficients

Image segmentation is a prerequisite process for image content understanding and visual object recognition in medical images for the development of a computer aided diagnosis(CAD) system. An unsupervised segmentation method is proposed which uses discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients for extraction of feature vectors and the Fisher Discriminant K-means (FDK) technique for clustering image pixels. In this study, the parenchymal region in HRCT lung images is separated first and then feature vectors using the deviation in local variance in DCT coefficients are determined for each pixels of parenchyma regions. The extracted feature vectors are used for selection of the best feature sets by reducing the dimensionality of the feature vector. The reduced feature vector is used for unsupervised classification using the K-means clustering algorithm which is guided by Fisher linear discriminant parameters for determining number of distinguishable regions in the image.
Investigation on Arc Behavior During Arc Motion in Air DC Circuit Breaker

In this paper, the complicated arc phenomena in air dc circuit breakers that are widely used in rail transit and vessels are investigated with both experimental and numerical approaches. Initially, the basic arc motion characteristics in the switch are presented by the recorded waveforms and images in the carefully designed breaking experiments. Phenomena of arc stagnation and back commutation are revealed and the influence of arc chamber width on the arc stagnation is preliminarily discussed according to the experimental results. Then, to make the nature of arc motion clear and to determine the influence details of the arc chamber width on arc motion characteristics, a simplified model based on magnetohydrodynamics theory is built and four cases with the arc chambers of different widths are calculated. The simulated arc behavior is presented by the temperature distribution sequences. In addition, the formation process of back commutation is described in detail by the variation of arc column. The influence mechanism of arc chamber width on arc motion is analyzed according to the differences of pressure propagation and temperature distribution in the arc chamber. Furthermore, the calculated arc displacement curves show that the arc stagnation time could be shortened and the risk of back commutation could be reduced by decreasing the arc chamber width within the reasonable extent.
Dynamic prediction of critical path instructions

Modern processors come close to executing as fast as role dependences allow. The particular dependences that constrain execution speed constitute the critical path of execution. To optimize the performance of the processor we either have to reduce the critical path or execute it more efficiently. In both cases, it can be done more effectively if we know the actual instructions that constitute that path. This paper describes critical path prediction for dynamically identifying instructions likely to be on the critical path, allowing various processor optimizations to take advantage of this information. We show several possible critical path prediction techniques and apply critical path prediction to value prediction and clustered architecture scheduling. We show that critical path prediction has the potential to increase the effectiveness of these hardware optimizations by as much as 70%, without adding greatly to their cost.
[Polymorphism of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and TNF-beta genes in men with disorders of spermatogenesis--pilot study].

INTRODUCTION The presence of components of the renin angiotensin system and tumour necrosis factor in a male reproductive tract supports the hypothesis that these substances may influence reproductive functions. It was proved that angiotensin II as a product of ACE has influence on sperm capacitation and motility. TNF-beta is released from T-lymphocytes and has the regulatory effect on steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis. Aberrations of these agents can result in infertility. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the allele frequency of ACE and TNF-beta genes in men with pathological sperm count and men with normal fertility. We examined the insertion/deletion (I/D) ACE and B1/B2 TNF-beta gene polymorphic alleles and analyzed their frequency in patients and fertile men. DESIGN A pilot study. SETTING 1st Clinic of Gynaecology and Obstetrics and Institute of Pathologic Physiology, Masaryk University, Brno, CR. MATERIAL AND METHODS The genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes by a standard method according to Sambrook in a group of 46 patients (33.4 +/- 7.2 years) with pathological sperm count (9 azoospermia, 21 severe oligoasthenospermia, 16 moderate oligoasthenospermia) and in a control group of 88 healthy men (31.2 +/- 9.3 years) with normal fertility. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for genom analysis. The method according to Rigat was used for the I/D ACE polymorphism. B1/B2 TNF-beta genotype of each patient was determined after Nco I digestion of the amplified product and subsequent agrose gel electrophoresis. Fisher's exact test and chi square test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS In the study we found these differences of allel frequency and their combination: 1. Combinations of the genotype II (ACE) + B1B2 (TNF-beta) and genotype II (ACE) + B2B2 (TNF-beta) were less frequent in patients (8.7%) than in fertile men (28.4%), this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.021). 2. Allele B1 (TNF-beta) was more frequent among patients (40.2%) than in the control group (29.5%), this difference was near to the point of statistical significance (p = 0.05). 3. Allele D (ACE) frequency was higher in men with pathological sperm count (52.2%) than in fertile men (44.9%), this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.15). CONCLUSION The study has found different allele frequency of I/D ACE and B1/B2 TNF-beta genes polymorphism in men with pathological sperm count compared to men with normal fertility. These results could contribute to elucidate the genetic background of a male infertility.
Synthesis and Biomedical Applications of Graphene: Present and Future Trends

In 1959 great physicist Richard P. Feynman through his statement: “There is a plenty of room at the bottom”, predicted a new era of technology known as nanotechnology, where manip‐ ulation of the properties of a device is possible at atomic, molecular and macromolecular scales [1, 2]. Nanotechnology is basically a technology based on structures of sizes varying between 1 nm to 100 nm. Figure 1 illustrates the scale of nanomaterials with comparison with some biological systems. At nanoscale, materials properties are changed drastically due to quantum mechanical phenomena, which come into play at these sizes [3-5]. Nanomaterials exhibit higher surface to volume ratios which is inversely proportional to the size of the nanomaterials. There are also numerous properties which obey the same scaling law, e.g. melting and other phase transition temperatures. Atoms in these structures lie near to the surface, which are also known as higher energy sites. The behaviour of atoms at these higher energy sites has a significant influence on the properties of the material. Edge and corner atoms in the nanoma‐ terials have lower coordination and bind foreign atoms and molecules more tightly [6].
Repression of Antibiotic Downregulator WblA by AdpA in Streptomyces coelicolor

ABSTRACT The upstream region of antibiotic downregulatory wblA in Streptomyces coelicolor was found to contain AdpA binding motifs. A key morphological regulator, AdpA was shown to specifically bind these motifs by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. An adpA disruption mutant exhibited increased wblA transcription, suggesting that AdpA negatively regulates wblA transcription in S. coelicolor.
Thermal stability of Cu–Nb nanolamellar composites fabricated via accumulative roll bonding

In situ annealing within a neutron beam line and ex situ annealing followed by transmission electron microscopy were used to study the thermal stability of the texture, microstructure, and bi-metal interface in bulk nanolamellar Cu/Nb composites (h = 18 nm individual layer thickness) fabricated via accumulative roll bonding, a severe plastic deformation technique. Compared to the bulk single-phase constituent materials, the nanocomposite is two orders of magnitude higher in hardness and significantly more thermally stable, e.g., no observed recrystallization in Cu at temperatures as high as 85% of the melting temperature. The nanoscale h = 18 nm individual layer thickness is maintained up to 500°C, the lamellar structure thickens but is maintained up to 700°C, and recrystallization is suppressed even up to 900°C. With increasing temperature, the texture sharpens, and among the interfaces found in the starting material, the {112}Cu || {112}Nb interface with a Kurdjumov-Sachs orientation relationship shows the greatest thermal stability. Our results suggest that thickening of the individual layers under heat treatment coincides with thermally driven removal of energetically unfavorable bi-metal interfaces. Thus, we uncover a temperature regime that maintains the lamellar structure but alters the interface distribution such that a single, low energy, thermally stable interface prevails.
Walking your dog in the woods in polynomial time

The Fréchet distance between two curves in the plane is the minimum length of a leash that allows a dog and its owner to walk along their respective curves, from one end to the other, without backtracking. We propose a natural extension of Fréchet distance to more general metric spaces, which requires the leash itself to move continuously over time. For example, for curves in the punctured plane, the leash cannot pass through or jump over the obstacles ("trees"). We describe a polynomial-time algorithm to compute the homotopic Fréchet distance between two given polygonal curves in the plane minus a given set of obstacles, which are either points or polygons.
Advanced IMS Multipoint Conference Management Using Web Services

The IMS conference control interfaces are still in an early stage of development, allowing only the creation of basic group communication services where the service definition and policy are either preconfigured or managed through proprietary mechanisms. The Web service abstraction for third-party service application development of those native interfaces, the OSA Parlay X multimedia conference Web service, inherits these limitations, therefore constraining the possibilities for advanced multipoint conferencing application deployment over the IMS platform. In order to address these deficiencies, the native IMS conference control interfaces need to be enhanced to provide a broader and finer-grained management environment, while maintaining high flexibility, scalability, and interoperability levels. This article describes the current IMS conferencing framework, at both the native and application-interfacing levels, analyzing its deficiencies and presenting how a deeper involvement of Web services would contribute to overcoming its limitations at both levels.
Direct synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by a solution-free mechanochemical reaction

This paper presents a study on the synthesis and characterization of ZnO nanoparticles by a two-step synthesis procedure. The first step is the solution-free mechanochemical synthesis of ZnC2O4·2H2O nanoparticles by grinding a powder mixture of Zn(CH3COO)2 and H2C2O4·2H2O at room temperature for a certain time. The second step is the thermal decomposition of ZnC2O4·2H2O nanoparticles at 450 °C to form ZnO nanoparticles. The obtained ZnO nanoparticles have been structurally characterized by x-ray diffraction, indicating a wurtzite structure (hexagonal phase, space group P63mc) with high crystallinity. The average grain size of the ZnO nanoparticles is in the range of 24–40 nm, depending on the mechanical grinding time. The UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrum of the ZnO nanoparticles indicates a band gap of about 3.3 eV with an onset of absorption at about 3.1 eV, showing a weak red shift compared to 3.37 eV for the bulk ZnO. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectra showed a nonadsorption on the surface and a very low concentration of oxygen vacancies, respectively, indicating a high quality of the prepared ZnO nanoparticles. The formation process of the ZnC2O4·2H2O nanoparticles by the solution-free mechanochemical reaction is discussed.
An extended FTC based on the MPD for the switched system

In the present work, we proposed a novel approach which allows the estimation of actuator fault and its compensation correctly for switched hybrid system. So, to thwart the impact of the fault we extended and developed a fault tolerant control (FTC) for switched system. The synthesis of it needs to follow three important steps. The first step, is based on the use of the Data-based Projection Method (MPD) to identify the fault perfectly. The second step, insures the estimation of the unavailable state utilizing the switched observer design. The third step is to calculate the nominal control, then combine it to an additive control already determined. This proposed method allows to the switched system to keep its performances in spite of occurrence of the actuator fault. An example is provided to confirm the significance of the proposed strategy.
Basal Plane Dislocation Dynamics in Highly p-Type Doped versus Highly n-Type Doped SiC

The long term performance of today’s SiC based bipolar power devices suffer strongly from stacking fault formation caused by slip of basal plane dislocations, the latter often originating from the n-type doped SiC substrate wafer. In this paper, using sequentially p-type / n-type / p-type doped SiC crystals, we address the question, whether basal plane dislocation generation and annihilation behaves differently in n-type and p-type SiC. We have found that basal plane dislocations are absent or at least appear significantly less pronounced in p-type doped SiC, which may become of great importance for the stacking fault problem in SiC.
Compact Circularly Polarized Microstrip Antenna With Cross-Polarization Suppression at Low-Elevation Angle

This letter presents a method of cross-polarization suppression at low-elevation angle for a compact circularly polarized (CP) microstrip antenna. The compact CP antenna adopts a circular radiation patch with a crossed slot to reduce the dimensions, and a four-feeding-point technique is utilized to excite the patch for CP operation. The height and the diameter of the compact CP antenna are <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.064\, \lambda $</tex-math> </inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.264\, \lambda $</tex-math></inline-formula> ( <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lambda $</tex-math></inline-formula> is the free-space wavelength at 1.2 GHz). At the outside of the CP antenna, a compact meander-line ring cavity (MLRC) structure is introduced, which can reduce the cross polarization from –14.2 to –26.1 dB in horizontal direction and increase 3-dB-axial-ratio (AR) (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\text{axial}\; \text{ratio}} \leq {\text{3 dB}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) beamwidth from 128° to 192°. The height and diameter of the cavity are just <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.064\, \lambda $</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.448\, \lambda. $</tex-math></inline-formula> Through the experimental validation, the impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna for VSWR ≤ 2 is 20.8%, and the CP bandwidth for axial ratio ≤ 3 dB is 8.5%. Because of the MLRC, the cross polarization at low-elevation angle is clearly suppressed and the level at <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\theta = \pm 90^\circ $</tex-math></inline-formula> is not more than –23.2 dB. The 3-dB AR beamwidth reaches 190°. In the operating band, the peak gain of 5.3 dBic is also obtained.
Contractile proteins in pericytes. I. Immunoperoxidase localization of tropomyosin

In these studies we have compared the relative amounts and isoforms of tropomyosin in capillary and postcapillary venule pericytes, endothelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells in four rat microvascular beds: heart, diaphragm, pancreas, and the intestinal mucosa. The results, obtained by in situ immunoperoxidase localization, indicate that (a) tropomyosin is present in capillary and postcapillary venule pericytes in relatively high concentration; (b) the tropomyosin content of pericytes appears to be somewhat lower than in vascular smooth muscle cells but higher than in endothelia and other vessel- associated cells; and (c) pericytes, unlike endothelia and other nonmuscle cells, contain detectable levels of tropomyosin immunologically related to the smooth muscle isoform. These results and our previous findings concerning the presence of a cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase (Joyce, N., P. DeCamilli, and J. Boyles, 1984, Microvasc. Res. 28:206-219) in pericytes demonstrate that these cells contain significant amounts of at least two proteins important for contraction regulation. Taken together, the evidence suggests that pericytes are contractile elements related to vascular smooth muscle cells, possibly involved, as are the latter, in the regulation of blood flow through the microvasculature.
Effect of Royal Jelly on Formalin Induced-Inflammation in Rat Hind Paw

Background: Royal Jelly (RJ), a food item secreted by worker honeybees, is a mixture that contains protein, glucose, lipid, vitamins, and minerals; it is widely used as a commercial medical product. Previous studies have shown that RJ has a number of physiological effects, such as anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiallergic and antioxidant activities. Objectives: In the present study, the anti-inflammatory properties of RJ were investigated in formalin-induced rat paw edema. Materials and Methods: In this study, 30 male Wistar albino rats were divided into five equal groups (n = 6) as follows: test groups received different doses (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg, ip) of RJ and a negative control group received normal saline (5 mL/kg) and a positive control group received aspirin (300 mg/kg, i.p). Edema was induced on the right hind paw of the rat by a subplantar injection of 100 µL of formalin (2.5%) after 30 minutes. Paw edema was measured in the rats received the drugs, saline and aspirin before and after the formalin injection during 5 hours, using a plethysmometer. Results: The results showed that RJ has a dose-dependent anti-inflammatory effect and the highest anti-inflammatory effect was observed in the doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg. Conclusions: Royal jelly has potent anti-inflammatory effects compared to aspirin and it could be used in the treatment of inflammation. However, further studies are required to determine the active components in RJ responsible for this effect and its mechanism of action.
Apoptosis in Lymphocytic Leukemias and Lymphomas

Most current classifications of lymphoid neoplasms define the tumors based on the cell of origin, phenotype, genetic abnormalities, and clinical features. Here it is proposed that human lymphocytic tumors can be categorized based on the propensity and capacity of the tumor cells to undergo apoptosis. The first category is defined by malignant cells that are resistant to apoptosis due to expression of anti-apoptotic factors such as bcl-2 and cellular inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs). These tumors would include CLL and follicular lymphomas, as well as some malignancies in which the tumor cells are infected by viruses that co-opt cell survival pathways, such as human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV)-1. The second category, in which the malignant cells are apoptosis-prone, would include tumors arising in the context of impaired cytotoxic T-cell function. These neoplasms would include some human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related lymphomas such as Burkitt's lymphoma, and post-transplantation lymphomas. The third category would include neoplasms of intermediate sensitivity to apoptosis, some of which are associated with infection such as mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas of the stomach. Although this classification is tentative, it should evolve in parallel with our understanding of pathogenic mechanisms in lymphoid neoplasia, and provides a novel framework with which to consider the appropriateness of specific therapeutic strategies. Distinctions among lymphocytic tumors in terms of the likelihood of response to therapies such as antisense to bcl-2 related proteins, inhibitors of NF-κB activity, and new approaches aimed at bolstering the host's immune response, would cross standard classifications based on the T or B-cell origin of the tumor cells.
Robust Parameter Estimation and Model Selection for Neural Network Regression

In this paper, it is shown that the conventional back-propagation (BPP) algorithm for neural network regression is robust to leverages (data with x corrupted), but not to outliers (data with y corrupted). A robust model is to model the error as a mixture of normal distribution. The influence function for this mixture model is calculated and the condition for the model to be robust to outliers is given. EM algorithm [5] is used to estimate the parameter. The usefulness of model selection criteria is also discussed. Illustrative simulations are performed.