Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stress, strain, signaling, and adaptation--not just a matter of definition.

Understanding abiotic plant stress and its impact on plant responses and plant adaptation is a very contemporary issue in plant science, recently driven by the mounting concerns about food production under climate change. The definition of stress and how it interfaces with the plant is therefore crucial for trac-ing cause, effect, and adaptation in their true physiological and genomic background. Correct definitions are not just a matter of formality but an essential road map for research towards understanding the phenomenon and its consequences towards designing better research and deriving correct conclusions. The current literature indicates that definitions are not clear and not under consensus either because of lacking knowledge or because of debate. Jacob Levitt (1972), who was the dean of plant stress physiology in his time, outlined the seminal working definitions of abiotic stress and stress resistance, which were in accordance with the known stress physiology at that time and which were accepted by his peers. This article revisits, extends, clarifies and updates his definitions in tune with modern plant science while discussing how the updated definitions should enhance contemporary plant stress research. Plant abiotic stress is a relatively young scientific discipline within general plant physiology. Governmental and institu-tional concerns about climate change and global warming have pushed this discipline to the forefront of crop improve-ment research. A young generation of upcoming biologists is attracted by the biology and sometimes by the funding opportunities in this discipline. The result is a recent expo-nential rise in research on how plants respond and adapt to abiotic stress. Constitutive traits are exemplified by deep roots (avoidance) and stay-green or the use of accumulated stem reserves for grain filling (tolerance). The latter trait has an adaptive component that determines the activation of stored carbon transport from stem to grain. The physical strain-2 resulting from root exposure to hard soil emits a signal (yet undefined) to produce ABA, which is in itself transported as a signal to the shoot. In the shoot various ABA responsive genes regulate stomatal closure and arrested growth which serve to avoid dehydration. Desiccation tolerance can be enhanced by gene regulated sugar and late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) protein accumulation, leading to survival.
Anti-Acne-Inducing Bacterial Activity of Mangosteen Fruit Rind Extracts

Objective: The aims of this study were to determine the most effective solvent extract of mangosteen, anti-acne- inducing bacterial activity and the amount of α-mangostin, a major active component in each mangosteen fruit rind extract, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Materials and Methods: The fruit rinds of mangosteen were extracted with hexane, dichloromethane, ethanol and water. The extracts were tested for antibacterial activity against bacteria that induce acne, including Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Thin-layer chromatographic autobiography against these bacteria was also performed for each extract, while the α-mangostin content was analyzed using a validated HPLC method. Results: The dichloromethane extract exhibited the strongest antibacterial effect with minimum inhibitory concentration values for both bacterial species at 3.91 µg/ml, while the minimum bactericidal concentration values against P. acnes and S. epidermidis were 3.91 and 15.63 µg/ml, respectively. Thin-layer chromatographic autobiography indicated that α-mangostin was present in all extracts, except the water extract, and is a major active component against both P. acnes and S. epidermidis. Using HPLC, the dichloromethane extract yielded the highest content (46.21% w/w) of α-mangostin followed by the ethanol extract (18.03% w/w), the hexane extract (17.21% w/w) and the water extract (0.54% w/w). Conclusions: Dichloromethane extract exhibited the strongest anti-acne-inducing bacterial effect and this extract yielded the highest amount of α-mangostin.
Deep graph fusion for graph based label propagation

A graph which represents the similarity between samples plays an important role in graph-based semi-supervised learning. Though for this case one of the most important keys is the feature descriptor used for similarity calculation. Recently deep neural networks have been expressed as powerful methods which simultaneously perform feature extraction and classification. Moreover, feature fusion at different levels can improve the performance. The contributions in this article are as follows; first, we use deep features that are extracted from the last layers of Convolutional Neural Network for graph construction. Second, we adopt feature fusion to improve discriminability. Thirdly, we propose deep graph fusion as a way to combine information while preserving the inlying structure of each descriptor. The experiments are conducted on two face databases and the proposed method is compared with three hand-crafted features. The results obtained using three label propagation techniques show that the use of deep features can improve the performance compared to hand-crafted features. Moreover, the fusion in graph level can improve the results compared to the use of each deep feature alone.
Analytically derived weighting factors for transmission tomography cone beam projections

Weighting factors, which define the contributions of individual voxels of a 3D object to individual projection elements (pixels) on the detector, are the basic elements required in iterative tomographic reconstructions from transmission projections. Exact or as accurate as possible values for weighting factors are required in high-resolution reconstructions. Geometric complexity of the problem, however, makes it difficult to obtain exact weighting factor values. In this work, we derive an analytical expression for the weighting factors in cone beam projection geometry. The resulting formula is validated and applied to reconstruction from mega and kilovoltage x-ray cone beam projections. The reconstruction speed and accuracy are significantly improved by using the weighting factor values.
Image Segmentation and Edge Detection Based on Chan-Vese Algorithm

The main idea in this paper is to detect regions (objects) and their boundaries, and to isolate and extract individual components from a medical image. This can be done using K-means firstly to detect regions in a given image. Then based on techniques of curve evolution, Chan-Vese for segmentation and level sets approaches to detect the edges around each selected region. Once we classified our images into different intensity regions based on K-means method, to facilitate separating each region with its boundary and its area individually in the next steps. Then we detect regions whose boundaries are not necessarily defined by gradient using Chan-Vese algorithm for segmentation. In the level set formulation, the problem becomes a mean-curvature flow like evolving the active contour, which will stop on the desired boundary of our selected region which results from K-means step. The final image segmentation results are one closed boundary per actual region in the image and a segmented map.
Temporal Dynamics Assessment of Spatial Overlap Pattern of Functional Brain Networks Reveals Novel Functional Architecture of Cerebral Cortex

Objective: Various studies in the brain mapping field have demonstrated that there exist multiple concurrent functional networks that are spatially overlapped and interacting with each other during specific task performance to jointly realize the total brain function. Assessing such spatial overlap patterns of functional networks (SOPFNs) based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has thus received increasing interest for brain function studies. However, there are still two crucial issues to be addressed. First, the SOPFNs are assessed over the entire fMRI scan assuming the temporal stationarity, while possibly time-dependent dynamics of the SOPFNs is not sufficiently explored. Second, the SOPFNs are assessed within individual subjects, while group-wise consistency of the SOPFNs is largely unknown. Methods: To address the two issues, we propose a novel computational framework of group-wise sparse representation of whole-brain fMRI temporal segments to assess the temporal dynamic spatial patterns of SOPFNs that are consistent across different subjects. Results: Experimental results based on the recently publicly released Human Connectome Project grayordinate task fMRI data demonstrate that meaningful SOPFNs exhibiting dynamic spatial patterns across different time periods are effectively and robustly identified based on the reconstructed concurrent functional networks via the proposed framework. Specifically, those SOPFNs locate significantly more on gyral regions than on sulcal regions across different time periods. Conclusion: These results reveal novel functional architecture of cortical gyri and sulci. Significance: Moreover, these results help better understand functional dynamics mechanisms of cerebral cortex in the future.
Universal Principles in the Repair of Communication Problems

There would be little adaptive value in a complex communication system like human language if there were no ways to detect and correct problems. A systematic comparison of conversation in a broad sample of the world’s languages reveals a universal system for the real-time resolution of frequent breakdowns in communication. In a sample of 12 languages of 8 language families of varied typological profiles we find a system of ‘other-initiated repair’, where the recipient of an unclear message can signal trouble and the sender can repair the original message. We find that this system is frequently used (on average about once per 1.4 minutes in any language), and that it has detailed common properties, contrary to assumptions of radical cultural variation. Unrelated languages share the same three functionally distinct types of repair initiator for signalling problems and use them in the same kinds of contexts. People prefer to choose the type that is the most specific possible, a principle that minimizes cost both for the sender being asked to fix the problem and for the dyad as a social unit. Disruption to the conversation is kept to a minimum, with the two-utterance repair sequence being on average no longer that the single utterance which is being fixed. The findings, controlled for historical relationships, situation types and other dependencies, reveal the fundamentally cooperative nature of human communication and offer support for the pragmatic universals hypothesis: while languages may vary in the organization of grammar and meaning, key systems of language use may be largely similar across cultural groups. They also provide a fresh perspective on controversies about the core properties of language, by revealing a common infrastructure for social interaction which may be the universal bedrock upon which linguistic diversity rests.
Melatonin and endoplasmic reticulum stress: relation to autophagy and apoptosis

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a dynamic organelle that participates in a number of cellular functions by controlling lipid metabolism, calcium stores, and proteostasis. Under stressful situations, the ER environment is compromised, and protein maturation is impaired; this causes misfolded proteins to accumulate and a characteristic stress response named unfolded protein response (UPR). UPR protects cells from stress and contributes to cellular homeostasis re‐establishment; however, during prolonged ER stress, UPR activation promotes cell death. ER stressors can modulate autophagy which in turn, depending of the situation, induces cell survival or death. Interactions of different autophagy‐ and apoptosis‐related proteins and also common signaling pathways have been found, suggesting an interplay between these cellular processes, although their dynamic features are still unknown. A number of pathologies including metabolic, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, inflammation, and viral infections are associated with ER stress, leading to a growing interest in targeting components of the UPR as a therapeutic strategy. Melatonin has a variety of antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and antitumor effects. As such, it modulates apoptosis and autophagy in cancer cells, neurodegeneration and the development of liver diseases as well as other pathologies. Here, we review the effects of melatonin on the main ER stress mechanisms, focusing on its ability to regulate the autophagic and apoptotic processes. As the number of studies that have analyzed ER stress modulation by this indole remains limited, further research is necessary for a better understanding of the crosstalk between ER stress, autophagy, and apoptosis and to clearly delineate the mechanisms by which melatonin modulates these responses.
English Ivy.

Juvenile Form: • Leaves are deeply 3 to 5 lobed, light green and alternately arranged • Young shoots and leaves are hairy • Stems produce adventitious roots at the nodes • Immature plants do not produce flowers • This juvenile stage lasts for about 10 years Mature Form: • Leaves are unlobed, or slightly lobed, dark green and leathery and spirally arranged • English ivy matures to produce flowers when it begins to grow vertically • Mature plants do not produce adventitious roots.
Structure of the Carbohydrate Units of IgA , Immunoglobulin

The carbohydrate composition of an IgA (a, subtype) myeloma protein has been determined. The carbohydrate, present only on the heavy chain, was found to consist of 3 moles of sialic acid, 9 mole of galactose, 5.4 moles of mannose, 0.8 moles of fucose, 8.8 moles of N-acetylglucosamine, and 5 moles of N-acetylgalactosamine per mole of heavy chain. Four major glycopeptide-containing fractions were isolated following pronase degradation of the protein. Glycopeptide I consisted of galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine, threonine, serine, and proline in the molar ratio 4:s :4:5 :9. Each of the N-acetylgalactosamine residues was found to be involved in an 0-glycosidic linkage, demonstrating that there are five 0-glycosidically linked oligosaccharide units per heavy chain. The structure of this glycopeptide is presented in the following paper (BAENZIGER, J., AND KORNFELD, S. (1974) J. Biol. Chem. 249, 7270-7281. The three other glycopeptide fractions contained 1 to 2 residues of sialic acid, 0 to 0.7 residue of fucose, 2 residues of galactose, 3 residues of mannose, 4 to 5 residues of Nacetylglucosamine, and 1 residue of asparagine. Glycopeptide IIA was a homogeneous glycopeptide with the following structure:
Prevention of Thyroidectomy Scars in Korean Patients Using a New Combination of Intralesional Injection of Low‐Dose Steroid and Pulsed Dye Laser Starting within 4 Weeks of Suture Removal

BACKGROUND Regulation of inflammation during the wound healing process reduces scar formation at the injury site. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of intralesional injection of low‐dose steroid with pulsed dye laser on healing of early postoperative thyroidectomy scars. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty Korean women with thyroidectomy scars were enrolled. All were treated with an intralesional injection of low‐dose steroid (2 mg/mL) and 595‐nm pulsed dye laser starting within 4 weeks of suture removal. The Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS), Global Assessment Score (GAS), and Patient Satisfaction Score were used in this evaluation. RESULTS Average VSS scores were significantly lower after treatment. The GAS also indicated better cosmetic outcomes after steroid injection in the laser treatment group than after laser treatment only. CONCLUSION Early postoperative intralesional injection of low‐dose steroid and pulsed dye laser treatment is effective and safe.
Is E-health Progressing Faster Than E-health Researchers?

Formal Internet interventions exist in a broad context of diverse online health resources, which share elements in common like information, advice and peer support. However, most online health resources are not created by healthcare professionals. Internet interventions need to be designed to “compete” in that wider context. The democratization of production and distribution is central to the transformative effect of the Internet on society, yet potentially conflicts with healthcare’s need for an evidence base and safe practice. This is a core challenge for healthcare on the Internet.
Statin loading for acute coronary syndromes

Purpose of review This review discusses the role of statin therapy in patients with acute coronary syndromes. These drugs modulate endothelial function and stabilize atherosclerotic plaque by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation and may provide a relevant clinical benefit in unstable patients. Recent findings Conflicting data derive from randomized trials about early statin therapy in medically treated patients with acute coronary syndromes. Results of the ARMYDA studies demonstrate a clear benefit of statin pretreatment in patients with both stable and unstable syndromes undergoing percutaneous coronary revascularization. In the ARMYDA RECAPTURE, even an acute reload with high-dose atorvastatin in patients on top of chronic statin use was associated with a significant reduction of 30-day major adverse cardiac events, especially in those patients who presented with acute coronary syndromes. Summary All this evidence strongly supports an ‘upstream’ administration of high-dose statins in patients with acute coronary syndromes treated with an early invasive strategy.
A greedy algorithm for bulk loading R-trees

CM-line loading of R-trees is useful to improve node utilization and query performance. WTepresent an algorithm for bulk loading R-trees -r&id diifers horn previous ones in two aspects (a) it partitions input data into subtrees in a top-down fashion (based on the fact that splits close to the root are likely to have a greater impact on performance), (b) at each tree level, it considers all cuts orthogonal to the coordinate axes that result in packed trees and greedily picks those optimizing an arbitrary cost function. EMm.sive esperirnentation with both real and synthetic data indicate that for region data our algorithm requires up to three times fewer disk accesses than other algorithms. It is the method of choice for data with skew in locations, areas, or aspect ratios. Such data is common in practice. Let n = number of input rectangles Let S = maximumnumber of rectangles per subtree Let M = maximumnumber of entries per node Let f (rl, r2) be the “user-supplied” cost function If n < S return {stop condition} For each dimension d For each ordering considered in this dimension d For i from 1 to [n/iVfl – 1 Let B. = MSR of first i S rectangles Let B1 = MSR of the other rectangles Remember i if f(Bo, BI) is better valued Split input set and orderings at best position.
Detecting Good Practices and Pitfalls when Publishing Vocabularies on the Web

The uptake of Linked Data (LD) has promoted the proliferation of datasets and their associated ontologies bringing their semantic to the data being published. These ontologies should be evaluated at different stages, both during their development and their publication. As important as correctly modelling the intended part of the world to be captured in an ontology, is publishing, sharing and facilitating the (re)use of the obtained model. In this paper, 11 evaluation characteristics, with respect to publish, share and facilitate the reuse, are proposed. In particular, 6 good practices and 5 pitfalls are presented, together with their associated detection methods. In addition, a grid-based rating system is generated. Both contributions, the set of evaluation characteristics and the grid system, could be useful for ontologists in order to reuse existing LD vocabularies or to check the one being built.
Mouse hepatitis virus strain UAB infection enhances resistance to Salmonella typhimurium in mice by inducing suppression of bacterial growth

We have previously shown that intranasal infection of mice with mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) strain UAB (MHV-UAB) increases their resistance to Salmonella typhimurium injected intravenously 6 days later. To study how salmonella resistance was induced, BALB/cAnNCr mice were infected with salmonella strains carrying specific genetic alterations. One set of studies compared the effect of MHV infection on subsequent salmonella infections with AroA- (avirulent) and Aro+ (virulent) salmonellae. Unlike its effect on Aro+ salmonellae, MHV failed to reduce the number of AroA- salmonellae recovered from mice. Because AroA- S. typhimurium shows almost no growth in vivo, this failure indicated that the effect of MHV on salmonella resistance required growth of the infecting salmonellae. In other studies, the effect of MHV infection on both growth and killing were monitored simultaneously in mice with growing salmonellae carrying a single copy of the temperature-sensitive pHSG422 plasmid, which is unable to replicate in vivo. MHV infection reduced salmonella growth but caused no increase in salmonella killing. MHV infection of mice given wild-type salmonellae also resulted in no increase in salmonella killing 4 h after salmonella challenge. These studies demonstrate that MHV-UAB infection increases host resistance to salmonellae by enhancing suppression of bacterial growth instead of by increasing the amount of salmonella killing.
Efficient Encryption From Random Quasi-Cyclic Codes

We propose a framework for constructing efficient code-based encryption schemes that do not hide any structure in their public matrix. The framework is in the spirit of the schemes first proposed by Alekhnovich in 2003 and based on the difficulty of decoding random linear codes from random errors of low weight. We depart somewhat from Alekhnovich’s approach and propose an encryption scheme based on the difficulty of decoding random quasi-cyclic codes. We propose two new cryptosystems instantiated within our framework: the hamming quasi-cyclic cryptosystem (HQC), based on the hamming metric, and the rank quasi-cyclic cryptosystem (RQC), based on the rank metric. We give a security proof, which reduces the indistinguishability under chosen plaintext attack security of our systems to a decision version of the well-known problem of decoding random families of quasi-cyclic codes for the hamming and rank metrics (the respective <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathsf {QCSD}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathsf {RQCSD}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> problems). We also provide an analysis of the decryption failure probability of our scheme in the Hamming metric case: for the rank metric there is no decryption failure. Our schemes benefit from a very fast decryption algorithm together with small key sizes of only a few thousand bits. The cryptosystems are very efficient for low encryption rates and are very well suited to key exchange and authentication. Asymptotically, for <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lambda $ </tex-math></inline-formula> the security parameter, the public key sizes are respectively in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}({\lambda }^{2})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for HQC and in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {O}\left({\lambda ^{\frac {4}{3}}}\right)$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for RQC. Practical parameter compares well to the systems based on ring-learning parity with noise or the recent moderate density parity check codes system.