Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In vitro Transformation of BALB/c 3T3 Cells by 1,1,2,2‐Tetrachloroethane

1,1,2,2‐Tetrachloroethane (1,1,2,2‐TTCE) was shown to be capable of inducing in vitro transformation of BALB/c 3T3 cells (clone A‐31) either in the presence or in the absence of S9 activating system using an amplification‐transformation (level‐II) assay by reseeding confluent cells from each treatment and allowing additional rounds of cell replication. In the absence of metabolic activation, the highest assayed dose (1000 μg/ml), exerting the highest toxicity, was the only transforming dose. Lower doses of 1,1,2,2‐TTCE were capable of transforming BALB/c cells in the presence of S9 activating system, the dose of 500 μg/ml exerting the highest transforming activity. The number and size of transformed foci recognized in the level‐II plates were a function of the number of cells reseeded in the amplification assay. Foci obtained in the presence of S9 activating systems were larger in size, more deeply basophilic, and exhibited denser multilayering of constituent cells than foci recognized in the absence of exogenous metabolic activation.
Terrier takes on the non-English Web

The aim of this work is to identify how standard Information Retrieval (IR) techniques can be adapted in Web retrieval for non-English queries. In particular, we address the challenge of stemming queries and documents in a multilingual setting. Experiments with a multilingual collection of over 20 languages, more than 800 queries, and various stemming strategies in these languages reveal that using no stemming results in satisfactory Web retrieval performance, that is overall stable. Moreover, we show that languagespecific stemming requires an accurate identification of the language of each query.
Genome Sequence of Bacillus cereus Strain TG1-6, a Plant-Beneficial Rhizobacterium That Is Highly Salt Tolerant

ABSTRACT The complete genome sequence of Bacillus cereus strain TG1-6, which is a highly salt-tolerant rhizobacterium that enhances plant tolerance to drought stress, is reported here. The sequencing process was performed based on a combination of pyrosequencing and single-molecule sequencing. The complete genome is estimated to be approximately 5.42 Mb, containing a total of 5,610 predicted protein-coding DNA sequences (CDSs).
Quantifying the effect of atmospherically-induced pointing errors in optical geostationary satellite feeder links using transmitter diversity

Optical links to geostationary (GEO) satellites suffer from atmospherically-induced beam wander which leads to pointing errors at the satellite causing deep fades. In this paper, we show the benefit of transmitter diversity in reducing the fades caused by beam wander. We derive an analytical expression for the reduction of overall scintillation index for a given number of transmitted beams with Gaussian profile in a multiple-input single-output (MISO) system considering solely the effect of beam wander. The transmitted power, beam divergence angle and pointing jitter are kept as free parameters as in the real situation. Moreover, the optimized ratio of transmitted powers between multiple beams is obtained through simulations for a two-fold transmitter diversity to obtain minimum overall power scintillation index (PSI).
Analysis of the DPC4 Gene in Gastric Carcinoma

Allelic loss on chromosome 18q is involved in the progression of gastric carcinoma. Recently, DPC4 (deleted in pancreatic carcinoma, locus 4), a candidate tumor suppressor gene, has been localized at 18q21.1. This gene is inactivated in nearly one half of pancreatic carcinomas. We tested for DPC4 gene mutations and allelic status at 18q21 in 30 primary gastric carcinomas and 5 gastric carcinoma cell lines. Polymerase chain reaction single‐strand conformation polymorphism and sequencing analyses revealed no DPC4 mutations in any of the primary tumors or cell lines. Homozygous deletion ofDPC4 was observed in only 1 (MKN‐45) of the 5 (20%) cell lines. This suggests that the target gene for loss on 18q is not DPC4. The true tumor suppressor gene, encoded near DPC4, has yet to be identified.
New ways for terology through predictive maintenance in an environmental perspective

Terology is defined as the combined use of techniques of operational research, information systems and engineering, with the objective of accompanying the life cycle of facilities and equipments; it includes the definition of specifications referred to its purchase, installation and reception, as well as the management and control of its maintenance, modification and substitution and, still, its accompaniment in service. Under this perspective, maintenance is the core of terology and it correspond a subject that, instead of reducing importance of maintenance with the increasing of equipment reliability, it increases its role in the companies and obliges the increasing of the level of demand of professionals involved because of the new technical and environmental demands. This reveals the importance of this scientific area and the necessity to concentrate and to increase the research around it. The maintenance area is an example that offers challenges to both science and companies in order to optimize the performance of equipment and facilities. But, the scientific developments, namely in this area, must be more and more environmentally friendly or, in other words, must close the technology to nature, guarantying its life through an adequate maintenance management. It is because of this kind of challenge that the authors are developing new methodologies, almost antagonistic, because of the areas under development, namely diesel engines and wind generators, but as we will demonstrate, areas which are compatible and can contribute for a better environment. In the case of wind generators, the methodology aims to optimize the cycles of production and, consequently, reduce the other kinds of energy production. On the other hand, the methodologies for maintenance of diesel engines are based on environmental indicators that can predict the "health state" taking into account restrictions including health human factors among others. The new methodologies will later be incorporated through new predictive maintenance modules in an integrated maintenance management system called SMIT (Terology Integrated Modular System). The SMIT was developed as a traditional system, but it includes several innovations, like a fault diagnosis module, a non-periodic maintenance planning module and a generic on-condition maintenance module, among others. The new features will include, in the case of wind generators, on-line measures and the corresponding on-time treatment, using algorithms based on time-series forecasting and TCP/IP technology to transmit the signals. In the case of diesel engines, the algorithms are based on Markov chains and hidden Markov chains. It is based on these developments and the new researches mentioned so far, that this paper is built upon, and we believe that it will be a contribution to the maintenance management area.
Inhibition by β‐Carotene of Upper Respiratory Tumorigenesis in Hamsters Receiving Diethylnitrosamine Followed by Cigarette Smoke Exposure

In recent intervention studies, β‐carotene failed to reduce or even increased the incidence of lung cancers in smokers. In the present investigation, the modifying effects of β‐Carotene at various doses on the development of upper respiratory tract tumors were investigated in Syrian hamsters treated with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and cigarette smoke. A total of 120 male 5‐week‐old hamsters were divided into 4 groups, each consisting of 30 animals. After a sing le subcutaneous (s.c.) injection of 100 mg/kg DEN, hamsters in groups 1–4 were respectively administered diets supplemented with β‐carotene at doses of 0.5%, 0.05%, 0.005% or 0% during experimental weeks 1 to 13, and simultaneously exposed to cigarette smoke. The duration of cigarette smoke exposure was 9 min twice a day, 5 days a week. Because of a marked reduction of body weight in group 1, the highest dose of β‐carotene was changed to 0.25% after 10 days. In all groups, epithelial hyperplasias and/or papillomas were induced in the larynx and trachea. However, the incidence and multiplicity of papillomas in group 1 were significantly (P<0.05) lower than the group 4 values. Moreover, the β‐carotene treatments significantly (P<0.05 or 0.01) reduced both the incidence and multiplicity of hyperplasias in a dose‐dependent manner. The levels of retinol and β‐carotene in the serum, and the retinol level in the liver, were also elevated with dose dependence. Our results thus indicate that β‐carotene inhibits tumorigenesis, even at the high dose of 0.25%, under the present experimental conditions.
Glucocorticoid receptor dimers control intestinal STAT1 and TNF-induced inflammation in mice

TNF is an important mediator in numerous inflammatory diseases, e.g., in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). In IBD, acute increases in TNF production can lead to disease flares. Glucocorticoids (GCs), which are steroids that bind and activate the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), are able to protect animals and humans against acute TNF-induced inflammatory symptoms. Mice with a poor transcriptional response of GR dimer–dependent target genes were studied in a model of TNF-induced lethal inflammation. In contrast to the GRWT/WT mice, these GRdim/dim mice displayed a substantial increase in TNF sensitivity and a lack of protection by the GC dexamethasone (DEX). Unchallenged GRdim/dim mice had a strong IFN-stimulated gene (ISG) signature, along with STAT1 upregulation and phosphorylation. This ISG signature was gut specific and, based on our studies with antibiotics, depended on the gut microbiota. GR dimers directly bound to short DNA sequences in the STAT1 promoter known as inverted repeat negative GRE (IR-nGRE) elements. Poor control of STAT1 in GRdim/dim mice led to failure to repress ISG genes, resulting in excessive necroptosis induction by TNF. Our findings support a critical interplay among gut microbiota, IFNs, necroptosis, and GR in both the basal response to acute inflammatory challenges and pharmacological intervention by GCs.
Limits to Sustained Metabolic Rate: The Link between Food Intake, Basal Metabolic Rate, and Morphology in Reproducing Mice, Mus musculus

Thirty virgin female white (MF1) mice (Mus musculus) were divided into three groups: an unmated control group; a second, mated group, allowed to proceed to peak gestation; and a third, mated group, allowed to proceed to peak lactation. Nine unmated animals and eight of each of the two mated groups had their basal metabolism (oxygen consumption at 28° C) measured and were then killed by means of a CO₂ overdose, and the wet masses of 14 different body components measured. Body mass of the control animals averaged 26.5 g, not significantly different from animals in the other two groups immediately postmating. At peak gestation body mass averaged 50.5 g, immediate postpartum mass was 35.5 g, and by the end of lactation it was 38. 4 g. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) of the control animals (0.313 W) was significantly lower than the BMR of both pregnant (0.78 W) and lactating (0.95 W) animals. Food intake of controls was 97.9 kJ d⁻¹ (3.6 X BMR). At peak gestation food intake was 119.3 kJ d⁻¹ (2.4 X BMR), and at peak lactation it was 405.5 kJ d⁻¹ (5.96 X BMR). If BMR had not increased throughout reproduction, the peak food intake would have represented 12.2 times BMR. Morphological changes associated with the reproductive cycle mainly included increases in the masses of the alimentary tract, liver, kidneys, heart, and lungs. A principal components analysis revealed four major dominant axes of variability in the morphology. The first principal component was dominated by the combined alimentary effects and explained 71.8% of the variation in BMR. These data are consistent with the hypotheses that maximal sustainable metabolic rate reflects a link between structure of the alimentary tract, maximal daily food assimilation, and BMR. That is, as mice progressed through reproduction, their increasing food requirements were beyond the capacity of their guts to supply them. This led to hypertrophy of the alimentary tract and associated organs, with a consequent increase in BMR.
EFNS guideline on diagnosis and management of limb girdle muscular dystrophies

The limb girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) are termed as such as they share the characteristic feature of muscle weakness predominantly affecting the shoulder and pelvic girdles; their classification has been completely revised in recent years because of elucidation of many of the underlying genetic and protein alterations in the various subtypes. An array of diagnostic measures is possible but with varying ease of use and availability. Several aspects of muscle cell function appear to be involved in the causation of muscle pathology. These cellular variations may confer some specific clinical features thus permitting recognition of the LGMD subtype and hence directing appropriate levels of monitoring and intervention. Despite an extensive literature on the individual limb girdle dystrophies, these publications may be impenetrable for the general neurologist in this increasingly complex field. The proposed guidelines suggest an approach to the diagnosis and monitoring of the limb girdle dystrophies in a manner accessible to general neurologists.
Analysis of electroosmotic flow in a microchannel packed with microspheres

The electroosmotic flow in a microchannel packed with microspheres under both direct and alternating electric fields is analyzed. In the case of the steady DC electroosmosis in a packed microchannel, the so-called “capillary model” is used, in which it is assumed that a porous medium is equivalent to a series of intertwined tubules. The interstitial tubular velocity is obtained by analytically solving the Navier–Stokes equation and the complete Poisson–Boltzmann equation. Then, using the volume-averaging method, the solution for the electroosmotic flow in a single charged cylindrical tubule is applied to estimate the electroosmosis in the overall porous media by introducing the porosity and tortuosity. Assuming uniform porosity, an exact solution accounting for the electrokinetic wall effect is obtained by solving the modified Brinkman momentum equation. For the electroosmotic flow under alternating electric fields in a cylindrical microchannel packed with microspheres of uniform size, two different conditions regarding the openness of the channel ends are considered. Based on the capillary model, the time-periodic oscillating electroosmotic flow in an open-ended microchannel in response to the application of an alternating electric field is obtained using the Green’s function approach to the Navier–Stokes equation. When the two ends of the channel are closed, a backpressure is induced to generate a counter flow, resulting in a new zero flow rate. Such induced backpressure associated with the counter flow in a closed-end microchannel is obtained analytically by solving the transient modified Brinkman momentum equation.
A novel switching strategy for DC link voltage balance in parallel connected three-level diode clamped back-to-back converter systems serving to variable speed pumped storage plant

Variable speed pumped storage plant (VSPSP) is a practical feasible solution to meet peak demand in power network. During recent era, doubly fed induction machine (DFIM) is preferred for the sites, where large variations in water head or surplus power available in the grid to increase the energy efficiency at part loads. In general, DFIM with parallel connected three-level diode clamped converter (3L-NPC) systems are employed in rotor circuit for large rated pumping applications (above 100 MW). However, parallel connected 3L-NPC suffers with DC link voltage imbalance due to neutral phase currents, which degrades the overall performance of the inverter. To overcome this issue, this paper proposes a novel switching strategy based on virtual switching vector selection scheme, which balances the DC link voltage for wide range of load variation without any additional circuitry. The effectiveness of proposed switching strategy is realized with MATLAB/Simulink environment and experimental validation is performed through 2.2 kW DFIM system.
Clinical correlation of plasma miR-21 , miR-126 and miR-148 a in patients with lupus nephritis

Recent studies have shown that microRNAs play an important role in autoimmune diseases. In this study, we studied the plasma expressive levels of miR-21, miR-126 and miR-148a in 44 patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and 24 healthy controls, and their clinical relationships were further analyzed. Compared with the healthy controls, plasma miR-21, miR-126 and miR-148a levels were significantly higher in LN patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of plasma miR-21, miR-126a and miR-148a showed that the areas under curve were 0.807 ± 0.051 (P < 0.0001), 0.788 ± 0.053 (P < 0.0001) and 0.776 ± 0.055 (P = 0.0002), respectively, when differentiating LN patients from healthy controls. Plasma miR-21 levels were significantly negatively correlated with complement factors C3 (r = -0.420, P = 0.005), C4 (r = -0.362, P = 0.016), white blood cell (r = -0.395, P = 0.008) and red blood cell counts (r = -0.357, P = 0.017) and positively correlated with the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) in patients with LN (r = 0.472, P = 0.001). In contrast, plasma miR-126 and miR-148a levels were not significantly correlated with any clinical data in our patient cohort. Therefore, our findings suggest that significantly increased plasma levels of miR-21, miR-148a, and miR-126 occur in LN patients, and plasma miR-21 levels are associated with C3 and C4 levels and the SLEDAI. The potential of circulating miR-21 as a non-invasive biomarker in LN patients warrants further study.
Analysis of the c‐myc, K‐ras and p53 Genes in Methylcholanthrene induced Mouse Sarcomas

We have examined 63 methylcholanthrene (MCA)‐induced mouse sarcomas for possible correlations of mutations involving the c‐myc, ras and p53 genes. The c‐myc gene was found to be amplified in 18 of these sarcomas (29%). Polymerase chain reaction‐single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR‐SSCP) analysis and subsequent direct sequencing identified 18 cases carrying K‐ras mutation at codons 12, 13 and 61 (29%). No mutation was detected in the H‐ras and N‐ras genes. Mutations of the p53 gene in exons 5 to 8 were found in 45 cases (71%). Comparison of these mutations revealed that out of 18 cases with c‐myc gene amplifications, 10 carried K‐ras mutations (56%) and 14 carried p53 mutations (78%). In contrast, among 45 cases of sarcomas without c‐myc gene amplification, 8 were found to have K‐ras mutations (18%). The same 45 cases were found to have 31 p53 mutations (69%). The present study suggests a strong correlation between c‐myc gene amplification and K‐ras gene mutation (P < 0.01). p53 gene mutation was frequently found among MCA‐induced mouse sarcomas, indicating the importance of this mutation in the etiology of these tumors. However, p53 mutations were present in sarcomas regardless of the state of c‐myc amplification and K‐ras mutation. Therefore, a defect in the p53 gene is independent of amplification of the c‐myc gene or point mutation of the K‐ras gene.
Interaction between the CD8 Coreceptor and Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Stabilizes T Cell Receptor-Antigen Complexes at the Cell Surface*

The off-rate (koff) of the T cell receptor (TCR)/peptide-major histocompatibility complex class I (pMHCI) interaction, and hence its half-life, is the principal kinetic feature that determines the biological outcome of TCR ligation. However, it is unclear whether the CD8 coreceptor, which binds pMHCI at a distinct site, influences this parameter. Although biophysical studies with soluble proteins show that TCR and CD8 do not bind cooperatively to pMHCI, accumulating evidence suggests that TCR associates with CD8 on the T cell surface. Here, we titrated and quantified the contribution of CD8 to TCR/pMHCI dissociation in membrane-constrained interactions using a panel of engineered pMHCI mutants that retain faithful TCR interactions but exhibit a spectrum of affinities for CD8 of >1,000-fold. Data modeling generates a “stabilization factor” that preferentially increases the predicted TCR triggering rate for low affinity pMHCI ligands, thereby suggesting an important role for CD8 in the phenomenon of T cell cross-reactivity.
A Multi-Layer Finite Element Model Based on Anisotropic Hyperelastic Fiber Reinforcements within Intestinal Walls

The intestinal wall is considered as a highly composite heterogeneous tissue characterized by a strong nonlinear stress-strain passive response with an exponential stiffening effect at higher deformations. The conventional theory of fiber-reinforced elastic solids allows one to describe the anisotropic strain energy as a function of the pseudo-invariants arising from the coupling of the elastic deformation and the direction of fiber reinforcement. In this paper, a multi-layer finite element model of the intestine walls is developed, based on an anisotropic hyperelastic theory of the layered structure, in which each layer may be considered as a composite reinforced by two families of fibers that are arranged in symmetrical spirals. A potential is proposed to model the intestine walls as a fiber-reinforced composite consisting of two directions of muscle-fiber reinforcement and a cross-ply collagen arrangement. Moreover, finite element simulations of a specimen cut from the intestinal walls were carried out by using the same form of strain-energy function, described by a well-known GasserOgden-Holzapfel (GOH) model, for each layer. The model parameters were optimized by fitting the model to the experimental stress-stretch responses in both longitudinal and circumferential directions. In order to verify the proposed model, finite element analyses were carried out to investigate the distributions of equivalent stress in the intestine after the complete deployment of capsule robot legs.
A Time-Varying Model of Risk for Predicting Recidivism Among Women Offenders Over 3 Years Following Their Release From Jail

This study examines time-varying gender-responsive and gender-neutral predictors of recidivism over 3 years using baseline and quarterly follow-up interviews with 477 women released from a county jail. Of the 55 time-varying predictors tested in the longitudinal analysis, 39 were significant predictors of recidivism (new arrest or incarceration) even after controlling for baseline fixed predictors. Stepwise multivariate analysis simplified the model to 12 significant variables, including three time-varying variables associated with reduced risk of recidivism (custody of one’s children, self-help activity, environmental support), eight time-varying variables associated with increased risk of recidivism (illegal activity, type of crime, problems with probation/parole, days in jail/prison, number of sexual partners, past-year trauma, problem orientation, external pressure), and the composite measure of risk from baseline. These findings support the development of post-release re-entry services tailored for female offenders that address both gender-responsive and gender-neutral criminogenic risk factors.