Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Free Radical Intermediates in Sonodynamic Therapy

Abstract: Current understanding of the mechanism of sonodynamic action (i.e. the ultrasound‐dependent enhancement of the cytotoxic action of certain drugs ‐ sonosensitizers) with potential applications for cancer therapy is presented. The experimental evidence suggests that sonosensitization is due to the chemical activation of sonosensitizers inside or in the close vicinity of hot collapsing cavitation bubbles to form sensitizer‐derived free radicals either by direct pyrolysis or due to reactions with ·H and ·OH radicals, formed by pyrolysis of water. These free radicals (mostly carbon‐centered) react with oxygen to form peroxyl and alkoxyl radicals. Unlike ·OH and ·H, which are also formed by pyrolysis inside cavitation bubbles, the reactivity of alkoxyl and peroxyl radicals with organic components dissolved in biological media is lower and hence have higher probability of reaching critical cellular sites. Sonodynamic therapy appears to be a promising modality for cancer treatment since ultrasound can penetrate deep within the tissue and can be focused in a small region of tumor to chemically activate relatively non‐toxic molecules (e.g. porphyrins) thus minimizing undesirable side effects.
Age-Related Effects on Temporal Strategies to Speed Motor Performance

The purpose of ihis study was to compare the effects of a single practice session on performance strategies used by young and older adults to decrease movement time (MT) while maintaining accuracy of an aiming task. Five young and 5 older adult males practiced until each accumulated 500 target hits in each of two complexity conditions as defined by Fitts’s law. Participants decreased MT with practice; however, older adults had longer MTs than the young, particularly in the high-complexity condition. With practice in the low-complexity condition, participants decreased absolute acceleration and deceleration times but maintained the relative amount of MT devoted to temporal phases. In contrast, with practice in the high-complexity condition, participants decreased absolute deceleration and dwell time and changed the temporal structure. Results suggest that older adults can decrease MT with practice and that the performance strategies adopted to speed performance are more a function of task complexity than age.
Variation in mitochondrial DNA control region haplotypes in populations of the bank vole, Clethrionomys glareolus, living in the Chernobyl environment, Ukraine

Bank vole, Clethrionomys glareolus, specimens have been annually sampled from the radioactive Chernobyl, Ukraine, environment and nonradioactive reference sites since 1997. Exposed voles continually exhibit increased mitochondrial DNA hap‐lotype (h) and nucleotide diversity (ND), observed in the hypervariable control region (1997–1999). Increased maternal mutation rates, source–sink relationships, or both are proposed as hypotheses for these differences. Samples from additional years (2000 and 2001) have been incorporated into this temporal study. To evaluate the hypothesis that an increased mutation rate is associated with increased h, DNA sequences were examined in a phylogenetic context for novel substitutions not observed in haplotypes from bank voles from outside Ukraine or in other species of Clethrionomys. Such novel substitutions might result from in situ mutation events and, if largely restricted to samples from radioactive environments, support an increased maternal mutation rate in these areas. The only unique substitution meeting this criterion was found in an uncontaminated reference site. All other substitutions are found in other haplotypes of the bank vole or in other species. Increased maternal mutation rates do not appear to explain trends in h and ND observed in northern Ukraine. Studies examining ecological dynamics will clarify the reasons behind, and significance of, increased levels of h in contaminated areas.
Quality attribute game: a game theory based techniquefor software architecture design

Game Theory is the study of multi-person behavior where the decision of one player affects the decisions of others; concepts such as Nash Equilibrium, Pareto optimality etc. analyze the optimal strategies of the players in a particular situation. In Software Architecture Design, various Quality Attributes (QAs) affect each other and the designer makes decisions based on the effectiveness of an architecture solution (AS) at the given scenario, its side-effects on other QAs, and priorities of QAs. One way to automate the architecture design process is to model the conflicting behavior of QAs as a game-theoretic problem and apply the concepts in game theory for optimal design decision analysis.
Extraction of hybrid complex wavelet features for the verification of handwritten numerals

A novel hybrid feature extraction method is proposed for the verification of handwritten numerals. The hybrid features consist of one set of two dimensional complex wavelet transform (2D-CWT) coefficients and one set of geometrical features. As 2D-CWT does not only keep wavelet transform's properties of multiresolution decomposition analysis and perfect reconstruction, but also adds its new merits: its magnitudes being insensitive to the small image shifts and multiple directional selectivity, which are useful for handwritten numeral feature extraction. Experiments demonstrated that the features extracted by our proposed method could make the ANN classifier more reliable and convergence easily. A high verification performance has been observed in the series of experiments on handwritten numeral pairs and clusters.
Genetic and environmental influences on food preferences in adolescence12

Background: Food preferences vary substantially among adults and children. Twin studies have established that genes and aspects of the shared family environment both play important roles in shaping children’s food preferences. The transition from childhood to adulthood is characterized by large gains in independence, but the relative influences of genes and the environment on food preferences in late adolescence are unknown. Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify the contribution of genetic and environmental influences on food preferences in older adolescents. Design: Participants were 2865 twins aged 18–19 y from the TEDS (Twins Early Development Study), a large population-based cohort of British twins born during 1994–1996. Food preferences were measured by using a self-report questionnaire of 62 individual foods. Food items were categorized into 6 food groups (fruit, vegetables, meat or fish, dairy, starch foods, and snacks) by using factor analysis. Maximum likelihood structural equation modeling established genetic and environmental contributions to variations in preferences for each food group. Results: Genetic factors influenced a significant and substantial proportion of the variation in preference scores of all 6 food groups: vegetables (0.54; 95% CI: 0.47, 0.59), fruit (0.49; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.55), starchy foods (0.32; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.39), meat or fish (0.44; 95% CI: 0.38, 0.51), dairy (0.44; 95% CI: 0.37, 0.50), and snacks (0.43; 95% CI: 0.36, 0.49). Aspects of the environment that are not shared by 2 twins in a family explained all of the remaining variance in food preferences. Conclusions: Food preferences had a moderate genetic basis in late adolescence, in keeping with findings in children. However, by this older age, the influence of the shared family environment had disappeared, and only aspects of the environment unique to each individual twin influenced food preferences. This finding suggests that shared environmental experiences that influence food preferences in childhood may not have effects that persist into adulthood.
SiPTH: Singing Transcription Based on Hysteresis Defined on the Pitch-Time Curve

In this paper, we present a method for monophonic singing transcription based on hysteresis defined on the pitch-time curve. This method is designed to perform note segmentation even when the pitch evolution during the same note behaves unstably, as in the case of untrained singers. The selected approach estimates the regions in which the chroma is stable, these regions are classified as voiced or unvoiced according to a decision tree classifier using two descriptors based on aperiodicity and power. Then, a note segmentation stage based on pitch intervals of the sung signal is carried out. To this end, a dynamic averaging of the pitch curve is performed after the beginning of a note is detected in order to roughly estimate the pitch. Deviations of the actual pitch curve with respect to this average are measured to determine the next note change according to a hysteresis process defined on the pitch-time curve. Finally, each note is labeled using three single values: rounded pitch (to semitones), duration and volume. Also, a complete evaluation methodology that includes the definition of different relevant types of errors, measures and a method for the computation of the evaluation measures are presented. The proposed system improves significantly the performance of the baseline approach, and attains results similar to previous approaches.
Characterizing the synchronizability of small-world dynamical networks

Many real-world complex networks display a small-world feature-a high degree of clustering and a small average distance. We show that the maximum synchronizability of a network is completely determined by its associated feedback system, which has a precise meaning in terms of synchronous communication. We introduce a new concept of synchronizability matrix to characterize the maximum synchronizability of a network. Several new concepts, such as sensitive edge and robust edge, are proposed for analyzing the robustness and fragility of synchronization of a network. Using the knowledge of synchronizability, we can purposefully increase the robustness of the network synchronization and prevent it from attacks. Some applications in small-world networks are also discussed briefly.
Transforming Growth Factor-β1 Represses E-Cadherin Production via Slug Expression in Lens Epithelial Cells

PURPOSE TGFbeta is a potent candidate for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during the development of anterior polar cataracts in the human lens. The Snail superfamily is involved in EMT through the repression of E-cadherin production. This study was conducted to determine whether the Snail gene family is activated in the process of TGFbeta1-induced EMT and how TGFbeta1 regulates the expression of this gene family. METHODS Total RNA extracted from human cataract samples was subjected to the real-time PCR quantification of Slug mRNA. Induction of Slug expression by TGFbeta1 (10 ng/mL) in lens epithelial cells was determined by RT-PCR, immunostaining, immunoblot analysis, and Slug promoter analysis. A series of Slug promoter deletion constructs was used to identify the putative regulatory element responsive to TGF signaling. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was performed to determine whether Sp1 associates with the endogenous Slug promoter. Inhibition of Slug expression with Slug siRNA was used to investigate the role of Slug in TGFbeta-mediated EMT. RESULTS Slug levels were highly upregulated in lens epithelial cells obtained from patients with anterior polar cataracts. Treatment of TGFbeta1 induced the expression of Slug in both lens and other epithelial cells in vitro. TGFbeta1-induced Slug expression was significantly inhibited by the MEK- and JNK/SAPK-specific inhibitors, but not by transfection with dominant-negative forms of Smads or small GTPase proteins, indicating that MAPK pathways are involved in the regulation of Slug expression by TGFbeta1. The Slug promoter analysis revealed that the Sp1 binding site in the Slug promoter is responsible for TGFbeta1-induced Slug expression. In addition, the TGFbeta1-mediated repression of E-cadherin was significantly inhibited by Slug siRNA. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that TGFbeta1 induces Slug expression and that the repression of E-cadherin production by TGFbeta1 is mediated by the induction of Slug in lens epithelial cells.
AutoEncoder based high-dimensional data fault detection system

In this paper, we propose a novel fault detection method for multivariate industrial processes. The method is based on AutoEncoder. AutoEncoder is a single-hidden-layer neural network that can learn low-dimensional nonlinear representations for high-dimensional data. In the proposed fault detection method, offline normal data are used to train an AutoEncoder, which is then used for online fault detection. The proposed method is compared with conventional methods on Tennessee Eastman process. The experimental results show that the proposed method is able to outperform other methods.
La historia del libro y de la lectura en Colombia Un balance historiográfico

In a research field to be explored yet as is the history of the print culture and reading in Colombia, we discuss the main contributions achieved up to now, trying to classify them by historical trends that, from its methodological and theoretical approaches, allow us to explore the practical and symbolic meanings embodied by the “book” and the “reading” in a specific context.
Two-dimensional Blue Native/SDS Gel Electrophoresis of Multiprotein Complexes from Helicobacter pylori*

The study of protein interactions constitutes an important domain to understand the physiology and pathogenesis of microorganisms. The two-dimensional blue native/SDS-PAGE was initially reported to analyze membrane protein complexes. In this study, both cytoplasmic and membrane complexes of a bacterium, the strain J99 of the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori, were analyzed by this method. It was possible to identify 34 different proteins grouped in 13 multiprotein complexes, 11 from the cytoplasm and two from the membrane, either previously reported partially or totally in the literature. Besides complexes involved in H. pylori physiology, this method allowed the description of interactions involving known pathogenic factors such as (i) urease with the heat shock protein GroEL or with the putative ketol-acid reductoisomerase IlvC and (ii) the cag pathogenicity island CagA protein with the DNA gyrase GyrA as well as insight on the partners of TsaA, a peroxide reductase/stress-dependent molecular chaperone. The two-dimensional blue native/SDS-PAGE combined with mass spectrometry is a potential tool to study the differences in complexes isolated in various situations and also to study the interactions between bacterial and eucaryotic cell proteins.
The transition from maternal to embryonic control in the 2‐cell mouse embryo.

The development of the early 2‐cell mouse embryo to the late 2‐cell stage is marked by the appearance between 23 and 26 h post‐insemination of a complex of polypeptides of mol. wt. approximately 67 K. Addition of alpha‐amanitin between 18 and 21 h post‐insemination prevents or reduces the subsequent appearance of these polypeptides. Addition of alpha‐amanitin after 21 h does not obviously affect the appearance of the approximately 67 K polypeptides. A major change in synthetic profile occurs between 29 and 32 h post‐insemination involving many polypeptides. Addition of alpha‐amanitin to 2‐cell embryos prior to 29 h post‐insemination prevents the appearance of the new polypeptides observed during this major change but does not prevent the disappearance of the old polypeptides. In contrast, addition of alpha‐amanitin after this time does not affect the appearance of the new polypeptides. This result, together with other evidence presented, suggests that during the 2‐cell stage the embryonic genome shows transcriptional activity in two phases at 18‐21 and 26‐29 h post‐insemination, that these transcripts are utilized soon after their synthesis, and that most maternal transcripts used before the second phase of embryonic transcription become ineffective soon afterwards.
Lipoprotein subfractions and dietary intake of n-3 fatty acid: the Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives study.

BACKGROUND Few studies have compared lipoprotein composition with dietary intake. OBJECTIVE The lipoprotein subfraction profile was evaluated in relation to diet in Alaska Eskimos at high cardiovascular risk but with a low frequency of hyperlipidemia and high intake of n-3 (omega-3) fatty acids. DESIGN A population-based sample (n = 1214) from the Norton Sound Region of Alaska underwent a physical examination and blood sampling. Analyses were from 977 individuals who did not have diabetes or use lipid-lowering medications and had complete dietary information (food-frequency questionnaire) and a lipoprotein subfraction profile (nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy). RESULTS After adjustment for age, BMI, total energy intake, and percentage of energy from fat, the intake of n-3 fatty acids was significantly associated with fewer large VLDLs (P = 0.022 in women, P = 0.064 in men), a smaller VLDL size (P = 0.018 and P = 0.036), more large HDLs (P = 0.179 and P = 0.021), and a larger HDL size (P = 0.004 and P = 0.001). After adjustment for carbohydrate and sugar intakes, large VLDLs (P = 0.042 and 0.018) and VLDL size (P = 0.011 and 0.025) remained negatively associated with n-3 fatty acid intake in women and men, and large HDLs (P = 0.067 and 0.005) and HDL size (P = 0.001 in both) remained positively associated with n-3 fatty acid intake in women and men. In addition, large LDLs (P = 0.040 and P = 0.025) were positively associated in both sexes, and LDL size (P = 0.006) showed a positive association in women. There were no significant relations with total LDL particles in either model. CONCLUSIONS Dietary n-3 fatty acids, independent of the reciprocal changes in carbohydrate and sugar intakes, are associated with an overall favorable lipoprotein profile in terms of cardiovascular risk. Because there are no relations with total LDL particles, the benefit may be related to cardiovascular processes other than atherosclerosis.
The polymerase complex genes contribute to the high virulence of the human H5N1 influenza virus isolate A/Vietnam/1203/04

H5N1 influenza viruses transmitted from poultry to humans in Asia cause high mortality and pose a pandemic threat. Viral genes important for cell tropism and replication efficiency must be identified to elucidate and target virulence factors. We applied reverse genetics to generate H5N1 reassortants combining genes of lethal A/Vietnam/1203/04 (VN1203), a fatal human case isolate, and nonlethal A/chicken/Vietnam/C58/04 (CH58) and tested their pathogenicity in ferrets and mice. The viruses' hemagglutinins have six amino acids differences, identical cleavage sites, and avian-like α-(2,3)–linked receptor specificity. Surprisingly, exchanging hemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes did not alter pathogenicity, but substituting CH58 polymerase genes completely attenuated VN1203 virulence and reduced viral polymerase activity. CH58's NS gene partially attenuated VN1203 in ferrets but not in mice. Our findings suggest that for high virulence in mammalian species an avian H5N1 virus with a cleavable hemagglutinin requires adaptive changes in polymerase genes to overcome the species barrier. Thus, novel antivirals targeting polymerase proteins should be developed.
Behavioral Methods in Consciousness Research

Metacognition, or "knowing that you know", is a core component of consciousness. Insight into a perceptual or conceptual decision permits us to infer perceptual or conscious knowledge underlying that decision. However when assessing metacognitive performance care must be taken to avoid confounds from decisional and/or confidence biases. There has recently been substantial progress in this area and there now exist promising approaches. In this chapter we introduce type I and II signal detection theory (SDT), and describe and evaluate signal detection theoretic measures of metacognition. We discuss practicalities for empirical research with these measures, for example, alternative methods of transforming extreme data scores and of collecting confidence ratings, with the aim of encouraging the use of SDT in research on metacognition. We conclude by discussing metacognition in the context of consciousness.
What matters in preeclampsia are the associated adverse outcomes: the view from Canada

IntroductionPreeclampsia and the other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) remain leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality; the World Health Organization estimates that at least one woman dies every 7 min from the complications of HDPs. The HDPs represent a major indic
Sanfilippo syndrome , is an inherited Glycosaminoglycans and mucopolysaccharidosis type III

Mucopolysaccharidosis type III (MPS III), or Sanfilippo syndrome, is a lysosomal storage disease in which heparan sulfate is accumulated in lysosomes, as well as outside of cells, as the primary storage material. This disease is a complex of four conditions caused by dysfunctions of one of genes coding for lysosomal enzymes involved in degradation of heparan sulfate: SGSH (coding for heparan N-sulfatase) – causing MPS IIIA, NAGLU (coding for alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase) causing MPS IIIB, HGSNAT (coding for acetyl CoA alpha-glucosaminide acetyltransferase) causing MPS IIIC), and GNS (coding for N-acetylglucosamine-6-sulfatase) – causing MPS IIID. The primary storage is responsible for some disease symptoms, but other arise as a result of secondary storage, including glycosphingolipids, and subsequent processes, like oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Central nervous system is predominantly affected in all subtypes of MPS III. Heparan sulfate and its derivatives are the most commonly used biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction procedures. Currently, there is no therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome, however, clinical trials are ongoing for enzyme replacement therapy, gene therapy and substrate reduction therapy (particularly gene expression-targeted isoflavone therapy).
Rapid Detection of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in Clinical Samples from Ruminants and in Spiked Environmental Samples by Modified BACTEC 12B Radiometric Culture and Direct Confirmation by IS900 PCR

ABSTRACT The suitability of a radiometric culture medium consisting of BACTEC 12B with PANTA PLUS, mycobactin J, and egg yolk was evaluated for detection of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in feces, mesenteric lymph nodes, and intestinal walls from cattle, sheep, and goats. In addition, a simple method that would enable the rapid identification of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis by IS900 PCR in the primary cultures was sought so that subculture to secondary egg-free radiometric medium could be avoided. An ethanol extraction followed by differential centrifugation was used to separate M. paratuberculosis from PCR inhibitors in the primary culture. PCR was then undertaken with the pellet, after boiling to lyse the mycobacteria; if this test was negative, the DNA in the lysate was purified with guanidine thiocyanate and silica. Cultures of feces, ilea, and mesenteric lymph nodes from cattle, sheep, and goats known to have or suspected of having Johne’s disease yielded positive PCR results 1 to 7 weeks after inoculation. Similar results were obtained with soil and pasture samples that had been spiked withM. paratuberculosis. The results suggested that radiometric culture was more sensitive than histopathology in detectingM. paratuberculosis infection in sheep and goats and more sensitive than culture on Herrold’s egg yolk medium for the detection of the infection in cattle. Of 259 individual PCR tests with samples from cultures with growth indices of ≥10,237 (91.5%) were positive, with only 28 (11.8%) requiring both ethanol and silica preparation to yield a positive result. Of the 22 negative PCR results for samples from cultures with growth indices of ≥10, 18 were for samples from cultures that had only just developed evidence of growth. PCR-positive cultures tended to remain PCR positive over successive weeks. Flexibility in the timing of the sampling for PCR is thus possible, facilitating batch processing of samples in large-scale disease control programs for ruminants.