Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nitric oxide in plants: the history is just beginning

Nitric oxide (NO) is a bioactive molecule that exerts a number of diverse activities in phylogenetically distant species, as well as opposing effects in related biological systems. It was firstly described in mammals as a major messenger in the cardiovascular, immune and nervous system, in which it plays regulatory, signalling, cytoprotective and cytotoxic effects (Ignarro, Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology 30, 535–560, 1990; Anbar, Experientia 51, 545–550, 1995). This versatility is mainly achieved through interactions with targets via either a redox or an additive chemistry (Stamler, Cell 78, 931–936, 1994). For this reason, metal- and thiol-containing proteins serve as major target sites for NO: these include signalling proteins, receptors, enzymes, transcription factors and DNA, among others. Furthermore, NO is a small, highly diffusible molecule. It rapidly crosses biological membranes and triggers various different processes in a short period of time. In this context, NO can co-ordinate and regulate cellular functions of microsomes and organelles such as mitochondria. The ubiquity of NO reactions, as well as the finding that the biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying many physiological processes are well conserved between diverse species, have opened the exploration of NO chemistry in different organisms. Among these, plants were not the exception. The research in plants has been focused on three main fields: (i) the search for NO or any source of NO generation; (ii) the examination of the effects of NO upon exogenous treatments; and (iii) the search for the same molecules involved in NO-sensitive transduction pathways as in animals (e.g. cGMP, Ca2+, calmodulin). As it is evident from this review, recent progress on NO functionality in plants has been impressive. With the use of biochemistry, molecular genetics and structural biology, together with classical physiological approaches, an explosion of new discoveries will surely begin. It is certainly a good time for plant biologists.
Effect of magnetic field on quantum capacitance of the nanoobject

Recently, quantum capacitance is the subject of intense of fundamental and applied researches. For the first time the concept was introduced in the [1] studying the behavior of electrons in twodimensional structures. This and subsequent works showed that the effect is shown in low-dimensional structures and nanoobjects. One of the main reasons appearance of the quantum capacitance is the specificity of the electronic spectrum in such structures (see, f.ex., [2–6]). The discrete nature of the electronic spectrum in nanostructures is the cause of features of their capacitance other than in bulk crystals. The discrete nature of electronic spectrum in nanostructures creates capacitance, unlike the capacitance in bulk crystals. If we analyze the spectrum band of bulk crystal with orthogonal symmetry in the effective mass approximation (Fig. 1a), then the spectrum in nanoplate, cut out of the crystal, becomes a set of two-dimensional minizones (Fig. 1b).
Immunohistochemical Analysis of Citrulline-Nitric Oxide Cycle Enzymes and Glutamine Synthetase in Different Regions of Brain in Epilepsy Rat Model

The aim of this study was to determine the immunoreactivity of neuronal and inducible nitric oxide synthetase, argininosuccinate synthetase, argininosuccinate lyase, glutamine synthetase in different regions of brain in rats of kainic acid mediated epilepsy. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. The acute group animals were sacrificed after 2 hours and the chronic group animals were sacrificed after 5 days of a single subcutaneous injection of kainic acid (15 mg/kg body weight). The cerebral cortex, cerebellum and brain stem slices were fixed and immunohistostained for the above enzymes. Images were captured and analyzed. In acute group, argininosuccinate synthetase and inducible nitric oxide synthetase were increased in cerebral cortex and cerebellum, neuronal nitric oxide synthetase increased in cerebral cortex and brain stem, and there was no change in argininosuccinate lyase immunoreactivity compared to control group. In chronic group, glutamine synthetase was decreased and all other enzymes immunoreactivity was increased in all the brain regions tested. This study demonstrated the up-regulation of citrul-line-nitric oxide cycle enzymes and may contribute to enhancing recycling of citrulline to arginine to support the increased production of nitric oxide in epilepsy. The decreased glutamine synthetase may increase glutamate in chronic epilepsy and may lead to neurodegeneration.
The Effects of Nozzle Length and Exhaust Plume Interaction on High-Speed Base Flows: An experimental investigation using Tomographic PIV

The importance of reliable and efficient launch vehicles pervades the many industries which rely on space based hardware. An experimental investigation has been performed into the effects of nozzle length and exhaust plume presence on a FESTIP axisymmetric base flow at Mach 0.7. Three different nozzle lengths (L/D = 0.6, 1.2, 1.8) were tested to account for the effects of fluidic, hybrid, and solid reattachment of the shear layer. Additionally, an underexpanded exhaust plume (NPR = 100) was simulated using compressed air driven through the model. Tomographic PIV was used in combination with a momentum based pressure reconstruction technique to study the effect on the mean pressure coefficient. This approach was validated using a similar, sting mounted model equipped with pressure transducers. Excellent agreement within 10% (less than 0.02 Cp) is found between the transducers and the PIV derived wall pressure value. Performance of the technique is found to largely rely on the in-plane, both streamwise and radial, Reynolds stress terms. For this reason, it is concluded that the pressure reconstruction technique would perform similarly well using a simpler, planar PIV arrangement. Statistically, the hybrid nozzle length with exhaust plume was the least stable and for the fluidic reattachment case, the exhaust presence had a stabilizing effect. Only in cases of fluidic reattachment does the exhaust plume affect the mean pressure field; this is attributed to a `jet-suction’ effect, which imparts a consistent decrease in wall Cp. It is recommended that future researchers also image the near-wake as this may show additional instabilities affected by an exhaust plume.
Originals p 53 mutations in MeIQ-induced mouse forestomach tumors

A method was established for detecting mutations in the mouse p53 gene by cDNA-PCRSSCP, using four cell lines which were derived from forestomach tumors induced in CDF, mice by 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo [4,5-f] quinoline (MeIQ). All the cell lines were demonstrated to have mutations in exons 4, 5, 7 and 10, respectively, and the method was confirmed to be efficient and reliable. It was therefore used to analyse the role of p53 gene mutations in forestomach carcinogenesis induced by MeIQ, by examining four original tumors, one papilloma, two primary carcinomas and one lymph node metastasis. The papilloma (F 14) and the carcinoma (F 12) had mutations, but the lymph node metastasis of F 12 mouse (F 12 LN) did not. These results thus indicate that p53 mutations may occur relatively early but do not confer any predisposition for lymph node metastasis. (J Nippon Med Sch 1977; 64: 39-44)
Xylem Sap pH Increase: A Drought Signal Received at the Apoplastic Face of the Guard Cell That Involves the Suppression of Saturable Abscisic Acid Uptake by the Epidermal Symplast

Drought increased the pH of Commelina communis xylem sap from 6.1 to 6.7. Conductances of transpiring leaves were 50% lower in pH 7.0 than in pH 6.0 buffers, but bulk leaf abscisic acid (ABA) concentration and shoot water status were unaffected by pH. Stomatal apertures of isolated abaxial epidermis incubated on simple buffers increased with external pH, so in vivo this must be overridden by alternative pH effects. Reductions in leaf transpiration rate at pH 7.0 were dependent on the presence of 10–8 mol dm-3 ABA in the xylem stream. We inferred that at pH 7.0 leaf apoplastic ABA concentrations increased: pH did not affect distributions of ABA among leaf tissues, but isolated epidermis and mesophyll tissue took up more 3H-ABA from pH 6.0 than from pH 7.0 buffers. The apoplastic ABA increase at pH 7.0 may result from reduced symplastic sequestration. A portion of 3H-ABA uptake by the epidermis was saturable at pH 6.0 but not at pH 7.0. An ABA uptake carrier may contribute to ABA sequestration by the leaf symplast of well-watered plants, and its inactivity at pH 7.0 may favor apoplastic ABA accumulation in draughted plants. Effects of external pH on stomatal apertures in the isolated epidermis indicate that published data supporting a role for internal guard cell ABA receptors should be reassessed.
Program Implementers' Evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Findings Based on Different Datasets over Time

This paper integrates the evaluation findings based on program implementers in nine datasets collected from 2005 to 2009 (244 schools and 7,926 implementers). Using consolidated data with schools as the unit of analysis, results showed that program implementers generally had positive perceptions of the program, themselves, and benefits of the program, with more than four-fifths of the implementers regarding the program as beneficial to the program participants. The subjective outcome evaluation instrument was found to be internally consistent. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived qualities of the program and program implementers predicted perceived effectiveness of the program. In conjunction with evaluation findings based on other sources, the present study provides support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A. T.H. S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in Hong Kong.
Microsatellite Instability in Mouse Models of Colorectal Cancer

Microsatellite instability (MSI) is caused by DNA mismatch repair deficiency and is an important prognostic and predictive biomarker in colorectal cancer but relatively few studies have exploited mouse models in the study of its clinical utility. Furthermore, most previous studies have looked at MSI in the small intestine rather than the colon of mismatch repair deficient Msh2-knockout (KO) mice. Here we compared Msh2-KO, p53-KO, and wild type (WT) mice that were treated with the carcinogen azoxymethane (AOM) and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug sulindac or received no treatment. The induced tumors and normal tissue specimens from the colon were analysed with a panel of five mononucleotide repeat markers. MSI was detected throughout the normal colon in untreated Msh2-KO mice and this involved contraction of the repeat sequences compared to WT. The markers with longer mononucleotide repeats (37–59) were the most sensitive for MSI while the markers with shorter repeats (24) showed only minor change. AOM exposure caused further contraction of the Bat37 and Bat59 repeats in the distal colon of Msh2-KO mice which was reversed by sulindac. Thus AOM-induced carcinogenesis is associated with increased instability of mononucleotide repeats in the colon of Msh2-KO mice but not in WT or p53-KO mice. Chemoprevention of these tumors by sulindac treatment reversed or prevented the increased MSI.
Bond Strength of Calcium Silicate-Based Sealers to Dentine Dried with Different Techniques

Objective: To assess the influence of various canal-drying techniques on the push-out bond strength between radicular dentine and both MTA Fillapex and iRoot SP sealers. Materials and Methods: Eighty extracted single-root teeth were instrumented with ProTaper Universal rotary instruments to a size F4. The teeth were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups as follows: group 1, excess fluid in the canals was removed using a Luer vacuum adapter; group 2, the canals were dried with a single paper point; group 3, the canals were dried with 3-5 paper points, and group 4, the canals were rinsed with 95% ethanol and then dried with 3-5 paper points. In each group, the specimens were subgrouped according to root canal sealer into either subgroup A (MTA Fillapex) or subgroup B (iRoot SP sealer). Horizontal sections (thickness 1 ± 0.1 mm) were obtained from each specimen and a push-out test was performed using a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min on root slices. Statistical analysis was done using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn's test for pair-wise comparisons. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Canals dried with only 1 paper point and obturated with the iRoot SP sealer (subgroup 2B) showed significantly higher bond strengths to the root canal wall compared to all other subgroups (p < 0.05), except for subgroup 1B (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The canal-drying technique influenced the adhesive bond strength between calcium silicate-based root canal sealers and the root canal wall.
The putative glutamate receptor 1.1 (AtGLR1.1) functions as a regulator of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana

The ability to coordinate carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) metabolism enables plants to regulate development and metabolic responses to different environmental conditions. The regulator(s) or sensor(s) that monitor crosstalk between biosynthetic pathways and ultimately control the flow of C or N through them have remained elusive. We used an antisense strategy to demonstrate that the putative glutamate receptor 1.1 (AtGLR1.1) functions as a regulator of C and N metabolism in Arabidopsis. Seeds from AtGLR1.1-deficient Arabidopsis (antiAtGLR1.1) lines did not germinate in the presence of an animal ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGLR) antagonist, but germination was restored upon coincubation with an iGLR agonist or the putative ligand glutamate. In antiAtGLR1.1 lines, endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) concentrations increased with iGLR antagonist treatments and decreased with coincubation with an iGLR agonist, suggesting that germination was controlled by ABA. antiAtGLR1.1 seedlings also exhibited sensitivity to increased levels of Ca2+ compared with wild type, and they exhibited a conditional phenotype that was sensitive to the C:N ratio. In the presence of C, specifically sucrose, but not glucose, mannitol, or sorbitol, antiAtGLR1.1 seeds did not germinate, but germination was restored upon coincubation with \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{NO}}_{3}^{-}\end{equation*}\end{document}, but not \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{NH}}_{4}^{+}\end{equation*}\end{document}. Immunoblot, isoenzyme, and RT-PCR analyses indicate that AtGLR1.1 regulates the accumulation of distinct C- and N-metabolic enzymes, hexokinase 1 (HXK1) and zeaxanthin epoxidase (ABA1), by transcriptional control. We provide a model to describe the role of AtGLR1.1 in C/N metabolism and ABA biosynthesis, which in turn controls seed germination.
Peak offsetting based CPM controller for multi-level flying capacitor converters

This paper introduces a practical mixed-signal peak current programmed mode (CPM) controller suitable for emerging low-power dc-dc multi-level flying capacitor (ML-FC) converters. The controller eliminates the inherent instability problem of ML-FC converters associated with flying capacitor voltage runaway. The method is based on separate asymmetrical thresholds defining multiple inductor current peaks within one switching period. The effectiveness of the controller is verified through simulations and with a low-power 12 V to 1.8 V/1A, 3-level ML-FC experimental prototype.
Decoding of motor imagery movements from EEG signals using SpiNNaker neuromorphic hardware

Non-invasive brain machine interfaces (BMIs) on motor imagery movements have been widely studied and used for many years to take advantage of the intuitive link between imagined motor tasks and natural actions. En route to future technical applications of neuromorphic computing, a major current challenge lies in the identification and implementation of brain inspired algorithms to decode recorded signals. Neuromorphic computing is believed to allow real-time implementation of large scale spiking models for processing and computation in non-invasive BMIs. Taking inspiration from the olfactory system of insects, we advance and implement a novel approach to decode and predict imaginary movements from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. We use a spiking neural network implemented on SpiNNaker (4 chip, 64 cores) neuromorphic hardware. Our work provides a proof of concept for a successful implementation of a functional spiking neural network for decoding two motor imagery (MI) movements on the SpiNNaker system. The approach can be extended to classify more complex MI movements on larger SpiNNaker systems.
BSA Nanoparticle Loaded Atorvastatin Calcium - A New Facet for an Old Drug

Background Currently, the discovery of effective chemotherapeutic agents poses a major challenge to the field of cancer biology. The present study focuses on enhancing the therapeutic and anti cancer properties of atorvastatin calcium loaded BSA (ATV-BSA) nanoparticles in vitro. Methodology/Results BSA-ATV nanoparticles were prepared using desolvation technique. The process parameters were optimized based on the amount of desolvating agent, stabilization conditions as well as the concentration of the cross linker. The anti cancer properties of the protein coated ATV nanoparticles were tested on MiaPaCa-2 cell lines. In vitro release behavior of the drug from the carrier suggests that about 85% of the drug gets released after 72 hrs. Our studies show that ATV-BSA nanoparticles showed specific targeting and enhanced cytotoxicity to MiaPaCa-2 cells when compared to the bare ATV. Conclusion We hereby propose that the possible mechanism of cellular uptake of albumin bound ATV could be through caveolin mediated endocytosis. Hence our studies open up new facet for an existing cholesterol drug as a potent anti-cancer agent.
iDRM: Humanoid motion planning with realtime end-pose selection in complex environments

In this paper, we propose a novel inverse Dynamic Reachability Map (iDRM) that allows a floating base system to find valid and sufficient end-poses in complex and changing environments in real-time. End-pose planning, i.e. finding valid stance locations and collision-free reaching configurations, is an essential problem in humanoid applications, such as providing goal states for walking and motion planners. However, it is non-trivial in complex environments, where standing locations and reaching postures are restricted by obstacles. Our proposed approach, iDRM, customizes the robot-to-workspace occupation list and uses an online update algorithm to enable efficient reconstruction of the reachability map to guarantee that the selected end-poses are always collision-free. The iDRM was evaluated in a variety of reaching tasks using the 38 degree-of-freedom (DoF) humanoid robot Valkyrie. Our results show that the approach is capable of finding valid end-poses in a fraction of a second.
Automatic labelling of important terms and phrases from medical discussions

Online remedy finder web services have become quite popular in recent years. In these services, the user posts a text description of his health problem and the expert provides medications and related suggestions. Lengthy text description is the major challenge of these services as common web users often put a long text to describe his sufferings and the experts do not have sufficient time to read the long text. In this paper, we propose a system that highlights the important phrases or terms from such long questions or diagnosis related discussions. The proposed system uses a hybrid strategy where a set of statistical measures, syntactical and semantic information are used. To evaluate the system, we create a test data where all the important phrases are manually labelled. In our experiments, we found that the system achieves 83.38% recall.
The changing trend of cardiovascular disease and its clinical characteristics in Ethiopia: hospital-based observational study

Objective The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), their clinical characteristics, and associated factors in the outpatient department of the chronic illness clinic of Gondar University Referral Hospital. Method A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among patients on follow-up at the outpatient chronic illness clinic of the hospital from October 2010 to October 2015. The source population for the study included patients with a diagnosis of CVD whose medical records have the required socio-demographic information during the study period. The data were collected from August 2015 to December 2015. Chi-square and binary logistic regression tests were performed to test the significance of difference among predictive variables and CVDs. Results Of 1105 patient medical records, 862 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The majority of the patients were females (65%) and living in urban areas (62.7%). Hypertension accounted for the majority (62.3%) of CVDs followed by heart failure (HF) (23.9%). Headache was the leading chief complaint among the patients (37.7%) upon diagnosis and was the prominent clinical feature in more than half of the patients during their course of follow-up. Higher proportions of dyslipidemia (85.7%), hypertension (72.8%), and ischemic heart disease (IHD) (73.2%) were associated with urban residency (P<0.01). Patients from rural areas (crude odds ratio [COR] =1.306 [95% confidence interval 1.026–2.166], adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =1.272 [95% confidence interval 1.017–2.030]) and those with comorbidity illnesses (COR= 1.813 [1.279–2.782], AOR =1.551 [95% confidence interval 1.177–2.705]) were more likely to have poor CVD outcome (P<0.05). Conclusion Hypertension was found to be the most frequent CVD followed by HF, and hypertensive heart disease was the leading cause of cardiac diseases. Most of the patients had improved assessment in the last follow-up, but patients from rural regions and those with comorbidty had higher likelihood of poor cardiovascular outcome.
Optimization of LQR weighting matrices for a rotary inverted pendulum using intelligent optimization techniques

The Linear Quadratic Regulator is the effective controller for it guarantees stability and also is robust but the choice of optimum weighting matrices Q and R is crucial for obtaining the feedback gain. The feedback gain affects the poles of the closed loop system, which in turn determines the time domain characteristics of the system. In this paper an attempt has been made for proper choice of the weighting matrices through a few intelligent optimization techniques. Using those Q and R matrices the LQR designed is applied on to a nonlinear unstable system, a rotary inverted pendulum to verify the performance.