Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antioxidative Activity of Flavonoids from Abrus cantoniensis against Ethanol-Induced Gastric Ulcer in Mice

Abstract The present study investigated the flavonoids from Abrus cantoniensis against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in mice. The flavonoids from A. cantoniensis were extracted with ethanol and purified by macroporous resin and polyamide. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay was used to measure the antioxidative activities in vitro. The ethanol-induced ulcer mouse model was used to evaluate the gastroprotective activities of the flavonoids from A. cantoniensis. In addition, a method was established to ensure accuracy for animal ulcer evaluation. The flavonoids from A. cantoniensis showed a strong free radical scavenging capacity with an IC50 of 43.83 µg/mL in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay. At doses between 28.16–112.67 mg/kg, the flavonoids conspicuously reduced the ulcer index in ethanol-induced mice (p < 0.001). Significant differences were found in the levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione, and myeloperoxidase in the stomach tissues between the flavonoids from the A. cantoniensis groups and the ethanol control group. The gastroprotective effect of the flavonoids from A. cantoniensis could be due to its antioxidative activity of the defensive mechanism. The data revealed that the flavonoids from A. cantoniensis could be a potential therapeutic agent for gastric ulcer prevention and treatment.
Dynamic routing of bandwidth guaranteed tunnels with restoration

This paper presents new algorithms for dynamic routing of restorable bandwidth-guaranteed paths. A straightforward solution for the restoration problem is to find two disjoint paths. However, this results in excessive resource usage for backup paths and does not satisfy the implicit service provider requirement of optimizing network resource utilization so as to increase the number of potential future demands that can be routed. We give an integer programming formulation for this problem which is new. Complete path routing knowledge is a reasonable assumption for a centralized routing algorithm. However, it requires maintenance of non-aggregated or per-path information which is not often desirable particularly when distributed routing is preferred. We show that a partial information scenario which uses only aggregated and not per-path information provides sufficient information for a suitably developed algorithm to be able to perform almost as well as the complete information scenario. In this partial information scenario the routing algorithm only knows what fraction of each link's bandwidth, is currently used by active paths, and is currently used by backup paths. Obtaining this information is feasible using proposed traffic engineering extensions to routing protocols. We formulate the dynamic restorable bandwidth routing problem in this partial information scenario and develop efficient routing algorithms. We compare there routing performance of this algorithm to a bound obtained using complete information. Our partial information-based algorithm performs very well and its performance in terms of the number of rejected requests is very close to the full information bound.
Minimally invasive cardiac output monitoring

Purpose of reviewThe measurement of cardiac output in the critically ill constitutes a vital part in the management of these patients. Minimally invasive techniques are gaining popularity as they allow continuous cardiac output monitoring while avoiding the risks associated with pulmonary artery catheterization. This article focuses on some of the commonly used minimally invasive devices that rely on pulse contour waveform analysis. Recent findingsThe current studies in the literature that assess the validity and the clinical applications of calibrated and noncalibrated arterial waveform derived cardiac output devices are discussed. SummaryThe minimally invasive cardiac output monitoring devices available differ in their methodology and application. Currently there is conflicting evidence as to the accuracy of some of these systems and further investigation into their clinical application is required.
Comparative value of medical diagnosis versus physical functioning in predicting the 6-year survival of 1951 hospitalized old patients.

PREDICTORS OF MORTALITY IN OLD AGE ADULTS have previously been discussed. Such predictors were too often considered stable in oldest-old individuals.1–3 However it is well known that disability status changes with progressive aging.4,5 The strength of the association of disability status with mortality seems to vary, and surprisingly the relative risk of death among dependent elders could decrease with age in both genders.6 These contradictory considerations should be closely re-examined,7 and the effects of chronic conditions and disability need to be disentangled.8–11 Numerous studies in the elderly have also shown the impact of chronic diseases on global mortality or mortality at hospital discharge,12,13 leading to the proposal of prognostic index/scales for global mortality14,15 or post-discharge mortality.16–19 Other studies have demonstrated the impact of daily functioning abilities on hospital outcomes, including mortality,20 regarding frailty21 or specific medical conditions (stroke, trauma, hip fracture, etc.). 22–25 Nevertheless, these two factors have never been compared to identify which could be considered a better predictor of mortality. In this context, the goal of the present study is to identify the best mortality predictor (number of medical diagnoses vs. physical functioning) among a wide cohort of old in-patients carefully evaluated (comprehensive assessment including clinical diagnostic and daily functioning using the FIM score and testing 18 domains of functionality). The duration of follow-up is one of the longest (6 years); most studies never exceed 1 year, except one with a 7-year followup.26–32 We confirm the importance of both the number of clinical diseases and functional ability on the post-discharge mortality, and we have been able to affirm that the impairment of functional status is a predominant predictive factor of mortality.
The Role of Efferocytosis in Atherosclerosis

The necrotic core has long been a hallmark of the vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque. Although apoptotic cells are cleared quickly in almost all other tissue beds, their removal appears to be significantly impaired in the diseased blood vessel. Emerging evidence indicates that this phenomenon is caused by a defect in efferocytosis, the process by which apoptotic tissue is recognized for engulfment by phagocytic cells such as macrophages. Genetic and experimental data suggest that efferocytosis is impaired during atherogenesis caused by dysregulation of so-called eat me ligands, which govern the edibility of cells undergoing programmed cell death. The following is a summary of recent data indicating that efferocytosis is a major unappreciated driver of lesion expansion but also a reversible defect that can potentially be targeted as a means to prevent plaque progression.
Carrots, sticks, and health care reform--problems with wellness incentives.

Chronic conditions, especially those associated with overweight, are on the rise in the United States (as elsewhere). Employers have used both carrots and sticks to encourage healthier behavior. The current health care reform bills seek to expand the role of incentives, which promise a win–win bargain: employees enjoy better health, while employers reduce health care costs and profit from a healthier workforce. However, these provisions cannot be given an ethical free pass. In some cases, the incentives are really sticks dressed up as carrots. There is a risk of inequity that would further disadvantage the people most in need of .
Internal factors affecting the adoption and use of government websites

The purpose of this paper is to identify internal factors within government that affect the adoption and use of government websites. A conceptual framework, based on a literature review, guides the analysis of open-ended questionnaire responses from internal government and community workers involved in the administration of six community municipal portals in the province of Ontario, Canada. Findings suggest that key internal factors have a positive impact on the design and implementation of community municipal portals: cooperative partnerships, sound governance structures, strong leadership, effective systems development, sustainable funding and sound marketing. The ability to implement a clear and strong strategic direction is a central theme that ties these factors together. Recommendations for practitioners and managers are suggested. Findings extend previous research and highlight the importance for governments to be conscious of the internal contextual factors that affect their websites' usage.
Regulation of DNA replication-coupled histone gene expression

The expression of core histone genes is cell cycle regulated. Large amounts of histones are required to restore duplicated chromatin during S phase when DNA replication occurs. Over-expression and excess accumulation of histones outside S phase are toxic to cells and therefore cells need to restrict histone expression to S phase. Misregulation of histone gene expression leads to defects in cell cycle progression, genome stability, DNA damage response and transcriptional regulation. Here, we discussed the factors involved in histone gene regulation as well as the underlying mechanism. Understanding the histone regulation mechanism will shed lights on elucidating the side effects of certain cancer chemotherapeutic drugs and developing potential biomarkers for tumor cells.
Sex Reassignment Surgery in the Female-to-Male Transsexual

In female-to-male transsexuals, the operative procedures are usually performed in different stages: first the subcutaneous mastectomy which is often combined with a hysterectomy-ovarectomy (endoscopically assisted). The next operative procedure consists of the genital transformation and includes a vaginectomy, a reconstruction of the horizontal part of the urethra, a scrotoplasty and a penile reconstruction usually with a radial forearm flap (or an alternative). After about one year, penile (erection) prosthesis and testicular prostheses can be implanted when sensation has returned to the tip of the penis. The authors provide a state-of-the-art overview of the different gender reassignment surgery procedures that can be performed in a female-to-male transsexual.
Stochastic modeling of a single TCP/IP session over a random loss channel

In this paper, we present an analytical framework for modeling the performance of a single TCP session in the presence of random packet loss. This framework may be applicable to communications channels that cause random packet loss modelled by appropriate statistics of the inter-loss duration. It is shown that the analytical model predicts the throughput for LANs/WANs (low and high bandwidth-delay products) with reasonable accuracy, as measured against the throughput obtained by simulation. Random loss is found to severely a ect the network throughput, higher speed channels are found to be more vulnerable to random loss than slower channels, especially for moderate to high loss rates.
Effect of students’ determination of testing time on their test performance

This article investigates whether giving students control over preparing for and the moment of taking a test affects their test results in comparison with when the school is in control of the amount of training followed by a predetermined test moment. The students participated in training for manual dexterity. After the training, the students performed a test. The results of the test were stored in a database. Students from the group with freedom to select the moment of the test performed much better than those in the other group who did not have the freedom to select the moment for the test, with significantly fewer students requiring three attempts to pass the test. The fact that students when given the responsibility to develop manual skills performed better than when guided by the policy of the school is hopeful in the sense that students can learn in an early stage of their study to take responsibility for learning.
GREENC: a Wiki-based database of plant lncRNAs

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are functional non-translated molecules greater than 200 nt. Their roles are diverse and they are usually involved in transcriptional regulation. LncRNAs still remain largely uninvestigated in plants with few exceptions. Experimentally validated plant lncRNAs have been shown to regulate important agronomic traits such as phosphate starvation response, flowering time and interaction with symbiotic organisms, making them of great interest in plant biology and in breeding. There is still a lack of lncRNAs in most sequenced plant species, and in those where they have been annotated, different methods have been used, so making the lncRNAs less useful in comparisons within and between species. We developed a pipeline to annotate lncRNAs and applied it to 37 plant species and six algae, resulting in the annotation of more than 120 000 lncRNAs. To facilitate the study of lncRNAs for the plant research community, the information gathered is organised in the Green Non-Coding Database (GreeNC, http://greenc.sciencedesigners.com/).
A Low Power V-band Low Noise Amplifier Using 0.13-μm CMOS Technology

In this paper, a low power V-band low-noise amplifier (LNA) using standard 0.13-um CMOS technology is proposed and analyzed. In the proposed LNA, three-stage common-source topology is used instead of cascode configuration to improve the noise performance. The measured LNA gain is 10.9 dB and the simulated noise figure of the proposed LNA is 5.1 dB at 67.8 GHz. Furthermore, the input and output return losses are lower than -12 dB at center frequency. Moreover, the 3-dB bandwidth covers from 65 GHz to 72 GHz which is suitable for wideband applications. Finally, the proposed LNA consumes only 5.4 mW from a 0.8-V power supply.
Analysis of mechanical properties of different volleyballs

Concussions are becoming an increasingly important issue in sports, especially in an area like volleyball that, until recently, seemed less prone to such injuries. The purpose of this study was to determine the coefficient of restitution and basic mechanical properties of standardized volleyballs, including stiffness and hysteresis, dependent on different influencing factors. A drop test was performed to calculate the coefficient of restitution based on the time of flight of the ball between the first and second bounce. This was detected using a microphone with a sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz. To determine the mechanical properties, a materials testing machine applied a compression force until a deformation of 50 mm was achieved. These data were sampled with a frequency of 12.5 kHz. The results showed that the three analysed factors in this study, including the ball model, gauge pressure, and incident velocity, had a significant influence on the coefficient of restitution. Therefore, the amount of energy dissipation during an impact situation at low velocities was significantly different within the tested sample of official standardized volleyballs. The stiffness and hysteresis of the volleyballs also varied significantly. These basic mechanical findings raise an interesting question as to whether the investigated factors are appropriate to predict forces acting on the head during a high velocity collision (25–30 m/s), ultimately resulting in a risk of concussion.
Evolving Globally Synchronized Cellular Automata

How does an evolutionary process interact with a decentralized, distributed system in order to produce globally coordinated behavior? Using a genetic algorithm (GA) to evolve cellular automata (CAs), we show that the evolution of spontaneous synchronization, one type of emergent coordination, takes advantage of the underlying medium's potential to form embedded particles. The particles, typically phase defects between sychronous regions, are designed by the evolutionary process to resolve frustrations in the global phase. We describe in detail one typical solution discovered by the GA, delineating the discovered synchronization algorithm in terms of embedded particles and their interactions. We also use the particle-level description to analyze the evolutionary sequence by which this solution was discovered. Our results have implications both for understanding emergent collective behavior in natural systems and for the automatic programming of decentralized spatially extended multiprocessor systems.
Feature extraction techniques of online handwriting arabic text recognition

Online recognition of Arabic handwritten text has been an ongoing research problem for many years. Generally, online text recognition field has been gaining more interest lately due to the increasing popularity of hand-held computers, digital notebooks and advanced cellular phones. Most of the online text recognition systems consist of three main phases which are preprocessing, feature extraction, and recognition phase. This paper compares between different techniques that have been used to extract the features of Arabic handwriting scripts in online recognition systems. Those techniques attempt to extract the feature vector of Arabic handwritten words, characters, numbers or strokes. This vector then will be fed into the recognition engine to recognize the pattern using the feature vector. The structure and strategy of those reviewed techniques are explained in this article. The strengths and weaknesses of using these techniques will also be discussed.
Intramembrane Proteolysis by Signal Peptide Peptidases: A Comparative Discussion of GXGD-type Aspartyl Proteases*

Intramembrane-cleaving proteases are required for reverse signaling and membrane protein degradation. A major class of these proteases is represented by the GXGD-type aspartyl proteases. GXGD describes a novel signature sequence that distinguishes these proteases from conventional aspartyl proteases. Members of the family of the GXGD-type aspartyl proteases are the Alzheimer disease-related γ-secretase, the signal peptide peptidases and their homologs, and the bacterial type IV prepilin peptidases. We will describe the major biochemical and functional properties of the signal peptide peptidases and their relatives. We then compare these properties with those of γ-secretase and discuss common mechanisms but also point out a number of substantial differences.
Modelling of Energy Efficiency in Copper Mining Industry

In 2007, global total final energy consumption was 347 PJ; with the industrial sector consuming 37%. Energy demand in the industrial sector is projected to increase by at least 50% by 2050 compared to the 2006 consumption (Saygin et al., 2011). Given that most sub-sectors in the industry are energy intensive and significant contributors to CO2 emissions, effort around the world have focused on how energy consumption can be reduced to mitigate the climate and environmental impacts of the industrial sector without affecting its output and profitability.
The Role of Foxg1 in the Development of Neural Stem Cells of the Olfactory Epithelium

The olfactory epithelium (OE) of the mouse is an excellent model system for studying principles of neural stem cell biology because of its well‐defined neuronal lineage and its ability to regenerate throughout life. To approach the molecular mechanisms of stem cell regulation in the OE, we have focused on Foxg1, also known as brain factor 1, which is a member of the Forkhead transcription factor family. Foxg1−/− mice show major defects in the OE at birth, suggesting that Foxg1 plays an important role in OE development. We find that Foxg1 is expressed in cells within the basal compartment of the OE, the location where OE stem and progenitor cells are known to reside. Since FoxG1 is known to regulate proliferation of neuronal progenitor cells during telencephalon development, we performed bromodeoxyuridine pulse–chase labeling of Sox2‐expressing neural stem cells during primary OE neurogenesis. We found the percentage of Sox2‐expressing cells that retained bromodeoxyuridine was twice as high in Foxg1−/− OE cells as in the wild type, suggesting that these cells are delayed and/or halted in their development in the absence of Foxg1. Our findings suggest that the proliferation and/or subsequent differentiation of Sox2‐expressing neural stem cells in the OE is regulated by Foxg1.
Neurological Structure Variations in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Review

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impairments in social communication and social interactions along with repetitive, stereotyped behaviors and interests. The spectrum is quite broad, and the pathophysiology appears to be related to a number of factors. A common theme is that the disorder is one of impaired brain development. Neuroimaging studies offer a way to investigate impaired brain development by considering structural differences between those with autism and those without. Areas of focus include neuroanatomical regions that correlate with the clinically recognizable features of autism. In this review of structural studies, volumetric variation in terms of grey and white matter and total brain volume and in terms of neurological structures (e.g. frontal lobe, parietal cortex, amygdala, etc.) is discussed. Although a few trends have been noted, much of the literature demonstrates heterogeneity in the reported findings, which likely reflects the heterogeneity of the clinical presentation of this disorder. Further studies will need to correlate these structural findings with functional data and look to better understand the underlying molecular and genetic processes.
E-Commerce Framework Using Leveled Learning Agents

The e-commerce is a good research area because it is well fit ted the application of agents that interact each other with autonomy in dynamic environment. The ability of learning is one important point as intelligent agent supporting autonomy. In this research we develop learning algorithm suited e-commerce characteristic. We classify agents by learning level and delegate agent business with this algorithm. We also organize e-commerce framework using these agents on multi-agent platform and let take a business as communicating with contract net protocol to negotiate, learning each other and show the practical.
2 Recent Advances in Fruit Species Transformation

Rapid increase of human population together with global climate variability resulted in increased demand of plant based food and energy sources (Varshney et al., 2011). Fruits and nuts have essential role to enhance quality of humankind life since a diet based on cereal grains, root and tuber crops, and legumes is generally lacked a wide range of products such as fiber, vitamin, provitamins or other micronutrients and compounds exist in fruit and nut species (Heslop-Harrison, 2005). According to last FAOSTAT statistics, totally about 594.5 million t fruit crops (except melons) were produced in the world in 2009 (http://faostat.fao.org). Because an increase demand exists in global food production, many economically important fruit crops production need to be improved, however, conventional breeding is still limited due to genetic restrictions (high heterozygosity and polyploidy), long juvenile periods, self-incompatibility, resources restricted to parental genome and exposed to sexual combination (Akhond & Machray, 2009; Malnoy et al., 2010; Petri et al., 2011). Thus, there is an urgent need for the biotechnology-assisted crop improvement, which ultimately aimed to obtain novel plant traits (Petri & Burgos, 2005).