Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression and Inhibition of the Carboxylating and Decarboxylating Enzymes in the Photosynthetic C4 Pathway of Marine Diatoms1

There is evidence that the CO2-concentrating mechanism in the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii operates as a type of single-cell C4 photosynthesis. In quantitative-PCR assays, we observed 2- to 4-fold up-regulation of two phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) gene transcripts in Thalassiosira pseudonana cells adapted to low pCO2, but did not detect such regulation in Phaeodactylum tricornutum grown under similar conditions. Transcripts encoding phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase did not appear to be regulated by pCO2 in either diatom. In T. pseudonana and T. weissflogii, net CO2 fixation was blocked by 3,3-dichloro-2-(dihydroxyphosphinoyl-methyl)-propenoate (a specific inhibitor of PEPC), but was restored by about 50% and 80%, respectively, by addition of millimolar concentrations of KHCO3. In T. pseudonana, T. weissflogii, and P. tricornutum, rates of net O2 evolution were reduced by an average of 67%, 55%, and 62%, respectively, in the presence of 20 μm quercetin, also an inhibitor of PEPC. Quercetin promoted net CO2 leakage from inhibited cells to levels in excess of the equilibrium CO2 concentration, suggesting that a fraction of the HCO3− taken up is fated to leak back into the medium as CO2 when PEPC activity is blocked. In parallel to these experiments, in vitro assays on crude extracts of T. pseudonana demonstrated mean inhibition of 65% of PEPC activity by quercetin. In the presence of 5 mm 3-mercaptopicolinic acid (3-MPA), a classic inhibitor of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, photosynthetic O2 evolution was reduced by 90% in T. pseudonana. In T. weissflogii and P. tricornutum, 5 mm 3-MPA totally inhibited net CO2 fixation and O2 evolution. Neither quercetin nor 3-MPA had a significant inhibitory effect on photosynthetic O2 evolution or CO2 uptake in the marine chlorophyte isolates Chlamydomonas sp. or Dunaliella tertiolecta. Our evidence supports the idea that C4-based CO2-concentrating mechanisms are generally distributed in diatoms. This conclusion is discussed within the context of the evolutionary success of diatoms.
Health-Promoting Behaviors and Well Being among Middle-aged and Older Adults

Health-Promoting Behaviors and Well Being among Middle-aged and Older Adults Valerie K. Blake The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of adherence to nutrition guidelines and engaging in regular physical activity on the physical and psychological dimensions of wellbeing in a sample of middle-aged and older adults. All available sociodemographic indicators were also analyzed in order to investigate potential interactions. A structural equation model was constructed utilizing data from 348 middle-aged and older adults who completed the Health Behavior and Knowledge Survey. Results indicated the model was a good fit to the data, accounting for 40.4% of the variance in physical well-being and 26.3% of variance in psychological well-being. Examination of individual paths within the model indicated complex interactions among variables involved in performance of health-promoting behaviors and in physical and psychological well-being, directly. Indications for future directions are discussed. HEALTH-PROMOTING BEHAVIORS AND WELL BEING iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE . i ABSTRACT.ii TABLE OF CONTENTS.ii
Sensitive and Direct Detection of Receptor Binding Specificity of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Virus in Clinical Samples

Influenza A virus (IAV) recognizes two types of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) by galactose (Gal) linkages, Neu5Acα2,3Gal and Neu5Acα2,6Gal. Avian IAV preferentially binds to Neu5Acα2,3Gal linkage, while human IAV preferentially binds to Neu5Acα2,6Gal linkage, as a virus receptor. Shift in receptor binding specificity of avian IAV from Neu5Acα2,3Gal linkage to Neu5Acα2,6Gal linkage is generally believed to be a critical factor for its transmission ability among humans. Surveillance of this shift of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian IAV (HPAI) is thought to be a very important for prediction and prevention of a catastrophic pandemic of HPAI among humans. In this study, we demonstrated that receptor binding specificity of IAV bound to sialo-glycoconjugates was sensitively detected by quantifying the HA gene with real-time reverse-transcription-PCR. The new assay enabled direct detection of receptor binding specificity of HPAIs in chicken clinical samples including trachea and cloaca swabs in only less than 4 h.
ECG Delineation using Stationary Wavelet Transform

The detection of ECG waves is important to cardiac disease diagnosis. A good system depends heavily upon the accurate and reliable detection of QRS complex as well as the T and P wave. In this paper first the noise is removed from the digitized ECG signal. Then Stationary Wavelet Transform (SWT) is applied to the de-noised signal. After that QRS complex, T and P waves are detected and also delineated using different amplitude threshold values. This algorithm allows delineation of wide variety of QRS complex, P and T wave. In this evolution is done for different manually annotated databases, such as MIT-BIH Arrhythmia, QT and European ST-T database. The QRS detector obtained a sensitivity Se=99.30% and positive predictivity of PP=99.39% over the well known MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database.
Generic optimization for SMPS design with Smart Scan and Genetic Algorithm

The paper presents a new approach for generating optimized solutions of a switched-mode power supply with the higher efficiency. At the very beginning, we initialize a preliminary power supply design with a known topology (e.g. Fly-back). Then, we choose a set of alternative parts for some critical components such as the MOSFET and transformer. It is quite a complicated and time consuming task to obtain a design with the highest efficiency and lowest cost from numerous combinations. Multi-objective genetic algorithm is one generic solution to solve such optimization problems. In order to encode the electrical parts as the basic units of GA, the chromosomes, and evaluate them with a numerical function, we have to model an entire power supply circuits into a component-based system and simulate the electrical reactions by the numerical characteristics of components. This approach not only reduces the time in the design stage but provide a more convincing design before the production. The experiment results are presented to show the robustness and the effectiveness of this approach
HTTP/2.0 - The IETF is Phoning It In

In the long run, the most memorable event of 1989 will probably be that Tim Berners-Lee hacked up the HTTP protocol and named the result the "World Wide Web. " Tim’s HTTP protocol ran on 10Mbit/s, Ethernet, and coax cables, and his computer was a NeXT Cube with a 25-MHz clock frequency. Twenty-six years later, my laptop CPU is a hundred times faster and has a thousand times as much RAM as Tim’s machine had, but the HTTP protocol is still the same. A few days ago the IESG, The Internet Engineering Steering Group, asked for "Last Call" comments on new "HTTP/2.0" protocol before blessing it as a "Proposed Standard".
Thermodynamically Regulated Epitope Selection in a Primary Response Is B Cell Responses to a Peptide Epitope . X . and

We examine the etiological basis of hierarchical immunodominance of B cell epitopes on a multideterminant Ag. A model T-dependant immunogen, containing a single immunodominant B cell epitope, was used. The primary IgM response to this peptide included Abs directed against diverse determinants presented by the peptide. Interestingly, afﬁnity of individual monomeric IgM Abs segregated around epitope recognized and was independent of their clonal origins. Furthermore, afﬁnity of Abs directed against the immunodominant epitope were markedly higher than that of the alternate speciﬁcities. These studies suggested that the afﬁnity of an epitope-speciﬁc primary response, and variations therein, may be determined by the chemical composition of epitope. This inference was supported by thermodynamic analyses of monomer IgM binding to Ag, which revealed that this interaction occurs at the expense of unfavorable entropy changes. Permissible binding required compensation by net enthalpic changes. Finally, the correlation between chemical composition of an epitope, the resultant afﬁnity of the early primary humoral response, and its eventual inﬂuence on relative immunogenicity could be experimentally veriﬁed. This was achieved by examining the effect of various amino-terminal substitutions on immunogenicity of a, hitherto cryptic, amino-terminal determinant. Such experiments permitted delineation of a hierarchy of individual amino acid residues based on their inﬂuence; which correlated well with calculated Gibbs-free energy changes that individual residue side chains were expected to contribute in a binding interaction. Thus, maturation of a T-dependant humoral response is initiated by a step that is under thermodynamic control. The Journal of Immunology, 2000, 164: 5615–5625.
Socioeconomic conditions in childhood and ischaemic heart disease during middle age.

OBJECTIVE--To examine the association between socioeconomic conditions in childhood and ischaemic heart disease in middle aged men, including the role of physiological and behavioural risk factors. DESIGN--Prevalence study with extensive examination and testing and with recall of childhood conditions. SETTING--Population based study in Kuopio, Finland. SUBJECTS--Representative sample of 2679 men aged 42, 48, 54, and 60. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Ischaemic findings on progressive maximal exercise test. RESULTS--Low socioeconomic style in childhood was associated with significantly higher prevalence of findings indicating ischaemias. Compared with those in the highest tertile of childhood socioeconomic conditions, the age adjusted odds ratio for subjects in the lowest tertile was 1.44 and for those in the middle tertile 1.35. Adjustment for years of cigarette smoking times the average number of cigarettes smoked, ratio of high density lipoprotein to low density lipoprotein cholesterol, fibrinogen and serum selenium concentrations, and adult height did not appreciably weaken the association. Adjustment for adult socioeconomic state resulted in a 16% decline in the association. The association was reduced to non-significance by adjustment for measures of prevalent cardiovascular illness. CONCLUSIONS--Socioeconomic state in childhood was significantly associated with ischaemic heart disease in middle aged men. Levels of risk factors measured at middle age did not account for this association, nor did adult height. Because childhood socioeconomic conditions precede the development of ischaemic heart disease the substantial impact of prevalent illness on the observed association suggests that ischaemic heart disease develops earlier in those with lower socioeconomic state during childhood.
Effect of Protein, Polysaccharide, and Oxygen Concentration Profiles on Biofilm Cohesiveness

ABSTRACT It is important to control biofilm cohesiveness to optimize process performance. In this study, a membrane-aerated biofilm reactor inoculated with activated sludge was used to grow mixed-culture biofilms of different ages and thicknesses. The cohesions, or cohesive energy levels per unit volume of biofilm, based on a reproducible method using atomic force microscopy (F. Ahimou, M. J. Semmens, P. J. Novak, and G. Haugstad, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73:2897-2904, 2007), were determined at different locations within the depths of the biofilms. In addition, the protein and polysaccharide concentrations within the biofilm depths, as well as the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration profiles within the biofilms, were measured. It was found that biofilm cohesion increased with depth but not with age. Level of biofilm cohesive energy per unit volume was strongly correlated with biofilm polysaccharide concentration, which increased with depth in the membrane-aerated biofilm. In a 12-day-old biofilm, DO also increased with depth and may therefore be linked to polysaccharide production. In contrast, protein concentration was relatively constant within the biofilm and did not appear to influence cohesion.
Ticagrelor for patients with acute coronary syndromes: PLATOnic affair or lasting SWEDEHEART?

This editorial refers to ‘Outcomes in patients treated with ticagrelor or clopidogrel after acute myocardial infarction: experiences from SWEDEHEART registry’, by A. Sahlen et al. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehw284. For many years, a 12-month course of clopidogrel plus lifelong aspirin comprised the standard antiplatelet regimen in patients after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This recommendation originally stemmed from the randomized, placebo-controlled Clopidogrel in Unstable Angina to Prevent Recurrent Events (CURE) trial, in which the use of clopidogrel significantly reduced the composite endpoint of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (MI), or stroke, at the cost of an increased risk of non-fatal major bleeding, in patients with non-ST-segment elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS). 1 A prospectively designed substudy extended this benefit on ischaemic events to the subgroup of patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). 2 Theoretical limitations associated with the use of clopidogrel include its irreversible binding to the ADP P2Y12 receptor, the required hepatic transformation into the active metabolite, and variable platelet inhibition. Unlike clopidogrel, ticagrelor provides both reversible and more consistent ADP receptor inhibition, and there is no need for biotransformation as the active compound itself is ingested.3 Based on results from the Platelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes (PLATO) study, contemporary European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines clearly favour the use of ticagrelor over clopidogrel in patients with ACS (class I recommendation), regardless of whether an invasive strategy is used or not.4,5 The approach in the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines is slightly more conservative, with the preference of ticagrelor over clopidogrel being ‘reasonable’ (class IIa recommendation). 6,7 Nevertheless, because of issues of cost, familiarity, and bleeding concerns, use of clopidogrel still remains common worldwide. This issue of the journal features an elegant report by Sahlen et al . from the Swedish Web-system …
Expression of Fas Ligand in Activated T Cells Is Regulated by c-Myc*

The transcription factor c-Myc is important for the control of cell cycle progression, neoplasia, and apoptotic cell death. c-Myc dimerizes with its partner Max to form an active transcription factor complex. Little is known, however, about the transcriptional targets of c-Myc and their roles in c-Myc-induced cell death. Here we demonstrate that T cell activation-induced expression of Fas ligand (FasL, CD95-L, APO-1-L), which can induce apoptotic cell death in many different cell types, is regulated by c-Myc. Down-modulation of c-Myc protein via antisense oligonucleotides blocked activation-induced FasL mRNA and protein expression and functional FasL expression in activated T cells and T cell lines. Further, FasL promoter activity in T cells is driven by overexpression of c-Myc and inhibited by expression of dominant-negative mutants of c-Myc and Max. Our findings indicate that c-Myc controls apoptotic cell death in T cells through regulation of FasL expression.
Nutritional status of hospitalized acute stroke patients

The nutritional status of 201 hospitalized stroke patients was assessed from anthropometric, haematological and biochemical data in an observational prospective study. On admission, sixty-two (31%) stroke patients had BMI < 20, ninety-nine (49%) had a triceps skinfolds thickness below the 25th centile, twenty-five (12%) had a mid-arm circumference below the 25th centile and thirty-eight (19%) had a serum albumin concentration below 35 g/1. Baseline nutritional status was worse among those who later died or remained in hospital compared with those discharged and most patients who remained in hospital showed marked and significant deterioration in all measures of nutritional status within 4 weeks of hospitalization. After adjusting for age, stroke severity and co-morbidity, low serum albumin concentrations of these patients in hospital were a strong and independent predictor of death following acute stroke (odds ratio 1.13 (95% CI 1.01−1.27) for 1 g/1 lower serum albumin concentration).
The light reactions of photosynthesis.

Historically, the role of light in photosynthesis has been ascribed either to a photolysis of carbon dioxide or to a photolysis of water and a resultant rearrangement of constituent atoms into molecules of oxygen and glucose (or formaldehyde). The discovery of photophosphorylation demonstrated that photosynthesis includes a light-induced phosphorus metabolism that precedes, and is independent from, a photolysis of water or CO(2). ATP formation could best be accounted for not by a photolytic disruption of the covalent bonds in CO(2) or water but by the operation of a light-induced electron flow that results in a release of free energy which is trapped in the pyrophosphate bonds of ATP. Photophosphorylation is now divided into (a) a non-cyclic type, in which the formation of ATP is coupled with a light-induced electron transport from water to ferredoxin and a concomitant evolution of oxygen and (b) a cyclic type which yields only ATP and produces no net change in the oxidation-reduction state of any electron donor or acceptor. Reduced ferredoxin formed in (a) serves as an electron donor for the reduction of NADP by an enzymic reaction that is independent of light. ATP, from both cyclic and noncyclic photophosphorylation, and reduced NADP jointly constitute the assimilatory power for the conversion of CO(2) to carbohydrates (3 moles of ATP and 2 moles of reduced NADP are required per mole of CO(2)). Investigations, mainly with whole cells, have shown that photosynthesis in green plants involves two photosystems, one (System II) that best uses light of "short" wavelength (lambda < 685 nm) and another (System I) that best uses light of "long" wavelength (lambda > 685 nm). Cyclic photophosphorylation in chloroplasts involves a System I photoreaction. Noncyclic photophosphorylation is widely held to involve a collaboration of two photoreactions: a short-wavelength photoreaction belonging to System II and a long-wavelength photoreaction belonging to System I. Recent findings, however, indicate that noncyclic photophosphorylation may include two short-wavelength, System II, photoreactions that operate in series and are joined by a "dark" electron-transport chain to which is coupled a phosphorylation site.
Natamycin content and quality evaluation of yoghurt from small- and large-scale brands in Turkey

In this study, the presence of natamycin and quality parameters of yoghurt samples manufactured by small- and large-scale dairy firms in Turkey were investigated. Physicochemical and microbiological results revealed that, except Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus counts, the majority of the yoghurts manufactured by small-scale dairy firms were found to be out of the limits. Natamycin was detected in 31 and 2 yoghurt samples from small- and large-scale brands, respectively. The levels of natamycin in small-scale brand yoghurts were higher than those in large-scale brand yoghurts. Of the analysed samples, 42.3% did not comply with the Turkish Food Codex.
The relationship between consciousness, understanding, and rationality

Abstract The purpose of the present article is to explore the relationship between consciousness and understanding. To do so, I first briefly review recent work on the nature of both understanding and consciousness within philosophy and psychology. Building off of this work, I then defend the thesis that if one is conscious of a given content then one also understands that content. I argue that this conclusion can be drawn from (1) the fact that understanding is associated with rational intention formation and (2) the fact that conscious access appears to involve the selective routing/broadcasting of representational content to neural systems that integrate information in order to select cognitive/behavioral intentions in conjunction with goals. Based on these premises I illustrate how a disruption to the rationality of a representation’s influence on intention formation (when it becomes consciously accessible) would also remove any evidence that a person was conscious of the content of that representation. I therefore suggest that conscious content (and associated phenomenology) may be determined by the rational, content-appropriate influences an accessed representation has on intention formation (i.e., the influences associated with understanding). I conclude by offering replies to several potential objections to this thesis.
DATA ALLOCATION AND APPLICATION FOR TIME-DEPENDENT DELIVERY IN URBAN AREAS

In this paper, we discuss the planning and the realization of last-mile delivery in urban areas. Two main prerequisites are identified in order to increase service quality in attended home delivery. First, empirical traffic data has to be collected and analyzed, and second, this raw data has to be converted into time-dependent data sets for route planning. Thus, an optimization framework is designed, integrating telematics based data collection by Floating Car Data (FCD), data allocation by Data Mining and the modelling of the time-dependent road network typology. The data sets provided are utilized in time-dependent vehicle routing heuristics, considering customer time slots. We compare the data sets regarding usefulness for time-dependent delivery in terms of a real data example in city logistics. The resulting itineraries are expected to meet the customers’ requirements regarding reliability and service quality of deliveries, keeping logistics service costs at a minimum.
The role played by tool-use and tool-length on the Plastic Elongation of peri-hand space: a single case study

Consistent with neurophysiological findings showing expansion of the visual RF of visuo-tactile neurons along the rake used by monkeys to retrieve out-of-hand-reach objects (Iriki, Tanaka, & Iwamura, 1996), we have previously shown that also in humans the use of a tool can increase the spatial extent of the representation of peri-hand space, as revealed by an increase in the severity of cross-modal extinction after tool use (Farnè & Làdavas, 2000). Here we further explored the characteristics of such a transient elongation of the multisensory peri-hand space representation in a patient with visual-tactile extinction. By investigating the variation of cross-modal extinction following different types of tool-related experience, we found that passive exposure to the tool is not sufficient per se to induce peri-hand space extension, which instead requires that the tool is used. This increase of peri-hand extension might be related to the physical length of the tool.