Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Grapevine MATE-Type Proteins Act as Vacuolar H+-Dependent Acylated Anthocyanin Transporters1[W][OA]

In grapevine (Vitis vinifera), anthocyanins are responsible for most of the red, blue, and purple pigmentation found in the skin of berries. In cells, anthocyanins are synthesized in the cytoplasm and accumulated into the vacuole. However, little is known about the transport of these compounds through the tonoplast. Recently, the sequencing of the grapevine genome allowed us to identify genes encoding proteins with high sequence similarity to the Multidrug And Toxic Extrusion (MATE) family. Among them, we selected two genes as anthocyanin transporter candidates and named them anthoMATE1 (AM1) and AM3. The expression of both genes was mainly fruit specific and concomitant with the accumulation of anthocyanin pigment. Subcellular localization assays in grapevine hairy roots stably transformed with AM1∷ or AM3∷green fluorescent protein fusion protein revealed that AM1 and AM3 are primarily localized to the tonoplast. Yeast vesicles expressing anthoMATEs transported acylated anthocyanins in the presence of MgATP. Inhibitor studies demonstrated that AM1 and AM3 proteins act in vitro as vacuolar H+-dependent acylated anthocyanin transporters. By contrast, under our experimental conditions, anthoMATEs could not transport malvidin 3-O-glucoside or cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, suggesting that the acyl conjugation was essential for the uptake. Taken together, these results provide evidence that in vitro the two grapevine AM1 and AM3 proteins mediate specifically acylated anthocyanin transport.
Halothane Directly Modifies Na+ and K+ Channel Activities in Cultured Human Alveolar Epithelial Cells

During inhalational anesthesia, halogenated gases are in direct contact with the alveolar epithelium, in which they may affect transepithelial ion and fluid transport. The effects of halogenated gases in vivo on epithelial Na+ and K+ channels, which participate in alveolar liquid clearance, remain unclear. In the present study, the effects of halothane (1, 2, and 4% atm) on ion-channel function in cultured human alveolar cells were investigated using the patch-clamp technique. After exposure to 4% halothane, amiloride-sensitive whole-cell inward currents increased by 84 ± 22%, whereas tetraethylammonium-sensitive outward currents decreased by 63 ± 7%. These effects, which occurred within 30 s, remained for 30-min periods of exposure to the gas, were concentration-dependent, and were reversible upon washout. Pretreatment with amiloride prevented 90 ± 7% of the increase in inward currents without change in outward currents, consistent with an activation of amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channels. Tetraethylammonium obliterated 90 ± 9% of the effect of halothane on outward currents, without change in inward currents, indicating inhibition of Ca2+-activated K+ channels. These channels were identified in excised patches to be small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels. These effects of halothane were not modified after the inhibition of cytosolic phospholipase A2 by aristolochic acid. Exposure of the cells to either trypsin or to low Na+ completely prevented the increase in amiloride-sensitive currents induced by halothane, suggesting a release of Na+ channels self-inhibition. Thus, halothane modifies differentially and independently Na+ and K+ permeabilities in human alveolar cells.
Robust algorithm for control of nonlinear plant with unknown time delay

The paper deals with control algorithm for nonlinear single input single output (SISO) plants under unknown parameters, external disturbances and unknown time delay. The control system is used one filter of dimension n, where n is a dynamical order of the plant. The derivatives of stabilizing controls are implemented by first order observers. The proposed algorithm ensures the small difference between output of the plant and the reference signal. Simulations illustrate an efficiency of proposed scheme for an unstable nonlinear plant with time delay.
Graph-Based Anomaly Detection Applied to Homeland Security Cargo Screening

Protecting our nation’s ports is a critical challenge for homeland security and requires the research, development and deployment of new technologies that will allow for the efficient securing of shipments entering this country. Most approaches look only at statistical irregularities in the attributes of the cargo, and not at the relationships of this cargo to others. However, anomalies detected in these relationships could add to the suspicion of the cargo, and therefore improve the accuracy with which we detect suspicious cargo. This paper proposes an improvement in our ability to detect suspicious cargo bound for the U.S. through a graph based anomaly detection approach. Using anonymized data received from the Department of Homeland Security, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach and its usefulness to a homeland security analyst who is tasked with uncovering illegal and potentially dangerous cargo shipments.
El prejuicio hacia los gitanos: características diferenciales

ResumenEl objetivo principal delpresente estudio de campo era conocer las caracteristicas diferenciales del prejuicio hacia los gitanos. 290 estudiantes de secundaria respondieron a un cuestionario que cubre diversas variables presentes en la literatura psicosocial sobre prejuicio y racismo. Los resultados confirman el caracter contradictorioy ambiguo del prejuicio hacia los gitanos en su naturaleza manifiesta y sutil. Utilizando la tipologia establecida por Pettigrew y Meertens (1995), encontramos diferencias significativas entre los sujetos igualitarios, sutiles y fanaticos de la muestra con respecto a las siguientes variables: los sentimientos y emociones que les suscitan los gitanos, la actitud hacia el tema del multiculturalismoy la asimilacion de los gitanos, el grado de distancia social y de contacto que desean mantener con ellos, la percepcion acerca del poder coercitivo relativo que tienen los payos y los gitanos y el grado de acuerdo que manifiestan con el reparto actual de poder entre ambos grupos.
The Eclipse and Mozilla defect tracking dataset: A genuine dataset for mining bug information

The analysis of bug reports is an important subfield within the mining software repositories community. It explores the rich data available in defect tracking systems to uncover interesting and actionable information about the bug triaging process. While bug data is readily accessible from systems like Bugzilla and JIRA, a common database schema and a curated dataset could significantly enhance future research because it allows for easier replication. Consequently, in this paper we propose the Eclipse and Mozilla Defect Tracking Dataset, a representative database of bug data, filtered to contain only genuine defects (i.e., no feature requests) and designed to cover the whole bug-triage life cycle (i.e., store all intermediate actions). We have used this dataset ourselves for predicting bug severity, for studying bug-fixing time and for identifying erroneously assigned components. Sharing these data with the rest of the community will allow for reproducibility, validation and comparison of the results obtained in bug-report analyses and experiments.
Chinese Postgraduate Students in the UK: A Two-Way Reciprocal Adaptation

Abstract Chinese students who come to study in the UK and their UK teachers have to adapt to cultural differences in their experience of and expectations about teaching and learning traditions and practices. Qualitative and quantitative data were obtained for Chinese postgraduate students and the staff teaching them in two Scottish universities to investigate the extent of their shared perceptions and their reciprocal adaptations. Students, especially those coming in groups, tended to deal with problems among themselves, which resulted in their teachers having limited awareness of their students’ difficulties. Several themes that emerged in relation to reciprocal adaptation are discussed.
Transepithelial corneal collagen cross-linking in keratoconus.

PURPOSE To evaluate the clinical effects of transepithelial corneal cross-linking (CXL) on keratoconic eyes pre-treated with substances enhancing epithelial permeability. METHODS Prospective, consecutive, single-masked, paired-eye study on 51 patients. The eye with more severe keratoconus was treated; the fellow eye served as the control. Gentamicin, benzalkonium chloride, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid were instilled for 3 hours, then oxybuprocaine for 30 minutes. Riboflavin 0.1% in 20% dextran T500 and oxybuprocaine were instilled for 30 minutes. Finally, ultraviolet A irradiation to the central 7.5 mm of the cornea was applied for 30 minutes, while riboflavin was instilled every 5 minutes. RESULTS Mean corrected distance visual acuity improved by 0.036 logMAR after CXL and worsened by 0.039 logMAR in the control eyes (P<.05). Safety index was 1.05 after CXL and 0.96 in the control group. Mean spherical equivalent refraction decreased by 0.35 D (less myopic) after CXL and increased by 0.83 diopters (D) in the control eyes (P<.05). Mean apex curvature on tangential videokeratography increased by 0.51 D after CXL and by 1.61 D in the control eyes (P=.16). Mean average simulated keratometry decreased by 0.10 D after CXL and increased by 0.88 D in the control eyes (P<.05). Mean index of surface variance increased (worsened) by 0.9 after CXL and 5.3 in the control eyes (P<.05). Mean endothelial cell density was unchanged. CONCLUSIONS A limited but favorable effect of transepithelial CXL was noted on keratoconic eyes, without complications. The effect appears to be less pronounced than described in the literature after CXL with de-epithelialization.
Labor and Monopoly Capital

This book first took shape in my mind as little more than a study of occupational shifts in the United States. I was interested in the structure of the working class, and the manner in which it had changed. That portion of the population employed in manufacturing and associated industries—the so-called industrial working class—had apparently been shrinking for some time, if not in absolute numbers at any rate in relative terms. Since the details of this process, especially its historical turning points and the shape of the new employment that was taking the place of the old, were not clear to me, I undertook to find out more about them. And since, as I soon discovered, these things had not yet been clarified in any comprehensive fashion, I decided that there was a need for a more substantial historical description and analysis of the process of occupational change than had yet been presented in print.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
Tetracycline Resistance Gene tet(W) in the Pathogenic Bacterium Clostridium difficile

ABSTRACT In this study, the tet(W) gene region of a human clinical isolate of Clostridium difficile resistant to tetracycline was characterized. This gene was a new allele showing 99% sequence identity to the gene found in the human strain Bifidobacterium longum F8, and it is not transferable by “in vitro” mating experiments.
Association of Anthropometric indexes with chronic kidney disease in a Chinese population.

OBJECTIVE Obesity is associated with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), but the best anthropometric obesity measure remains controversial. This study aimed to examine the associations of anthropometric indexes with CKD risk and which anthropometric index is a better predictor of CKD. METHODS Data was drawn from a cross-sectional study in China. We used four anthropometric indexes: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). CKD was defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 ml/ min/1.73 m2 or urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) ≥ 30 mg/g. Logistic regressions were used for the analyses. RESULTS 1,834 participants were included in the analyses. After adjusting for potential confounders, BMI, WC and WHtR were significantly associated with CKD in men and women. The respective odd ratios for BMI (every SD increment), WC (every SD increment), and WHtR (every SD increment) were 1.46, 1.40, and 1.45 in men as well as 1.21, 1.31, and 1.38 in women. After adjusting for potential confounders, WHR was associated with CKD in women but not men. In women, the associations of WC, WHR and WHtR with CKD was independent of other MetS components. No difference in WHtR was observed between men and women. CONCLUSION Anthropometric indexes are associated with CKD. The associations of anthropometric indexes with CKD are independent of other MetS components in women but not men. In women, central obesity indexes are better than BMI for predicting of CKD.
A robust instantaneous frequency estimation of rotating machinery

The problem of estimating and tracking the fundamental frequency of a periodic signal is formulated in short Fourier transform and viterbi algorithm (STFT_VA) is proposed. An improvement to peak search is proposed, which can avoid strong non-order components or noises disturbing to the peak search work Compare with traditional methods of order tracking instantaneous frequency estimation (IFE) based on order tracking is simplified in application an only software depended. The method is tested on a multichannel vibration measurement from the rotating machinery. From the measurements the running speed of the engine is successfully estimated during the run-up/down experiment.
Selective Vulnerability of Specific Retinal Ganglion Cell Types and Synapses after Transient Ocular Hypertension

Key issues concerning ganglion cell type-specific loss and synaptic changes in animal models of experimental glaucoma remain highly debated. Importantly, changes in the structure and function of various RGC types that occur early, within 14 d after acute, transient intraocular pressure elevation, have not been previously assessed. Using biolistic transfection of individual RGCs and multielectrode array recordings to measure light responses in mice, we examined the effects of laser-induced ocular hypertension on the structure and function of a subset of RGCs. Among the α-like RGCs studied, αOFF-transient RGCs exhibited higher rates of cell death, with corresponding reductions in dendritic area, dendritic complexity, and synapse density. Functionally, OFF-transient RGCs displayed decreases in spontaneous activity and receptive field size. In contrast, neither αOFF-sustained nor αON-sustained RGCs displayed decreases in light responses, although they did exhibit a decrease in excitatory postsynaptic sites, suggesting that synapse loss may be one of the earliest signs of degeneration. Interestingly, presynaptic ribbon density decreased to a greater degree in the OFF sublamina of the inner plexiform layer, corroborating the hypothesis that RGCs with dendrites stratifying in the OFF sublamina may be damaged early. Indeed, OFF arbors of ON-OFF RGCs lose complexity more rapidly than ON arbors. Our results reveal type-specific differences in RGC responses to injury with a selective vulnerability of αOFF-transient RGCs, and furthermore, an increased susceptibility of synapses in the OFF sublamina. The selective vulnerability of specific RGC types offers new avenues for the design of more sensitive functional tests and targeted neuroprotection. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Conflicting reports regarding the selective vulnerability of specific retinal ganglion cell (RGC) types in glaucoma exist. We examine, for the first time, the effects of transient intraocular pressure elevation on the structure and function of various RGC types. Among the α-like RGCs studied, αOFF-transient RGCs are the most vulnerable to transient transient intraocular pressure elevation as measured by rates of cell death, morphologic alterations in dendrites and synapses, and physiological dysfunction. Specifically, we found that presynaptic ribbon density decreased to a greater degree in the OFF sublamina of the inner plexiform layer. Our results suggest selective vulnerability both of specific types of RGCs and of specific inner plexiform layer sublaminae, opening new avenues for identifying novel diagnostic and treatment targets in glaucoma.
Individual Differences in Adaptive Hypermedia Proceedings of the AH 2004 Workshop

In this paper we build on research reported in the areas of Adaptive Educational Hypermedia and learning styles in order to deal with critical issues influencing the design of adaptation based on the learning style information. In more detail we concentrate on: (i) the different learning style categorizations that have been or could be used for modelling learners’ learning style in the context of an Adaptive Educational Hypermedia System and the way these could guide the design of adaptation, (ii) the adaptation technologies that could better serve learners with different learning styles, (iii) the dynamic adaptation of the system and the diagnosis process including the identification of specific measures of learners’ observable behaviour which are indicative of learners’ learning style
Feature extraction based on 2D compressive sensing for SAR automatic target recognition

This paper proposes a new feature extraction method for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images with application to automatic target recognition (ATR). The original SAR image is first represented by a sparse image containing only a few dominant scattering centers (SCs). According to the theory of 2D compressive sensing (CS), a sparse image can be reconstructed from a low dimensional matrix with little distortion. Therefore, we use 2D random projection to extract features from the sparse image. The proposed method directly works on the 2D images thus avoiding the conversion of 2D matrices to vectors. Based on the extracted feature, the nearest neighbor classifier (NNC) is employed for target recognition. Experiments are conducted on the moving and stationary target acquisition and recognition (MSTAR) to evaluate the validity of the proposed method. Comparison with other methods demonstrates the superiority of the proposed method.
Code-switching and Learning in the Classroom

This paper addresses the issue of code-switching in the classroom and analyses the roles and functions of the first language (L1) in the second language (L2) class. The observation of intra-sentential code-switching shows complex learning and communicative strategies, and emphasises the need to better understand these strategies and their role in the learning process.
A review of economic evaluations of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in adults and the elderly

The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugated vaccine (PCV13) is already recommended for some adult groups and is being considered for wider use in many countries. In order to identify the strengths and limitations of the existing economic evaluation studies of PCV13 in adults and the elderly a literature review was conducted. The majority of the studies identified (9 out of 10) found that PCV13 was cost-effective in adults and/or the elderly. However, these results were based on assumptions that could not always be informed by robust evidence. Key uncertainties included the efficacy of PCV13 against non-invasive pneumonia and the herd immunity effect of childhood vaccination programs. Emerging trial evidence on PCV13 in adults from the Netherlands offers the ability to parameterize future economic evaluations with empirical efficacy data. However, it is important that these estimates are used thoughtfully when they are transferred to other settings.
Redistribution strategies for portable parallel FFT: a case study

The best approach to parallelize multidimensional FFT algorithms has long been under debate. Distributed transposes are widely used, but they also vary in communication policies and hence performance. In this work we analyze the impact of different redistribution strategies on the performance of parallel FFT, on various machine architectures. We found that some redistribution strategies were consistently superior, while some others were unexpectedly inferior. An in‐depth investigation into the reasons for this behavior is included in this work. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The lateral intercellular space as osmotic coupling compartment in isotonic transport

Solute‐coupled water transport and isotonic transport are basic functions of low‐ and high‐resistance epithelia. These functions are studied with the epithelium bathed on the two sides with physiological saline of similar composition. Hence, at transepithelial equilibrium water enters the epithelial cells from both sides, and with the reflection coefficient of tight junction being larger than that of the interspace basement membrane, all of the water leaves the epithelium through the interspace basement membrane. The common design of transporting epithelia leads to the theory that an osmotic coupling of water absorption to ion flow is energized by lateral Na+/K+ pumps. We show that the theory accounts quantitatively for steady‐ and time dependent states of solute‐coupled fluid uptake by toad skin epithelium. Our experimental results exclude definitively three alternative theories of epithelial solute–water coupling: stoichiometric coupling at the molecular level by transport proteins like SGLT1, electro‐osmosis and a ‘junctional fluid transfer mechanism’. Convection‐diffusion out of the lateral space constitutes the fundamental problem of isotonic transport by making the emerging fluid hypertonic relative to the fluid in the lateral intercellular space. In the Na+ recirculation theory the ‘surplus of solutes’ is returned to the lateral space via the cells energized by the lateral Na+/K+ pumps. We show that this theory accounts quantitatively for isotonic and hypotonic transport at transepithelial osmotic equilibrium as observed in toad skin epithelium in vitro. Our conclusions are further developed for discussing their application to solute–solvent coupling in other vertebrate epithelia such as small intestine, proximal tubule of glomerular kidney and gallbladder. Evidence is discussed that the Na+ recirculation theory is not irreconcilable with the wide range of metabolic cost of Na+ transport observed in fluid‐transporting epithelia.