Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ectomycorrhizas with Paxillus involutus enhance cadmium uptake and tolerance in Populus × canescens.

Ectomycorrhizas (EMs), which are symbiotic organs formed between tree roots and certain fungi, can mediate cadmium (Cd) tolerance of host plants, but the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. To investigate EMs mediated Cd tolerance in woody plants, Populus × canescens was inoculated with Paxillus involutus (strain MAJ) to establish mycorrhizal roots. Mycorrhizal poplars and non-mycorrhizal controls were exposed to 0 or 50 μM CdSO4 . EMs displayed higher net Cd(2+) influx than non-mycorrhizal roots. Net Cd(2+) influx was coupled with net H(+) efflux and inactivation of plasma membrane (PM) H(+) -ATPases reduced Cd(2+) uptake of EMs less than of non-mycorrhizal roots. Consistent with higher Cd(2+) uptake in EMs, in most cases, transcript levels of genes involved in Cd(2+) uptake, transport and detoxification processes were increased in EMs compared to non-mycorrhizal roots. Higher CO2 assimilation, improved nutrient and carbohydrate status, and alleviated oxidative stress were found in mycorrhizal compared to non-mycorrhizal poplars despite higher Cd(2+) accumulation. These results indicate that mycorrhizas increase Cd(2+) uptake, probably by an enlarged root volume and overexpression of genes involved in Cd(2+) uptake and transport, and concurrently enhance Po. × canescens Cd tolerance by increased detoxification, improved nutrient and carbohydrate status and defence preparedness.
A General-Purpose Path Generation Method Using Genetic Algorithms

A method using genetic algorithms for path generation have been proposed; however, this method is limited to particular applications, and there are limitations on the types of paths that can be represented. This paper therefore proposes a path generation method that is applicable to more general-purpose applications compared to previous methods based on a new design of the genotype used in the genetic algorithm.
Dentition of a mesolithic population from Wadi Halfa, Sudan.

The dentition of a Mesolithic population (8,000–11,000 years old) from Wadi Halfa, Sudan, can be characterized as morphologically complex, massive and relatively free from pathology except that associated with extreme wear. Maxillary incisors show shoveling. All of the maxillary molars show some development of the hypocone. Supernumerary cusps appear frequently. Almost one-half of the second lower molars observed show distally located third cusps. Over one-half of the maxillary third molars show an extra cusp. A high percentage of mandibular molars show six cusps. Overall the teeth from this population compare favorably in size with those of an Australian aborigine tribe and are slightly larger than the teeth of the Neanderthaloids from Skūhl. The teeth show wear of a degree greater than that found in present day Eskimo or Australian aborigine groups. This data may be interpreted as indicating that this Mesolithic group was subjected to rigorous selective pressures favoring large and/or morphologically complex teeth. This pressure was apparently intensive wear, presumably caused by the inclusion of large amounts of grit in the diet through the eating of vegetable food macerated on coarse grinding stones.
Prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer in the third millennium: Useful or hype?

Prostate cancer is the most prevalent malignancy in men and the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Although the wide-spread introduction of total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) testing has revolutionized the approach to the managed care of this disease, there are some biological, analytical, clinical, and economical issues that argue against the cost-effectiveness of tPSA-based population screening for early identification of cancer. The on-going standardization/harmonization efforts, along with the outcomes of recent epidemiological investigations, demonstrate that the current tPSA thresholds might be revised and possibly recalculated according to several demographical variables, such as age, ethnicity, genotype, family history, and body mass index. A major shortcoming of tPSA screening is the lack of reliable evidences of reduction in prostate cancer-associated mortality, due to the large lead-time because of the indolent growth rate, the impossibility to differentiate high-grade from indolent cancers, and the treatment-associated morbidity. Since no single tPSA cut-off was proven able to efficiently identify men at higher risk of death, the jeopardy of over-diagnosis and over-treatment is also tangible. The large expenditure is an additional source of concern. Finally, a wide-spread population screening also carries several ethical, social, and psychological implications, which might overwhelm the potential benefits.
RECEPTORS ON IMMUNOCOMPETENT CELLS

The interaction of antigen with specific, cell-associated receptors was measured in thermodynamic terms. The binding of 125I-labeled 2,4-dinitrophenyl guinea pig albumin (DNP16GPA-125I) to lymphocytes from guinea pigs immunized to DNP16GPA is a temperature-dependent, reversible process. Measurement of association and dissociation rates of antigen-receptor complexes permits calculation of antigen-cell binding constants. These may also be calculated by equilibrium-binding techniques. Although differences in the constants calculated in these two ways exist, a clear increase in avidity of cell receptor for antigen occurs in the course of the immune response. This change in receptor avidity provides evidence that the time-dependent change in affinity of serum antibody (maturation) indeed has a cellular basis. The magnitude of the equilibrium constant is, in part, due to binding of more than one DNP group per molecule of antigen. Thus, multivalent ligands bind more effectively to cell receptors than univalent or paucivalent ligands when measured by the number of antigen molecules bound, the dissociation rate of antigen-receptor complexes, and in the relative capacity to inhibit a standard multivalent ligand (DNP16GPA-125I) from binding.
Rectal Temperature in the Newborn After Birth Asphyxia

the period before the appearance of combined ulcers is taken as a basis for comparison. According to Balfour (1932) about 25% of peptic ulcer patients followed for an average of 10 years will show one or more episodes of bleeding. Emery and Monroe (1935) found an incidence of 26.7% in patients observed for an average of 3.5 years. Gastric ulcers are thought to bleed more often than duodenal ulcers (Ivy, Grossman, and Bachrach, 1950). However, Martin and Lewis (1949), in their follow-up of peptic ulcer patients for more than 10 years, observed bleeding in 26.8% of gastric and 35.2% of duodenal ulcers. In the present series the incidence of bleeding in 59 of 157 patients -that is, 37.6%-followed for a similar length of time, is somewhat higher. Moreover, three-fourths of the haemorrhages took place during the period which represented on the average one-eighth or less of the total ulcer history. It is therefore not surprising that conservative treatment was abandoned in favour of partial gastrectomy in 68 of these patients. In fact, the present findings would suggest that surgical treatment is indicated more often in combined ulcers than in single ulcer, whether gastric or duodenal.
Amphetamine and cocaine do not increase Narp expression in rat ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens or prefrontal cortex, but Narp may contribute to individual differences in responding to a novel environment

Narp is an immediate early gene product that acts extracellularly to cluster AMPA receptors at excitatory synapses. The present study tested the hypothesis that drugs of abuse alter Narp expression and thereby influence AMPA receptor transmission in addiction‐related circuits. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated the existence of Narp‐positive cells in hippocampus, prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc), with lower levels of staining in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). To study the effects of psychomotor stimulants, Narp levels were quantified by Western blotting and normalized to actin. There were no differences in Narp levels in any brain region between rats treated with repeated saline injections, a single amphetamine injection (5 mg/kg), repeated amphetamine injections (5 mg/kg × 5 days), or repeated cocaine injections (20 mg/kg twice daily × 7 days). We also examined the possible role of Narp in individual differences in responding to a novel environment, a predictor of behavioural responses to psychomotor stimulant drugs including the propensity to acquire drug self‐administration. Narp levels in the PFC, but not other regions, were significantly correlated with locomotor activity in a novel environment. These findings suggest that differential Narp expression in the PFC may be involved in determining individual vulnerability to drugs of abuse, perhaps by influencing the activity of its excitatory projections.
Effects of Heavy and Repeated Malarial Infections on Gambian Infants and Children

(1955b). Neural Control of the Pituitary Gland, p. 150. Arnold, London. Hartman, F. A. , and Brownell, K. A. (1930). Science, 72, 76. Hays, E. H. , and White, W. F. (1954). Recent Progr. Hormone Res., 10, 265. Hechter, O. , Jacobsen, R. P., Jeanloz, R. W. , Levy, H. , Marshall, C. W. , Pincus, G. , and Schenker, V. (1950). Arch. Biochem. , 25, 457. Hellman, L. , Bradlow, H. L. , Adesman, J., Fukushima, D. K. , Kulp, J. L. , and Gallagher, T. F. (1954). J. din. Invest. , 33. 1106. Henriques, S. B. , Henriques, 0. B. , and Selye, H. (1949). Endocrinology, 45, 153. Hill, R. T. (1948). Ibid., 42, 339. Hill, S. R. , Reiss, R. J. Forsham, P. H. , and Thorn, G. W. (1950). J.
A 3D Anti-collision System based on Artificial Potential Field Method for a Mobile Robot

Anti-collision systems are based on sensing and estimating the mobile robot pose (coordinates and orientation), with respect to its environment. Obstacles detection, path planning and pose estimation are primordial to ensure the autonomy and safety of the robot, in order to reduce the risk of collision with objects and living beings that share the same space. For this, the use of RGB-D sensors, such as the Microsoft Kinect, has become popular in the past years, for being relative accurate and low cost sensors. In this work we proposed a new 3D anti-collision algorithm based on Artificial Potential Field method, that is able to make a mobile robot pass between closely spaced obstacles, while also minimizing the oscillations during the cross. We develop our Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) system on a ’Turtlebot 2’ platform, with which we perform the experiments.
X-ray diffraction studies of the thick filament in permeabilized myocardium from rabbit.

Low angle x-ray diffraction patterns from relaxed permeabilized rabbit cardiac trabeculae and psoas muscle fibers were compared. Temperature was varied from 25 degrees C to 5 degrees C at 200 mM and 50 mM ionic strengths (mu), respectively. Effects of temperature and mu on the intensities of the myosin layer lines (MLL), the equatorial intensity ratio I(1,1)/I(1,0), and the spacing of the filament lattice are similar in both muscles. At 25 degrees C, particularly at mu = 50 mM, the x-ray patterns exhibited up to six orders of MLL and sharp meridional reflections, signifying that myosin heads (cross-bridges) are distributed in a well-ordered helical array. Decreasing temperature reduced MLL intensities but increased I(1,1)/I(1,0). Decreases in the MLL intensities indicate increasing disorder in the distribution of cross-bridges on the thick filaments surface. In the skeletal muscle, order/disorder is directly correlated with the hydrolysis equilibrium of ATP by myosin, [M.ADP. P(i)]/[M.ATP]. Similar effects of temperature on MLL and similar biochemical ATP hydrolysis pathway found in both types of muscles suggest that the order/disorder states of cardiac cross-bridges may well be correlated with the same biochemical and structural states. This implies that in relaxed cardiac muscle under physiological conditions, the unattached cross-bridges are largely in the M.ADP. P(i) state and with the lowering of the temperature, the equilibrium is increasingly in favor of [M.ATP] and [A.M.ATP]. There appear to be some differences in the diffraction patterns from the two muscles, however. Mainly, in the cardiac muscle, the MLL are weaker, the I(1,1)/I(1,0) ratio tends to be higher, and the lattice spacing D(10), larger. These differences are consistent with the idea that under a wide range of conditions, a greater fraction of cross-bridges is weakly bound to actin in the myocardium.
Input Output Symbolic Transition Systems Enriched by Program Calls and Contracts: a detailed example of vending machine

An Input Output Symbolic Transition System (IOSTS) spec-iﬁes all expected sequences of input and output messages of a reactive system. Symbolic execution over this IOSTS then allows to generate a set of test cases that can exercise the various possible behaviors of the system it represents. In this paper, we extend the IOSTS framework with explicit program calls, possibly equipped with contracts specifying what the program is supposed to do. This approach bridges the gap between a model-based approach in which user-deﬁned programs are abstracted away and a code-based approach in which small pieces of code are separately considered regardless of the way they are combined. First, we extend symbolic execution techniques for IOSTS with programs, in order to re-use classical test case generation algorithms. Second, we explore how constraints coming from IOSTS symbolic execution can be used to infer contracts for programs used in the IOSTS.
Analysis of material processing of sol-gel derived PZT to the performance of microaccelerometer applications

The processing conditions of the sol-gel derived lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films have significant influences on the piezoelectric characteristics and the interface quality, and affect the device performance of the following applications. High temperature annealing of sol-gel derived PZT is required to crystallize the spin-on precursors, but often cause cracking and diffusion of structure layers. The introduction of LSMO oxide electrode in this study not only improve the crystallization and fatigue resistance of PZT film, but also prevent possible cracking due to excessive thermal stress. Two types of annealing including furnace and rapid thermal annealing are investigated and the following poling conditions are presented. To assess the overall performance of the PZT films from various processing conditions, a single-axial piezoelectric accelerometer is fabricated. The initial result shows the feasibility of the experimental concept. Future experiments are pending to derive the optimum processing conditions for the accelerometer application.
Evidence for associations between MDGA2 polymorphisms and harm avoidance – replication and extension of a genome-wide association finding

In 2008, van den Oord et al. identified in a genome-wide association study the MAM domain containing glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor 2 gene (MDGA2 or MAMDC1) as a new candidate for neuroticism. In addition to the replication attempt of this association, we further investigated the role of MDGA2 with respect to harm avoidance (HA), a personality trait highly related to neuroticism. In a sample of mentally healthy volunteers (n=541) and depressed patients (n=199), neuroticism and HA were assessed with Eysenck's Revised Personality Questionnaire and Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Genotypic information (Illumina Bead Chip HumanHap300) of 100 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the MDGA2 gene (±5 kb) was available, and additional four SNPs for replication were imputed. We were able to replicate the association between MDGA2 and neuroticism for the strongest SNPs of the genome-wide association study. It could further be shown that volunteers homozygous for the T-allele of SNP rs2416054 showed higher scores in the HA4 subscale ‘Fatigability and asthenia’ (Pnominal=0.0006), remaining significant after correction for multiple testing (Pwy−corrected=0.045). The same SNP also showed an association with HA4 in the patients' sample (Pnominal=0.03). Our finding provides further support for a link between variants in the MDGA2 gene and specific neuroticism-related phenotypes.
Video Face Tracking and Recognition with Skin Region Extraction and Deformable Template Matching

The authors describe a face tracking and recognition system for video indexing that handles variable face poses left-right and up-down and deformations due to speech and facial expressions. The system is based on deformable template matching, and employs person-specific templates at near-frontal poses for recognition, and novel person-independent templates at multiple poses on the view-sphere for tracking. Relative to an earlier version that used multiple person-specific templates at multiple left-right poses, the new system speeds up processing by i restricting attention to skin-color regions; ii performing recognition using the person-specific templates at near-frontal poses only; and iii tracking at non-frontal poses using the novel person-independent templates. Registration is also simplified since multiple views of each target individual are no longer required, but at the cost of a loss of recognition functionality at poses far from frontal the system instead "remembers" the identity of each individual from near-frontal matches and tracks between them.
IL-10+ Innate-like B Cells Are Part of the Skin Immune System and Require α4β1 Integrin To Migrate between the Peritoneum and Inflamed Skin

The skin is an important barrier organ and frequent target of autoimmunity and allergy. In this study, we found innate-like B cells that expressed the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the skin of humans and mice. Unexpectedly, innate-like B1 and conventional B2 cells showed differential homing capacities with peritoneal B1 cells preferentially migrating into the inflamed skin of mice. Importantly, the skin-homing B1 cells included IL-10–secreting cells. B1 cell homing into the skin was independent of typical skin-homing trafficking receptors and instead required α4β1-integrin. Moreover, B1 cells constitutively expressed activated β1 integrin and relocated from the peritoneum to the inflamed skin and intestine upon innate stimulation, indicating an inherent propensity to extravasate into inflamed and barrier sites. We conclude that innate-like B cells migrate from central reservoirs into skin, adding an important cell type with regulatory and protective functions to the skin immune system.
A Prospective Trial in Saudi Arabia Comparing the 14-day Standard Triple Therapy with the 10-day Sequential Therapy for Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection: A Further Confirmation of “Geographic Weight”

We read with interest the paper by Alsohaibani et al.[1] The problem of an adequate choice of firstline regimen for Helicobacter pylori eradication represents a hot topic. Ten‐day sequential (S10) and 14‐day prolonged triple (T14) therapies are the most used regimens. Authors demonstrated that success rates of S10 and T14 were 50.4% versus 59% in the intention‐to‐treat and 62.4% versus 67.6% in the per‐protocol analysis, respectively, demonstrating an equivalent poor efficacy in their geographic area. These results are in agreement with a recent meta‐analysis from our group,[2] which confirmed that S10 and T14 may have a comparable effectiveness in a global perspective, although the analysis was influenced by regional antibiotic resistances. Indeed, we demonstrated that S10 was better than T14 in areas with high resistance to clarithromycin. In the paper by Alsohaibani et al., the authors found that 23.3% of strains were resistant to clarithromycin (conventionally considered as high value: >20%). However, they found that the resistance to this antibiotic reduced more deeply the success of S10 (70.1% vs 10%) than T14 (74.1% vs 33.3%). This finding seems to contradict our previous experience. [3] Possible explanations for this disagreement could be as follows: (1) The low number (only 10) of patients with clarithromycin resistance receiving S10, (2) the lack of genotypic resistance evaluation. Indeed, a dozen 23SrRNA mutations may confer resistance to clarithromycin, even if they differently affect eradication rate, since A2143G mutation impacts on therapeutic outcome more than others. [4]
Predictive Control and Planning Enabling Complex Maneuvers of Formations of Autonomous Helicopters Bc

Existující systém vyvinutý pro plánování trajektorie a stabilizaci formací bezpilotních helikoptér je v této práci rozšířen o možnost plánování komplexních manévrů vyžadujících náhlou změnu směru pohybu formace a také jednotlivých helikoptér ve formaci. Systém založený na metodě prediktivního řízení (MPC) je použit spolu s popisem formace pomocí flexibilní virtuální struktury pro umožnění složitých manévrů během plánování trajektorie. V kombinaci s použitím virtuálních struktur je navrženo řízení rychlosti kvadrokoptér, které je založeno na existujícím řízení pozice (geometric tracking controller). Za pomoci řízení rychlosti jednotlivých kvadrokoptér je naplno využito jejich manévrovacích schopností a jsou tím umožněny komplexní manévry celé formace. Celý systém je implementován a vyzkoušen v simulačním programu V-REP, který zároveň umožňuje studovat vzájemný vliv kvadrokoptér, způsobený prouděním vzduchu z jejich rotorů. Klíčová slova prediktivní řízení; MPC; plánování trajektorie; formace; kvadrokoptéra; V-REP; komplexní manévry; sekvenční kvadratické programování; SQP
Multielement patch antenna array with operated polarization of Ku-band

The systems of irradiators with operated polarization, containing 16, 64 and 144 patch elements and working in a band of the frequencies (10,7 . 12,7) GHz are developed. It is shown that each of the developed antenna arrays is characterized with: symmetric form of radiation pattern, low level of parasitic polarisation radiation, low level of side-lobes, possibility to operate on orthogonal linear and two circular polarizations, uniform input impedance in wide band of frequencies.
The nucleus of the solitary tract in the monkey: Projections to the thalamus and brain stem nuclei

The projections of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST) were studied by autoradiographic anterograde fiber‐tracing and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) retrograde cell‐labeling. Tritiated proline and leucine were deposited in electrophysiologically identified regions of NST. Injections of NST at levels caudal to where the vagus enters the nucleus, from which responses were evoked by stimulation of cranial nerves IX and X, revealed topographically organized bilateral projections to, most prominently, the ventrolateral medullary reticular formation which contains neurons of the ambiguus complex, and to the lateral and medial parabrachial nuclei, including a small portion of the medially adjacent central gray substance. Labeled fibers in the ventrolateral reticular formation were present from the nucleus retroambigualis rostralward to the retrofacial nucleus, with the densest concentration located over the nucleus ambiguus proper. The parabrachial projection was confirmed using HRP and shown to originiate from cells in the medial subdivision of NST. Due to the problem of fibers en passant, it was not possible to interpret conclusively the cell‐labeling seen around the solitary tract after HRP injections made in the region of the nucleus ambiguus. Labeled fibers were also traced from caudal NST to the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, but their origin could not be determined with certainty. Other labeled axons, traced to circumscribed parts of the inferior olivary complex and via the contralateral medial lemniscus to VPL of the thalamus, were shown in HRP experiments to originate from the dorsal column nuclei rather than NST. No labeled fibers were traced into the spinal cord, nor were any cells labeled in NST after large HRP deposits in upper cervical segments.