Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of glutathione on the induction of chromosome aberrations, delay in cell cycle kinetics and cell cycle regulator proteins in irradiated mouse bone marrow cells

Purpose: Reduced glutathione (GSH) is an endogenous thiol and has long been thought to affect the sensitivity of cells to radiation. The aim was to see the influence of GSH on: (i) the production of all types of radiation-induced chromosome aberrations (CA), and (ii) the radiation-induced delay in cell cycle and the levels of cell cycle regulator proteins. Materials and Methods: Cell cycle kinetics were determined by scoring the mitotic index (MI). CA and MI were scored in γ-irradiated buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) (10 h) or GSH (1 h) pretreated and untreated mouse bone marrow cells (BMC). The expression of p53 and p21 proteins after 2 and 6 h of irradiation and for the B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) associated X-protein (Bax) after 24 h of irradiation with or without BSO or GSH treatment was analyzed by immunoblotting. Results: Radiation delays mouse BMC in their passage through the cell cycle and induces CA. Exogenous addition of GSH protected CA uniformly at lower doses of radiation but differentially at higher doses, whereas GSH-depletion by BSO increased the frequency of radiation-induced CA. Both GSH and BSO-pretreated cells reduced the delay in cell kinetics after irradiation. Levels of both p53 and p21 were enhanced after irradiation to BSO-pretreated cells. However, in GSH-pretreated cells the level of these proteins was reduced. Conclusion: Data indicate that the induction of CA and delay in cell kinetics by radiation may not always be interlinked and that the level of endogenous GSH exerts its influence on these parameters. Both GSH and BSO pretreatment reduce delays in cell kinetics of irradiated cells which may die apoptotically, since they have either a higher frequency of exchange aberrations or CA, respectively.
Heat-stable enterotoxin of Escherichia coli: in vitro effects on guanylate cyclase activity, cyclic GMP concentration, and ion transport in small intestine.

A partially purified preparation of the heat-stable enterotoxin of Escherichia coli caused a rapid and persistent increase in electric potential difference and short-circuit current when added in vitro to the luminal surface of isolated rabbit ileal mucosa. As little as 1 ng/ml produced an easily detectable response. Under short-circuit condition, the enterotoxin abolished net Cl- absorption; this change was half that produced by theophylline, which stimulated net secretion. The enterotoxin did not change cyclic AMP concentration but caused large and persistent increases in cyclic GMP concentration. The electrical and nucleotide responses exhibited similar and unusually broad concentration-dependences and maximal effects could not be demonstrated. Theophylline elevated cyclic GMP concentration 3-fold both in the presence and absense of the enterotoxin, suggesting no effect of the toxin on cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase. Guanylate cyclase [GTP pyrophosphatelyase(cyclizing); EC 4.6. 1.2] activity in a crude membrane fraction from intestinal epithelial cells was stimulated 7-fold by the enterotoxin. These results suggest that guanylate cyclase stimulation is the basis for the toxin's diarrheagenic effect.
A Characterization of Antidegradable Qubit Channels

This paper provides a characterization for the set of antidegradable qubit channels. The characterization arises from the correspondence between the antidegradability of a channel and the symmetric extendibility of its Choi operator. Using an inequality derived to describe the set of bipartite qubit states which admit symmetric extension, we are able to characterize the set of all antidegradable qubit channels. Using the characterization we investigate the antidegradability of unital qubit channels and arbitrary qubit channels with respect to the dimension of the environment. We additionally provide a condition which describes qubit channels which are simultaneously degradable and antidegradable along with a classification of self-complementary qubit channels.
Plague bacterium as a transformer species in prairie dogs and the grasslands of western North America

Invasive transformer species change the character, condition, form, or nature of ecosystems and deserve considerable attention from conservation scientists. We applied the transformer species concept to the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis in western North America, where the pathogen was introduced around 1900. Y. pestis transforms grassland ecosystems by severely depleting the abundance of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) and thereby causing declines in native species abundance and diversity, including threatened and endangered species; altering food web connections; altering the import and export of nutrients; causing a loss of ecosystem resilience to encroaching invasive plants; and modifying prairie dog burrows. Y. pestis poses an important challenge to conservation biologists because it causes trophic‐level perturbations that affect the stability of ecosystems. Unfortunately, understanding of the effects of Y. pestis on ecosystems is rudimentary, highlighting an acute need for continued research.
Identification and assessment of Schlemm's canal by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

PURPOSE Measurements of human Schlemm's canal (SC) have been limited to histologic sections. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate noninvasive measurements of aqueous outflow (AO) structures in the human eye, examining regional variation in cross-sectional SC areas (on/off collector channel [CC] ostia [SC/CC] and nasal/temporal) in the eyes of living humans. METHODS SC was imaged by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography with a 200-nm bandwidth light source. Both eyes of 21 healthy subjects and one glaucomatous eye of three subjects were imaged nasally and temporally. Contrast and magnification were adjusted to maximize visualization. Cross-sectional SC on and off SC/CC was traced three times by two independent masked observers using ImageJ (ImageJ 1.40g, http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/ Wayne Rasband, developer, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD). The mean SC area was recorded. A linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze eye, nasal/temporal laterality, and SC area on or off SC/CC. RESULTS SC area was significantly larger on SC/CCs than off (12,890 vs. 7,391 micorm(2), P < 0.0001) and was significantly larger on the nasal side than on the temporal (10,983 vs. 8,308 micorm(2), P = 0.009). SC areas were significantly smaller in glaucoma patients than in normal subjects, whether pooled (P = 0.0073) or grouped by on (P = 0.0215) or off (P = 0.0114) SC/CC. CONCLUSIONS Aqueous outflow structures, including SC and CCs, can be noninvasively assessed in the human eye. These measurements will be useful in physiological studies of AO and will be clinically useful in the determination of the impact of glaucoma therapies on IOP as well as presurgical planning.
DIRECT TORQUE NEURO FUZZY SPEED CONTROL OF AN INDUCTION MACHINE DRIVE BASED ON A NEW VARIABLE GAIN PI CONTROLLER

This paper presents an original variable gain PI (VGPI) controller for speed control of a simplifled direct torque neuro fuzzy controlled (DTNFC) induction motor drive. First, a simplifled direct torque neuro fuzzy control (DTNFC) for a voltage source PWM inverter fed induction motor drive is presented. This control scheme uses the stator ∞ux amplitude and the electromagnetic torque errors through a four rules adaptive NF inference system (ANFIS) to generate a voltage space vector (reference voltage). This voltage is used by a space vector modulator to generate the inverter switching states. Then a VGPI controller is designed in order to be used as the speed controller in the simplifled DTNFC induction motor drive. Simulation of the simplifled DTNFC induction motor drive using VGPI for speed control shows promising results. The motor reaches the reference speed rapidly and without overshoot, load disturbances are rapidly rejected and the detuning problem caused by the stator resistance variation is fairly well dealt with. K e y w o r d s: induction motor, direct torque control, direct torque neuro fuzzy control, adaptive NF inference system, variable gain PI controller, space vector modulation
The cholesterol side chain cleavage enzymes in immature rat ovary.

Cholesterol side chain cleavage reaction has been studied in ovaries of immature female rats pretreated with pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin and human chorionic gonadotrophin. The cleavage enzymes were found to be in the mitochondria and to have the characteristics of a mixed function oxidase requiring NADPH and oxygen. Using [4-14C]cholesterol as substrate the main product obtained was progesterone while pregnenolone and 20α-hydroxypregn-4-en-3-one, were formed in smaller amounts. This shows that ovarian mitochondria contains a Δ5–3β-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase, a Δ 5–6/4–5 isomerase and a 20α-hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase. The proposed intermediates in cholesterol side chain cleavage (20α-hydroxy cholesterol and 20α, 22ɛ-dihydroxy cholesterol) were not detected. Mitochondrial production of progesterone in the presence of NADPH was further stimulated by succinate while fumarate was without effect. In the presence of NADPH, NADH was found to be inhibitory while NAD+ gave rise to an increase in pregnenolone, the overall reaction being unaffected. Excess of NADPH causes an accumulation of pregnenolone and slightly decreases the overall reaction. The action of reduced glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid-like reducing agents of physiological occurrence has been studied. It was found that GSH in small amounts stimulates and in larger amounts inhibits the side chain cleavage reaction. Ascorbic acid in physiological amounts produced an inhibitory effect. The action of adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic-monophosphoric acid (3′5′AMP) and other nucleotides (AMP, ADP, ATP) was tested. 3′5′AMP markedly stimulates the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone and decreases the synthesis of progesterone. The action of AMP shows some similarities with that of 3′5′AMP but the action of ADP and ATP was found to be different.
Linderstrøm‐Lang and the Carlsberg Laboratory: The view of a postdoctoral fellow in 1954

Although we carefully avoid any mention of it in publications, and do our best to keep it out of the public image of science, chance and fad play a strong role in both the research and the career of any scientist. In my own case these factors carried me into an unusual graduate program and the opportunity to work under two very different mentors during my postdoctoral period. Following completion of an undergraduate degree in chemistry from MIT in 1948 and some conversations with my oldest sister, already a biochemist, I joined the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Harvard Medical School, the only such department in any medical school then or since as far as I know. This casual decision was made without any survey of other opportunities. I spoke to John Edsall and Larry Oncley and they said to come along if I wanted to. At that time there were no training grants and no evidence of competition for student “slots. ” There was no “athlete style” recruiting either, a phenomenon in graduate science education that began somewhat later. The golden age in what would be called molecular biology was just beginning. This department had been started in the 1920s by Edwin Cohn and was disbanded in the late 1950s after his death. Cohn was a brilliant man, a first-class scientist, an excellent organizer, and a major-league tyrant. He talked with his faculty, his staff, and the postdoctoral fellows.
Approches transcriptomique et protéomique pour étudier les rôles de l’environnement et du génotype sur le métabolisme pariétal chez le lin

Le lin (Linum usitatissimum L.) est cultive pour ses fibres riches en cellulose utilisees dans l’industrie textile et pour l’elaboration des materiaux composites. La « qualite » des fibres depend, en partie, de la structure de la paroi cellulaire et nous avons donc essaye de mieux comprendre les differents facteurs pouvant impacter sur la composition des parois cellulaires chez le lin. Dans un premier temps nous avons valide un nouvel support de microarray de type Nimblegen en passant d’un systeme a base d’oligonucleotides courts (25-mer) a une version avec oligonucleotides longs (60-mer) pour des analyses de transcriptomique. Ensuite une etude proteomique sur plusieurs organes vegetatifs nous a permis d’identifier 1242 proteines non-redondantes dont 410 sont associees au metabolisme parietal. En parallele nous avons demontres la presence des hemicellulose de type xyloglucane dans les parois des fibres de lin et mis en evidence une importante paralogie de la famille IIIA des XTHs (xyloglucan endo-transglycosylase/hydrolase) potentiellement implique dans la formation/structuration de la paroi des fibres de lin. Puis, une comparaison transcriptomique et proteomique entre differentes varietes de lin (fibre printemps, fibre hiver, huile hiver) cultivees au champ sur 2 annees consecutives a permis d’identifier 659 genes differentiellement exprimes (DEGs) au niveau varietale, et 1571 DEGs au niveau environnemental. Un nombre non-negligeable de ces genes est implique dans le metabolisme parietal permettant ainsi de fournir les premiers indices expliquant le lien entre variete et qualite. Cette derniere etude a egalement souligne l’importance potentielle de la proteine XTH dans le metabolisme parietal du lin. Le role de l’environnement sur le metabolisme parietale etait exploree d’avantage dans une etude visant a dissequer l’impact d’un stress hydrique sur les transcriptomes de 3 organes vegetatifs (tige, feuille, racine). Les analyses preliminaires ont identifie un nombre important de DEGs impliques dans la biosynthese et le remodelage de plusieurs polymeres parietaux.
New method for purifying histidine‐rich glycoprotein from human plasma redefines its functional properties

Histidine‐rich glycoprotein (HRG) is a relatively abundant plasma protein that has been implicated in multiple biological processes including immunity, tumor progression, and vascular biology. However, current protocols for purifying HRG from plasma result in the copurification of contaminating proteins and raise questions over the validity of biological activities ascribed to HRG. In this study, we describe a two‐step protocol for the large‐scale purification of HRG from human plasma using a combination of metal affinity and ion exchange chromatography. The protocol employs a rapid and simple strategy to isolate highly purified HRG that minimizes proteolytic cleavage of the protein. The purification of HRG was assessed at each stage by measuring the amount of HRG immunoreactive protein using a specific monoclonal antibody against total protein, and demonstrated ∼1,000‐fold purification with an overall yield of ∼32%. Mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated that plasma‐derived HRG was free of contaminating proteins and gel electrophoresis showed it to have minimal proteolytic degradation. Characterization of protein by physical method showed that the protein exists as a single, monodisperse species. In contrast to the previous studies of HRG purified by different methods, HRG purified using the new procedure demonstrated a reduced profile of functions. Although the HRG retained binding to heparin and phosphatidic acid, it did not interact with necrotic cells or other cellular lipids. These data demonstrate that HRG does not exhibit the broad interactive properties that have been reported previously, suggesting that copurification of HRG‐binding partners or other impurities are responsible for some of the reported functional properties. The findings in this study demonstrate that the new purification procedure can provide a ready source of pure HRG to assess ligand specificity and biological function of this important plasma protein. ©2013 IUBMB Life, 65(6):550–563, 2013
Experimental Determination of Optimal Construction of Current Limiting Transformers Using HTS Tapes and Rings

The current limiting or self-limiting transformer (CLT, SLT) is a multifunctional device which combines the functions of a usual power transformer with the functions of a current limiter. Various constructions of the CLT and fault current limiters (FCL) were investigated in order to realize the optimized constructional outline. Small scale devices were investigated with one or more YBCO rings and BSCCO tape(s). The rings were placed on one or two limbs of the devices. The HTS ring was replaced with HTS tape in order to realize a new FCL construction. The main goal is to decrease the leakage field and to increase the mainfield reactance. The magnetizing current is to be reduced. The upscalability i.e. increase of the power rating is investigated as well. The CLT was investigated experimentally for both sudden short circuit and steady state (transformer) operation modes in cases of several selected configurations. The activation currents of the devices were determined in cases of sudden short circuit and transformer operation modes. The results are used to find the optimum constructional outline realization of the current limiting transformer.
Robust Rate, Power and Precoder Adaptation for Slow Fading MIMO Channels with Noisy Limited Feedback

Channel state information at transmitter (CSIT) is important for achieving high spectral efficiency in multi-input multi-output(MIMO) wireless systems especially for slow fading channels. In practice, only a limited number of bits can be allocated to carry the CSIT feedback, namely the limited feedback. Moreover, the limited CSIT feedback may suffer from noise on feedback channel. With the uncertainty on the CSIT, the packet transmitted may be corrupted (packet outage) if the transmitted rate exceeds the instantaneous mutual information. In this paper, we shall focus on a robust joint rate, power and precoder design for MIMO slow fading channels with noisy limited feedback. We optimize the system goodput (b/s/Hz successfully delivered to the receiver) with respect to a general model of limited feedback error. We show that the codebook design that maximizes the system goodput can be converted to an equivalent "maximin" problem. Numerical results show that the proposed framework can achieve significant goodput gain comparing to various naive designs (designed for error-free limited feedback). Simulation results demonstrated the importance of taking the potential CSIT errors into the limited feedback design for robust performance.
Implementation of an Active-Clamped Current-Fed Push–Pull Converter Employing Parallel-Inductor to Extend ZVS Range for Fuel Cell Application

This paper proposes a wide-range zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) active-clamped current-fed push–pull converter for fuel cell application. The presented converter achieves ZVS for all of the primary switches and ZCS for secondary diodes from rated load to 10% full load over the wide input voltage variation, improving the overall efficiency. The ZVS of switches is realized by the energy stored in the transformer leakage inductance aided by the secondary parallel inductor. An additional active clamping circuit suppresses the voltage spike as well as assists in realizing ZVS of switches. Low-voltage-rated switches with low on-state resistance can be used. Moreover, the voltage-doubler rectifier is adopted to release the reverse-recovery problem of rectifier diodes and reduce turns ratio of the high-frequency transformer. Detailed steady-state operation, analysis, design, control, comparative study, and experimental results are discussed in depth in this paper. Finally, a 200-W prototype has been built in the laboratory to verify the effectiveness of the proposed converter.
Thermal Overload and Insulation Aging of Short Duty Cycle, Aerospace Motors

Electrical machines for transportation applications need to be highly reliable, particularly if they drive safety-critical systems. At the same time, another main requirement is represented by the significant torque density, especially for aerospace, where weight constraints are extremely stringent. For achieving high peak torque, an effective strategy consists in supplying the windings with a current greater than the rated value; thus, thermally overloading the machine for limited time periods. However, if the insulation is overheated, the machine lifetime is shortened and reliability issues can arise. This paper experimentally investigates the influence of short-time thermal overload on the insulation lifetime for low voltage, random wound electrical machines. The analysis is performed on round enameled magnet wire coils, which are aged by accelerated thermal cycles. The obtained results are statistically processed through a two parameter Weibull distribution. According to the findings of the experimental data postprocessing, a lifetime prediction model is built. This model is employed for predicting the lifetime consumption of a motor embedded into an electromechanical actuator for aerospace application.
Actor-Observer Differences in Perceived Locus of Control

Recent literature in attribution theory leads to the prediction that actors will tend to perceive their locus of control as internal. In the present study, a group of adolescents (2 boys, 7 girls) were administered a locus of control scale and were photographed. Based on these photographs, 47 boys and 56 girls in Grade 9 answered the items on the I-E scale according to their perception of these ratees. Compared with ratings made by the observer, actors rated themselves as more internal (t = 5.87, df = 8, p < .001).
Mammalian apoptosis in a parasitic worm

In mammalian cells, the Bcl-2 family proteins are central regulators of apoptosis (5, 6). These proteins fall into two classes, multidomain proteins that are either pro- or antiapoptotic and that share similarity in three or four regions (referred to as Bcl-2 homology domains, BH1–4), and the proapoptotic BH3-only proteins that are homologous in only a single region. Proapoptotic multidomain proteins (Bax and Bak) act at the mitochondrion and are essential for the cell death process. Upon activation, they homo-oligomerize to release factors such as cytochrome c that then interact with Apaf-1 (apoptotic protease activating factor 1) to initiate a proteolytic (caspase) cascade that executes cell death through cleavage …