Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cold acclimation improves chill tolerance in the migratory locust through preservation of ion balance and membrane potential

ABSTRACT Most insects have the ability to alter their cold tolerance in response to temporal temperature fluctuations, and recent studies have shown that insect cold tolerance is closely tied to the ability to maintain transmembrane ion gradients that are important for the maintenance of cell membrane potential (Vm). Several studies have therefore suggested a link between preservation of Vm and cellular survival after cold stress, but none has measured Vm in this context. We tested this hypothesis by acclimating locusts (Locusta migratoria) to high (31°C) and low temperature (11°C) for 4 days before exposing them to cold stress (0°C) for up to 48 h and subsequently measuring ion balance, cell survival, muscle Vm, and whole animal performance. Cold stress caused gradual muscle cell death, which coincided with a loss of ion balance and depolarization of muscle Vm. The loss of ion balance and cell polarization were, however, dampened markedly in cold-acclimated locusts such that the development of chill injury was reduced. To further examine the association between cellular injury and Vm we exposed in vitro muscle preparations to cold buffers with low, intermediate, or high [K+]. These experiments revealed that cellular injury during cold exposure occurs when Vm becomes severely depolarized. Interestingly, we found that cellular sensitivity to hypothermic hyperkalaemia was lower in cold-acclimated locusts that were better able to defend Vm whilst exposed to high extracellular [K+]. Together these results demonstrate a mechanism of cold acclimation in locusts that improves survival after cold stress: increased cold tolerance is accomplished by preservation of Vm through maintenance of ion homeostasis and decreased K+ sensitivity. Summary: Chill tolerance is linked to maintenance of ion homeostasis, suggesting a link to membrane potential; this link is demonstrated as cold acclimation improved chill tolerance through preservation of membrane polarization.
A Symbolic Sonification of L-Systems

This paper describes a simple technique for the sonification of branching structures in plants. The example is intended to illustrate a qualitative definition of best practices for sonification aimed at the production of musical material. Visually manifest results of tree growth are modelled and subsequently mapped to pitch, time, and amplitude. Sample results are provided in symbolic music notation.
Denitrification rates in marsh fringes and fens in two boreal peatlands in Alberta, Canada

Western Boreal Plain peatlands can play an important role in the global nitrogen cycle by storing N in peat and potentially releasing large amounts of N to the atmosphere. In this study, biological denitrification rates were measured in marsh and fen vegetation zones in two boreal peatland-pond complexes in northcentral Alberta, Canada. Assuming negligible winter denitrification, we estimated annual denitrification rates of 11 g N·m−2 in marshes and 24 g N·m−2 in fens. Two techniques were employed to measure denitrification: 1) measurements of direct N2-flux were taken from intact cores in gas-tight N-free chambers, and 2) nitrous oxide (N2O) flux was measured in the two fens using in situ chambers. N2 fluxes ranged from 2.14–4.19 mg N·m−2·h−1 in marshes and 6.19–6.81 mg N·m−2·h−1 in fens. N2O release from fen peat ranged from consumption to 0.025 mg N·m−2·h−1. Peat with higher carbon and moisture content was a source of N2O whereas peat with lower carbon and moisture content was a sink. Surface water did not appear to be a major source of nitrate for denitrification. However, denitrification rates were positively correlated with peat extractable nitrate. Combined with mineralization studies, this indicated that soil nitrification provided most of the substrate for denitrification.
Maternal–fetal cytomegalovirus infection: From diagnosis to therapy

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common and serious congenital infection, because it occurs after both primary and recurrent infection in pregnancy and is a major cause of childhood deafness and neurological handicap. Fetal transmission generally occurs in 30–60% of women acquiring a primary infection or in 0.5–2% of women with preconceptional immunity. Following primary maternal infection, approximately one-third of the CMV-infected infants will have disease at birth or develop severe sequelae, which include convulsive or spastic syndromes, mental retardation and auditory and visual impairment. Routine antepartum and in pregnancy serological screening should be essential for avoiding doubtful interpretations of CMV-IgM results in pregnancy. Detection of quantitative CMV DNA in the amniotic fluid and accurate ultrasound examinations are needed in pregnant women with suspected primary infection. Being not yet available a vaccine and uncertain the results of postnatal ganciclovir therapy, CMV hyperimmunoglobulin appears to be the only safe and valid approach for prevention of congenital CMV disease.
Humoral hypothalamic control of anterior pituitary: a study with combined tissue cultures.

The current concepts of hypothalamo-pituitary relationships are based on the results of numerous in vivo experiments (Harris, 1951; Fortier, 1951; McCann, 1953; Hume, 1949; Benoit and Assenmacher, 1953). The possibility of investigating this problem by simple in vitro techniques was particularly challenging in view of a number of findings which suggested the necessity of some hypothalamic factor, so far overlooked, for the release of pituitary hormones in vitro. Indeed, conflicting results are to be found in the literature regarding possible secretion of hormones by the various endocrines in tissue cultures. If we consider the anterior lobe of the pituitary, it has been reported as able to produce gonadotrophins (Rosenberg, 1954), or growth hormone (Gaillard, 1948; Martinovitch, 1953) whereas other investigators concluded that it could not secrete gonadotrophins (Cutting and Lewis, 1938) or any hormone whatever (Anderson and Haymaker, 1935). It appears from a study of this literature that, whenever hormon.
Bond strengths and SEM morphology of dentin-amalgam adhesives.

PURPOSE To compare two one-bottle dentin bonding systems (DBS) with five multi-bottle DBS and one resin-modified glass-ionomer cement, regarding their ability to bond spherical amalgam to freshly prepared dentin surfaces, in vitro. The tested hypothesis was that one-bottle DBS would result in lower shear bond strengths than multi-bottle DBS. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty flat dentin bonding sites were prepared to 600-grit on middle dentin of caries-free human molars mounted in acrylic resin. The bonding surfaces were treated with eight different bonding systems, according to manufacturer's instructions: All-Bond 2; Amalgambond Plus; Fuji Duet; One-Step/Resinomer; OptiBond; OptiBond FL; Prime & Bond 2.0/Dyract Cem; and Scotchbond Multi-Purpose Plus. A spherical amalgam alloy (Megalloy) was hand-condensed on the treated surfaces. After thermocycling, the bond strengths were calculated by testing the specimens in shear. Field-emission SEM examinations were carried out to evaluate the effects of different treatments on the dentin-amalgam interface of MO/OD cavities treated under the same protocol. RESULTS Statistical analysis revealed that Prime & Bond 2.0/Dyract Cem, Amalgambond Plus, and Scotchbond Multi-Purpose Plus resulted in the highest shear bond strengths. The field-emission SEM observations showed accumulation of the fluid adhesive resin underneath the amalgam restoration, and an interpenetration between the amalgam and the adhesive resin, except for OptiBond and OptiBond FL. All systems, but Fuji Duet, formed an acid-resistant resin-dentin interdiffusion zone.
Inhibition of the Subsidiary Pacemaker Activity by Zatebradine, an If Inhibitor, in the Anesthetized Dog Heart

To investigate the role of the hyperpolarization-activated current (If) on the subsidiary pacemaker activity of the heart, we studied the effects of an If inhibitor, zatebradine, and a L-type Ca channel inhibitor, verapamil, on the atrioventicular (AV) junctional rhythm and other cardiac responses to stimulation of the left ansa subclavia (LS) in the autonomically decentralized heart of open-chest anesthetized dog. AV junctional rhythm was induced by clamping the sinoatrial (SA) pacemaker region and confirmed by His-bundle electrograms. Zatebradine 0.1 and 0.3 mumol/kg intravenously (i.v.) similarly attenuated both the AV junctional rate and the increase in the junctional rate in response to LS. However, higher doses (1 and 3 mumol/kg i.v.) of zatebradine changed the junctional rhythm to the atrial rhythm in all cases and decreased the atrial rate further but not the increases in the atrial rate in response to LS. On the other hand, verapamil (0.06, 0.2, and 0.6 mumol/kg i.v.) attenuated the increase in the junctional rate induced by LS dose dependently but did not affect the junctional rate itself. After verapamil, zatebradine did not shift the pacemaker site during LS and it further attenuated the positive chronotropic response. These results demonstrate that zatebradine, an If inhibitor, inhibits subsidiary pacemaker activities as well as SA nodal pacemaker activity in situ and suggest that an inhibition of If alters the pacemaker sites due to the different participation of If among the cardiac pacemaker cells.
Off-Line Handwritten Word Recognition Using a Hidden Markov Model Type Stochastic Network

Because of large variations involved in handwritten words, the recognition problem is very difficult. Hidden Markov models (HMM) have been widely and successfully used in speech processing and recognition. Recently HMM has also been used with some success in recognizing handwritten words with presegmented letters. In this paper, a complete scheme for totally unconstrained handwritten word recognition based on a single contextual hidden Markov model type stochastic network is presented. Our scheme includes a morphology and heuristics based segmentation algorithm, a training algorithm that can adapt itself with the changing dictionary, and a modified Viterbi algorithm which searches for the (l+1)th globally best path based on the previous l best paths. Detailed experiments are carried out and successful recognition results are reported. >
Micromachined tunable metamaterials: a review

This paper reviews micromachined tunable metamaterials, whereby the tuning capabilities are based on the mechanical reconfiguration of the lattice and/or the metamaterial element geometry. The primary focus of this review is the feasibility of the realization of micromachined tunable metamaterials via structure reconfiguration and the current state of the art in the fabrication technologies of structurally reconfigurable metamaterial elements. The micromachined reconfigurable microstructures not only offer a new tuning method for metamaterials without being limited by the nonlinearity of constituent materials, but also enable a new paradigm of reconfigurable metamaterial-based devices with mechanical actuations. With recent development in nanomachining technology, it is possible to develop structurally reconfigurable metamaterials with faster tuning speed, higher density of integration and more flexible choice of the working frequencies.
Functional Characterization of the YUR1, KTR1, and KTR2 Genes as Members of the Yeast KRE2/MNT1 Mannosyltransferase Gene Family (*)

Eukaryotic glycan structures are progressively elaborated in the secretory pathway. Following the addition of a core N-linked carbohydrate in the endoplasmic reticulum, glycoproteins move to the Golgi complex where the elongation of O-linked sugar chains and processing of complex N-linked oligosaccharide structures take place. In order to better define how such post-translational modifications occur, we have been studying a yeast gene family in which at least one member, KRE2/MNT1, is involved in protein glycosylation. The family currently contains five other members: YUR1, KTR1, KTR2, KTR3 and KTR4 (Mallet, L., Bussereau, F., and Jacquet, M.(1994) Yeast 10, 819-831). All encode putative type II membrane proteins with a short cytoplasmic N terminus, a membrane-spanning region, and a highly conserved catalytic lumenal domain. Kre2p/Mnt1p is a α1,2-mannosyltransferase involved in O- and N-linked glycosylation (Häusler, A., Ballou, L., Ballou, C. E., and Robbins, P. W.(1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 89, 6846-6850); however, the role of the other proteins has not yet been established. We have carried out a functional analysis of Ktr1p, Ktr2p, and Yur1p. By in vitro assays, Ktr1p, Ktr2p, and Yur1p have been shown to be mannosyltransferases but, in vivo, do not appear to be involved in O-glycosylation. Examination of the electrophoretic mobility of the N-linked modified protein invertase in null mutant strains indicates that Ktr1p, Ktr2p, and Yur1p are involved in N-linked glycosylation, possibly as redundant enzymes. As found with Kre2p (Hill, K., Boone, C., Goebl, M., Puccia, R., Sdicu, A.-M., and Bussey, H.(1992) Genetics 130, 273-283), Ktr1p, Ktr2p, and Yur1p also seem to be implicated in the glycosylation of cell wall mannoproteins, since yeast cells containing different gene disruptions become K1 killer toxin-resistant. Immunofluorescence microscopy reveals that like Kre2p; Ktr1p, Ktr2p and Yur1p are localized in the Golgi complex.
Multiorder Fusion Data Privacy-Preserving Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks

Privacy-preserving in wireless sensor networks is one of the key problems to be solved in practical applications. It is of great significance to solve the problem of data privacy protection for large-scale applications of wireless sensor networks. The characteristics of wireless sensor networks make data privacy protection technology face serious challenges. At present, the technology of data privacy protection in wireless sensor networks has become a hot research topic, mainly for data aggregation, data query, and access control of data privacy protection. In this paper, multiorder fusion data privacy-preserving scheme (MOFDAP) is proposed. Random interference code, random decomposition of function library, and cryptographic vector are introduced for our proposed scheme. In multiple stages and multiple aspects, the difficulty of cracking and crack costs are increased. The simulation results demonstrate that, compared with the typical Slice-Mix-AggRegaTe (SMART) algorithm, the algorithm proposed in this paper has a better data privacy-preserving ability when the traffic load is not very heavy.
Atrial flutter with block--contraindication to use of lignocaine.

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Evaluation of the effects of polarized light (λ400-200 nm) on the healing of third-degree burns in induced diabetic and nondiabetic rats.

OBJECTIVE The study evaluated, by light microscopy, the repair process on third-degree burns on diabetic and nondiabetic rats, illuminated or not, with a polarized light (PL) source. BACKGROUND DATA Burns are severe injuries that result in the loss of fluid and destruction of tissue, infection, and shock that may result in death. Diabetes mellitus is a public health problem that, being uncontrolled, causes severe disturbance to the body metabolism, including on wound healing. PL sources have been shown to be effective in improving healing in many situations. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ninety male Wistar rats were divided into two groups (n=45): nondiabetic and diabetic. In one of the groups, diabetes mellitus was induced by streptozotocin. A third-degree burn, measuring 1.5×1.5 cm(2), was created in the dorsum of each animal. Phototherapy (λ400-2000 nm, 10.2 or 20.4 J/cm(2)) started immediately after burning and was repeated daily until animal death (7, 14, and 21 days). Specimens were taken, processed, and stained with H&E and Sirius red and immunomarked with cytokeratin (CK) AE1/AE3. Descriptive analysis was performed by light microscopy. RESULTS Animals subjected to phototherapy showed an acceleration of the repair, the dose of 10.2 J/cm(2) being the one that caused best results, including higher deposition of collagen, quicker inflammatory reaction, and improved revascularization. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the use of PL (10.2 J/cm(2)) improves the healing of third-degree burns on both diabetic and nondiabetic animals.
Visual Memory Deficits in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: Toward a Multifactorial Approach

Temporal lobe epilepsies (TLE) are associated with material-specific memory deficits depending on the side of seizure origin. However, while verbal memory deficits have been consistently reported in patients with left-sided TLE, the relationship between visual memory deficits and right-sided TLE is more complex. Here, we review factors that influence the pattern of lateralization and the nature of visual memory impairments in TLE and discuss the possible relationship between these deficits and perceptual impairments in TLE patients.
A novel integrated configuration of Grid-connected photovoltaic plant with UPS: reliability estimation

This paper proposes a novel configuration of an electrical system, in which a photovoltaic plant (PV), used as support and integration, is interconnected to the DC-side of a conventional uninterruptible power system (UPS). The proposed configuration introduces important advantages compared to the configuration, in which no direct PV-UPS interconnection exists. In the paper, the attention is focused on the estimation of the reliability improvement as regards the supply of the critical loads. In particular, the reliability estimation is performed in terms of the number of the critical loads interruptions over a certain period of time by using the Monte Carlo simulation method.
Diagnosis of induction machines under transient conditions through the Instantaneous Frequency of the fault components

This paper introduces a methodology for diagnosing different types of faults of induction machines working under transient conditions; the method is based on the extraction of the Instantaneous Frequency (IF) of the fault related components of stator current. It is shown that the IF of the fault components, evolves in the time-frequency and slip-frequency planes following characteristic patterns, different for each type of fault; the identification of these characteristic patterns, which are theoretically explained, is proposed as the base of the diagnosis method. This paper also introduces several mathematical approaches which enables for the extraction of the instantaneous frequency of the fault components of the transient stator current. Each of this methods is explained and also and validated with both simulated and tested signal. A comparison of the different methods for extracting the instantaneous frequency of the fault components is also given.
A frequency reconfigurable patch antenna with reed switches

A frequency reconfigurable patch antenna using 19 reed switches to connect the patch with the ground plane is proposed. Compared with other controlling methods, using reed switches could avoid the need of placing bias and control lines in the vicinity of the radiating elements and the attendant impacts on the antenna radiation performance. Simulated results show that the antenna can be reconfigured to operate in the frequency range from 1.7 GHz to 2.7 GHz. Two working cases of the antenna (resonate at 2.05 GHz and 2.45 GHz) are studied and presented to illustrate the feasibility of this method.
The Effect of Composition, Size, and Solubility on Acute Pulmonary Injury in Rats Following Exposure to Mexico City Ambient Particulate Matter Samples

Particulate matter (PM)-associated metals can contribute to adverse cardiopulmonary effects following exposure to air pollution. The aim of this study was to investigate how variation in the composition and size of ambient PM collected from two distinct regions in Mexico City relates to toxicity differences. Male Wistar Kyoto rats (14 wk) were intratracheally instilled with chemically characterized PM10 and PM2.5 from the north and PM10 from the south of Mexico City (3 mg/kg). Both water-soluble and acid-leachable fractions contained several metals, with levels generally higher in PM10 South. The insoluble and total, but not soluble, fractions of all PM induced pulmonary damage that was indicated by significant increases in neutrophilic inflammation, and several lung injury biomarkers including total protein, albumin, lactate dehydrogenase activity, and γ-glutamyl transferase activity 24 and 72 h postexposure. PM10 North and PM2.5 North also significantly decreased levels of the antioxidant ascorbic acid. Elevation in lung mRNA biomarkers of inflammation (tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α and macrophage inflammatory protein [MIP]-2), oxidative stress (heme oxygenase [HO]-1, lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor [LOX]-1, and inducibile nitric oxide synthase [iNOS]), and thrombosis (tissue factor [TF] and plasminogen activator inhibitor [PAI]-1), as well as reduced levels of fibrinolytic protein tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), further indicated pulmonary injury following PM exposure. These responses were more pronounced with PM10 South (PM10 South > PM10 North > PM2.5 North), which contained higher levels of redox-active transition metals that may have contributed to specific differences in selected lung gene markers. These findings provide evidence that surface chemistry of the PM core and not the water-soluble fraction played an important role in regulating in vivo pulmonary toxicity responses to Mexico City PM.
The significance of serum transferrin receptor levels in the diagnosis of the coexistence of anemia of chronic disease and iron deficiency anemia.

OBJECTIVE Iron deficiency anemia is the most common cause of microcytic anemia throughout the world. Ferritin levels are good indicators of iron stores; however, levels may increase irrespective of iron stores in cases of chronic disease. Therefore, it is difficult to diagnose iron deficiency anemia coexisting with anemia of chronic disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS To determine the level of transferrin receptor in subjects, 30 patients with iron deficiency anemia, 30 patients with anemia of chronic disease and 30 patients with both diseases were included in the study. RESULTS Mean serum transferrin receptor levels were 5.99±2.98 mg/L in the iron deficiency anemia group, 1.90±1.15 mg/L in the anemia of chronic disease group and 3.07±0.90 mg/L in the combination group. Comparing groups with each other revealed significant differences (p<0.05). CONCLUSION It is concluded that the assessment of serum transferrin receptor levels is a useful method for the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia in patients.