Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gamma-linolenic acid therapy of human gliomas.

OBJECTIVES We investigated the effect of intratumoral administration of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) in human gliomas. METHODS We evaluated the effect of the administration of 1 mg of GLA for 7 d via a cerebral reservoir placed into the tumor bed or by direct intratumoral delivery in nine patients who had grade 4 disease and recurrent glioma after surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. RESULTS There was some, but not dramatic, improvement in patients' survival. No significant prolongation of life span was expected considering the advanced nature of the disease. Nevertheless, it was encouraging that GLA produced no significant side effects in any patient. Regression of the cerebral gliomas was visualized on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. CONCLUSIONS Based on results of the present and previous studies, we believe that GLA is a safe antitumor agent and that higher doses of GLA should be investigated in future studies.
Cost and fuel-optimal selection of HEV topologies using Particle Swarm Optimization and Dynamic Programming

In this paper, we apply a methodology to select the cost and fuel-optimal topology of a set of topologies for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). For each topology, the optimal component sizes are determined by optimizing a weighted sum of fuel consumption and powertrain costs. Vehicle performance constraints are imposed to ensure a minimum level of drivability. The constrained optimization problem is solved using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and deterministic Dynamic Programming (DP) is used to calculate the optimal fuel consumption. The methodology is applied to a torque-assist and a full-parallel HEV with each three degrees of freedom, i.e. the size of the engine, the motor and the battery. Moreover, we consider two driving cycles: the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) and a driving cycle with considerable elevation changes. We found that in case of the NEDC, the sizing problem can be reduced to one degree of freedom, whereas in case of the other driving cycle, all three degrees of freedom are required. The latter observation is related to the relative importance of the maximum battery capacity compared with the maximum battery power, but also to the size of the electric motor maximizing energy recuperation.
Crystallization of Membrane Proteins: Merohedral Twinning of Crystals

Membrane proteins are the main functional units of biological membranes. They represent roughly one-third of the proteins encoded in the genome and about 70% of drugs are targeted to membrane proteins. X-ray protein crystallography is one of the most powerful tools to determine protein structure and to provide a basis for understanding molecular mechanisms of protein function. Despite an obvious importance of membrane protein only about 1% of structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) are of this type. Moreover, although the number of membrane protein structures deposited to PDB since 1985, date of the first membrane protein structure [1], is increasing it is not yet comparable with the rate achieved for soluble proteins [2]. Currently, the PDB contains more than 70,000 structures, and the structures of membrane proteins do not exceed 500 [3]. Considerable effort made in several laboratories in the last years towards extension of high-throughput crystallography to membrane proteins open a hope of correcting this imbalance. Nevertheless significant challenges must be overcome to achieve this goal. Two major problems toward the determination of membrane proteins structures are: the production of pure, stable and functional protein solubilized in detergents, and the growth of crystals suitable for X-ray crystallography. The latter is often defined as major bottleneck of structural biology of membrane proteins. For a long time, the vapor diffusion method has been the only method which was used to crystallize membrane proteins. This method, which is based on a well-developed approach of crystallization of water soluble proteins, led to relative success, however, it failed to produce crystals of some important membrane proteins. Quite recently new methods were introduced. One of the most promising new method to overcome this problem is the so called in meso crystallization approach where lipid systems (e.g. the lipid cubic phase (LCP)) are used as a crystallization matrix. It has been demonstrated that these methods are applicable to different membrane proteins including G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR), membrane protein complexes and others. One of the first important breakthroughs was bacteriorhodopsin (bR) which for a long time failed to be
A software engineering cognitive knowledge discovery framework

Knowledge discovery has been proven useful in many areas such as marketing, signal processing and strategic military planning. Many approaches have been implemented to increase the discovered knowledge value and knowledge intelligence. This paper suggests one approach by proposing a cognitive knowledge discovery framework based on cognitive informatics. The discussions in this paper draw parallels between computer science technologies and cognitive science concepts, which involve the correlation between software engineering using decision tree technique and cognitive psychology.
Distributed Reliable Rendering Method for parametric Modeling

Paper presents the achievement on parallelized distributed reliable rendering method shown on 3D electromotor designed to be performed on Cluster computer system. In this paper we will describe a proof of concept model of rendering using parametric POVRay model, client-server on-demand rendering architecture with RFC 822 + 1 SMTP and HTTP like keep-alive extensible protocol, using open source elements, configurable rendering architecture, available to use at no cost added to cost of hardware, with new solutions for simple configuration file mechanisms, and resilient behavior of software, based on best effort strategy of work distribution. The paper presents an innovative way of creating distributed reliable rendering method using huge range of computers for parametric modeling. The main aim of this paper is to present a solution that will use existing resources in order to make modeling method more sufficient and for applying complex computer services/jobs under distributed architecture. The implementation also includes logistics and support for automatic computer clustering and for service/job programs execution. The primary goal is to use existing resources for useful applications in the 3D parametric modeling, image programming and simulation rendering.
Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in different paddy soils of China.

Ammonia oxidation plays an important role in global nitrogen cycle. Little information is available on ammonia oxidation microorganisms in paddy soils. The abundance and composition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) were investigated by real-time PCR and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approaches based on amoA genes in selected Chinese soils from Chongqing (CQ, Southwest of China), Honghu (HH, Central China) and Panjin (PJ, Northeast of China) with 10 weeks pot experiments. Little changes in the abundance and community structure of both AOA and AOB were detected among the treatments (without rice, rhizosphere and bulk soil) of the same region paddy soil. The AOB population sizes in CQ paddy soil were lower than those in HH and PJ paddy soils, while the AOA population sizes in CQ and HH paddy soils were lower than those in PJ paddy soil. The amoA gene copy numbers of AOA were more than those of AOB in all treatments of the three paddy soils. These results suggested that different region paddy soils determined the population and composition of AOB and AOA.
The Rise of Ontologies or the Reinvention of Classification

Classifications/ontologies, thesauri, and dictionaries serve many functions, which are summarized in this note. As a result of this multiplicity of functions, classifications-often called ontologies-are developed in many communities of research and practice. Unfortunately, there is little communication and mutual learning; thus, efforts are fragmented, resulting in considerable reinvention and less than optimal products.
Experiences of critical care nurses of death and dying in an intensive care unit : a phenomenological study

Background Working in the intensive care unit can be traumatic for nursing personnel. Critical care nurses are faced with repeated exposure to death and dying as they are involved in caring for patients who are actively dying or who have been told that they have a terminal illness and are faced with the possibility of impending death. Critical care nurses relate in different ways to the phenomena of death and dying within their nursing profession and their scope of practice. These nurses often have a difficult time coping with the stress that comes with caring for those who are dying or relating to loved ones of those that are dying. Aim of the study The aim of the study was to explore the critical care nurse’s experiences of death and dying. Methodology A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological approach was used to guide the study. Four nurses were recruited and rich descriptions of their experiences were gained through individual face-to-face interviews. One broad question was asked: ‘What are your experiences regarding death and dying of your patients in ICU? ’ iii Results The findings of this study revealed that issues such as communication, multicultural diversity, education and coping mechanisms relating to caring for the critically ill and dying patient are essential in nursing education and practice. Critical care nurses need to have support networks in place, not only to assist in providing care, but also for their own emotional support
Three rhamnosyltransferases responsible for assembly of the A‐band D‐rhamnan polysaccharide in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a fourth transferase, WbpL, is required for the initiation of both A‐band and B‐band lipopolysaccharide synthesis

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa A‐band lipopolysaccharide (LPS) molecule has an O‐polysaccharide region composed of trisaccharide repeat units of α1 → 2, α1 → 3, α1 → 3 linked D‐rhamnose (Rha). The A‐band polysaccharide is assembled by the α‐D‐rhamnosyltransferases, WbpX, WbpY and WbpZ. WbpZ probably transfers the first Rha residue onto the A‐band accepting molecule, while WbpY and WbpX subsequently transfer two α1 → 3 linked Rha residues and one α1 → 2 linked Rha respectively. The last two transferases are predicted to be processive, alternating in their activities to complete the A‐band polymer. The genes coding for these transferases were identified at the 3′ end of the A‐band biosynthetic cluster. Two additional genes, psecoA and uvrD, border the 3′ end of the cluster and are predicted to encode a co‐enzyme A transferase and a DNA helicase II enzyme respectively. Chromosomal wbpX, wbpY and wbpZ mutants were generated, and Western immunoblot analysis demonstrates that these mutants are unable to synthesize A‐band LPS, while B‐band synthesis is unaffected. WbpL, a transferase encoded within the B‐band biosynthetic cluster, was previously proposed to initiate B‐band biosynthesis through the addition of Fuc2NAc (2‐acetamido‐2,6‐dideoxy‐D‐galactose) to undecaprenol phosphate (Und‐P). In this study, chromosomal wbpL mutants were generated that did not express A band or B band, indicating that WbpL initiates the synthesis of both LPS molecules. Cross‐complementation experiments using WbpL and its homologue, Escherichia coli WecA, demonstrates that WbpL is bifunctional, initiating B‐band synthesis with a Fuc2NAc residue and A‐band synthesis with either a GlcNAc (N‐acetylglucosamine) or GalNAc (N‐acetylgalactosamine) residue. These data indicate that A‐band polysaccharide assembly requires four glycosyltransferases, one of which is necessary for initiating both A‐band and B‐band LPS synthesis.
Sparse Representation-Based ISAR Imaging Using Markov Random Fields

To encourage the continuity of the target scene, a novel sparse representation (SR)-based inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging algorithm is proposed by leveraging the Markov random fields (MRF). The ISAR imaging problem is reformulated in a Bayesian framework where correlated priors are used for the hidden variables to enforce the continuity of target scene. To further enforce the nonzero or zero scatterers to cluster in a spatial consistent manner, the MRF is used as the prior for the support of the target scene. To surmount the difficulty of calculating the posterior due to the imposed correlated priors and the MRF, variational Bayes expectation-maximization (VBEM) method is used to simultaneously approximate the posterior of the hidden variables and estimate the model parameters of the MRF. The convergence of the method is easily diagnosed by commonly used stopping criterion. Both the synthetic and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can achieve substantial improvements in terms of preserving the weak scatterers and removing noise components over other reported SR-based ISAR imaging algorithms.
Main and accessory olfactory bulbs and their projections in the brain anticipate feeding in food-entrained rats

The olfactory bulb (OB) has a circadian clock independent of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, but very little is known about the functional significance of its oscillations. The OB plays a major role in food intake as it contributes to the evaluation of the hedonic properties of food, it is necessary for a normal pattern of locomotor behavior and their ablation disrupts feeding patterns. Previously we demonstrated that OB of rabbit pups can be entrained by periodic nursing but it was not clear whether food was the entraining signal. Here we hypothesized that OB can be entrained by a food pulse during the day in adult rats under a restricted feeding schedule. Then we expect that OB will have a high activation before food presentation when animals show food anticipatory activity (FAA). To this aim we determined by immunohistochemistry the expression of FOS protein, as an indicator of neural activation, in the mitral and granular cell layers of the main and accessory OB. Additionally we also explored two of the OB brain targets, the piriform cortex (PC) and bed nuclei of the accessory olfactory tract (BAOT), in three groups: ad libitum (ALF), restricted feeding (RF), and fasted rats after restricted feeding (RF-F). In ALF group FOS levels in both main and accessory OB were low during the day and high during the night at the normal onset of the increase of activity, in agreement with previous reports. On the contrary in RF and RF-F groups FOS was high at the time of FAA, just before food presentation, when animals are in a state of high arousal and during food consumption but was low during the night. In their brain targets, we observed a similar pattern as OB in all groups with the only difference being that FOS levels remained high during the night in RF-F group. We conclude that the OB is entrained by food restriction by showing high activation at the time of food presentation, which persists during fasting and impose a similar FOS pattern to the two brain targets explored only in fed animals.
Perceived Social Change, Parental Control, and Family Relations: A Comparison of Chinese Families in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and the United States

This study examined the relationship between perceived social change, parental control and family relations in a sample of 419 4th and 5th grade children and their mothers who are of Chinese descent but reside in three different contexts: Los Angeles (LA), Hong Kong (HK), and Beijing (BJ). HK mothers endorsed the highest levels of psychological control and the lowest levels of autonomy support compared to BJ and LA mothers. Perceived social change as measured by mothers’ endorsement of new values and ideologies was associated with increased use of both autonomy support and psychological control. Results of the mediation analyses suggested that perceived social change explained differences between LA and HK mothers in autonomy support, but group differences in psychological control were magnified when perceived social change was accounted for. Finally, whereas autonomy support was associated with higher levels of child perceived acceptance in HK and LA, psychological control was associated with greater family conflict in BJ and LA. Findings suggested that as families undergo urbanization or social change, it may shift the implications of traditional strategies that are intended to socialize the child toward interpersonal attunement. Overall, the study highlights the importance of moving beyond ethnic-group or cross-national comparisons to investigate the role of changing social and economic contexts in understanding differences in the use of parental control and their associations with family relations.
Birinci Coğrafya Kongresi’nde Türkiye Coğrafi Bölgelerinin isimlendirilmesi, sınırlarının tespiti ve günümüze etkileri

Bu yazi Prof. Dr. Metin Tuncel’in 2011 yilinda yapilan Uluslararasi Katilimli Cografya Kongresi’nde davetli konusmaci olarak yaptigi konusmanin metne dokulmesi ile hazirlanmistir (Fotograf 1). Konusmayi Kilis 7 Aralik Universitesi’nden Yrd. Doc. Dr. Mehmet Emin Sonmez desifre etmis, son kontrolu Prof. Dr. Metin Tuncel tarafindan gerceklestirilmistir.
Alleviation of 1,N6-ethanoadenine genotoxicity by the Escherichia coli adaptive response protein AlkB

1,N6-ethanoadenine (EA) forms through the reaction of adenine in DNA with the antitumor agent 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, a chemotherapeutic used to combat various brain, head, and neck tumors. Previous studies of the toxic and mutagenic properties of the DNA adduct EA have been limited to in vitro experiments using mammalian polymerases and have revealed the lesion to be both miscoding and genotoxic. This work explores lesion bypass and mutagenicity of EA replicated in vivo and demonstrates that EA is neither toxic nor mutagenic in wild-type Escherichia coli. Although the base excision repair glycosylase enzymes of both humans and E. coli possess a weak ability to act on the lesion in vitro, an in vivo repair pathway has not yet been demonstrated. Here we show that an enzyme mechanistically unrelated to DNA glycosylases, the adaptive response protein AlkB, is capable of acting on EA via its canonical mechanism of oxidative dealkylation. The reaction alleviates the unrepaired adduct's potent toxicity through metabolism at the C8 position (attached to N1 of adenine), producing a nontoxic and weakly mutagenic N6 adduct. AlkB is shown here to be a geno-protective agent that reduces the toxicity of DNA damage by converting the primary adduct to a less toxic secondary product.
Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Protect Islet Transplants by B7-H1 Mediated Enhancement of T Regulatory Cells

Background. Side effects of lifetime immunosuppression for cell transplants often outweigh the benefits; therefore, induction of transplant tolerance is needed. We have shown that cotransplantation with myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) effectively protect islet allografts from rejection without requirement of immunosuppression. This study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms. Methods. MDSC were generated by addition of hepatic stellate cells from various stain mice into dendritic cell (DC) culture. The quality of MDSC was monitored by phenotype and function analyses. MDSC mixed with islet allografts were transplanted into diabetic recipients. T-cell response was analyzed after transplantation by using flow and histochemical analyses, and was compared with islet alone and islet/DC transplant groups. B7-H1 knockout mice were used to determine the role of B7-H1 on MDSC in regulation of T-cell response. Results. Cotransplantation with MDSC (not DC) effectively protected islet allografts without requirement of immunosuppression. This is associated with attenuation of CD8 T cells in the grafts and marked expansion of regulatory T (Treg) cells, which contributed to MDSC-induced T-cell hyporesponsiveness. Antigen-specific Treg cells were prone to accumulate in lymphoid organs close to the grafts. Both in vitro and in vivo data demonstrated that B7-H1 was absolutely required for MDSC to exert immune regulatory activity and induction of Treg cells. Conclusion. The described approach holds great clinical application potential and may overcome the limitation of requiring chronic administration of immunosuppression in cell transplants. Understanding the underlying mechanisms will facilitate the development of this novel therapeutic strategy.
A real-time method for smoke detection in monitored forest areas

An improved real-time method for smoke detection based on motion and color analysis is presented. Smoke detection in video surveillance is very important for early fire detection. In general, it is assumed that smoke is a low frequency signal, which may smooth the background. However, these conditions can be met by some pure-color objects, and smoke also produces high frequency signal on the edges. An improved smoke detection method was proposed in order to prevent these problems. The presented technique uses well known background subtraction for identifying of moving regions as well as novel color based algorithm for smoke detection. Detection efficiency is improving using a classifier that provides the identification of smoke-like regions. The main advantage is that it is not required to process each frame of the video signal for sufficient accuracy. Sampling rate was set to a few second in order to find the optimum value between performance and system requirements. Performance of the proposed method was evaluated using different kinds of the input signal, where satisfactory results were achieved.
Estrategias de Marketing para promover internacionalmente la “Ruta Moche” de la Región Norte del Perú como destino turístico

Este trabajo esta estructurado de la siguiente manera: en el primer capitulo se describe los planes estrategicos y modelos turisticos nacionales que se sigue en el pais; en el segundo y tercer capitulo se hace un analisis de la oferta y demanda turistica relacionada con el destino; en el cuarto capitulo se hace un diagnostico de sus puntos fuertes y debiles con los que cuenta este destino turistico, y en el ultimo capitulo se proponen algunas estrategias de marketing que vayan acorde con las caracteristicas del destino y de su publico objetivo del destino (Turista Cultural –Arqueologico), para lograr mayor eficacia en la promocion a nivel nacional e internacional.
Plastic Motion of a Vortex Lattice Driven by Alternating Current

We have measured the response of the flux-line lattice in the low T$_c$ superconductor, 2H-NbSe$_2$, to finite frequency drives. In a well-defined range of fields, temperatures, and driving amplitudes the system exhibits a variety of novel non-linear phenomena. Most strikingly, the flux-lines can move easily in response to currents that are significantly lower than the DC critical current if the direction of the current is reversed periodically while the amplitude, I, is kept fixed, but they do not respond to a current that periodically switches between zero and I, while the direction is kept fixed. Pronounced memory effects associated with these phenomena indicate the presence of dynamically generated structural changes in the flux lattice.
Mumps virus-persistently infected cell cultures release defective interfering virus particles.

Summary Two human cell cultures, HEp-2 and L-41, persistently infected with mumps virus, produced small amounts of slowly replicating small-plaque infectious virus and detectable amounts of defective interfering virus particles which were similar to standard mumps virus in polypeptide composition, contained subgenomic size RNAs and interfered with standard mumps virus replication in susceptible cells.