Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcriptional and translational analysis of ferredoxin and flavodoxin under iron and nitrogen stress in Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120

In Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, vegetative cell ferredoxin synthesis under iron starvation was repressed 25-fold, whereas heterocyst ferredoxin synthesis decreased only 2.8-fold. Induction of flavodoxin under iron depletion was independent of the availability of combined nitrogen. Under iron stress but in the presence of combined nitrogen, fdxH and nifH genes were transcriptionally active; although excision of the 11-kb element seemed to be completed, nitrogenase activity and the fdxH gene product were not detectable.
Effects of mould and toxin contaminated barley on laying hens performance and health

Moulded and mycotoxin containing barley was incorporated into the diets for laying hens to study the effects on performance and health. Health indicators were different blood plasma parameters and liver vitamin A and E levels. A total of 30 hens were fed 3 diets, one supplemented with 30% of toxin‐free and two with differently moulded barley from 1997 and 1998 for 7 weeks. The moulded diets contained low to moderate concentrations of ochratoxin A, zearajenone, deoxynivalenol and nivalenol. Inclusion of mouldy barley in the diets had an adverse effect on feed intake, feed conversion, digestibility of nutrients, egg production and egg quality. Plasma alkaline phosphatase was increased and certain biochemical blood parameters (bilirubin, uric acid, chlorine, protein, albumin, vitamin A) were also higher or changed compared to control. The ochratoxin A contamination although relatively low could have contributed to some of these effects as well as reduced intake of feed. The higher mould contamination and an unidentified cell‐toxic constituent in the diet containing barley from 1998 can probably also explain the more marked effects from this diet.
Leucoencephalopathy after inhalation of heroin: a case report.

in all patients. The average disability score for blepharospasm after pretarsal treatment was 0-6 (0-5) (P < 0-001). The mean duration of the clinical effect was 67-2 (17-2) days. All the patients complained of a slight, but definite, increase in pain during pretarsal injections (compared with orbital injections); most patients had ecchymoses at the injection sites. Ptosis or diplopia were not seen after pretarsal injections. This study shows that pretarsal BTX injections resulted in a pronounced symptomatic improvement of blepharospasm in patients who failed to benefit after standard orbital injections. Lack of efficacy of orbital BTX treatment is not usually related to antibody production.2 Our study shows that all the patients responded favourably to BTX when it was injected either at orbital or at pretarsal sites. All these patients had a typical blepharospasm and did not meet the clinical criteria for a diagnosis of apraxia of eyelid opening or of levator palpebrae inhibition; these have been reported to respond to pretarsal but not to orbital treatment.6 As pretarsal injections may be effectively used to treat patients affected by blepharospasm who do not improve after orbital injections, this raises the question as to whether all patients with blepharospasm should be regularly treated at pretarsal sites. We think that this technique should be employed in all cases of blepharospasm, either alone or in combination with orbital infiltration. A slight increase in pain during treatment and in the incidence of ecchymoses are counterbalanced by higher clinical efficacy, immediacy of benefit, and reduction of dose and cost. This study was supported by Comitato Promotore Telethon grant E113 to AA. A ALBANESE A R BENTIVOGLIO C COLOSIMO Istituto di Neurologia, Universit* Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy G GALARDI L MADERNA Clinica Neurologica, Istituto Scientifico San Raffaele, Milano, Italy P TONALI Ospedale CSS IRCCS, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
Real-time pupil detection based on three-step hierarchy

A real-time pupil detection' system that detects the pupil movement from the real-time video data achieved by the visual light camera for general purpose personal computer is proposed. It is implemented with three steps; at first, face region is detected using the Haar-like feature detection scheme, and then eye region is detected within the face region using the template-based scheme. Finally, pupil movement is detected within the eye region by convolution of the horizontal and vertical histogram profiling and Gaussian filter. As results, we obtained more than 90% of the detection rate from 2375 simulation images and the data processing time is about 160ms, that detects 7 times per second.
The induction of a protective response in Leishmania major‐infected BALB/c mice with anti‐CD40 mAb

A protective immune response to the intracellular parasite Leishmania major requires the development of a Th1 CD4+ T cell phenotype. We demonstrate herein that BALB/c mice, which normally develop a susceptible Th2 response to L. major infection, are protected when co‐injected with an agonistic anti‐murine CD40 mAb. Anti‐CD40 mAb‐mediated protection in this system was found to be T cell dependent, since it was not observed in C57BL/ 6 × 129 mice that were rendered T cell deficient (TCR β–/– × TCR δ–/–) and L. major susceptible. Anti‐CD40 mAb stimulation of L. major‐infected BALB/c mice was accompanied by increased IL‐12 and IFN‐γ production in draining lymphnodes, analyzed either by direct expression, or in an antigen‐specific in vitro recall assay. The protective role of these cytokines was indicated by the finding that anti‐CD40 mAb‐mediated protection of L. major‐infected BALB/c mice could be reversed by co‐treating the animals with neutralizing anti‐IL‐12 and/or anti‐IFN‐γ mAb. Collectively, these data suggest that BALB/c mice develop a protective Th1 CD4+ T cell response to L. major infection when co‐injected with anti‐CD40 mAb. While the CD40‐CD40L interaction has been previously shown to be vital in the control of murine Leishmaniasis, the current study establishes in vivo that anti‐CD40 mAb treatment alone is sufficient to protect BALB/c mice from L. majorinfection and raises the possibility of utilizing this approach for vaccination strategies.
Conducted and radiated emission from pantograph arcing in AC traction system

One of the most common and yet unavoidable problems in electrified railways are because of pantograph arcing. The intensity of arcing increases during winter because of the ice layer on the overhead contact wire. In AC traction system, pantograph arcing distorts the sinusoidal waveforms of the supply voltage and current. It also generates transients at the current zero crossings (CZC). All these result in a net DC component, harmonics and radiated emission. In this paper we will present an experimental investigation to understand pantograph arcing and influence of power factor on conducted and radiated emission. We found that pantograph arcing generates both conducted and radiated emission in a wide band, starting from DC. Both the DC component and higher order conducted and radiated emission increases with line speed. Running the train at lower power factor can reduce the DC component and emerging as the most preferred solution against problems due to ice in cold weather.
“Hemicrania Continua”. An Indomethacin Responsive Headache. II. Autonomic Function Studies

Various autonomic parameters have been studied in two patients with “hemicrania continua”, a newly described unilateral headache which is aborted by indomethacin. Striking findings were made on pupillometry: In both patients, isocoria was present when untreated. Bilateral instillation of tyramine in the conjunctival sac resulted in a late appearing anisocoria, with the smaller pupil on the symptomatic side. Indomethacin medication corrected this anomaly. These findings add further evidence to our firm belief that “hemicrania continua” differs fundamentally from chronic paroxysmal hemicrania, where such pupillometric changes are not found. There thus seem to be at least two different types of hemicranias with an absolute indomethacin effect.
Lectin-Induced Mucus Release in the Urn Cell Complex of the Marine Invertebrate Sipunculus nudus (Linnaeus)

The mucociliary urn cell complex of the marine coelomate Sipunculus nudus secretes mucus 4 to 5 minutes after being exposed to Lotus tetragonolobus and Ricinus communis I agglutinins. Surface binding of both lectins is confined to the secretory area of the urn cell complex and, like the release of mucus, is inhibited by the specific saccharides L-fucose and D-galactose or by incubation in L-fucosidase and D-galactosidase. Mucus secretion may therefore be initiated by the interaction of mucus-releasing stimuli with fucosyl or galactosyl residues of specific membrane receptors.
Further characterization of complement resistance conferred on Escherichia coli by the plasmid genes traT of R100 and iss of ColV,I-K94

We have shown that the traT gene product was responsible for the complement resistance of the R100 plasmid. We compared this resistance with that specified by the iss gene of the ColV,I-K94 plasmid. The levels of resistance specified by the two genes were similar, and there was no additive effect on resistance when both genes were present together. Under conditions in which traT and iss conferred at least a 50- and 10-fold increase in survival, respectively, the consumption of C6, C7, C8, and C9 was the same for bacteria with and without the plasmid genes. This result indicated that it was the action of the terminal complex, not its formation, which was blocked by traT and iss.
Two-axis MEMS scanner for display and imaging applications

Two-axis gimbaled scanner used in an SVGA display product with 58deg optical scan angle, 1.5 mm mirror size, and 21 KHz resonant frequency is reported. Scanner is actuated electromagnetically using a single coil on the outer frame and by mechanical coupling of outer frame motion into the inner mirror frame
[The canine genome: alternative model for the functional analysis of mammalian genes].

The pace of genome sequencing has been tremendously accelerated during the last few years leading to the determination of dozens of entire bacterial genome sequences in addition to several eukaryotic genome sequences and to the publication in 2000 of a draft of the human one. Nowadays scientists have to face a new challenge that corresponds to the elucidation of the function(s) of the thousands of genes uncovered by sequencing. Obviously this task will necessitate a large panel of methodologies. Since its domestication, dog has been the subject of intense breeding and selection practices that result in the creation of many breeds that differ one from the others by a huge variation in shape, size, coat colour, aptitude. Unfortunately these breeding practices along the selection of specific alleles governing those characters have co-selected various deleterious or morbid alleles and nowadays most of the canine breeds suffers from many different diseases of genetic origin. In addition many breeds have developed susceptibility toward many diseases very often similar to those affecting humans such as cancers, heart diseases, allergies. In this paper we present arguments in favour of the utilisation of the canine model to sort out through linkage disequilibrium studies the phenotype/genotype relationship as an aid to understand the function(s) of the thousands of genes uncovered by sequencing.
Comparison of Shape Signature SubSampling Methods for Cell Tracking

New microscope technologies are enabling the acquisition of large volumes of live cell image data. Accurate temporal object tracking is required to facilitate the analysis of this data. One principal component of cell tracking is correspondence, matching cells between consecutive frames. This component can be enhanced by incorporating shape metrics into the tracking model. The measure of shape similarity between two objects can be accomplished using Fourier descriptors, derived from a one dimensional shape signature. The type of one dimensional shape signature affects the quality of the resulting Fourier descriptors when dealing with noisy object boundaries. We present a comparison of several different sampling methods for converting a two dimensional object boundary into a one dimensional shape signature suitable for computing Fourier descriptors. The Fourier descriptors are evaluated on two shape datasets with ground truth and used as a similarity feature for performing object tracking on a time-lapse series of NIH 3T3 cells. Experimental results show that for noisy object boundaries, Fourier descriptors constructed from the R-Theta Binning centroid distance shape signature presented here perform better than Fourier descriptors constructed from the other evaluated shape signatures.
Is Lactulose Plus Rifaximin Better than Lactulose Alone in the Management of Hepatic Encephalopathy?

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of lactulose plus rifaximin with efficacy of lactulose alone in the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy. STUDY DESIGN A randomized controlled trial. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Department of Medicine, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, from December 2014 to June 2015. METHODOLOGY All patients who presented with hepatic encephalopathy due to decompensated chronic liver disease were randomly divided into two groups of 65 patients each. One group was given 30 ml thrice daily lactulose alone and the other lactulose plus rifaximin 550 mg twice daily for 10 days. Informed consents were taken from the participants' attendants. Grades II-IV hepatic encephalopathy was noted according to West-Haven Classification. All subjects were followed until 10 days after admission. RESULTS The mean age of patients was 56.06 +11.2 years, among which 46.9% were females and 53.1% were males. After ten days of follow-up, reversal was seen in 58.46% in lactulose alone group and 67.69% in lactulose plus rifaximin group (Chi-square p=0.276). CONCLUSION There was no difference in effectiveness of lactulose plus rifaximin and lactulose alone in treatment of hepatic encephalopathy.
TGF‐β–induced G2/M delay in proliferating rabbit articular chondrocytes is associated with an enhancement of replication rate and a cAMP decrease: Possible involvement of pertussis toxin‐sensitive pathway

This study was undertaken to gain more insight into the mechanism whereby TGF‐β influences the cell cycle progression of cultured rabbit articular chondrocytes. Using proliferating chondrocytes in fetal calf serum‐containing medium, we have previously shown that TGF‐β induced a recruitment of cells at the end of the S phase (G2/M) observed 24 h after addition. The delayed cells may then be released, producing a proliferative effect at 48 h, provided a substantial amount of FCS (10%) is present in the medium. Otherwise, in low level of serum (2% FCS, for example), only inhibition of cell proliferation is observed. In chondrocytes synchronized in S phase by a thymidine block, we investigated here the time‐course incorporation of [3H]‐thymidine into DNA, the cell cycle traverse by flow cytofluorometric study of DNA content, the expression of PCNA (Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen), and cAMP levels. The data demonstrate that TGF‐β provoked a decrease of cAMP content (0.5–1 h) followed by an enhancement of the DNA synthesis rate (4 h) which was detectable through cytofluorometric analysis and [3H]‐thymidine labeling and correlated with the PCNA expression. In contrast, addition of cAMP analogues to the cultures resulted in an inhibition of replication rate. We also showed that pertussis toxin produced a decrease of the DNA synthesis rate, in a transient manner and only in the presence of TGF‐β. All these results suggest that TGF‐β may accelerate the replication process of cyclized chondrocytes, making then accumulate at the G2/M boundary, via a mechanism that could involve the adenylate cyclase activity and a Gi‐protein. The factor might be responsible for producing a pool of cells having already replicated their DNA and therefore capable of re‐entering the cell cycle without delay. This cell population could serve as a tissue reserve able to induce a mitosis wave when necessary—for example, in the repair of tissue damage.
The combination of cobinamide and sulfanegen is highly effective in mouse models of cyanide poisoning

Context. Cyanide is a component of smoke in residential and industrial fires, and accidental exposure to cyanide occurs in a variety of industries. Moreover, cyanide has the potential to be used by terrorists, particularly in a closed space such as an airport or train station. Current therapies for cyanide poisoning must be given by intravenous administration, limiting their use in treating mass casualties. Objective. We are developing two new cyanide antidotes – cobinamide, a vitamin B12 analog, and sulfanegen, a 3-mercaptopyruvate prodrug. Both drugs can be given by intramuscular administration, and therefore could be used to treat a large number of people quickly. We now asked if the two drugs would have an augmented effect when combined. Materials and methods. We used a non-lethal and two different lethal models of cyanide poisoning in mice. The non-lethal model assesses neurologic recovery by quantitatively evaluating the innate righting reflex time of a mouse. The two lethal models are a cyanide injection and a cyanide inhalation model. Results. We found that the two drugs are at least additive when used together in both the non-lethal and lethal models: at doses where all animals died with either drug alone, the combination yielded 80 and 40% survival in the injection and inhalation models, respectively. Similarly, drug doses that yielded 40% survival with either drug alone, yielded 80 and 100% survival in the injection and inhalation models, respectively. As part of the inhalation model, we developed a new paradigm in which animals are exposed to cyanide gas, injected intramuscularly with an antidote, and then re-exposed to cyanide gas. This simulates cyanide exposure of a large number of people in a closed space, because people would remain exposed to cyanide, even after receiving an antidote. Conclusion. The combination of cobinamide and sulfanegen shows great promise as a new approach to treating cyanide poisoning.
BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION IN THE BUSULFAN‐TREATED RAT: II. EFFECT OF CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE AND ANTITHYMIC SERUM ON THE PRESENSITIZED STATE

The purpose of the present study was to develop a model in the busulfan (BU)-treated aplastic rat for investigating sensitization to donor marrow in various donor and recipient combinations differing in their degree of histocompatibility. In addition, cyclophosphamide (CY) and rabbit antirat thymocyte serum (RARTS) were studied as potential agents for reversing the presensitized state. Marrow transplantation was studied in the following donor-host combinations: ACI-Lewis (Ag-B-histoin-compatible), F344-Lewis (Ag-B-histocompatible), and F344-LBNF1 (“very histocompatible”). The administration of 107 donor-type spleen cells i.v. 9 days before marrow infusion sensitized (prevented marrow takes) in all three systems. BN cells were able to sensitize Lewis recipients to F344 marrow because of minor antigens shared by the BN and F344 rat strains. RARTS given as six consecutive daily doses (1.5 ml each) beginning 1 day after immunization and ending 1 day before marrow grafting failed to abolish the presensitized state in all three systems studied. A single dose of CY (150 mg/kg), given alone or combined with RARTS, was able to reverse the measurable effects of presensitization in the histocompatible and “very histocompatible” situations, but was without effect on the histoincompatible system. The present studies were performed in a limited number of rat strain combinations, and the general and specific effects of CY on presensitization to minor histocompatibility antigens in other situations such as outbred mammalian systems remain to be determined.
Editorial: Is the wiki concept really so wonderful?

Purpose – To provide a brief viewpoint on wikis. A wiki is a web site that allows – and encourages – users to share information by freely writing new content, adding to existing content, and editing or commenting on content. Design/methodology/approach – An opinion piece based on the author's own experiences. Findings – Reflecting the chaotic nature of the web world in which wikis exist, the reality of the situation is that they often do not operate in a positive environment. The author's experience as a wiki participant on several occasions has been far from positive. Originality/value – Provides advice to users of wikis: use with caution.
Voltage‐gated K+ channels in rat small cerebral arteries: molecular identity of the functional channels

Voltage‐gated potassium (KV) channels represent an important dilator influence in the cerebral circulation, but the composition of these tetrameric ion channels remains unclear. The goals of the present study were to evaluate the contribution of KV1 family channels to the resting membrane potential and diameter of small rat cerebral arteries, and to identify the α‐subunit composition of these channels using patch‐clamp, molecular and immunological techniques. Initial studies indicated that 1 μmol l−1 correolide (COR), a specific antagonist of KV1 channels, depolarized vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in pressurized (60 mmHg) cerebral arteries from ‐55 ± 1 mV to ‐34 ± 1 mV, and reduced the resting diameter from 152 ± 15 μm to 103 ± 20 μm. In patch clamped VSMCs from these arteries, COR‐sensitive KV1 current accounted for 65 % of total outward KV current and was observed at physiological membrane potentials. RT‐PCR identified mRNA encoding each of the six classical KV1 α‐subunits, KV1.1‐1.6, in rat cerebral arteries. However, only the KV1.2 and 1.5 proteins were detected by Western blot. The expression of these proteins in VSMCs was confirmed by immunocytochemistry and co‐immunoprecipitation of KV1.2 and 1.5 from VSMC membranes suggested KV1.2/1.5 channel assembly. Subsequently, the pharmacological and voltage‐sensitive properties of KV1 current in VSMCs were found to be consistent with a predominant expression of KV1.2/1.5 heterotetrameric channels. The findings of this study suggest that KV1.2/1.5 heterotetramers are preferentially expressed in rat cerebral VSMCs, and that these channels contribute to the resting membrane potential and diameter of rat small cerebral arteries.
A fast-speed transformer matching method with additional capacitors in CMOS process

A fast-speed method of transformer matching based on CMOS technology is introduced in this paper. Two capacitors are placed in the matching circuit for better matching result. S-parameters of the proposed matching circuits are developed and the flowchart of the matching program is presented. All of the parameters of passive components can be calculated quickly under the limitations of particular CMOS process. At last, an example of transformer matching is given and the program takes only 20 ms to figure out a set of matching circuit parameters. An actual transformer has been drew by electromagnetic simulation software and the insertion loss is only 0.86 dB at the operation frequency of 20 GHz, which verifies the feasibility of the method.