Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae Is Not an Efficient Tool for in Vivo Studies of Plant Vacuolar Sorting Receptorsw⃞

Previously, we demonstrated a specific interaction between the vacuolar sorting receptor PS1 (VSRPS-1, also named BP-80) and the petunia aleurain vacuolar sorting determinant (VSD) fused to a green fluorescent protein (aleu-GFP) in vivo in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae ([Humair et al., 2001][1
[Damage mechanism of intermittent exposure to high concentrations of glucose to beta cell lines (HIT-T15 cell)].

OBJECTIVE To test the effect of intermittent exposure to high concentrations of glucose on HIT-T15 cells. METHODS The HIT-T15 cells (pancreatic beta cell lines) were exposed to 16.7 mmol/L of glucose for two hours, at an interval of three hours. Such intermittent exposure was repeated three times a day. Otherwise, the cells were exposed to 5.5 mmol/L of glucose. The control groups included continuing exposure to 5.5 mmol/L of glucose (normal control group) and continuing exposure to 16.7 mmol/L of glucose. The impact of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) was also tested in the groups with intermittent and continuing exposure to 16. 7 mmol/L of glucose. The insulin was detected by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was measured by laser scanning confocal microscope. The ATP levels of beta cells were examined by the luciferin-luciferase kit. The Malonaldehyde (MDA) was measured through thiobarbituric acid reaction (TBA). The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was observed by flow cytometry. RESULTS The HIT-T15 cells exposed to intermittent and continuing high glucose secreted [(3.13 +/- 1.11) microIU/mLD and [(5.18 +/- 0. 95) microIU/mL] of insulin, significantly less than the control [(9.33 +/- 0.62) microIU/mL, P < 0.05]. The MDA and ROS levels increased while the ATP and MMP levels decreased significantly in the cells exposed to intermittent and continuing high glucose (P < 0.05). The cells exposed to intermittent high glucose produced more ROS than the cells exposed to continuing high glucose (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Exposure of HIT-T15 to high glucose leads to oxidative stress of mitochondrial. Intermittent exposure causes more serious stress than continuing exposure. Such response might be a result of decreased MMP level and ATP contents.
Aesthetic design for automobile interiors: critical and conceptual framework

This paper addresses aesthetic design with a focus on the application of vehicle interiors. First of all, aesthetic design is clawed. Second, some relevant studies on general aesthetic design as well as more specialized aesthetic design for vehicles are reviewed. Some problems are identified in the existing approaches. Two critical issues are observed, namely (1) what should be the model for a design process, which incorporates the aesthetic aspects for the vehicle interiors, and (2) what should be the knowledge base to support the model. Finally, we propose some ideas to address these issues and elaborate on the steps toward the implementation of these ideas.
Intégration capitaliste transnationale et désintégration nationale en Amérique latine

L'auteur soutient dans ce travail que le sous-developpement n'est pas un moment ou une etape dans l'evolution d'une societe isolee mais au contraire fait partie du processus historique global de developpement capitaliste. Sous-developpement et developpement devraient etre consideres comme les deux faces d'un meme processus universel qui se manifeste simultanement sous la forme de ces deux phenomenes lies fonctionnellement et ayant l'un sur l'autre des effets d'interaction et de conditionnement mutuel. Le systeme se polarise ainsi de deux points de vue : d'une part, il y a polarisation entre pays developpes industrialises, centres de domination avances et pays sous-developpes, retardes, pauvres, peripheriques et dependants ; d'autre part, il y a polarisation a l'interieur des pays respectifs entre espaces, groupes sociaux, et activites economiques avancees et modernes et espaces, groupes sociaux, et activites attardees et dependante. ; L'auteur suggere en outre que les activites, regions et groupes sociaux developpes et modernes dans les divers pays seraient associes directement ou indirectement aux secteurs les plus productifs et les plus dynamiques du systeme capitaliste international ; ce systeme se forme autour d'une structure productive tres dynamique et qui connait un degre croissant d'integration internationale par l'intermediaire des grandes corporations transnationales. ; On signale en conclusion que la penetration rapide et profonde des filiales des corporations multinationales dans les economies nationales conduit en derniere analyse a un processus de desintegration nationale a la fois dans le domaine economique et dans le domaine social, politique et culturel.
Feasibilty of a sleep intervention during adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To evaluate the feasibility of an intervention designed to promote sleep and modify fatigue during four cycles of adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy. DESIGN Prospective, repeated measures, quasi-experimental feasibility study. SETTING Midwestern urban oncology clinics. SAMPLE 25 women between the ages of 40-65 (mean = 54.3) with stage I-II breast cancer receiving doxorubicin-based chemotherapy. METHODS Each woman developed, reinforced, and revised an individualized sleep promotion plan (ISPP) with four components: sleep hygiene, relaxation therapy, stimulus control, and sleep restriction techniques. A daily diary, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a wrist actigraph, and the Piper Fatigue Scale were used to collect data two days before and seven days after each treatment. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Adherence, sleep and wake outcomes, and fatigue. FINDINGS Adherence rates with the components of the ISPP varied during treatments one through four: sleep hygiene (68%-78%), relaxation therapy (57%-67%), stimulus control (46%-67%), and sleep restriction (76%-80%). Mean sleep and wake outcomes at baseline, peak, and rebound times were that (a) sleep latency remained brief (less than 30 minutes per night), (b) time awake after sleep onset exceeded the desired less than 30 minutes per night, (c) sleep efficiency scores remained stable at 85%-90%, (d) total rest time remained stable at 8-10 hours per night, (e) subjective ratings of feelings on arising were stable, and (f) nighttime awakenings were 8-10 per night. Fatigue outcomes were that fatigue was stable two days after each treatment and mean daily fatigue intensity was lower at treatment three than at treatment one but rebounded at treatment four. CONCLUSIONS The intervention was feasible, adherence rates improved over time, and most sleep and wake patterns were consistent with normal values. Revisions will focus on decreasing nighttime awakenings. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Adopting behaviors to promote sleep may assist in maintaining sleep and managing fatigue during chemotherapy.
Academic Performance and Intelligence Scores of Primary School-aged Children with Sickle Cell Anemia

Children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) are faced with complications which may interfere with their educational activities including academic performance. Reports on their academic performance are mainly from developed countries and the results have been inconsistent. This study aimed to determine the academic performance of primary school-aged children with SCA in Nigeria and compare findings with a group of controls. Ninety children with SCA aged 5-11 years were consecutively recruited at the SCA clinic of UNTH Enugu and their age- and sex-matched normal classmates were enrolled as controls. Academic performance of the children with SCA was studied using the overall scores achieved in the three term examinations in the preceding academic year (2009/2010), while their intelligence quotient (IQ) was determined using the Draw-A-Person Test. The findings were compared with that of 90 controls. The mean overall academic score of the children with SCA of 62.71 ± 19.43% was similar to 67.47 ± 16.42% in the controls (P = .077). However, a significantly higher number of children with SCA (32.2% vs. 16.7% of the controls; P = .015) scored below 50%, thus, had poor performance. The mean IQ of the subjects (91.41 ±16.61%) was similar to that of the controls (95.56 ±17.31%, P = .103). However, more SCA patients had lower IQ scores than controls though not statistically significant (P = 0.083). The overall academic performance of children with SCA, therefore, compares favorably with that of controls although there is a higher prevalence of poor performance among them.
Young capillary vessels rejuvenate aged pancreatic islets

Significance The regulation of blood glucose is a homeostatic process that declines with age, but it is unknown whether this disturbance is a consequence of intrinsic dysfunction of the regulatory organ, the pancreatic islet. In marked contrast to the widely held notion that the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cell loses function with wear and tear, and thus causes age-related disturbances in glucose homeostasis, we show that mouse and human beta cells are fully functional at advanced age. The pancreatic islet as an organ, however, is threatened by vascular senescence. Replacing the islet vasculature in aged islet grafts rejuvenates the islet and fully restores glucose homeostasis, indicating that islet blood vessels should be targeted to mitigate frail glucose homeostasis associated with aging. Pancreatic islets secrete hormones that play a key role in regulating blood glucose levels (glycemia). Age-dependent impairment of islet function and concomitant dysregulation of glycemia are major health threats in aged populations. However, the major causes of the age-dependent decline of islet function are still disputed. Here we demonstrate that aging of pancreatic islets in mice and humans is notably associated with inflammation and fibrosis of islet blood vessels but does not affect glucose sensing and the insulin secretory capacity of islet beta cells. Accordingly, when transplanted into the anterior chamber of the eye of young mice with diabetes, islets from old mice are revascularized with healthy blood vessels, show strong islet cell proliferation, and fully restore control of glycemia. Our results indicate that beta cell function does not decline with age and suggest that islet function is threatened by an age-dependent impairment of islet vascular function. Strategies to mitigate age-dependent dysregulation in glycemia should therefore target systemic and/or local inflammation and fibrosis of the aged islet vasculature.
The pharmacokinetics of abacavir 600 mg once daily in HIV-1-positive pregnant women

Objective:To describe the pharmacokinetics of abacavir 600 mg once daily (q.d.) in HIV-1-positive women during pregnancy and postpartum. Design:A nonrandomized, open-label, multicentre, phase-IV study. Methods:HIV-positive pregnant women receiving abacavir 600 mg q.d. as part of clinical care were included. Intensive 24-h pharmacokinetic sampling was performed during the third trimester and at least 2 weeks after delivery. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by noncompartmental analysis. Paired cord blood and maternal blood samples were taken at delivery when feasible. Results:A total of 14 women were included in the analysis. Geometric mean ratios (90% confidence intervals) of third trimester versus postpartum were 1.05 (0.92–1.19) for AUC0–24h and 1.00 (0.83–1.21) for Cmax. The median (range) ratio of abacavir cord plasma to maternal plasma was 1.0 (0.7–1.0, n = 3). Viral load at the third trimester visit was less than 50 copies/ml in 13 participants (93%; one unknown). In total, 13 (93%; one unknown) children were tested HIV-negative. Conclusion:The pharmacokinetics of abacavir 600 mg q.d. during pregnancy are equivalent to postpartum. No dose adjustments are required during pregnancy and similar antiviral activity is expected.
Preliminary study of the safety and efficacy of SC-58635, a novel cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitor: efficacy and safety in two placebo-controlled trials in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and studies of gastrointestinal and platelet effects.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy and safety of SC-58635 (celecoxib), an antiinflammatory and analgesic agent that acts by selective cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibition and is not expected to cause the typical gastrointestinal (GI), renal, and platelet-related side effects associated with inhibition of the COX-1 enzyme. METHODS Four phase II trials were performed: a 2-week osteoarthritis efficacy trial, a 4-week rheumatoid arthritis efficacy trial, a 1-week endoscopic study of GI mucosal effects, and a 1-week study of effects on platelet function. RESULTS The 2 arthritis trials identified SC-58635 dosage levels that were consistently effective in treating the signs and symptoms of arthritis and were distinguished from placebo on standard arthritis scales. In the upper GI endoscopy study, 19% of subjects receiving naproxen (6 of 32) developed gastric ulcers, whereas no ulcers occurred in subjects receiving SC-58635 or placebo. The study of platelet effects revealed no meaningful effect of SC-58635 on platelet aggregation or thromboxane B2 levels, whereas aspirin caused significant decreases in 2 of 3 platelet aggregation measures and thromboxane B2 levels. In all 4 trials, SC-58635 was well tolerated, with a safety profile similar to that of placebo. CONCLUSION SC-58635 achieves analgesic and antiinflammatory efficacy in arthritis through selective COX-2 inhibition, without showing any evidence of 2 of the toxic effects of COX-1 inhibition associated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs.
Charge and spin fractionalization in strongly correlated topological insulators

We construct an effective topological Landau–Ginzburg theory that describes general SU(2) incompressible quantum liquids of strongly correlated particles in two spatial dimensions. This theory characterizes the fractionalization of quasiparticle quantum numbers and statistics in relation to the topological ground-state symmetries, and generalizes the Chern–Simons, BF (‘background field’) and hierarchical effective gauge theories to an arbitrary representation of the SU(2) symmetry group. We mainly focus on fractional topological insulators with time-reversal symmetry, which are treated as SU(2) generalizations of the quantum Hall effect.
Contribution of interactions with the core domain of hirudin to the stability of its complex with thrombin.

The importance of interactions with residues 15-21 in the core domain of hirudin for the formation of the complex with thrombin has been investigated by site-directed mutagenesis. Contacts made by Leu-15 were found to be particularly important; replacement of this residue by alanine led to a decrease in the binding energy (delta delta Gbo) of 15 kJ.mol-1. Comparison with effects obtained in previous mutagenesis studies indicate that interactions with the side chain of Leu-15 contribute more to the stability of the complex than those of any other hirudin residues. Interactions with the side chains of Glu-17, Asn-20 and Val-21 also contributed significantly to binding energy; the delta delta Gbo value for these mutations was between 3 and 6 kJ.mol-1. Examination of the crystal structure of the thrombin-hirudin complex suggested the possibility that ionic interactions that would increase binding energy could be engineered by mutating Ser-19, Asn-20 and Gln-49 to acidic residues. The stability of the thrombin-hirudin complex was not, however, increased by these substitutions. The results obtained are discussed in terms of the crystal structure of the thrombin-hirudin complex.
Optimized evolution in the cytostat: A Monte Carlo simulation

Rational genetic alterations of a microorganism for a specific purpose are not possible in many situations where our knowledge of the relationship between phenotype and genotype is limited. In such cases evolutionary techniques must be applied. Evolutionary methods are usually time consuming; therefore, more efficient techniques are highly desirable. In this work we present the optimization of strain development in a cytostat. The time required for mutant strain isolation is dependent on the total cells present, the wild‐type specific growth rate, the beneficial mutation probability, the mutant specific growth rate, and several bioreactor operating conditions. These parameters are highly related, and a theoretical model, as developed here, is needed to define the conditions that optimize the isolation. The model is based on a discrete, stochastic description of mutant formation and selection in the background of abundant wild‐type cells. Using the model, we determined the optimal cytostat operating strategy for mutant isolation that varies according to the probability of beneficial mutations. It is also shown that mutants with as little as a 5% growth advantage can be isolated in less than 15 days which is significantly faster than in a chemostat. The described optimal mutant isolation procedure is expected to be particularly useful for the generation of industrial strains that are robust in challenging growth conditions. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009;102: 221–231. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Present status of controversies regarding the thermal Casimir force

It is well known that, beginning in 2000, the behaviour of the thermal correction to the Casimir force between real metals has been hotly debated. As was shown by several research groups, the Lifshitz theory, which provides the theoretical foundation for the calculation of both the van der Waals and Casimir forces, leads to different results depending on the model of metal conductivity used. To resolve these controversies, theoretical considerations based on the principles of thermodynamics and new experimental tests were invoked. We analyse the present status of the problem (in particular, the advantages and disadvantages of the approaches based on the surface impedance and on the Drude model dielectric function) using rigorous analytical calculations of the entropy of a fluctuating field. We also discuss the results of a new precise experiment on the determination of the Casimir pressure between two parallel plates by means of a micromechanical torsional oscillator. PACS numbers: 12.20. Fv, 12.20. Ds, 11.10. Wx, 05.70. −a
Epipolar Plane Image Rectification and Flat Surface Detection in Light Field

Flat surface detection is one of the most common geometry inferences in computer vision. In this paper we propose detecting printed photos from original scenes, which fully exploit angular information of light field and characteristics of the flat surface. Unlike previous methods, our method does not need a prior depth estimation. The algorithm rectifies the mess epipolar lines in the epipolar plane image (EPI). Then feature points are extracted from light field data and used to compute an energy ratio in the depth distribution of the scene. Based on the energy ratio, a feature vector is constructed and we obtain robust detection of flat surface. Apart from flat surface detection, the kernel rectification algorithm in our method can be expanded to inclined plane refocusing and continuous depth estimation for flat surface. Experiments on the public datasets and our collections have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Prevention of postoperative abdominal adhesions by a sodium hyaluronate-based bioresorbable membrane: a prospective, randomized, double-blind multicenter study.

BACKGROUND Postoperative abdominal adhesions are associated with numerous complications, including small bowel obstruction, difficult and dangerous reoperations, and infertility. A sodium hyaluronate and carboxymethylcellulose bioresorbable membrane (HA membrane) was developed to reduce formation of postoperative adhesions. The objectives of our prospective study were to assess the incidence of adhesions that recurred after a standardized major abdominal operation using direct laparoscopic peritoneal imaging and to determine the safety and effectiveness of HA membrane in preventing postoperative adhesions. STUDY DESIGN Eleven centers enrolled 183 patients with ulcerative colitis or familial polyposis who were scheduled for colectomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis with diverting-loop ileostomy. Before abdominal closure, patients were randomly assigned to receive or not receive HA membrane placed under the midline incision. At ileostomy closure eight to 12 weeks later, laparoscopy was used to evaluate the incidence, extent, and severity of adhesion formation to the midline incision. RESULTS Data were analyzed for 175 assessable patients. While only five (6 percent) of 90 control patients had no adhesions, 43 (51 percent) of 85 patients receiving HA membrane were free of adhesions (p < 0.00000000001). The mean percent of the incision length involved was 63 percent in the control group, significantly greater than the 23 percent observed in patients who received HA membrane (p < 0.001). Dense adhesions were observed in 52 (58 percent) of the 90 control patients, but in only 13 (15 percent) of the 85 receiving HA membrane (P < 0.0001). Comparison of the incidence of specific adverse events between the groups did not identify a difference (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS This study represents the first controlled, prospective evaluation of postoperative abdominal adhesion formation and prevention after general abdominal surgery using standardized, direct peritoneal visualization. In this study, HA membrane was safe and significantly reduced the incidence, extent, and severity of postoperative abdominal adhesions.
Formation of oligosaccharides in skim milk fermented with mixed dahi cultures, Lactococcus lactis ssp diacetylactis and probiotic strains of lactobacilli

Milk fermented with mixed dahi cultures NCDC167, Lactococcus lactis ssp diacetylactis NCDC60 and two probiotic strains; Lactobacillus acidophilus NCDC14 and Lb. casei NCDC19 were evaluated after fermentation (14 h) and during 8 d storage at 7 °C. The β-galactosidase activity was found to increase after fermentation leading to the hydrolysis of lactose and production of glucose, galactose and oligosaccharides; that subsequently decreased during storage. The viable counts of lactococci and lactobacilli decreased during storage yet remained >106 cfu/ml after storage. The results of present study indicate that all the selected cultures have ability to produce oligosaccharides (prebiotics) due to transgalactosidal and lactose hydrolysis activities of β-galactosidase. The cultures developed an active synbiotic formula by maintaining sufficient probiotic viable counts to exert health benefits to the consumers.
Low Complexity Iterative Equalization for Severe Time Dispersive MIMO Channels

In this work, reduced complexity minimum mean squared error (MMSE) iterative equalization methods for a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) frequency selective channel are proposed. To combat the severe time dispersiveness of the channel OFDM is incorporated. Use of OFDM simplifies the challenging problem of equalization in a MIMO system, due to both inter-symbol- interference (ISI) and co-antenna interference (CAI). The iterative algorithms work in two stages. The first stage estimates the transmitted symbols using a low complexity MMSE equalizer, which accounts for the variance of the already estimated symbols. Then, the second stage finds the a posteriori probabilities of the estimated symbols to find their means and variances to use in the MMSE equalizer in the following iteration. Simulation results show the performance of the proposed iterative algorithm is better than the MMSE equalizer and close to the matched filter bound (MFB) at low computational cost.