Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alternative Carbon Sources from Sugar Cane Process for Submerged Cultivation of Cunninghamella bertholletiae to Produce Chitosan

Summary A mucoralean strain of Cunninghamella bertholletiae was used to evaluate the influenceof culture medium on chitosan production. In the traditional medium for the growth ofmucoralean strains, constituted of yeast extract, peptone, and D -glucose as carbon source,the highest chitosan yield found was 55 mg/g of dry mycelia in a 72-hour submerged cul-ture. Regional substrates from sugar cane process in Northeast Brazil, as sugar cane juiceand molasses, which were supplemented with 0.3 % yeast extract, were used as economicsubstrates to produce chitosan. The optimal production of chitosan was found in sugarcane juice medium, yielding 128 mg/g of dry mycelia in batch flasks at 28 °C. This condi-tion did not need high concentration of sugar cane and gave a good yield of chitosan pro-duced within 48 h (580 mg per L of medium). Molasses did not show to be a good carbonsource for chitosan production. Key words : chitosan, Cunninghamella bertholletiae, submerged culture, sugar cane juice, mo-lasses
Prebiotics and synbiotics: concepts and nutritional properties

The main role of diet is to provide enough nutrients to meet the requirements of a balanced diet, while giving the consumer a feeling of satisfaction and well-being. The most recent knowledge in bioscience supports the hypothesis that diet also controls and modulates various functions in the body, and, in doing so, contributes to the state of good health necessary to reduce the risk of some diseases. It is such an hypothesis which is at the origin both of the concept of ‘functional food’ and the development of a new scientific discipline of ‘functional food science’. In the context of this paper the potential ‘functional foods’ to be discussed are the prebiotics and the synbiotics. The prebiotics developed so far are the non-digestible oligosaccharides and especially the non-digestible fructans among which chicory fructans play a major role. The chicory fructans are β (2-1) fructo-oligosaccharides classified as natural food ingredients. They positively affect various physiological functions in such a way that they are already or may, in the future, be classified as functional food ingredients for which claims of functional effects or of disease risk reduction might become authorized. They are classified as prebiotic and have been shown to induce an increase in the number of bifidobacteria in human faecal flora. As part of a synbiotic-type product, they are already bifidogenic at a dose of 2·75 g/d and the effect lasts for at least 7 weeks. The other potential functional effects are on the bioavailability of minerals, but also, and more systemically, on the metabolism of lipids. Potential health benefits may concern reduction of the risk of intestinal infectious diseases, cardiovascular disease, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and cancer. However, except for the prebiotic effect, and tentatively the improvement of calcium bioavailability, the evidence to support such effects is still missing in humans though hypotheses already exist to justify nutrition studies.
Listeria monocytogenes induces T cell receptor unresponsiveness through pore-forming toxin listeriolysin O.

BACKGROUND The success of many pathogens relies on their ability to circumvent the innate and adaptive immune defenses. How bacterial pathogens subvert adaptive immune defenses is not clear. Cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs) represent an expansive family of homologous pore-forming toxins that are produced by more than 20 gram-positive bacterial species. Listeriolysin O (LLO), a prototype CDC, is the main virulence factor of Listeria monocytogenes. METHODS We employed flow cytometric and microarray techniques to analyze the effect of LLO on T cell activation in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS In vivo and in vitro proliferation of CD4(+) T cells upon T cell receptor (TCR) activation was highly diminished in the presence of LLO or wild-type L. monocytogenes but not in the presence of LLO-deficient L. monocytogenes. This block in T cell proliferation was specific to T cell activation via the TCR and not by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-ionomycin, which bypasses the proximal TCR signaling event. The results of microarray analysis suggest that LLO-induced T cell unresponsiveness is due to the induction of a calcium-nuclear factor of activated T cells-dependent transcriptional program that drives the expression of negative regulators of TCR signaling. CONCLUSION These findings provide important insights into how bacterial toxins silence adaptive immune responses and thus enable prolonged survival of the pathogen in the host.
A new contactiess power pick-up with continuous variable inductor control using magnetic amplifier

This paper proposes a new contactless power pickup with a LCL tuning circuit which utilizes the magnetic amplifier as a variable inductor. The tuning circuit of the power pick-up is based on the LCL configuration and provides a simple relationship between the open circuit voltage of the pick-up coil and the output voltage regardless of the load variation. The use of magnetic amplifier as a variable inductor offers significant advantages where the inductance is dynamically varied using a controller and BJT to deliver power under a variety of load conditions. The proposed method can significantly improve the overall performance of the ICPT (inductively coupled power transfer) system by producing continuous waveforms within the system at all times. Simulations based on PLECS (a Simulink toolbox) demonstrate that the new method can successfully control the output voltage resulting in satisfactory steady state performance.
Desigualdades Socio-Espaciales en Ciudades Latinoamericanas. Dos Problemas, una Paradoja y una Propuesta

Este articulo reflexiona sobre las desigualdades socio-espaciales en las ciudades latinoamericanas. Un informe reciente del Banco Mundial senala que America Latina es el unico continente en el que la desigual- dad de ingresos se redujo durante la ultima decada. Este significativo y esperanzador dato no puede ocultar, sin embargo, una realidad com- pleja: America Latina es el continente mas urbanizado y el mas desigual del mundo. Ante este escenario, el presente articulo busca reflexionar sobre los vinculos entre urbanismo y desigualdad en tiempos de globa- lizacion, mirando la evolucion de algunas de las principales ciudades latinoamericanas en las ultimas dos decadas. El articulo se focaliza en dos problemas analiticos, una paradoja sustantiva y una propuesta poli- tica, senalando la necesidad de regulacion de los usos del suelo en una politica orientada hacia la reduccion de la desigualdad.
A Representation of SFP

This chapter introduces a representation of the category of SFP domains. It uses structures similar to but more general than Scott’s information systems. Distilled from Gentzen’s sequent calculi, a basic structure called a sequent structure is produced. Sequent structures determine a major part of the axioms of information systems. A category of special kind of sequent structures called the strongly finite ones is shown to be equivalent to the category of SFP domains. Constructions like the Plotkin power domain and the function space are given, as well as a complete partial order of such structures to give solutions to recursively defined systems.
Severe Hemorrhage after Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin Treatment in a Preterm Neonate

Thromboembolic events in preterm neonates are increasingly being diagnosed due to the increasing use of umbilical catheters and central venous catheters. Whether thromboembolic events should be treated routinely with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) is controversial and the optimal management is still not clear due to the lack of randomized controlled trials. Most importantly, knowledge about the safety of treatment with LMWH in neonates with thromboembolic events is very limited. We present a case of severe hemorrhage in a preterm neonate after LMWH treatment and summarize the scarce data reported in the literature.
A full E-band low noise amplifier realized by using novel wafer-level chip size package technology suitable for reliable flip-chip reflow-soldering

Cost effective E-band Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) using a three-dimensional (3-D) MMIC technology and wafer level chip size package (WLCSP) technology is presented. The reflow-soldering compatibility of the technology makes MMIC assembly on PCB very simple and significantly contributes to mass production of receivers and transmitters. The applied 3-D MMIC design effectively shrinks the die sizes. The newly designed LNA exhibited an on-chip gain of 22.5 ± 1 dB and a noise figure of 4.0 ± 0.3 dB in the full E-band. The measurements of the assembled LNA, including extended transmission lines on PCB, exhibited a gain of 21 ± 1 dB and a noise figure of 4.6 ± 0.2 dB. Eliminating the extended transmission line losses of about 0.3 dB × 2, the noise figure increase due to assembly was only 0.3 dB. These results show that the LNA using the 3-D WLCSP technology is valuable for E-band application in terms of not only cost reduction but also practical performance achievement.
El aprendizaje permanente de los adultos en Espana: retos para el futuro

En este segundo informe de New Skills at Work hacemos un balance de la participacion de los adultos en el aprendizaje permanente en Espana. El informe se divide en tres partes. En la primera parte, se ofrece un analisis descriptivo de las habilidades cognitivas de la poblacion adulta en edad de trabajar. A pesar de los avances en las ultimas decadas, los anos medios de escolarizacion siguen siendo aun relativamente bajo en comparacion con los paises de nuestro entorno. Ademas, Espana destaca por la mayor proporcion de adultos que carecen de habilidades y competencias basicas. El informe identifica tres dimensiones del problema que merecen una atencion especial de los responsables politicos: 1) el bajo nivel promedio de los logros educativos; 2) las altas tasas de abandono escolar y 3) los menores niveles de competencias para todos los niveles educativos. En las tres dimensiones, Espana debe esforzarse para converger con los niveles de los paises lideres en Europa.
Automatic Identification of Shot Body Region from Clinical Photographies

Administration of clinical photographs taken by commonly used digital camera often requires troublesome manual operation. In this paper, we made a prototype scheme of automatic photographed area identification from clinical images to help or reduce administration task. A total of 8047 clinical photographs taken in department of dermatology, Keio University Hospital, were classified into 11 categories; head, hair, upper limb, lower limb, trunk, palm, sole, back of hand, back of foot, finger & detent and genital; to meet request by several dermatologists and we developed separate linear classifiers for each body region. The developed classifiers achieved an 82.8% in sensitivity (SE) and an 82.0% of specificity (SP) in average. In addition, integration of these classifiers with consideration of the feature space of each body region improved SP of 2.3% and precision (PR) of 3.0% at a maximum when the classification threshold was set to around 75% in SE. The proposed scheme requires only photographs to identify the photographed area and therefore it can be easily applied for DICOM (digital image and communication in medicine) system that is commonly used in clinical practice or other medical database systems.
Intérêt de l'utilisation des probiotiques en thérapeutique urogénitale

Les pathologies urogenitales constituent aujourd’hui l’un des premiers motifs de consultation au comptoir du pharmacien d’officine. Face au developpement des resistances bacteriennes et au taux de recidive eleve de ces pathologies, les probiotiques constituent aujourd’hui une alternative preventive comme curative prometteuse. Depuis ces vingt dernieres annees, avec le developpement des technologies biomoleculaires, leurs mecanismes d’action benefiques ont largement ete decrits au niveau gastro-intestinal. Ce n’est que plus recemment que la recherche s’est interessee a l’impact de notre flore sur la sante urogenitale. En effet, il existe une co-dependance entre les microorganismes la composant et l’homeostasie de ce microbiote. Des proprietes antimicrobiennes et immuno-modulatrices, leur facilite d’utilisation par voir orale ou locale ainsi que leur securite d’utilisation font! de ces produits des outils de conseil complementaires dans le traitement des pathologies urogenitales a la disposition du pharmacien d’officine.
Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Pathway Gene Polymorphism Associated With Extent of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes Trial

Background— Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the major cause of death in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although demographic and clinical factors associated with extent of CAD in patients with diabetes mellitus have been described, genetic factors have not. We hypothesized that genetic variation in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) pathway genes, important in diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis, would be associated with extent of CAD in patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods and Results— We genotyped 1043 patients (702 white, 175 blacks) from the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) genetic cohort for 3351 variants in 223 PPAR pathway genes using a custom targeted-genotyping array. Angiographic end points were determined by a core laboratory. In whites, a single variant (rs1503298) in TLL1 was significantly (P=5.5×10−6) associated with extent of CAD, defined as number of lesions with percent diameter stenosis ≥20%, after stringent Bonferroni correction for all 3351 single nucleotide polymorphisms. This association was validated in the diabetic subgroups of 2 independent cohorts, the Translational Research Investigating Underlying Disparities in Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients' Health Status (TRIUMPH) post–myocardial infarction registry and the prospective Family Heart Study (FHS) of individuals at risk for CAD. TLL1rs1503298 was also significantly associated with extent of severe CAD (≥70% diameter stenosis; P=3.7×10−2) and myocardial jeopardy index (P=8.7×10−4). In general linear regression modeling, TLL1rs1503298 explained more variance of extent of CAD than the previously determined clinical factors. Conclusions— We identified a variant in a single PPAR pathway gene, TLL1, that is associated with the extent of CAD independently of clinical predictors, specifically in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and CAD. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00006305.
On Self-Aware Mixed-Signal Systems Based on S-Δ ADC

In this paper the authors discuss the issues related to the self-awareness of high-resolution, mixed-signal circuits and systems, based on S-? ADC, which is the most important and sensitive module and the key element for analogue to digital conversion. The basic methodology and framework for improving the self-awareness of such systems are presented. The methodology is based on efficient real-time measurements of a high-resolution, mixed-signal system using pseudo random signal source, real-time calculation of a distance between responses, the possibility to adapt measured circuit to minimize the distance, and changing the parameters of a reference system according to learning rules. The use of pseudo-random noise as a signal source leads to efficient and cost-effective measurements that run in parallel to the main signal processing. The calculation of the distance between the system and its reference are theoretically analysed and verified using Matlab model. The response of a system together with the response of high precision analogue to digital converter ADC is compared to the response of a bit-true model of a reference digital circuit. The differences are calculated using simple area-efficient cross-correlation algorithm. Together with adaptation strategy and tuning circuitry it forms the basis for self-awareness of mixed-signal circuits.
Accommodation to Stationary and Moving Targets

Purpose. To test the hypothesis that the contrast of spectral components of the retinal image specifies ocular focus and controls reflex accommodation. Methods. Eight subjects viewed a stationary target at 0, 2.5, and 5 D in a Badal optometer, with longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA) normal and reversed and in monochromatic (550 nm) light. Accommodation was monitored continuously during 40-s trials. Subjects also viewed the grating target as it moved sinusoidally (1.5 to 2.5 D) at 0.2 Hz under the same three conditions. Results. Subjects accommodated relatively accurately at all distances in the normal condition; three subjects had difficulty accommodating in monochromatic light at 5 or 0 D, and seven subjects could not maintain focus with LCA reversed. The accommodative response differed significantly in the three chromatic conditions both for stationary and moving targets. Conclusions. Relative contrast of long-, middle-, and short-wavelength components of the retinal image specifies ocular focus and drives reflex accommodation.
Detrimental ELAVL-1/HuR-dependent GSK3β mRNA stabilization impairs resolution in acute respiratory distress syndrome

A hallmark of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is accumulation of protein-rich edema in the distal airspaces and its removal is critical for patient survival. Previous studies have shown a detrimental role of Glycogen Synthase Kinase (GSK) 3β during ARDS via inhibition of alveolar epithelial protein transport. We hypothesized that post-transcriptional regulation of GSK3β could play a functional role in ARDS resolution. To address this hypothesis, we performed an in silico analysis to identify regulatory genes whose expression correlation to GSK3β messenger RNA utilizing two lung cancer cell line array datasets. Among potential regulatory partners of GSK3β, these studies identified the RNA-binding protein ELAVL-1/HuR (Embryonic Lethal, Abnormal Vision, Drosophila-Like) as a central component in a likely GSK3β signaling network. ELAVL-1/HuR is a RNA-binding protein that selectively binds to AU-rich elements of mRNA and enhances its stability thereby increasing target gene expression. Subsequent studies with siRNA suppression of ELAVL-1/HuR demonstrated deceased GSK3β mRNA and protein expression and improved clearance of FITC-albumin in A549 cells. Conversely, stabilization of ELAVL-1/HuR with the proteasome inhibitor MG-132 resulted in induction of GSK3β at mRNA and protein level and attenuated FITC-albumin clearance. Utilizing ventilator-induced lung injury or intra-tracheal installation of hydrochloric acid to induce ARDS in mice, we observed increased mRNA and protein expression of ELAVL-1/HuR and GSK3β. Together, our findings indicate a previously unknown interaction between GSK3β and ELAV-1 during ARDS, and suggest the inhibition of the ELAV-1- GSK3β pathways as a novel ARDS treatment approach.
Target motion analysis with evolutionary search by fusion of two moving acoustic sensors

This paper focuses on target motion analysis by fusion of information from two moving acoustic sensors. These two sensors may obtain small measurements in order to make quick analysis of moving targets. In this situation, conventional approaches often fail to find accurate motion of targets. In this paper, a fusion algorithm for target motion analysis designed to handle this situation is proposed. First, optimization based PSO is applied in order to find accurate initial motion of targets. Second, the target trajectory is estimated via a sequential fusion algorithm based on UKF. According to the various simulated results, the effectiveness of the proposed method is then verified.
[Clostridium perfringens infection and necrotising enterocolitis].

During a four year period (1974--1977) 21 infants died as a result of severe necrotising enterocolitis (N.E.C.). In 9 cases, Clostridium perfringens was isolated. When this organism is recovered either from the placenta or from the first meconium and or when the signs of the disease appear within a few days of birth, materno-fetal transmission of the infection may be suspected. The infection occurs most frequently in neonates in whom the gastrointestinal tract was already colonized by Clostridium.
Evaluation and comparison of postoperative levels of serum bilirubin, serum transaminases and alkaline phosphatase in laparoscopic cholecystectomy versus open cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) requires the creation of a pneumoperitoneum via insufflations of carbon dioxide; resulting in increased partial pressure of carbon dioxide (CO2) and intraperitoneal pressure which leads to the changes in pulmonary function and hemodynamic measurements. Hypercarbia leads to visceral organ ischemia including liver and venous stasis/thromboembolism or both due to impaired flow. The present study has been undertaken to see the changes in liver function tests (LFTs) after laparoscopic/open cholecystectomy (OC), the incidences of such change, their relation to age, sex, duration of surgery and to know the clinical significances of such disturbances. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To compare and correlate the serum level of bilirubin, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in patients who underwent LC to those who underwent OC. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was conducted in the Department of Surgery at MMIMSR, MM University, Mullana, Ambala. A total number of 200 patients diagnosed as cholelithiasis were included in the study from May 2012 to May 2014. These cases were randomly divided into two groups (A and B) consisting of 100 cases each. LC was performed in group A patients and OC was done in group B patients. Three blood samples were taken: (I) pre-operatively; (II) after 24 hours of surgery; and (III) after 72 hours of surgery for comparison of the enzyme level alterations. RESULTS In LC patients, there were rise in the levels of serum bilirubin, AST and ALT after 24 hrs of surgery from the preoperative value and then again fall was noted (near to normal value) after 72 hrs of surgery except in that of ALP. ALP levels showed slight fall after 24 hrs of surgery and then slight rise after 72 hrs which was within the normal limit. Whereas in OC patients, there were slight variations in the liver enzymes (which were within the normal range). CONCLUSIONS Transient elevation of serum bilirubin, AST and ALT occurs after LC or after OC. The alteration in the liver enzymes can be attributed to CO2 pneumoperitoneum, surgical manipulations, diathermy, patient position, and arterial injury may also other factors. These changes return to normal in 3-4 days after procedure and they have no clinical consequences in patients with normal hepatic function but they may still cause worry to the surgeon regarding the integrity of biliary tree.