Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between Radiation-Induced Low-Dose Hypersensitivity and the Bystander Effect

Abstract Mothersill, C. , Seymour, C. B. and Joiner, M. C. Relationship between Radiation-Induced Low-Dose Hypersensitivity and the Bystander Effect. Radiat. Res. 157, 526–532 (2002). Recent advances in our knowledge of the biological effects of low doses of ionizing radiation have shown two unexpected phenomena: a “bystander effect” that can be demonstrated at low doses as a transferable factor(s) causing radiobiological effects in unexposed cells, and low-dose hyper-radiosensitivity and increased radioresistance that can be demonstrated collectively as a change in the dose–effect relationship, occurring around 0.5–1 Gy of low-LET radiation. In both cases, the effect of very low doses is greater than would be predicted by conventional DNA strand break/repair-based radiobiology. This paper addresses the question of whether the two phenomena have similar or exclusive mechanisms. Cells of 13 cell lines were tested using established protocols for expression of both hyper-radiosensitivity/increased radioresistance and a bystander response. Both were measured using clonogenicity as an end point. The results showed considerable variation in the expression of both phenomena and suggested that cell lines with a large bystander effect do not show hyper-radiosensitivity. The reverse was also true. This inverse relationship was not clearly related to the TP53 status or malignancy of the cell line. There was an indication that cell lines that have a radiation dose–response curve with a wide shoulder show hyper-radiosensitivity/increased radioresistance and no bystander effect. The results may suggest new approaches to understanding the factors that control cell death or the sectoring of survival at low radiation doses.
Droop-Free Distributed Control for AC Microgrids

A cooperative distributed secondary/primary control paradigm for AC microgrids is proposed. This solution replaces the centralized secondary control and the primary-level droop mechanism of each inverter with three separate regulators: voltage, reactive power, and active power regulators. A sparse communication network is spanned across the microgrid to facilitate limited data exchange among inverter controllers. Each controller processes its local and neighbors' information to update its voltage magnitude and frequency (or, equivalently, phase angle) set points. A voltage estimator finds the average voltage across the microgrid, which is then compared to the rated voltage to produce the first-voltage correction term. The reactive power regulator at each inverter compares its normalized reactive power with those of its neighbors, and the difference is fed to a subsequent PI controller that generates the second-voltage correction term. The controller adds the voltage correction terms to the microgrid rated voltage (provided by the tertiary control) to generate the local voltage magnitude set point. The voltage regulators collectively adjust the average voltage of the microgrid at the rated voltage. The voltage regulators allow different set points for different bus voltages and, thus, account for the line impedance effects. Moreover, the reactive power regulators adjust the voltage to achieve proportional reactive load sharing. The third module, the active power regulator, compares the local normalized active power of each inverter with its neighbors' and uses the difference to update the frequency and, accordingly, the phase angle of that inverter. The global dynamic model of the microgrid, including distribution grid, regulator modules, and the communication network, is derived, and controller design guidelines are provided. Steady-state performance analysis shows that the proposed controller can accurately handle the global voltage regulation and proportional load sharing. An AC microgrid prototype is set up, where the controller performance, plug-and-play capability, and resiliency to the failure in the communication links are successfully verified.
An investigation of the transdiagnostic model of eating disorders in the context of muscle dysmorphia.

AIM Muscle dysmorphia is a psychiatric disorder that has been conceptually linked to eating disorders, although its precise nosology remains unclear. To further investigate this notion, the present study examined the applicability of the transdiagnostic model of eating disorders to muscle dysmorphia. METHOD One hundred and nineteen male undergraduate students completed self-report measures of multidimensional perfectionism, mood intolerance, self-esteem, interpersonal problems, and muscle dysmorphia symptomatology. RESULTS Self-oriented perfectionism, socially prescribed perfectionism, mood intolerance, and low self-esteem significantly predicted muscle dysmorphia symptomatology, whereas other-oriented perfectionism and interpersonal problems did not demonstrate significant predictive value when accounting for the other transdiagnostic constructs. DISCUSSION The transdiagnostic model of eating disorders may potentially be applied to enhance our understanding of the maintenance of muscle dysmorphic features in addition to eating disorder symptomatology.
Phosphorylated Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinases Are Significantly Increased in Malignant Mesothelioma

Tumorigenesis is associated with the activation of mitogenic signal transduction pathways. The expression of activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) may play an important role in cell proliferation of malignant mesothelioma (MM). We compare the expression of p-ERK in 50 biopsy specimens of MM, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and normal lung tissue. We hypothesized that phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase is increased in MM. We stained the sections by immunohistochemistry for activated ERK-1 and −2 and performed the quantification of the stained nuclei. Quantitative analysis of p-ERK showed a high percentage score in MM (30.3 ± 4.6%) as compared with NSCLC (12.2 ± 2.1%) (p<0.01) and control lung tissue (6.4 ± 1.3%) (p=0.0002). Furthermore, p-ERK was found significantly higher in poorly differentiated NSCLC (17.7 ± 3.1%) as compared with well-differentiated NSCLC (5.4 ± 1.2%) (p<0.01). Our data show that the nuclear quantification of p-ERK is significantly increased in MM and poorly differentiated NSCLC in comparison to well-differentiated NSCLC and normal lung tissue. These results corroborate previous experimental studies that suggest a critical role of p-ERK in cell proliferation of malignant disease and may represent new targets for therapeutic agents.
Experimental encephalitis following peripheral inoculation of West Nile virus in mice of different ages

SUMMARY Experimental arbovirus infections of mice provide a convenient model to study factors which determine the occurrence or severity of encephalitis following ex-traneural infection with certain neurotropic viruses. Varying doses of West Nile or Powassan viruses were inoculated by intraperitoneal or intramuscular routes into mice of varing ages; individual variables were manipulated to influence the outcome of infection. Three patterns of pathogenesis were delineated: (1) Fatal encephalitis, preceded by early viraemia, and invasion of the central nervous system. (2) In-apparent infection, with no detectable viraemia and no evidence of central nervous system invasion. (3) Subclinical encephalitis, usually preceded by trace viraemia, with minimal transient levels of virus in the brain. In this latter type of subclinical infection with a potentially lethal virus, the immune response probably plays an important role in recovery.
Potentiation of Acid‐Induced Pancreatic Bicarbonate Output by Amino Acid Is Mediated by Neural Elements, but Not by Circulating Cholecystokinin

Acid-induced pancreatic bicarbonate output is potentiated by oleic acid and Lphenylalanine (L-P). This potentiated response has been attributed to interactions between endogenously released secretin and cholecystokinin (CCK). ' We previously showed that neural factors may also regulate potentiation of acid-induced bicarbonate by L-amino acids, but not oleic acid.2 In this study, we assessed acid's influence on amino acid-induced CCK release in both the innervated and denervated pancreas.
The Value of Nature and the Nature of Value

Ecosystems are capital assets: When properly managed, they yield a flow of vital goods and services. Relative to other forms of capital, however, ecosystems are poorly understood, scarcely monitored, and--in many important cases--undergoing rapid degradation. The process of economic valuation could greatly improve stewardship. This potential is now being realized with innovative financial instruments and institutional arrangements.
Extreme Precipitation Events in Southeastern South America and Large-Scale Convective Patterns in the South Atlantic Convergence Zone

Abstract The occurrence of daily extreme precipitation events in southeast South America (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and the spatial features of convective activity in the South Atlantic convergence zone (SACZ) are investigated. Precipitation data from surface stations in Sao Paulo state from 1979 to 1996 are used to determine the frequency of occurrence of extremely heavy daily precipitation events. Daily averages of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) are examined to characterize convective activity in the SACZ. OLR features are identified with factor analysis. Two factors explain ∼65% of the total variance of the convective activity patterns in tropical South America and characterize events according to the intensity and extent of the OLR features over the Atlantic Ocean. The combination of factors indicates that 35% of extreme precipitation events occurred when convective activity in the SACZ was intense over large parts of tropical South America, which includes Sao Paulo, but with less extent toward the Atlant.
Isolation and partial molecular characterization of pituitary fibroblast growth factor.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) has been purified to homogeneity from bovine pituitaries by two methods. Starting material for both methods was an FGF preparation partially purified as described by Gospodarowicz [Gospodarowicz, D. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 2515-2520]. Purification procedure I involved cation-exchange and reversed-phase HPLC, while procedure II employed gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. Isolation was monitored by testing column fractions for their capacity to stimulate the proliferation of vascular endothelial cells in vitro. The growth factor has an approximate molecular weight of 16,000. Its amino-terminal sequence was determined as Pro-Ala-Leu-Pro-Glu-Asp-Gly-Gly-Ser-Gly-Ala-Phe-Pro-Pro-Gly. Sequence and amino acid composition indicate that the structure of pituitary FGF is different from that of other known growth factors. Pituitary FGF, as isolated under nonacidic conditions (procedure II), has high potency and intrinsic activity to stimulate adult bovine aortic endothelial cells (half-maximal proliferation at 2 pM). Acidic conditions as in procedure I, however, lead to about 90% loss of potency while the intrinsic activity remains intact (identical maximal stimulation values). By all other criteria (molecular weight, amino acid composition, amino-terminal sequence), the two preparations are indistinguishable. Antibodies were raised in rabbits against a synthetic peptide representing the first nine residues of the amino-terminal sequence of the pituitary FGF. The polyclonal antibodies recognize the synthetic peptide and the purified growth factor on an equimolar basis and are capable of inhibiting mitogenic activity in vitro. This report describes a partial chemical characterization of a pituitary FGF and demonstrates rigorously that the characterized protein possesses the mitogenic activity commonly referred to as "basic pituitary FGF. "
Tail Vein Assay of Cancer Metastasis

The most damaging change during cancer progression is the switch from a locally growing tumor to a metastatic killer. This switch involves numerous alterations that allow tumor cells to complete the complex series of events needed for metastasis. In considering steps required for successful metastasis, extravasation from blood vessels in target organs is regarded as a critical process. Circulating tumor cells arrested in the capillary beds of different organs must invade the endothelial cell lining of blood vessels and degrade its underlying basement membrane in order to escape into the extravascular tissue where they establish metastasis. This unit describes the most common assay applied to evaluate the metastatic potential of blood‐borne tumor cells. The protocol is often called “experimental metastasis”, distinct from “spontaneous metastasis”, where the tumor cells are first allowed to form a primary tumor in the site of injection and then escape into lymphatic or blood circulation. Cultured tumor cells are injected into the tail vein and allowed to circulate. After 12 to 20 days the recipients are euthanized and the lungs are evaluated for the presence of metastatic tumors.
Fowling in Prehistoric Europe

Fowling has seldom played a part in the food-quest at all comparable with that of hunting or fishing : the situation of St. Kilda, where during the 17th century the 180 inhabitants are held by Martin (1) to have consumed annually some 22,600 Solan Geese (Gannets) and of which the Rev. Macaulay exclaimed in 1758 ‘. deprive us of the Fulmar, and St. Kilda is no more (2)’, is an exception which only proves the general rule. Yet, we know that birds helped to vary the diet of most of the communities of prehistoric Europe and that catching them was an activity of economic importance, especially at certain seasons of the year. The only scientific way of estimating the part played by fowling in the economy of any prehistoric group is through an accurate knowledge of the total fauna represented in the food debris, with special regard to the relative proportions of the different species. While this is too seldom available, there is in the aggregate sufficient data to show how far prehistoric man depended on fowling to supply himself with food. As to the methods used, direct evidence of this is all the harder to come by, since these were mainly of a kind to leave little or no tangible trace behind them. Throughout prehistoric times fowling remained at a primitive stage of development, but fortunately the methods used still survived in Europe down to modern times and most are still practised to-day, whether among peasant peoples in the remoter parts of the continent or among poachers nearer home.
Analgesic Effects of Callus Culture Extracts from Selected Species of Phyllanthus in Mice

Abstract— The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic effect of the methanolic extract from callus culture of Phyllanthus tenellus, P. corcovadensis and P. niruri in several models of pain in mice. The extracts (medium containing 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) of P. corcovadensis, P. niruri and P. tenellus (3–90 mg kg−1, i.p.) caused graded inhibition of abdominal constrictions induced by acetic acid (0·6%), with ID50 (i.e. dose that reduced response of control by 50%) values of about 30, 19 and >30 mg kg−1, respectively. The extract of callus of Phyllanthus obtained in indole‐3‐butyric acid and indole‐3‐acetic acid media (3–90 mg kg−1, i.p.) caused a similar analgesic effect. In the formalin test, the extract of P. tenellus obtained in indole butyric acid medium (3–100 mg kg−1, i.p.) inhibited only the second phase of formalin‐induced pain with an ID50 value of about 100 mg kg−1. Both the indole acetic acid and indole butyric acid methanolic extracts of P. tenellus and P. corcovadensis (10–100 mg kg−1, i.p.) dose‐dependently inhibited both phases of formalin‐induced pain (ID50 values for the second phase were approx. 100 and 52 mg kg−1, respectively). However, the extract of callus from Phyllanthus failed to affect formalin‐induced paw oedema, as well as the response to radiant heat in the tail‐flick test. In addition, the analgesic effect of morphine, but not the analgesic effects caused by Phyllanthus callus extract, was fully antagonized by naloxone. Preliminary phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of several compounds having no apparent relationship with alkaloids or flavonoids but showing the presence of phenols. These results indicate that, similar to previous reported data from the extract of P. corcovadensis, the methanolic extracts of callus culture of P. niruri, P. corcovadensis and P. tenellus exhibit potent analgesic properties against neurogenic and inflammatory pain that seem to be unrelated to the activation of opioid mechanisms.
A New Method of Blind Deconvolution for Colour Fundus Retinal Images

Fundus retinal imaging is widely used in the diagnosis and management of eye disease. Blur commonly occurs in the acquisition and when it is severe the resulting loss of resolution hampers accurate clinical assessment. In this paper, we present a new technique to address this challenging problem. We make use of implicitly constrained image deblurring, which is known to provide improved results over unconstrained and explicitly constrained methods, and build this into a multi-channel variational framework for parametric deblurring. We propose a new method for automatically selecting the regularisation parameter in the absence of the true (sharp) image using vessel segmentation. We then modify the model to include a regularisation coefficient function which is dependent on an available image mask in order to avoid potential inaccuracies caused by the addition of artificial masks. We present experimental results to demonstrate the effectiveness of our new method.
Brain Injury ACB paper COMPLETE ACCEPTED VERSION 05.06.2015

Dr Mohamed Sakel FRCP Director/Consultant Neurorehabilitation East Kent University NHS Hospitals, Canterbury, UK. Email: m.sakel@nhs.net Dr Alexis Boukouvalas PhD – Medical Statistician – Aston University, Birmingham, UK. Email: boukouva@aston.ac. uk Mr Romain Buono-Research AssociateUniversity of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK. Email: romain.buono. 50@aberdeen.ac. uk Maliha Moten BSc – Medical Student – Imperial College, London, UK. Email: Maliha.moten10@imperial.ac. uk Dr Farhat Mirza MBBS MSc MRCP – Neurology Registrar – East Kent University Hospital, Canterbury, UK. Email: farhatarafatmirza@gmail.com Dr Wei-Yee Chan MBBS – Foundation Year Doctor – Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, UK. Email: W.Chan@uea.ac. uk Dr Ian Maidment PhD – Senior Lecturer – Aston University, Birmingham, UK. Email: i.maidment@aston.ac. uk Dr Jane Cross EdD – Senior Lecturer University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Email: j.cross@uea.ac. uk Dr Toby Smith PhD Lecturer – University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Email: toby.smith@uea.ac. uk Prof. Phyo Kyaw Myint MBBS, MD, FRCP, FRCPProfessor of Medicine of Old Age, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. Email: phyo.myint@abdn.ac. uk Dr Chris Fox MD MRCPsych – Reader in Old Age Pyschiatry – University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Email: chris.fox@uea.ac. uk
A method for controlling tactile sensation of surface roughness using ultrasonic vibration

A method is proposed for controlling the tactile sensation of surface roughness. This method creates a smoother feeling on a surface by applying ultrasonic vibration, with a few micrometers amplitude, to the surface. The sensation can thus be controlled without altering the actual surface profile. Experiments using five to ten subjects showed the properties of the proposed method, such as the effect of ultrasonic vibration on tactile sensation, the positive relationship between the generation of a smooth feeling and vibration amplitude, and the dependence on vibration frequency. The typical perceived feeling with this method, 'air smoothness', is postulated to be due to the 'squeeze air film effect' between the finger and the surface. The calculated squeeze force qualitatively agreed well with our experimental results. The proposed method also enables the generation of resistant impressions, such as 'the surface is rougher/more sticky' and 'a virtual protrusion exists on the surface', when the duration of the ultrasonic vibration is short enough.
Expression of basal lamina protein mRNAs in the early embryonic chick eye

Laminin, collagen IV, collagen XVIII, agrin, and nidogen are major protein constituents of the chick retinal basal lamina. To determine their sites of synthesis during de novo basal lamina assembly in vivo, we localized their mRNA expression in the eye during maximum expansion of the retina between embryonic day (E) 2.5 and E6. Our in situ hybridization studies showed that the expression pattern of every basal lamina protein mRNA in the developing eye is unique. Collagen IV and perlecan originate predominantly from the lens epithelium, whereas collagen XVIII, nidogen, and the laminin gamma 1 and β1 chains are synthesized mainly by the ciliary body. Agrin, collagen XVIII, collagen IV, and laminin gamma 1 also originate from cells of the optic disc. The only basal lamina protein that is synthesized by the neural retina throughout development is agrin with ganglion cells as its main source. Some of the mRNAs have short, transient expressions in the retina, most notably that of collagen IV and laminin gamma 1, both of which appear in the ventral retina between E4 and E5. That most retinal basal lamina proteins originate from extraretinal tissues infers that the basal lamina proteins have to be shed from the lens, optic disc, and ciliary body into the vitreous body. The assembly of the retinal basal lamina then occurs by the binding of these proteins by cellular receptor proteins on the vitreal endfeet of the retinal neuroepithelial cells. J. Comp. Neurol. 447:261–273, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Recombinant Blood Clotting Proteins for Hemophilia Therapy

In the early 1980s the cDNAs encoding many of the blood clotting proteins were cloned. In particular, the cloning of the cDNA and gene encoding Factor VIII, one of the largest genes that had been cloned at that time, was a remarkable achievement. With the outbreak of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, as well as the longstanding problems with viral hepatitis, the impetus for a noninfective source of blood clotting proteins was clear. Furthermore, it was hoped that by establishing a source of recombinant proteins we would have unlimited supplies of low cost, highly purified material for the treatment of hemophilia. The treatment of hemophiliacs with inhibitors to Factor VIII and Factor IX continues to be a clinical challenge. The observation that activated Factor VII might be suitable for the treatment of these patients led to the large-scale production of recombinant Factor VIIa for clinical use. We report here on the current status of recombinant Factors VIII, IX, and VIIa for clinical use.
Complementing semi-formal specifications with Z

The insertion of formal techniques into the daily practice of software engineering definitely improves the quality of specifications. An approach is proposed where semi-formal specifications are translated into the formal specification language Z and enriched by formal annotations. The paper starts from a specification of an access control system using classical description techniques: entity-relationship schemas, data-flow diagrams, and state machine descriptions. It shows how these can be combined with formal definitions of types, constraints and functions.