Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Topology of Superoxide Production from Different Sites in the Mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain*

We measured production of reactive oxygen species by intact mitochondria from rat skeletal muscle, heart, and liver under various experimental conditions. By using different substrates and inhibitors, we determined the sites of production (which complexes in the electron transport chain produced superoxide). By measuring hydrogen peroxide production in the absence and presence of exogenous superoxide dismutase, we established the topology of superoxide production (on which side of the mitochondrial inner membrane superoxide was produced). Mitochondria did not release measurable amounts of superoxide or hydrogen peroxide when respiring on complex I or complex II substrates. Mitochondria from skeletal muscle or heart generated significant amounts of superoxide from complex I when respiring on palmitoyl carnitine. They produced superoxide at considerable rates in the presence of various inhibitors of the electron transport chain. Complex I (and perhaps the fatty acid oxidation electron transfer flavoprotein and its oxidoreductase) released superoxide on the matrix side of the inner membrane, whereas center o of complex III released superoxide on the cytoplasmic side. These results do not support the idea that mitochondria produce considerable amounts of reactive oxygen species under physiological conditions. Our upper estimate of the proportion of electron flow giving rise to hydrogen peroxide with palmitoyl carnitine as substrate (0.15%) is more than an order of magnitude lower than commonly cited values. We observed no difference in the rate of hydrogen peroxide production between rat and pigeon heart mitochondria respiring on complex I substrates. However, when complex I was fully reduced using rotenone, rat mitochondria released significantly more hydrogen peroxide than pigeon mitochondria. This difference was solely due to an elevated concentration of complex I in rat compared with pigeon heart mitochondria.
The study on the relationship among banking relationship, lending contract and bank operational performance

This paper is to discuss the relationship between bank lending screening signal and bank operational performance. The study finds that the information asymmetry phenomenon has significant influence to the health running of financial market based on the review of relevant existing literatures; while most studies emphasize on the discussion upon the influence of banking relationship to the operational performance of borrowing company, and there are few systematic and comprehensive studies on the interactive relationship between bank lending screening signal and bank operational performance and the information asymmetry phenomenon. In order to achieve this study objective, this paper attempts to discuss the influence of banking relationship of domestic banking industry of Taiwan, lending contract content and borrowing company profit to the operational performance of bank from the systematic viewpoint. The result of data analysis shows that the independent variable lending profit ratio of lending contract and the return on assets and earning per share of borrowing company will influence the dependent variable lending yield ratio and bankpsilas ratio of nonperforming loans to total loans of bank operational performance index significantly. The implication represented by each above-mentioned analysis result will be further discussed in this paper.
Beyond Nouns and Verbs

During the past decade, computer vision research has focused on constructing image based appearance models of objects and action classes using large databases of examples (positive and negative) and machine learning to construct models. Visual inference however involves not only detecting and recognizing objects and actions but also extracting rich relationships between objects and actions to form storylines or plots. These relationships also improve recognition performance of appearance-based models. Instead of identifying individual objects and actions in isolation, such systems improve recognition rates by augmenting appearance based models with contextual models based on object-object, action-action and object-action relationships. In this thesis, we look at the problem of using contextual information for recognition from three different perspectives: (a) Representation of Contextual Models; (b) Role of language in learning semantic/contextual models; (c) Learning of contextual models from weakly labeled data. Our work departs from the traditional view of visual and contextual learning where individual detectors and relationships are learned separately. Our work focuses on simultaneous learning of visual appearance and contextual models from richly annotated, weakly labeled datasets. Specifically, we show how rich annotations can be utilized to constrain the learning of visually grounded models of nouns, prepositions and comparative adjectives from weakly labeled data. I will also show how visually grounded models of prepositions and comparative adjectives can be utilized as contextual models for scene analysis. We also present storyline models for interpretation of videos. Storyline models go beyond pair-wise contextual models and represent higher order constraints by allowing only specific possible action sequences (stories). Visual inference using storyline models involve inferring the “plot” of the video (sequence of actions) and recognizing individual activities in the plot.
Prevalence of Vitamin D Deficiency in Patients with Bone Metastases and Multiple Myeloma.

BACKGROUND/AIM Breast and prostate cancer are amongst the most prevalent malignancies globally and up to 40% of patients will develop metastatic disease, particularly to the skeleton. Multiple myeloma is the most common cancer to affect bone with up to 90% of patients developing bone lesions. Although several studies demonstrated that endocrine changes such as vitamin D deficiency promote secondary cancer growth in bone, relatively few have reported its prevalence. For this reason, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in patients with bone metastases and multiple myeloma. PATIENTS AND METHODS Serum 25-OH-D levels of patients with metastatic bone disease were measured on admission. Statistical analyses was performed to evaluate for possible confounders of hypo-vitaminosis D. RESULTS We found a widespread and alarming rate of vitamin D deficiency in patients with metastatic bone disease and multiple myeloma. Of note, patients with bone metastases due to breast cancer, prostate cancer and multiple myeloma rarely reached sufficient serum 25-OH-D levels. CONCLUSION It is of utmost clinical importance to assess vitamin D levels in cancer patients, especially in those with, or at high risk of developing metastatic bone disease.
Signal-dependent export of GABA transporter 1 from the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment is specified by a C-terminal motif

The C-terminus of GABA transporter 1 (GAT1, SLC6A1) is required for trafficking of the protein through the secretory pathway to reach its final destination, i.e. the rim of the synaptic specialization. We identified a motif of three hydrophobic residues (569VMI571) that was required for export of GAT1 from the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC). This conclusion was based on the following observations: (i) GAT1-SSS, the mutant in which 569VMI571 was replaced by serine residues, was exported from the ER in a COPII-dependent manner but accumulated in punctate structures and failed to reach the Golgi; (ii) under appropriate conditions (imposing a block at 15°C, disruption of COPI), these structures also contained ERGIC53; (iii) the punctae were part of a dynamic compartment, because it was accessible to a second anterograde cargo [the temperature-sensitive variant of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein (VSV-G)] and because GAT1-SSS could be retrieved from the punctate structures by addition of a KKxx-based retrieval motif, which supported retrograde transport to the ER. To the best of our knowledge, the VMI-motif of GAT1 provides the first example of a cargo-based motif that specifies export from the ERGIC.
Development of guidelines for treatment of children with phenylketonuria: report of a meeting at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development held August 15, 1995, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

OBJECTIVE To convene a small group of experts in diagnosis and management of PKU to discuss the following issues: the Subject Review of PKU management being performed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Genetics (COG), the published British guidelines on PKU management, and the feasibility, suitability, and mechanism of developing PKU management guidelines for the United States. METHODS A 1-day meeting was held at the National Institutes of Health under the auspices of National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, convening experts in PKU diagnosis and management and members of the AAP/COG. RESULTS The group reviewed the published reports of outcomes of treatment of PKU and the British guidelines that were developed based on those data. It also reviewed the results of surveys of directors of clinics that manage PKU, parents of children with PKU, and young adults with PKU. CONCLUSION The group supported the efforts of the AAP/COG to perform this review of PKU management. The group concluded that significant issues need to be resolved to provide sufficient information to establish US guidelines for PKU management. The establishment of such guidelines is an important next step in PKU management in the United States.
Acetaminophen and Asthma

The article by Perzanowski et al in this issue of Thorax ( see page 118 ) adds one more piece of evidence supporting a possible role for acetaminophen in the development of asthma in children.1 Five previous studies, including three prenatal prospective cohorts,2–5 have suggested that in utero ingestion of acetaminophen may increase the risk of asthma and respiratory symptoms in children.2–7 Increased risk of asthma from postnatal use of acetaminophen is also suggested by reports of children8–12 and adults.8 13–17 The possibility that acetaminophen may contribute to the development of asthma is supported by parallel time trends in dramatic increases in use of the medication in response to reports of associations of aspirin use with Reye syndrome18–20 and increases in asthma prevalence between the mid 1970s and mid 1990s.21 There is also biological plausibility. Acetaminophen,22–24 as well as one of its metabolites, the highly reactive N -acetyl- p -benzoquinoneimine,23 has been associated with decreased glutathione. There is substantial literature documenting the antioxidant capacity of glutathione25 as well as the role of reactive oxygen species in asthma morbidity.26 In addition, decreased glutathione may affect the development of asthma by altering antigen recognition towards favouring T helper 2 (Th2) over Th1 cytokines.23 27 Other, less likely, possibilities relate to decreased suppression of cyclo-oxygenase or direct antigenicity of acetaminophen.23 The study by Perzanowski et al notes that associations of prenatal acetaminophen use …
Sodium exchange and distribution in the arterial wall.

Pieces of dog carotid artery were studied with respect to water and sodium content. Total sodium content averaged 113 ± 1.2 mm/kg fresh tissue; total water 73.6 ± 0.3% and inulin space 36.2 ± 0.5% of tissue wet wt. A total of 94.8 ± 1.3% of sodium exchanged within 6–12 min with Na 22 , and 97.4 ± 0.7% of the stable sodium was extracted in sodium-free solution (choline replacement). The curve of efflux of Na 22 at 37 C could be decomposed into three simple exponentials with half-times of 42.5 ± 2.3 sec ( phase 1 ), 5.0 ± 0.3 min ( phase 2 ), and 71.0 ± 7.3 min ( phase 3 ). Exchange of sodium of phase 1 (extracellular) fitted well with a theoretical diffusion curve, showed low temperature coefficient and no potassium dependency, and was not influenced by ouabain. Exchange of sodium of phase 2 (cellular) showed high temperature coefficient and potassium dependency and was sensitive to ouabain. Calculations based on the compartmental analysis indicate a too-great intracellular sodium concentration. Binding of sodium to polyanions in the extracellular space is suggested as a possible explanation of the results.
A communication channel molded on contagion

We introduce a binary additive communication channel with memory. The noise process of the channel is generated according to the contagion model of G. Polya (1923); our motivation is the empirical observation of Stapper et al. (1980) that defects in semiconductor memories are well described by distributions derived from Polya's urn scheme. The resulting channel is stationary but not ergodic, and it has many interesting properties. We first derive a maximum likelihood (ML) decoding algorithm for the channel; it turns out that ML decoding is equivalent to decoding a received vector onto either the closest codeword or the codeword that is farthest away, depending on whether an "apparent epidemic" has occurred. We next show that the Polya-contagion channel is an "averaged" channel in the sense of Ahlswede (1968) and others and that its capacity is zero. Finally, we consider a finite-memory version of he Polya-contagion model; this channel is (unlike the original) ergodic with a nonzero capacity that increases with increasing memory. >
Gene Amplification of the Multidrug Resistance 1 Gene of Plasmodium vivax Isolates from Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar

ABSTRACT Plasmodium vivax mdr1 gene amplification, quantified by real-time PCR, was significantly more common on the western Thailand border (6 of 66 samples), where mefloquine pressure has been intense, than elsewhere in southeast Asia (3 of 149; P = 0.02). Five coding mutations in pvmdr1, independent of gene amplification, were also found.
Root-knot nematode parasitism and host response: molecular basis of a sophisticated interaction.

UNLABELLED SUMMARY Taxonomy: Eukaryota; Metazoa; Nematoda; Chromadorea; order Tylenchida; Tylenchoidea; Heteroderidae; genus Meloidogyne. Physical properties: Microscopic-non-segmented worms. Meloidogyne species can reproduce by apomixis, facultative meiotic parthenogenesis or obligate mitotic parthenogenesis. Obligate biotrophic parasites inducing the re-differentiation of plant cells into specialized feeding cells. Hosts: Meloidogyne spp. can infest more than 3000 plant species including vegetables, fruit trees, cereals and ornamental flowers. SYMPTOMS Root swellings called galls. Alteration of the root vascular system. Disease control: Cultural control, chemical control, resistant cultivars. Agronomic importance: Major threat to agriculture in temperate and tropical regions.
Body mass in wild bearded capuchins, (Sapajus libidinosus): Ontogeny and sexual dimorphism

Body mass is fundamental for understanding growth, health, and aspects of life history but records of body mass are rarely available for wild primates. We documented the body mass of all individuals in a group of wild bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) at annual intervals for seven consecutive years. Sexual dimorphism in body mass was more pronounced than reported in the literature for adults in this genus: females in our sample were relatively light (average 2.1 kg), while males had average body mass (3.5 kg). Three other notable differences between males and females were evident. First, males grew more rapidly and for a longer period than females. We estimate that males attained full body mass at 9.8 years of age and females at 7.5 years. Second, males showed greater inter‐individual variability than females in growth rates and adult mass. Third, males gained about 20% above their baseline body mass upon becoming alpha, and lost that amount when they lost that status, but body mass in females was unrelated to social status. We also report preliminary data on mass and age of natal males at dispersal and mass and age at first reproduction for one female. The pattern of sexual dimorphism in ontogeny and inter‐individual variability in body mass in bearded capuchins suggests different competitive risks in the two sexes commensurate with a mating system characterized by female choice of mates in multi‐male, multi‐female groups. Am. J. Primatol. 78:473–484, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Molecular Mimicry of Human Cytokine and Cytokine Response Pathway Genes by KSHV

Four virus proteins similar to two human macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP) chemokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interferon regulatory factor (IRF) are encoded by the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) genome. vIL-6 was functional in B9 proliferation assays and primarily expressed in KSHV-infected hematopoietic cells rather than KS lesions. HIV-1 transmission studies showed that vMIP-I is similar to human MIP chemokines in its ability to inhibit replication of HIV-1 strains dependent on the CCR5 co-receptor. These viral genes may form part of the response to host defenses contributing to virus-induced neoplasia and may have relevance to KSHV and HIV-I interactions.
Determination of Short-chain Fatty Acids in Rat and Human Feces by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Electrochemical Detection

A simple method for determining short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in rat and human feces was developed using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD). A two-channel HPLC-ECD system was fabricated using an ion exclusion column and an electrochemical detector with a glassy carbon working electrode. Aqueous solutions of 0.1 mM HClO_4 and of ethanol containing 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone served as a mobile phase and a quinone solution, respectively. Peak areas for lactic, acetic, propionic, butyric, isovaleric, and valeric acids at a detection potential of −0.9 V vs. an Ag/AgCl electrode showed a linear relationship with the acid amount in the range 0.1 to 40 nmol. Standard acids at 4 nmol were determined ten times with relative standard deviations (RSD) of less than 2.0%. The analytical results of healthy human feces were measured within 35 min. RSD ( n = 5) in all SCFAs were less than 2.7%, and recoveries of SCFAs were more than 92%. The present method was characterized by reproducibility with the simple and rapid procedure without derivatization of analytes, and it has the potential for clinical and biomedical applications.
Forward Contracting and Selling Price Determination for a Retailer

To procure the electric energy to be sold to its clients, a retailer has to face two major difficulties. While buying electric energy, it must cope with uncertain pool prices or sign forward contracts at higher average prices. While selling electricity, it should handle the uncertainty of the end-user demand and the fact that customers might choose a different retailer if the selling price is not competitive enough. We propose a risk-constrained stochastic programming framework to decide which forward contracts the retailer should sign and at which price it must sell electricity so that its expected profit is maximized at a given risk level. The developed model takes into account the elastic behavior of end users with respect to the selling price offered by the retailer. A realistic case study illustrates the methodology proposed.
Crosstalk between Entamoeba histolytica and the human intestinal tract during amoebiasis

Abstract The protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica is the microbial agent of amoebiasis – an infection that is endemic worldwide and is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. As the disease develops, virulent E. histolytica deplete the mucus layer, interact with the intestinal epithelium, and then degrade the colonic mucosa and disrupt the extracellular matrix (ECM). Our research demonstrated that virulent parasites with an invasive phenotype display rapid, highly specific changes in their transcriptome (notably for essential factors involved in carbohydrate metabolism and the processing of glycosylated residues). Moreover, combined activation of parasite and host lytic enzymes leads to the destruction of the intestinal parenchyma. Together, these enzymes degrade the mucus layer and the ECM, and trigger the inflammatory response essential to the development of amoebiasis.
Building Domain Ontologies from Text Analysis: An Application for Question Answering

In the field of information extraction and automatic question answering access to a domain ontology may be of great help. But the main problem is building such an ontology, a difficult and time consuming task. We propose an approach in which the domain ontology is learned from the linguistic analysis of a number of texts which represent the domain itself. NLP analysis is done with GETARUNS system. GETARUNS can build a Discourse Model and is able to assign a relevance score to each entity. From Discourse Model we extract best candidates to become concepts in the domain ontology. To arrange concepts in the correct hierarchy we use WordNet taxonomy. Once the domain ontology is built we reconsider the texts to extract information. In this phase the entities recognized at discourse level are used to create instances of the concepts. The predicate-argument structure of the verb is used to construct instance slots for concepts. Eventually, the question answering task is performed by translating the natural language question in a suitable form and use that to query the Discourse Model enriched by the ontology.
A Transitivity Analysis of On-line Product Descriptions-A Case Study of Book Product Descriptions

Transitivity is a very important linguistic term in Systemic-Functional Grammar. Many scholars gradually start applying transitivity system into discourse analysis, especially in literature works, news and speeches. Taking the transitivity system as the theoretical framework, this paper describes the transitivity distribution of on-line book product descriptions by employing a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. It has been found that the occurrence rate of transitivity distribution, material processes and relational processes are the most frequently used processes; whereas, verbal processes and mental processes are the subordinate processes with lower occurrence rate; behavioral processes and existential processes never occur. This research testifies the feasibility and adaptability of the appliance of Systemic-Functional Grammar in book product descriptions and provides a new perspective for discourse analysis.
Periodic Pattern Mining – Algorithms and Applications

Owing to a large number of applications periodic pattern mining has been extensively studied for over a decade. Periodic pattern is a pattern that repeats itself with a specific period in a give sequence. Periodic patterns can be mined from datasets like biological sequences, continuous and discrete time series data, spatiotemporal data and social networks. Periodic patterns are classified based on different criteria. Periodic patterns are categorized as frequent periodic patterns and statistically significant patterns based on the frequency of occurrence. Frequent periodic patterns are in turn classified as perfect and imperfect periodic patterns, full and partial periodic patterns, synchronous and asynchronous periodic patterns, dense periodic patterns, approximate periodic patterns. This paper presents a survey of the state of art research on periodic pattern mining algorithms and their application areas. A discussion of merits and demerits of these algorithms was given. The paper also presents a brief overview of algorithms that can be applied for specific types of datasets like spatiotemporal data and social networks.