Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Cysteine Endopeptidase Isolated from Castor Bean Endosperm Microbodies Processes the Glyoxysomal Malate Dehydrogenase Precursor Protein

A plant cysteine endopeptidase with a molecular mass of 35 kD was purified from microbodies of germinating castor bean (Ricinus communis) endosperm by virtue of its capacity to specifically process the glyoxysomal malate dehydrogenase precursor protein to the mature subunit in vitro. Processing of the glyoxysomal malate dehydrogenase precursor occurs sequentially in three steps, the first intermediate resulting from cleavage after arginine-13 within the presequence and the second from cleavage after arginine-33. The endopeptidase is unable to remove the presequences of prethiolases from rape (Brassica napus) glyoxysomes and rat peroxisomes at the expected cleavage site. Protein sequence analysis of N-terminal and internal peptides revealed high identity to the mature papain-type cysteine endopeptidases from cotyledons of germinating mung bean (Vigna mungo) and French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds. These endopeptidases are synthesized with an extended pre-/prosequence at the N terminus and have been considered to be processed in the endoplasmic reticulum and targeted to protein-storing vacuoles.
Problematic Autoethnographic Research: Researcher’s Failure in Positioning

This article problematizes and discusses the “auto”ethnographical approach, which has recently become pervasive in research-oriented writings, to “tell the story of self and subject” in order to analyze wider cultural and social conditions. This method can be found in the remarkable array of a variety of disciplines in which scholars have explicitly and implicitly highlighted identity-related issues. One problem with this approach is its failure to recognize the ideological generalization in identifying the researcher’s position, with the risk of eventually becoming a neutral “truth through the researcher’s reality. ” This paper focuses on the crisis between history and memory in contextualizing a researcher’s collective identity, and the crisis between insiderness and outsiderness in research. As a researcher and writer, I apply my examples to the conceptual framework built in this study on the identity crisis of my life, struggles, and conflicts. Considering researchers’ struggles and conflicts in determining self with regard to the identity established in research, my impetus for writing this paper is to provide a roadmap that critically examines the contexts that should be considered when a researcher positions self in the study and writing.
Acetylcholinesterase reactivity in the frontal cortex of human and monkey: Contribution of AChE‐rich pyramidal neurons

Light and electron microscopic histochemistry were used to analyze the distribution of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the frontal cortex of macaque monkey and human. In prefrontal, premotor, prelimbic, and medial paralimbic areas, AChE reactivity showed a characteristic bilaminar appearance due to a combination of positive neuronal and fiber labeling in deep layer III and layer V. In addition, layer I contained dense AChE‐reactive fiber plexuses labeled throughout the frontal areas.
A qualitative study of success criteria in Norwegian agile software projects from suppliers’ perspective

This paper provides practical insights into the success criteria in agile projects in the Norwegian software industry. We conducted 32 interviews with practitioners working with agile projects. The findings revealed two fundamental differences that distinguish the perception of success in agile projects from that in projects that are based on the waterfall approach. Firstly, the evaluation is carried out on a regular basis after each increment. This regular and continuous measurement of success contributes several advantages, including greater commitment and involvement from the customer and a higher level of mutual trust between the supplier and the customer; and thus leads to better knowledge sharing and reduced task uncertainty. The reduction of task uncertainty provides more predictability about the direction of the project and better grounds for change control; not least, it allows room to consider multiple and subjective assessments by various stakeholders. Secondly, there is a stronger emphasis on customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is measured in terms of how quickly the customer obtains value from the project. The continuous assessment of success at the end of each iteration also has a significant, positive impact on the customer’s evaluation of the project outcome.
A Study of the Impact of Social Media Characteristics on Customer Adoption Intention of Social Media

Recent research on the factors affecting customer adoption of social media has been conducted by many scholars, but no research can be found to be carried out from the perspective of social media characteristics. The purpose of this study is to fill this void. Our conceptual framework incorporates customer adoption intention as endogenous variable and social media characteristics (information openness, participation, interaction, sharing, and connectedness) as exogenous variables. According to the 624 samples surveyed online, we had a data analysis by running the software of AMOS 7.0 and SPSS 17.0. Our findings demonstrated that information openness, participation, interaction, sharing and connectedness positively affect customer adoption intention. Keywordssocial media; social media characteristics; adoption intention
Microbial reduction of technetium by Escherichia coli and Desulfovibrio desulfuricans: enhancement via the use of high-activity strains and effect of process parameters.

Escherichia coli and Desulfovibrio desulfuricans reduce Tc(VII) (TcO(4)(-)) with formate or hydrogen as electron donors. The reaction is catalyzed by the hydrogenase component of the formate hydrogenlyase complex (FHL) of E. coli and is associated with a periplasmic hydrogenase activity in D. desulfuricans. Tc(VII) reduction in E. coli by H(2) and formate was either inhibited or repressed by 10 mM nitrate. By contrast, Tc(VII) reduction catalyzed by D. desulfuricans was less sensitive to nitrate when formate was the electron donor, and unaffected by 10 mM or 100 mM nitrate when H(2) was the electron donor. The optimum pH for Tc(VII) reduction by both organisms was 5.5 and the optimum temperature was 40 degrees C and 20 degrees C for E. coli and D. desulfuricans, respectively. Both strains had an apparent K(m) for Tc(VII) of 0.5 mM, but Tc(VII) was removed from a solution of 300 nM TcO(4)(-) within 30 h by D. desulfuricans at the expense of H(2). The greater bioprocess potential of D. desulfuricans was shown also by the K(s) for formate (>25 mM and 0.5 mM for E. coli and D. desulfuricans, respectively), attributable to the more accessible, periplasmic localization of the enzyme in the latter. The relative rates of Tc(VII) reduction for E. coli and D. desulfuricans (with H(2)) were 12.5 and 800 micromol Tc(VII) reduced/g biomass/h, but the use of an E. coli HycA mutant (which upregulates FHL activities by approx. 50%) had a similarly enhancing effect on the rate of Tc reduction. The more rapid reduction of Tc(VII) by D. desulfuricans compared with the E. coli strains was also shown using cells immobilized in a hollow-fiber reactor, in which the flow residence times sustaining steady-state removal of 80% of the radionuclide were 24.3 h for the wild-type E. coli, 4.25 h for the upregulated mutant, and 1.5 h for D. desulfuricans.
Differential activation of MAPK in injured and uninjured DRG neurons following chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve in rats

To investigate the intracellular signal transduction pathways involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms of neuropathic pain after partial nerve injury, we examined the activation of extracellular signal‐regulated protein kinase (ERK) and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) in the chronic constriction injury (CCI) model. The CCI induced an increase in the phosphorylation of ERK in predominantly injured medium‐sized and large‐sized DRG neurons and in satellite glial cells. Treatment with the MAPK kinase 1/2 inhibitor, U0126, suppressed CCI‐induced mechanical allodynia and partially reversed the increase in neuropeptide Y (NPY) expression in damaged DRG neurons. In contrast, the CCI induced the activation of p38, mainly in uninjured small‐to‐medium‐diameter DRG neurons and in satellite glial cells. The p38 inhibitor, SB203580, reversed the CCI‐induced heat hyperalgesia and also the increase in brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in intact DRG neurons. On the other hand, the nerve growth factor (NGF)‐induced increase in BDNF expression in small‐to‐medium‐diameter neurons was reversed by SB203580, whereas the anti‐NGF‐induced increase in NPY in medium‐sized and large‐sized neurons was partially blocked by U0126. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the activation of ERK and p38 and also the changes in NPY and BDNF expression may occur in different populations of DRG neurons after CCI, partially through alterations in the target‐derived NGF. These changes in injured and intact primary afferents are likely to have a substantial role in pathological states, and MAPK pathways in nociceptors may be potential targets for the development of novel analgesics.
Human Learning : implicit and explicit

Human Learning: implicit and explicit. Building on Polanyi’s insight in The Tacit Dimension that we know more than we can tell, this paper argues that we actually experience more of reality than that of which we are conscious. Our conscious experience becomes the basis of explicit learning but that which we experience but of which we are not conscious is the basis of implicit learning and tacit knowledge.
Hepatic lipase promoter C‐480T polymorphism is associated with serum lipids levels, but not subclinical atherosclerosis: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study

The common C‐480T polymorphism (rs1800588) of the hepatic lipase gene (LIPC) has been associated with high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease. In this study, we examined whether the polymorphism is associated with serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, as well as with subclinical atherosclerosis in Young Finns. The participants comprised 2041 men and women (aged 24–39 years) enrolled in the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study with complete data concerning the rs1800588 polymorphism and serum lipids concentration. All participants underwent an ultrasound examination for brachial artery flow‐mediated vasodilatation (FMD) and carotid artery intima‐media thickness (IMT) measurement. The marker of arterial elasticity, carotid artery compliance (CAC), was also calculated by means of ultrasound and concomitant brachial blood pressure measurements. In all subjects, serum total cholesterol (p < 0.001), HDL cholesterol (p = 0.006), apolipoprotein AI (apoAI, p < 0.001), and triglyceride (p = 0.009) concentrations increased according to rs1800588 genotype in the order CC, CT, and TT. The same order applied only to apoAI after adjustment for age, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diabetes, hypertension, contraceptive hormone use in women, and concentrations of glucose, insulin and C‐reactive protein in men and women separately (p = 0.007 and p = 0.003, respectively). The polymorphism was also associated with HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in women (adjusted p = 0.004, p = 0.007 and 0.02, respectively), but not in men (p was not significant for all). No significant association between the rs1800588 and brachial FMD, carotid IMT, or CAC was found among the entire study population or among women or men separately, with or without adjustment for the above‐mentioned factors. The rs1800588 is associated with serum lipid and apolipoprotein concentrations, especially in women, but does not seem to be a determinant of brachial artery FMD, carotid IMT, or CAC in young healthy adults.
A Case Study in Requirements Engineering in Context of Agile

Requirements Engineering (RE) in agile is an evolutionary process which involves active customer involvement, continuous planning, requirement reprioritization and validation through incremental product delivery. This paper describes a case study in requirements engineering in the context of agile. In particular, this study investigates the challenges and best practices in agile RE and demonstrates how agile RE is taking place in five software product companies. Furthermore, this paper describes a new approach to study agile RE practices based on difference in business model, where the end customer is a business entity versus a consumer.
An Approach for detecting and tracking oil slicks on satellite images

This paper describes the combination of several image processing techniques to achieve an approach to the detection and tracking of oil slick using satellite images taken after some accidents over the sea, as tanker accidents or oil rig explosions. This work attempts to be a contribution to such task. To get information about the shape and located of the oil spill, once it has been segmented and localized in the image, an active contour is generated around the oil slick and fitted to it. The use of active contours can provide an estimation of the deformation and the displacement that oil slicks experience over the time. This information could help to estimate the evolution of these residues dumped into the sea and to allow their tracking. Several ENVISAT-ASAR images obtained over several regions in which a tanker accident occurred, such as it happened over the Spanish, Philippine, Portugal, and Korean coasts, or accidents like the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, have been used as testing images of this process.
Rhesus macaque θ‐defensin RTD‐1 inhibits proinflammatory cytokine secretion and gene expression by inhibiting the activation of NF‐κB and MAPK pathways

θ‐Defensins are pleiotropic, macrocyclic peptides that are expressed uniquely in Old World monkeys. The peptides are potent, broad‐spectrum microbicides that also modulate inflammatory responses in vitro and in animal models of viral infection and polymicrobial sepsis. θ‐Defensins suppress proinflammatory cytokine secretion by leukocytes stimulated with diverse Toll‐like receptor (TLR) ligands. Studies were performed to delineate anti‐inflammatory mechanisms of rhesus θ‐defensin 1 (RTD‐1), the most abundant θ‐defensin isoform in macaque granulocytes. RTD‐1 reduced the secretion of tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), interleukin (IL)‐1β, and IL‐8 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated human blood monocytes and THP‐1 macrophages, and this was accompanied by inhibition of nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB) activation and mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Peptide inhibition of NF‐κB activation occurred following stimulation of extracellular (TLRs 1/2 and 4) and intracellular (TLR9) receptors. Although RTD‐1 did not inhibit MAPK in unstimulated cells, it induced phosphorylation of Akt in otherwise untreated monocytes and THP‐1 cells. In the latter, this occurred within 10 min of RTD‐1 treatment and produced a sustained elevation of phosphorylated Akt (pAkt) for at least 4 h. pAkt is a negative regulator of MAPK and NF‐κB activation. RTD‐1 inhibited IκBα degradation and p38 MAPK phosphorylation, and stimulated Akt phosphorylation in LPS‐treated human primary monocytes and THP‐1 macrophages. Specific inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K) blocked RTD‐1‐stimulated Akt phosphorylation and reversed the suppression of NF‐κB activation by the peptide. These studies indicate that the anti‐inflammatory properties of θ‐defensins are mediated by activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway and suppression of proinflammatory signals in immune‐stimulated cells.
Concept for using eye tracking in a head-mounted display to adapt rendering to the user's current visual field

With increasing spatial and temporal resolution in head-mounted displays (HMDs), using eye trackers to adapt rendering to the user is getting important to handle the rendering workload. Besides using methods like foveated rendering, we propose to use the current visual field for rendering, depending on the eye gaze. We use two effects for performance optimizations. First, we noticed a lens defect in HMDs, where depending on the distance of the eye gaze to the center, certain parts of the screen towards the edges are not visible anymore. Second, if the user looks up, he cannot see the lower parts of the screen anymore. For the invisible areas, we propose to skip rendering and to reuse the pixels colors from the previous frame. We provide a calibration routine to measure these two effects. We apply the current visual field to a renderer and get up to 2x speed-ups.
Mucosal tissue polyclonal IgE is functional in response to allergen and SEB

To cite this article: Zhang N, Holtappels G, Gevaert P, Patou J, Dhaliwal B, Gould H, Bachert C. Mucosal tissue polyclonal IgE is functional in response to allergen and SEB. Allergy 2011; 66: 141–148.
[Heliox augmented mechanical ventilation in the treatment of premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome].

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to assess the influence of mechanical ventilation with helium-oxygen mixture (heliox) on basic vital signs, oxygenation, acid-base balance and respiratory mechanics in newborns with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), previously treated with surfactant. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was carried out in preterm newborns with respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation due to RDS, requiring Fi02>0.4 after a single dose of surfactant. Patients were ventilated using PC-SIMV Parameters of mechanical ventilation, respiratory function, oxygenation, acid-base balance and vital signs were recorded at baseline, one hour during and one hour after heliox ventilation. RESULTS Ten newborns with RDS were enrolled in the study Mechanical ventilation with heliox did not affect vital signs and patient general condition remained stable during and after ventilation with heliox. Mechanical ventilation with heliox was associated with a statistically significant increase in tidal volume (mean 5.48 vs. 6.55 ml/kg). There were no significant changes in minute ventilation and peak expiratory flow rate. Mechanical ventilation with heliox allowed the use of significantly lower fractions of inspired oxygen (mean 0.55 vs. 0.35), with a significant decrease in the oxygenation index (mean 8.77 vs. 5.02) and alveolar-arterial oxygen tension difference (mean 263.81 vs. 113.28 mm Hg). After ventilation with this gas mixture was stopped, the patients required higher Fi02, 01 and AaD02 levels increased. CONCLUSIONS Mechanical ventilation with heliox was safe, improved oxygenation and caused an increase in tidai, volume in newborns with RDS previously treated with surfactant.
Wnt/β‐catenin pathway in the prefrontal cortex is required for cocaine‐induced neuroadaptations

Behavioral sensitization is a progressive and enduring enhancement of the motor stimulant effects elicited by repeated administration of drugs of abuse. It can be divided into two distinct temporal and anatomical domains, termed initiation and expression, which are characterized by specific molecular and neurochemical changes. This study examines the role of the Wnt canonical pathway mediating the induction of cocaine sensitization. We found that β‐catenin levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), amygdala (Amyg) and dorsal striatum (CPu) are decreased in animals that show sensitization. Accordingly, GSK3β activity levels are increased in the same areas. Moreover, β‐catenin levels in nuclear fraction, mRNA expression of Axin2 and Wnt7b are decreased in the PFC of sensitized animals. Then, in order to demonstrate that changes in the PFC are crucial for initiation of sensitization, we either rescue β‐catenin levels with a systemic treatment of a GSK3β inhibitor (Lithium Chloride) or inhibit Wnt/β‐catenin pathway with an intracerebral infusion of Sulindac before each cocaine injection. As expected, rescuing β‐catenin levels in the PFC as well as CPu and Amyg blocks cocaine‐induced sensitization, while decreasing β‐catenin levels exclusively in the PFC exacerbates it. Therefore, our results demonstrate a new role for the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway as a required neuroadaptation in inducing behavioral sensitization.
Decreased Hepatic Breast Cancer Resistance Protein Expression and Function in Multidrug Resistance-Associated Protein 2-Deficient (TR−) Rats

Multidrug resistance-associated protein (Mrp) 2-deficient (TR−) Wistar rats have been used to elucidate the role of Mrp2 in drug disposition. Decreased breast cancer resistance protein (Bcrp) levels were reported in sandwich-cultured hepatocytes (SCH) from TR− rats compared with those from wild-type (WT) rats. This study was designed to characterize hepatic Bcrp expression and function in TR− rats, using nitrofurantoin and pitavastatin as substrates. Bcrp was knocked down by RNA interference in rat SCH. Antibody BXP53, but not BXP21, specifically detected Bcrp knockdown in SCH. Bcrp protein levels were decreased markedly in TR− but not Mrp2-deficient Sprague-Dawley [Eisai hyperbilirubinemic rats (EHBR)] rats. Bcrp mRNA levels were decreased significantly in TR− livers as determined by TaqMan real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Biliary excretion of nitrofurantoin, a specific Bcrp substrate, was decreased significantly in SCH and isolated perfused livers from TR− rats compared with those from WT controls, indicating that hepatic Bcrp function is decreased in TR− rats. In Bcrp knockdown SCH, the biliary excretion index and in vitro biliary clearance of pitavastatin were decreased significantly to ∼58 and ∼52% of control, respectively, indicating that Bcrp plays a role in pitavastatin biliary excretion. Pitavastatin biliary excretion was decreased significantly in perfused livers from TR− compared with those from WT rats. In conclusion, expression and function of hepatic Bcrp are decreased significantly in TR− rats. The potential role of both Bcrp and Mrp2 should be considered when data generated in TR− rats are interpreted. TR− and EHBR rats in combination may be useful in differentiating the role of Mrp2 and Bcrp in drug/metabolite disposition.
A Clinical Decision Support System for Malignant Pleural Effusion Analysis

Pleural effusion occurs when fluid accumulates in the pleural cavity surrounding the lung. This condition is commonly caused by infection, but can also be associated with the presence of a metastatic tumor. Samples of pleural fluid are used to analyze the morphologies of mesothelial cells and can typically be used to make a diagnosis between benignity and malignancy. Atypical pleural effusion samples are not easily identified as benign or malignant due to a lack of differentiable visual features, and such a problem has a significant influence in clinicians’ decision making. In this paper, the goal is to develop a clinical decision support system (CDSS) using computer imaging and machine learning techniques for diagnosing atypical pleural effusion. The proposed approach involves four steps for analyzing slides of pleural effusion samples: image processing, feature measurement, feature selection, and classification. Processing and measurement of images produced a preliminary data set of 500 samples; each is described by 398 features. A genetic algorithm was applied for feature selection and identified a subset of 39 important features. The experimental results showed that the selected features can distinguish atypical nuclei as benign or malignant with a five-fold cross validation accuracy of 91%.