Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lanthanides Potentiate TRPC5 Currents by an Action at Extracellular Sites Close to the Pore Mouth*

Mammalian members of the classical transient receptor potential channel (TRPC) subfamily (TRPC1–7) are Ca2+-permeable cation channels involved in receptor-mediated increases in intracellular Ca2+. Unlike most other TRP-related channels, which are inhibited by La3+ and Gd3+, currents through TRPC4 and TRPC5 are potentiated by La3+. Because these differential effects of lanthanides on TRPC subtypes may be useful for clarifying the role of different TRPCs in native tissues, we characterized the potentiating effect in detail and localized the molecular determinants of potentiation by mutagenesis. Whole cell currents through TRPC5 were reversibly potentiated by micromolar concentrations of La3+or Gd3+, whereas millimolar concentrations were inhibitory. By comparison, TRPC6 was blocked to a similar extent by La3+ or Gd3+ at micromolar concentrations and showed no potentiation. Dual effects of lanthanides on TRPC5 were also observed in outside-out patches. Even at micromolar concentrations, the single channel conductance was reduced by La3+, but reduction in conductance was accompanied by a dramatic increase in channel open probability, leading to larger integral currents. Neutralization of the negatively charged amino acids Glu543and Glu595/Glu598, situated close to the extracellular mouth of the channel pore, resulted in a loss of potentiation, and, for Glu595/Glu598 in a modification of channel inhibition. We conclude that in the micromolar range, the lanthanide ions La3+ and Gd3+ have opposite effects on whole cell currents through TRPC5 and TRPC6 channels. The potentiation of TRPC4 and TRPC5 by micromolar La3+ at extracellular sites close to the pore mouth is a promising tool for identifying the involvement of these isoforms in receptor-operated cation conductances of native cells.
Inhibitory effects of α-pinene on hepatoma carcinoma cell proliferation.

BACKGROUND Pine needle oil from crude extract of pine needles has anti-tumor effects, but the effective component is not known. METHODS In the present study, compounds from a steam distillation extract of pine needles were isolated and characterized. Alpha-pinene was identified as an active anti-proliferative compound on hepatoma carcinoma BEL-7402 cells using the MTT assay. RESULTS Further experiments showed that α-pinene inhibited BEL-7402 cells by arresting cell growth in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, downregulating Cdc25C mRNA and protein expression, and reducing cycle dependence on kinase 1(CDK1) activity. CONCLUSION Taken together, these findings indicate that α-pinene may be useful as a potential anti-tumor drug.
Fractalkine/CX3CR1 induces apoptosis resistance and proliferation through the activation of the AKT/NF‐κB cascade in pancreatic cancer cells

Fractalkine (FKN, CX3CL1) is highly expressed in a majority of malignant solid tumours. Fractalkine is the only known ligand for CX3CR1. In this study, we performed an analysis to determine the effects of fractalkine/CX3CR1 on modulating apoptosis and explored the related mechanisms. The expression of fractalkine/CX3CR1 was detected by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. The levels of AKT/p‐AKT, BCL‐xl, and BCL‐2 were detected by western blotting. Then, the effects of exogenous and endogenous fractalkine on the regulation of tumour apoptosis and proliferation were investigated. The mechanism of fractalkine/CX3CR1 on modulating apoptosis in cancer cells through the activation of AKT/NF‐κB/p65 signals was evaluated. The effect of fractalkine on regulating cell cycle distribution was also tested. Fractalkine, AKT/p‐AKT, and apoptotic regulatory proteins BCL‐xl and BCL‐2 were highly expressed in human pancreatic cancer tissues. In vitro, fractalkine/CX3CR1 promoted proliferation and mediated resistance to apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. The antiapoptotic effect of fractalkine was induced by the activation of AKT/NF‐κB/p65 signalling in pancreatic cancer cells. The NF‐κB/p65 contributes to promote the expressions of BCL‐xl and BCL‐2 and reduce caspase activity, thereby inhibiting apoptotic processes. Treatment with fractalkine resulted in the enrichment of pancreatic cancer cells in S phase with a concomitant decrease in the number of cells in G1 phase. The present study demonstrated the function of fractalkine in the activation of the AKT/NF‐κB/p65 signalling cascade and mediation of apoptosis resistance in pancreatic cancer cells. Fractalkine/CX3CR1 could serve as a diagnostic marker and as a potential target for chemotherapy in early stage pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is characterized by local recurrence, neural invasion, or distant metastasis. The present study demonstrated the overexpression of fractalkine/CX3CR1 in pancreatic cancer tissues, indicating its important role in the tumourigenesis of pancreatic cancer, and suggested that the overexpression of fractalkine/CX3CR1 could serve as a diagnostic marker for pancreatic cancer. Moreover, we reveal the mechanism that fractalkine functions on the activation of the AKT/NF‐κB/p65 signalling cascade and regulation of the antiapoptosis process in pancreatic cancer cells. Fractalkine/CX3CR1 could serve as an effective therapeutic target of chemotherapeutic and biologic agents in early stage pancreatic cancer.
Tighter Generalization Bounds for Iterative Differentially Private Learning Algorithms

This paper studies the relationship between generalization and privacy preservation in iterative learning algorithms by two sequential steps. We first establish an alignment between generalization and privacy preservation for any learning algorithm. We prove that $(\varepsilon, \delta)$-differential privacy implies an on-average generalization bound for multi-database learning algorithms which further leads to a high-probability bound for any learning algorithm. This high-probability bound also implies a PAC-learnable guarantee for differentially private learning algorithms. We then investigate how the iterative nature shared by most learning algorithms influence privacy preservation and further generalization. Three composition theorems are proposed to approximate the differential privacy of any iterative algorithm through the differential privacy of its every iteration. By integrating the above two steps, we eventually deliver generalization bounds for iterative learning algorithms, which suggest one can simultaneously enhance privacy preservation and generalization. Our results are strictly tighter than the existing works. Particularly, our generalization bounds do not rely on the model size which is prohibitively large in deep learning. This sheds light to understanding the generalizability of deep learning. These results apply to a wide spectrum of learning algorithms. In this paper, we apply them to stochastic gradient Langevin dynamics and agnostic federated learning as examples.
Optic atrophy, neural deafness, and distal neurogenic amyotrophy; report of a family with two affected siblings.

BILATERAL optic atrophy 1-9 and neurogenic deafness 8-10 are rarely associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. However, familial occurrence of the triad of primary optic atrophy, acoustic involvement, and polyneuropathy was not clearly described until 1967, when Rosenberg and Chutorian 9 described three men in two generations of the same family with this triad of deficits. They deduced that this disorder belongs in the spectrum of spinocerebellar degenerations, the closest member being Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. We recently found another family in which a 25-year-old man and his 15-year-old sister, have chronic progressive optic atrophy, neurogenic hearing deficit, and neurogenic distal amyotrophy. This paper describes the clinical features in these two siblings. Report of Cases CASE1. —A 25-year-old man was admitted to the Neurological Institute, Kyushu University Hospital (KUH), in November 1968. Pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal period were uncomplicated. He walked at age 12 months. Mental and physical development seemed normal until
An 8-20-GHz wide-band LNA design and the analysis of its input matching mechanism

A wide-band low-noise amplifier (LNA) design is presented with -10 dB input reflection coefficient and 100-K noise temperature over the 8-20-GHz frequency range at room temperature. This LNA can be cooled down in a liquid helium cryostat to have 10-K noise temperature for the purpose of radio-astronomy application. To achieve its wide-band characteristics, a novel input matching mechanism is proposed, which combines the high-frequency inductive feedback and the low-frequency capacitive feedback. The recognition and comprehensive interpretation of this new input matching mechanism is crucial for future development of ultra-wide-band LNAs.
Streptococcus mutans Dextransucrase: Functioning of Primer Dextran and Endogenous Dextranase in Water-Soluble and Water-Insoluble Glucan Synthesis

The extracellular enzyme activities of Streptococcus mutans 6715 that synthesize glucans from sucrose were concentrated and partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and gel permeation column chromatography. Polyacrylamide gel analysis demonstrated that all of the major proteins precipitated by ammonium sulfate were quantitatively recovered in the high-molecular-weight, enzyme-containing aggregates found in the void volume of the gel column. Anion-exchange column chromatography was used to fractionate the aggregates into preparations, α and β, which produced water-insoluble and water-soluble glucans, respectively. Polyacrylamide gel analysis showed that α and β contained unique proteins and dextransucrase (EC 2.4.1.5) activities. Studies on the time course of glucan synthesis by α demonstrated that this enzyme preparation contained dextranase activity, which partially degraded nascent alcohol-insoluble glucan into alcohol-soluble products that were subsequently reincorporated into insoluble product. The β enzyme preparation contained no detectable dextranase activity. Mixing experiments in the absence of primer dextran demonstrated that the dextranase activity present in α could modify glucan production by β. CsCl density gradient analysis of product glucans demonstrated that exogenous primer dextrans were used as acceptor molecules by both the α and β enzyme preparations, and that water-soluble glucans synthesized by β could be converted into water-insoluble glucans by α. It is proposed that the structural heterogeneity of the native glucans produced from sucrose by S. mutans is a result of the concerted action of glucan-forming dextransucrases and endohydrolytic dextranase activity.
DNA Damage in Lens Epithelial Cells and Peripheral Lymphocytes from Age-Related Cataract Patients

Background: Oxidative DNA damage may be one of the etiologies of age-related cataract (ARC). We quantified DNA damage in lens epithelial cells (LECs) and peripheral blood lymphocytes of ARC. Methods: A total of 64 patients with different types of ARC and 23 control subjects were enrolled. Fresh LECs and peripheral lymphocytes were collected and DNA damage was evaluated by alkaline comet assay. The percentage of DNA in the tail of comets (%Tail DNA) and the olive tail moment (OTM) were calculated by CASP software. Results: The results showed the %Tail DNA and OTM in LECs and lymphocytes in the overall cataract patient group were significantly higher than those in the control subjects. The %Tail DNA and OTM of LECs and lymphocytes showed no differences among cortical, nuclear and posterior subcapsular cataracts. The %Tail DNA and OTM in LECs were significantly lower than those in lymphocytes but a significant correlation of the DNA damage was found between them. Conclusion: We concluded that DNA damage in lens and peripheral blood lymphocytes increased in ARC. The results imply that local and systemic oxidative DNA damage might play certain roles in ARC pathogenesis.
Etude d'un auto-oscillateur non-isochrone : Application à la dynamique non-linéaire de l'aimantation induite par transfert de spin

Les oscillateurs a transfert de spin (STO) sont des oscillateurs Radiofrequence nanometriques dont la frequence peut etre variee d'un ordre de grandeur. Cette forte agilite en frequence provient des proprietes non-lineaires de la dynamique de l'aimantation induite par le transfert de spin (STT) dans des multicouches magnetiques nano-structurees. Cette forte agilite en frequence a le desavantage d'induire une forte sensibilite au bruit. La purete spectrale des STO est alors bien en dessous des pre-requis pour les applications en telecommunications. Les principales proprietes de la dynamique de l'aimantation induite par le STT ont ete decrites simplement a l'aide de la theorie non-lineaire des ondes de spin. Cependant des informations importantes sur le mode d'excitation sont enfouies dans des parametres phenomenologiques tels que le couplage amplitude-phase NU et le taux de relaxation Gp. La determination de ces parametres avec precision est d'un interet primordial pour la description de la dynamique non-lineaire. Cette these decrit plusieurs methodes experimentales pour extraire ces parametres. La premiere est la spectroscopie de bruit depuis le domaine temporel qui permet l'extraction des Densites Spectrales de Puissance du bruit d'amplitude et de phase. Leur analyse dans le cadre des modeles theoriques permet non seulement d'extraire directement les parametres non-linaires mais egalement de quantifier le bruit de phase qui a un interet technologique. Ceci est demontre pour des dispositifs bases sur des jonctions tunnels magnetiques. La deuxieme methode est basee sur l'analyse des largeurs de raies des harmoniques du signal, ou il est montre que du fait des proprietes non-isochrones des STO, la relation entre Dfn et Df1 est non triviale et permet l'extraction de NU et Gp. Nous utilisons alors toutes les informations obtenues sur le regime autonome de la dynamique des STO pour comprendre leur dynamique non-autonome qui sont des pre-requis a leurs utilisations dans des architectures RF complexes.
Les créoles français sont-ils des langues néo-romanes ?

L’unique consensus pour definir les langues creoles est la prise en compte des elements sociohistoriques que R. Chaudenson (2003) designe comme constituant l’etat civil : le lieu (majoritairement des iles), la date (Le XVIIeme et le XVIIIeme) et les parents (les langues en contact). Les traits typologiques proposes ne semblent guere satisfaire les creolistes et il ne semble davantage plus facile de les classer genetiquement. En 1883 Adam Lucien designait le creole de la Guyane comme une langue Negro-Aryenne. Suzanne Sylvain (1936) puis Claire Lefebvre (1998) ont etabli une correspondance entre les langues africaines et le creole haitien. En 1936, comme pour prendre le contre-pied des travaux de Sylvain, Jules Faine defend la these opposee, celle de l’etymologie francaise, voire normande du creole haitien. En 2006, S. Mufwene relance le debat en posant la question du classement genealogique des langues creoles dans son article « les creoles : de nouvelles varietes indo-europeennes desavouees? » publie dans les actes du colloque Creolisation linguistique et Sciences humaines par les Presses Universitaires Haitiano-Antillaises. Cette situation dit a quel point il est difficile de definir et de classer les langues creoles. Elles semblent diverger de la lignee des langues parentes et apparaissent comme une categorie a part. Pourtant, F. Brunot (1935) n’hesite pas a classer les creoles francais dans la droite lignee de la langue francaise dans son « Histoire de la langue francaise », quelques 14 ans plus tot A, Meillet (1921) s’exprimait deja en ces termes : « Le creole de la Reunion ou de la Martinique est du francais imparfait […] Il subsiste toujours dans le systeme nouveau une portion notable du systeme ancien et le peu que le creole a de grammaire est de la grammaire francaise. » S’il est vrai que les creoles sont nes de contact de langues, le francais est lui aussi ne de contact linguistique. Or, -et c’est la la question que pose S. Mufwene (2007)- pourquoi cette difference de traitement entre ces deux langues ? Hagege (1998), Degraff (2003), Mufwene (2005), (2007) et Veronique (2007) affirment que ces positions sont dues a des applications dans le champ linguistique des theories neo-darwiniennes. Faut-il designer toutes les langues issues de contact comme creoles ou ‘reintegrer’, rattacher les creoles dans la droite lignee des langues europeennes (par exemple) ?
Implication of EBOT Kit in Kuwait’s Robotics Technology Learning and Innovation

Despite being one of the highest ranking countries with respect to GDP per capita, Kuwait has not yet made its mark in the world of technology and research. Researchers suggest that due to its diverse nature, Robotics education can have a significant effect in the research and innovation of a country. Therefore advancements have been made all around the world to promote robotics education. Despite of the efforts made in Kuwait, robotics education is still on hold. The paper discusses the issues and obstacles in the implementation of robotics education in Kuwait and how a robotics kit “EBOT” is making an impact in the Kuwait’s future education and innovation.
Value Retention, Service Life, Use Intensity and Long-Term Productivity of Wood Chippers as Obtained from Contractor Records

Acknowledging the absence of up-to-date empirical data on the value retention, service life and annual use of chipping machinery, in 2017 the authors surveyed the records kept by 50 contractors offering biomass chipping services. The machine fleet and operations in this survey could be taken as representative for most of Europe, where the biomass sector is well established and is facing further expansion. Data collection included the whole chipping unit, comprised of chipper, carrier and loader. Manually-fed units were excluded from the survey. The data pointed at a service life up to and exceeding 10,000 h and 10 years, which relieved any concerns about poor durability. Value retention was good, and may exceed that of other mainstream forestry equipment. Engine power was the main explanatory variable in any models to predict purchase price and productivity. The effect of this variable could explain most of the variability (>80%) in the purchase price and productivity data. Results also pointed at the essential equivalence in price and productivity between PTO-driven (i.e., tractor powered) and independent-engine chippers, once differences in engine power are accounted for. However, the distribution of purchase price between different components of the chipping unit was different between the two unit types, with the chipper accounting for a larger proportion of the total investment in independent-engine units. Machine power was also different, with most PTO-driven units being significantly smaller than independent-engine units, due to the limitations of existing tractors. Furthermore, half of the carriers assigned to a PTO-driven unit were subject to flexible use, i.e., they were not solely used for chipping work.
Optimizing MIMO multipoint wireless networks assuming Gaussian other-user interference

This paper shows how network information theory can lead to practical algorithms for optimizing multipoint wireless networks, whose transceivers are equipped with multiple-antenna elements. Modeling the other-user interference as colored Gaussian noise, it is demonstrated that network capacity can be realized using linear transmit and receive beamforming. Moreover, to optimize the mutual information for all the multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) channels, it suffices to consider a much simpler objective function that considers each data link in the network separately, treating all other transmitters as interference. This, in turn, leads to a network objective function, which fully exploits channel reciprocity, exploits MIMO channels, and simplifies the optimization of transmit beamformers across the network. A numerical example is provided showing more than an order of magnitude performance improvement over a conventional network.
Wheelchair Standards: It's All About Quality Assurance and Evidence-based Practice

This issue features an interesting case report on preventable burns in an individual with tetraplegia (1). This injury was secondary to wheelchair malfunction and a lack of backup to the equipment failure. This case underscores the need to ensure that safety features are addressed as technology is applied to rehabilitation and clinical care. As wheelchairs proliferate and become more sophisticated, it is crucial that safety standards for design and use also evolve. Standards need to be comprehensive (ie, they must provide a framework to guide research and development, promote safe and efficient design, and ensure the compilation of data that supports evidence-based practice and quality assurance. The requirements announced in 2005 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are an important step in the development of comprehensive standards.
Role of Lipid Rafts and Flagellin in Invasion of Colonic Epithelial Cells by Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli O113:H21

ABSTRACT Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) O113:H21 strains that lack the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) efficiently invade eukaryotic cells in vitro, unlike LEE-positive O157:H7 strains. We used a fliC deletion mutant of the O113:H21 STEC strain 98NK2 (98NK2ΔfliC) to show that invasion of colonic epithelial (HCT-8) cells is heavily dependent on production of flagellin, even though adherence to the cells was actually enhanced in the mutant. Flagellin binds and signals through Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5), but there was no evidence that either TLR5, the adaptor protein myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88), or the serine kinase interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase (IRAK) were required for invasion of HCT-8 cells by strain 98NK2, as judged by transfection, RNA knockdown, or inhibitor studies. However, pretreatment of cells with anti-asialo-GM1 significantly decreased 98NK2 invasion (by 40.8%), while neuraminidase treatment (which cleaves terminal sialic acid residues, thus converting GM1 into asialo-GM1) significantly increased invasion (by 70.7%). Pretreatment of HCT-8 cells with either the cholesterol-depleting agent methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD) or the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein significantly decreased invasion by 98NK2, indicating a potential role for lipid rafts in the invasion mechanism. Confocal microscopy also showed invading 98NK2 colocalized with lipid raft markers caveolin-1 and GM1. Interestingly, anti-asialo-GM1, neuraminidase, MβCD, and genistein have similar effects on the vestigial level of STEC invasion seen for STEC strain 98NK2ΔfliC, indicating that lipid rafts mediate a common step in flagellin-dependent and flagellin-independent cellular invasion.
Unusually slow temporal evolution of femtosecond four-wave-mixing signals in intrinsic GaAs quantum wells: Direct evidence for the dominance of interaction effects.

Four-wave-mixing signals from excitons in high-quality GaAs quantum wells show an unusually slow temporal evolution, in stark contrast to the behavior expected for a noninteracting two-level system. We show that Coulomb interaction effects, generally neglected in the analyses of four-wave-mixing experiments, dominate the signals by 2 orders of magnitude. Numerical calculations based on extended optical Bloch equations for semiconductors provide good qualitative agreement with the data.
Cigarette smoke exposure up‐regulates endothelin receptor B in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells: molecular and functional consequences

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Pulmonary arteries from smokers and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients show abnormal endothelium‐dependent vascular reactivity. We studied the effect of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on endothelin receptor B (ETB) expression in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAECs) and its role in endothelial dysfunction.