Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial properties, antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds from six wild edible mushrooms of western ghats of Karnataka, India

Methanolic extracts of 6 wild edible mushrooms isolated from the Western Ghats of Karnataka were used in this study. Among the isolates (Lycoperdon perlatum, Cantharellus cibarius, Clavaria vermiculris, Ramaria formosa, Marasmius oreades, Pleurotus pulmonarius), only 4 showed satisfactory results. Quantitative analysis of bioactive components revealed that total phenols are the major bioactive component found in extracts of isolates expressed as mg of GAE per gram of fruit body, which ranged from 3.20 ± 0.05 mg/mL to 6.25 ± 0.08 mg/mL. Average concentration of flavonoid ranged from 0.40 ± 0.052 mg/mL to 2.54 ± 0.08 mg/mL; followed by very small concentration of ascorbic acid (range, 0.06 ± 0.01 mg/mL to 0.16 ± 0.01 mg/mL) in all the isolates. All the isolates showed high phenol and flavonoid content, but ascorbic acid content was found in traces. Antioxidant efficiency by inhibitory concentration on 1,1-Diphenly-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was found significant when compared to standard antioxidant like Buthylated hydroxyanisol (BHA). The concentration (IC50) ranged from 0.94 ± 0.27 mg/mL to 7.57 ± 0.21 mg/mL. Determination of antimicrobial activity profile of all the isolates tested against a panel of standard pathogenic bacteria and fungi indicated that the concentrations of bioactive components directly influence the antimicrobial capability of the isolates. Agar diffusion assay showed considerable activity against all bacteria. Minimum inhibitory concentration values of the extracts of 4 isolates showed that they are also active even in least concentrations. These results are discussed in relation to therapeutic value of the studied mushrooms.
Robust fault estimation for stochastic Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy systems

Nowadays, industrial plants are calling for high-performance fault diagnosis techniques to meet stringent requirements on system availability and safety in the event of component failures. This paper deals with robust fault estimation problems for stochastic nonlinear systems subject to faults and unknown inputs relying on Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy models. Augmented approach jointly with unknown input observers for stochastic Takagi-Sugeno models is exploited here, which allows one to estimate both considered faults and full system states robustly. The considered unknown inputs can be either completely decoupled or partially decoupled by observers. For the un-decoupled part of unknown inputs, which still influence error dynamics, stochastic input-to-state stability properties are applied to take nonzero inputs into account and sufficient conditions are achieved to guarantee bounded estimation errors under bounded unknown inputs. Linear matrix inequalities are employed to compute gain matrices of the observer, leading to stochastic input-to-state-stable error dynamics and optimization of the estimation performances against un-decoupled unknown inputs. Finally, simulation on wind turbine benchmark model is applied to validate the performances of the suggested fault reconstruction methodologies.
Autism: Review of neurochemical investigation

The neurochemistry of autism, the most well‐validated childhood neuropsychiatric disorder, has been studied extensively over the past three decades. Autism is of interest neurochemically because it represents a relatively homogeneous disorder with a triad of social, communicative, and intellectual developmental disturbance. Because a sufficient animal model has been lacking and relatively few diagnosed people with autism have died, most investigation has been of peripheral fluids and tissues. The most consistent finding has been that over 25% of autistic children and adolescents are hyperserotonemic. However, after 29 years of investigation, the mechanism of hyperserotonemia has not been determined. Hyperserotonemia has been found to be familial. Elevated plasma norepinephrine has also been a replicated finding. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) opiate activity has been found to be elevated in two studies. Plasma cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) has been found to be elevated in autistic children. A high rate of nonsuppression after dexamethasone and blunted or delayed growth hormone response to L‐dopa have been found Abnormal cell‐mediated immunity has been replicated consistently in autism. Although several pharmacological trials have been conducted and shown promise in initial open trials, only “typical” antipsychotic drugs have shown replicable chronic ameliorating effects in double‐blind trials. However, chronic neurotoxicity (tardive dyskinesia) has also been revealed. Findings of morphological changes in the cerebellum have been replicated. Findings in need of replication include diminished platelet function, increased baseline CSF homovanillic acid, decreased nerve cell adhesion molecule serum fragment, blunted prolactin response to fenfluramine, amelioration of symptoms by naltrexone and bromocriptine, reduced electroretinographic (ERG) b‐wave amplitude, and morphological changes in the hippocampus, amygdala, and septal nuclei. In addition to refining and replicating past findings, future directions that may be fruitful include investigation of neurochemical aspects of platelet function, of interactions between monoaminergic systems, of phosphatidylinositides, and of pharmacological response to “atypical” antipsychotic agents and relatively selective serotonin receptor subtype agonists or antagonists.
Role of the Polymeric Ig Receptor in Mucosal B Cell Homeostasis1

Secretory IgA (SIgA) is the most characteristic component of the mucosal immune system and has long been considered the major protective factor that prevents pathogens from invading hosts through the mucosae. Recent studies, however, have suggested that complete immunity against a range of mucosal bacterial and viral pathogens can be achieved in the absence of IgA. Therefore, to further dissect the role of SIgA, we generated mice deficient in the polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR−/− mice). As a result of an inability to transport dimeric IgA to the secretions, pIgR−/− mice are deficient in SIgA and accumulate circulating dimeric IgA, with serum levels 100-fold greater than those observed in normal mice. Examination of lamina propria mononuclear cells showed that pIgR−/− mice had ∼3 times as many IgA-secreting cells as C57BL/6 mice. Further analysis showed that these cells displayed the differentiated IgA+ B220− phenotype and accounted for a 2-fold increase in the number of lamina propria blast cells in the pIgR−/− mice. Subsequent experiments showed that OVA-specific CD4+ T cell expansion following OVA feeding was not elevated in pIgR−/− mice. Furthermore, no differences in CD8+ T cell tolerance or induction of influenza virus-specific CD8+ T cells were detected in pIgR−/− mice compared with controls. Therefore, while SIgA is clearly involved in maintaining some parameters of mucosal homeostasis in the intestine, the mechanisms associated with its barrier function and the clinical consequences of its deficiency are yet to be identified.
Mechanism for Macrophage Activation against Corynebacterium parvum—Participation of T Cells and Its Lymphokines

It is well known that Corynebacterium parvum activates macrophages to produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF). It is suspected that the activation of macrophages by C. parvum requires T‐cell participation. The purpose of this study was to confirm that T cells participate in the activation of macrophages by C. parvum. TNF production in vitro from the spleen cells of BALB/c‐ + / + mice was abrogated completely by the pre‐treatment of spleen cells with anti‐Ia antiserum and complement, indicating that Ia+ cells are the source of TNF. TNF production was not elicited at all in BALB/c‐nu/nu mice. However, there was an increase in the number of Ia+ cells as well as an increase in the weight of spleen and liver. Supernatant from a culture of spleen cells stimulated with phytohemagglutinin‐P (a PHA‐induced lymphokine) made it possible for BALB/c‐nu/nu mice to produce TNF, associated with an induction of Lyt‐1+ cells and Lyt‐2+ cells. However, treatment with the lymphokine did not augment the increases of Ia+ cells or liver and spleen weights. These results suggest that increasing the number of Ia+ cells is not sufficient to bring about TNF production; Ia+ cells must also be stimulated by T cells or T‐cell lymphokines in order to produce TNF. These results suggest that T cells play an essential role in the activation of Ia+ cells against C. parvum.
Spike timing plays a key role in synapse elimination at the neuromuscular junction

Nerve impulse activity produces both developmental and adult plastic changes in neural networks. For development, however, its precise role and the mechanisms involved remain elusive. Using the classic model of synapse competition and elimination at newly formed neuromuscular junctions, we asked whether spike timing is the instructive signal at inputs competing for synaptic space. Using a rat strain whose soleus muscle is innervated by two nerves, we chronically evoked different temporal spike patterns in the two nerves during synapse formation in the adult. We found that asynchronous activity imposed upon the two nerves promotes synapse elimination, provided that their relative spikes are separated by 25 ms or more; remarkably, this elimination occurs even though an equal number of spikes were evoked in the competing axons. On the other hand, when spikes are separated by 20 ms or less, activity is perceived as synchronous, and elimination is prevented. Thus, in development, as in adult plasticity, precise spike timing plays an instructive role in synaptic modification.
Tobacco addiction and pharmacological interventions

Even though its health consequences are well known, tobacco use continues to kill millions of smokers worldwide every year. In the US alone, tobacco use kills > 430,000 people each year. The global mortality toll is approximately 5 million annually and this is increasing. It is the powerful grip of tobacco addiction that sustains high levels of daily smoke intake and persistent smoking, with > 90% of all cigarette smokers who quit, resuming smoking within 1 year. Tobacco addiction, which places tremendous health and economic burdens on individual societies, is also becoming a global epidemic. Although tobacco addiction is a complex phenomenon, it is treatable and several effective medications are now available. In the mid-1980s, the US FDA approved nicotine gum, the first of these effective pharmacological aids. Other effective medications have subsequently become available, including nicotine transdermal patches, nasal spray, oral vapour inhaler, sublingual nicotine tablets and bupropion. These medications and the potential for development of new medications will be reviewed.
Rescue endoscopic bleeding control for nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage using clipping and detachable snaring

Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal (UGI) bleeding recurs after appropriate endoscopic therapy in 10 % – 15 % of cases. The mortality rate can be as high as 25 % when bleeding recurs, but there is no consensus about the best modality for endoscopic re-treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate clipping and detachable snaring (CDS) for rescue endoscopic control of nonvariceal UGI hemorrhage. We report a case series of seven patients from a Korean tertiary center who underwent endoscopic hemostasis using the combined method of detachable snares with hemoclips. The success rate of endoscopic hemostasis with CDS was 86 %: six of the seven patients who had experienced primary endoscopic treatment failure or recurrent bleeding after endoscopic hemostasis were treated successfully. In conclusion, rescue endoscopic bleeding control by means of CDS is an option for controlling nonvariceal UGI bleeding when no other method of endoscopic treatment for recurrent bleeding and primary hemostatic failure is possible.
Excited charm mesons in semileptonic B-bar decay and their contributions to a Bjorken sum rule.

It has recently been shown that hadrons containing a single heavy quark exhibit a new flavor-spin symmetry of QCD. We exploit this symmetry to obtain model-independent predictions for the 14 form factors in weak decays from the ground-state pseudoscalar meson {ital P}{sub {ital Q}{ital i}} of a heavy quark {ital Q}{sub {ital i}} to the low-lying positive-parity excited states of a heavy quark {ital Q}{sub {ital j}} in terms of two universal functions of momentum transfer. These predictions are of interest in the study of {ital {bar B}}{r arrow}{ital D}{sub 2}{sup *}(2460), {ital D}{sub 1}(2420), {ital D}{sub 1}({similar to}2360), and {ital D}{sub 0}{sup *}({similar to}2360) semileptonic decays. We also discuss the connection between these results and the slope of the function {xi} (which determines the {ital {bar B}}{r arrow}{ital D} and {ital {bar B}}{r arrow}{ital D}{sup *} transition form factors) given by a heavy-quark sum rule suggested by Bjorken.
Markers of oxidative damage of nucleic acids and proteins among workers exposed to TiO2 (nano) particles

Objective The use of nanotechnology is growing enormously and occupational physicians have an increasing interest in evaluating potential hazards and finding biomarkers of effect in workers exposed to nanoparticles. Methods A study was carried out with 36 workers exposed to (nano)TiO2 pigment and 45 controls. Condensate (EBC) titanium and markers of oxidation of nucleic acids (including 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), 8-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHG), 5-hydroxymethyl uracil (5-OHMeU)) and proteins (such as o-tyrosine (o-Tyr), 3-chlorotyrosine (3-ClTyr) and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NOTyr)) were analysed from samples of their exhaled breath. Results In the production workshops, the median total mass 2012 and 2013 TiO2 concentrations were 0.65 and 0.40 mg/m3, respectively. The median numbers of concentrations measured by the scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and aerodynamic particle sizer (APS) were 1.98×104 and 2.32×104 particles/cm3, respectively; and about 80% of those particles were smaller than 100 nm in diameter. In the research workspace, lower aerosol concentrations (0.16 mg/m3 and 1.32×104 particles/cm3) were found. Titanium in the EBC was significantly higher in production workers (p<0.001) than in research workers and unexposed controls. Accordingly, most EBC oxidative stress markers, including in the preshift samples, were higher in production workers than in the two other groups. Multiple regression analysis confirmed an association between the production of TiO2 and the levels of studied biomarkers. Conclusions The concentration of titanium in EBC may serve as a direct exposure marker in workers producing TiO2 pigment; the markers of oxidative stress reflect the local biological effect of (nano)TiO2 in the respiratory tract of the exposed workers.
Joint Hyperspectral Superresolution and Unmixing With Interactive Feedback

This paper presents an interactive feedback scheme of spatial resolution enhancement and spectral unmixing in hyperspectral imaging. Traditionally spatial resolution enhancement and spectral unmixing operations have been carried out separately, often in series. In such sequential processing, spatially enhanced hyperspectral images (HSIs) may introduce distortion in spectral fidelity making spectral unmixing results unreliable, or vice versa. Since both high- and low-resolution HSIs have the same endmembers, the deviation in spectral unmixing between targets and estimated high-resolution HSIs can be used as feedback to control spatial resolution enhancement. The spatial difference before and after unmixing can also be used as feedback to enhance spectral unmixing. Therefore, spectral unmixing is utilized as a constraint to spatial resolution enhancement, while spatial resolution enhancement helps improve spectral unmixing results. The performance of spatial resolution enhancement and spectral unmixing can be improved since one behaves like a prior to the other. Experimental results on both simulated and real HSI data sets demonstrate that the proposed interactive feedback scheme simultaneously achieved spatial resolution enhancement and spectral unmixing fidelity. This paper is an extended version of the previous work.
Characterization of lymphocytic infiltrates in progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: Co-localization of CD8+ T cells with JCV-infected glial cells

We characterized inflammatory infiltrates in archival brain biopsy and autopsy samples from 26 HIV+ and 20 HIV− patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). The predominant inflammatory cells were CD8+ T lymphocytes. We defined CD8+ T cell distribution with regard to JCV-infected glial cells, PML lesions and the extent of demyelination. In most samples from either HIV+ and HIV− patients, we found positive correlations between the parenchymal CD8+ T cells and JCV-infected glial cells and conversely, negative correlations between the perivascular CD8+ T cells and JCV-infected glial cells in the surrounding brain. Most of these correlations remained significant after accounting for the degree of demyelination and location of the cells relative to lesions. Moreover, high numbers of CD8+ T cells were found within and at the border of active PML lesions. These results suggest that CD8+ T cells are primarily associated with JCV-infected glial cells in most PML cases and that an active ongoing recruitment of CD8+ T cells and possibly viral antigen-specific retention could occur. These observations are discussed in the context of the recent evidence of PML in multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s patients treated with natalizumab, underscoring the role of CD8+ T lymphocytes in continued immunosurveillance of the CNS.
Epilepsy‐related Injuries

Summary: Only one prospective, controlled study has compared the risk of accidental injury in persons with epilepsy to controls without seizures. A mildly increased risk in the epilepsy group was found, predominantly due to injuries that result directly from a seizure. With regard to injury type, this study found significantly higher rates of only head and soft tissue injury; however, most injuries were minor. Several retrospective, population‐based studies have suggested increased rates of more serious injury types. Submersion injury has a high mortality; the risk of submersion in children with epilepsy is 7.5–13.9 fold higher than in the general population. The risk of fracture is elevated approximately twofold, either resulting directly from seizure‐induced injury or predisposed by drug‐induced reduction in bone mineral density. Burns due to seizures account for between 1.6% and 3.7% of burn unit admissions. The risk of motor vehicle accidents in drivers with epilepsy also appears increased, albeit marginally.
Hemodynamic and Analgesic Effects of Clonidine Added Repetitively to Continuous Epidural and Spinal Blocks

Clonidine in spinal and epidural blocks prolongs anesthesia, but can cause hypotension and bradycardia.The aim of our study was to compare hemodynamic and analgesic effects of spinal versus epidural clonidine alone and after repetitive dosing. In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study, we evaluated 40 patients scheduled for lower extremity orthopedic surgery under continuous spinal or epidural anesthesia with bupivacaine 0.5% (initial dose 5 mg and 50 mg, respectively). In either spinal or epidural technique one-half of patients received clonidine (150 micro gram) in addition to bupivacaine. Repeat doses of the same anesthetic mixture were allowed in cases of subsequent pain. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate were recorded for 6 h after each injection. Duration of clinically useful anesthesia was defined as the time from drug administration to first sensation of pain. Intrathecal, but not epidural, clonidine decreased MAP significantly compared with bupivacaine alone. MAP after intrathecal clonidine with bupivacaine was lower than epidural clonidine with bupivacaine 5 and 6 h after injection. Repetitive administration caused no further decrease in MAP. Onset time required to surgical anesthesia (sensory block of T11) did not differ among the four groups. Duration of spinal and epidural anesthesia was increased more than two fold by clonidine. In summary, the addition of clonidine prolongs analgesia by either route. These results may be explained by clonidine's sites of action in hemodynamic control and the density of bupivacaine-induced block. (Anesth Analg 1995;80:322-7)
Evidence for a new locus for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (RP23).

PURPOSE X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) is a degenerative disease of the retina characterized in the early stages of disease by night blindness as a result of rod photoreceptor loss, progressing to severe disease with loss of central vision by the third decade in affected males. XLRP displays exceptional genetic heterogeneity, with five reported loci on the human X-chromosome. To investigate the level of heterogeneity for XLRP in the patient pool in the current study, extensive haplotype analysis, linkage analysis, and mutation screening were performed. METHODS Haplotype analysis of a family with diagnosed XLRP was scored with more than 34 polymorphic markers spanning the entire X-chromosome, including regions already identified as harboring XLRP genes and retina-specific genes. Two-point and multipoint lod scores were calculated. Affected male DNA was amplified with primers specific for the retinoschisis gene (XLRS1), and the products were screened for nucleic acid alterations by direct automated sequencing. RESULTS In this article haplotype and linkage data are presented identifying a new locus for XLRP on the short arm of the X-chromosome, distinct from previously reported gene localizations for XLRP. The phenotype is atypical, in that the onset of vision loss in the male members of this family is unusually early, and female obligate carriers have normal fundi and waveforms. Informative recombination events in this family define a locus for XLRP (RP23) on Xp22 between the markers DXS1223 and DXS7161, spanning approximately 15 cM. A maximum lod score of 2.1 was calculated for the locus order DXS7103-8 cM-(RP23/DXS1224)-4 cM-DXS999. This new locus (RP23) encompasses the retinoschisis disease gene; therefore, XLRS1 was screened for a mutation. No sequence alteration was identified indicating that mutations in the coding region of the gene responsible for retinoschisis do not cause RP23. CONCLUSIONS The results describe evidence for a new locus for XLRP (RP23), adding to the established genetic heterogeneity for this disease and the number of genes expressed in ocular tissue residing on the X-chromosome.