Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Daurichromenic acid and grifolic acid: Phytotoxic meroterpenoids that induce cell death in cell culture of their producer Rhododendron dauricum

ABSTRACT Daurichromenic acid (DCA) is a meroterpenoid with anti-HIV activities that is isolated from Rhododendron dauricum L. We recently reported that DCA is biosynthesized and accumulated in the apoplast of glandular scales attached on the surface of young leaves of R. dauricum. In the present study, we confirmed that a cell suspension culture of R. dauricum could not produce DCA and its precursor grifolic acid even after elicitation with methyl jasmonate and β-cyclodextrin. In addition, exogenous supplementation of DCA and grifolic acid effectively induced cell death in the same culture, with apoptosis-associated phenomena such as cytoplasmic shrinkage, chromatin condensation, and genomic DNA degradation. These findings suggested that DCA and grifolic acid are phytotoxic metabolites that have to be sequestered in the apoplast to avoid self-poisoning.
Lipid effect on the progress of artificial carious lesions in dental enamel.

The aim of the study was to examine the effect of enamel lipids on the rate of progress of artificial carious lesions in dental enamel. Lipids were extracted from cut halves of human tooth crowns. Artificial carious lesions were formed in both lipid-extracted and control halves in a lactate-diphosphonate system over 2, 1, 14 and 21 days at 37 °C. A twofold increase in lesion formation rate occurred in the lipid-extracted teeth compared to the normal teeth. The lipid component of enamel apparently acts as a diffusion barrier during the enamel caries process, and inhibits demineralization.
Intraoral Vacuum of Breast-Feeding Newborns Within the First 24 Hr

Objectives: To explore whether newborns born via Cesarean section have a weaker intraoral vacuum compared with those born vaginally and to determine whether a weaker intraoral vacuum is related to a delayed onset of lactation. Methods: For this prospective cohort study, 71 mother–infant dyads were enrolled and divided into birthing groups, vaginal or Cesarean. The newborn intraoral vacuum was measured via a tube placed alongside the nipple and connected to a pressure sensor during a breast-feeding session within the first 24 hr after birth. Onset of lactation was confirmed by maternal perception of breast fullness. The intraoral vacuum and its relationship with the onset of lactation were analyzed. Results: After adjustment for confounding factors, the peak intraoral vacuum was −19.50 kPa in the vaginal group, which was significantly stronger than the −13.78 kPa in the Cesarean group (p = .005). Additionally, the baseline intraoral vacuum in the vaginal group (−2.35 kPa) was significantly stronger than that in the Cesarean group (−1.18 kPa; p = .022). Strength of the newborn intraoral vacuum was associated with the time of onset of maternal lactation. Conclusion: Cesarean section may weaken newborns’ intraoral vacuum within the first 24 hr after birth. Stronger intraoral vacuum was related to earlier onset of lactation. Early intervention aimed at the weaker intraoral vacuum should be provided to promote the onset of lactation.
Progression of histopathological and behavioral abnormalities following mild traumatic brain injury in the male ferret

White matter damage is an important consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in humans. Unlike rodents, ferrets have a substantial amount of white matter and a gyrencephalic brain; therefore, they may represent an ideal small mammal model to study human‐pertinent consequences of TBI. Here we report immunohistochemical and behavioral results after a controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury to the sensorimotor cortex of adult male ferrets. We assessed inflammation in the neocortex and white matter, and behavior at 1 day post injury and 1, 4, and 16 weeks post injury (WPI). CCI in the ferret produced inflammation that originated in the neocortex near the site of the injury and progressed deep into the white matter with time. The density of microglia and astrocytes increased in the neocortex near the injury, peaking at 4WPI and remaining elevated at 16WPI. Microglial morphology in the neocortex was significantly altered in the first 4 weeks, but showed a return toward normal at 16 weeks. Clusters of microglial cells in the white matter persisted until 16WPI. We assessed motor and cognitive behavior using the open field, novel object recognition, T‐maze, and gait tests. A transient deficit in memory occurred at 4WPI, with a reduction of rearing and motor ability at 12 and 16WPI. Behavioral impairments coincide with features of the inflammatory changes in the neocortex revealed by immunohistochemistry. The ferret represents an important animal model to explore ongoing damage in the white matter and cerebral cortex after TBI.
Hepatoprotective and free radical scavenging actions of quercetin nanoparticles on aflatoxin B1-induced liver damage: in vitro/in vivo studies

Abstract The objective of present study was in vitro and in vivo evaluation of hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity of Quercetin nanoparticles (Q NPs) against toxicity induced by aflatoxin B1. The Q NPs were prepared using precipitation method. Hepatocytes were prepared by the method of collagenase enzyme perfusion via portal vein. The NPs were characterized in terms of size and morphology using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The level of parameters, such as cell death, ROS formation, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial membrane potential and cellular glutathione (GSH) content, in the aflatoxin B1-treated and non-treated hepatocytes were determined and the mentioned markers were assessed in the presence of Q NPs. The prepared NPs showed particle size of 52.70 nm with polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.18. In contrast to free Q, the administration of Q NPs more efficiently decreased the rate of ROS formation, lipid peroxidation and improved cell viability, mitochondrial membrane potential and glutathione level and showed a significant hepatoprotective efiect by reducing levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase. It is suggested that the Q NPs is a promising candidate for drug delivery, which enhances the hepatoprotective effect of Q against the cytotoxic effects of aflatoxin B1.
Reduced recruitment of 53BP1 during interstrand crosslink repair is associated with genetically inherited attenuation of mitomycin C sensitivity in a family with Fanconi anemia

The Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway is implicated in the repair of DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICL). In this process, it has been shown that FA factors regulate the choice for DNA double strand break repair towards homologous recombination (HR). As this mechanism is impaired in FA deficient cells exposed to crosslinking agents, an inappropriate usage of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) leads to the accumulation of toxic chromosomal abnormalities. We studied a family with two FANCG patients and found a genetically inherited attenuation of mitomycin C sensitivity resulting in-vitro in an attenuated phenotype for one patient or in increased resistance for two healthy relatives. A heterozygous mutation in ATM was identified in these 3 subjects but was not directly linked to the observed phenotype. However, the attenuation of ICL sensitivity was associated with a reduced recruitment of 53BP1 during the course of ICL repair, and increased HR levels. These results further demonstrate the importance of favoring HR over NHEJ for the survival of cells challenged with ICLs.
Energy efficient power allocation for cooperative communication networks

This paper discusses on maximization of energy efficiency (EE) of cooperative communication network. EE is the information rate that can be transmitted on a given bandwidth in a specific communication system achieved by normalizing the total power consumption. Two stages are examined for transmission of information through broadcast and retransmission. Multi-relay concept is used and the relay selection is done by opportunistic relay selection protocol which can be in distributed manner. This doesn't require global Channel State Information (CSI) at each relay or pivotal organizer in network, which reduce the burden in communication. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of the triple hop transmission using Amplify and Forward (AF) and Decode and Forward (DF). The results show that DF opportunistic has best performance compared to AF in triple hop transmission.
Myocardial reparative functions of exosomes from mesenchymal stem cells are enhanced by hypoxia treatment of the cells via transferring microRNA-210 in an nSMase2-dependent way

Abstract Hypoxia treatment enhances paracrine effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The aim of this study was to investigate whether exosomes from hypoxia-treated MSCs (ExoH) are superior to those from normoxia-treated MSCs (ExoN) for myocardial repair. Mouse bone marrow-derived MSCs were cultured under hypoxia or normoxia for 24 h, and exosomes from conditioned media were intramyocardially injected into infarcted heart of C57BL/6 mouse. ExoH resulted in significantly higher survival, smaller scar size and better cardiac functions recovery. ExoH conferred increased vascular density, lower cardiomyocytes (CMs) apoptosis, reduced fibrosis and increased recruitment of cardiac progenitor cells in the infarcted heart relative to ExoN. MicroRNA analysis revealed significantly higher levels of microRNA-210 (miR-210) in ExoH compared with ExoN. Transfection of a miR-210 mimic into endothelial cells (ECs) and CMs conferred similar biological effects as ExoH. Hypoxia treatment of MSCs increased the expression of neutral sphingomyelinase 2 (nSMase2) which is crucial for exosome secretion. Blocking the activity of nSMase2 resulted in reduced miR-210 secretion and abrogated the beneficial effects of ExoH. In conclusion, hypoxic culture augments miR-210 and nSMase2 activities in MSCs and their secreted exosomes, and this is responsible at least in part for the enhanced cardioprotective actions of exosomes derived from hypoxia-treated cells.
A novel structure of cascaded multilevel inverter with reduced device count

In this paper, a novel structure of cascaded multilevel inverter (MLI) is proposed. Each module of the proposed MLI consists of three numbers of DC sources and eight power switching devices. Each module possesses the capability of generating bipolar voltage level at its output terminals. Hence, the topology is analyzed for symmetrical and asymmetrical DC source configurations. Two types of asymmetrical DC source configuration algorithms have been proposed. As compared with existing MLI topologies, the proposed MLI requires lower components such as switching devices, driver circuits to generate specific number of output voltage level. This further reduces the size and cost of the inverter system. Extensive simulation studies of 7 level symmetrical and 11 level asymmetrical structures of proposed MLI have been done in Simulink /MATLAB. The different results of simulation studies prove the effectiveness of the proposed topology.
Algebraic approach for the study of algorithmic problems coming from cryptography and the theory of error correcting codes. (Approche algébrique pour l'étude et la résolution de problèmes algorithmiques issus de la cryptographie et de la théorie des codes )

McEliece's encryption scheme represents one of the solutions to the security issues that are raised by the possible arrival of quantum computers. The main objective of this thesis is to analyze the security of the McEliece varinats based on MDPC and polar codes. In the case of the MDPC based variant, we manage to reveal a subset of private keys that present an important weakness. We proposed an efficient algorithm that retrieves,for the set of weak keys, the private key given the public key of the system. Next we counted the proportion of weak keys and we used the code equivalence problem to extend the number of keys, that can be retreived with the aforementioned algorithm. We next studied the polar codes and their application to public key cryptography. From an information theory point of view, polar codes have been one of the most studied families of codes, ever since their discovery by Arikan. They are extremely efficient in terms of performance as they are capacity achieving over the Binary Discrete Memoryless Channels and they allow extremely fast encoding and decoding algorithms. Nonetheless, only a few facts are known about their structure. In this context, we introduce an algebraic formalism which allows us to reveal a big part of their structure. We exhibit a few fundamental traits of polar codes: the dual, the minimum distance, the permutation group and the number of minimum weight codewords. We also completely cryptanalyze the McEliece variant using polar codes. The attack is a direct application of the later results on the structure of polar codes.
A pathway toward smarter city: Build up the strategic application requirement

Since the smart city concept has been receiving much attention, the development of the smart city applications is also flourishing as a topic of researchers' interest. The absence of such an approach to deciding whether an application truly supports the smart city goal or not could potentially lead to misunderstanding. This paper, therefore, proposes a formulation of strategic direction which shall be considered in term of building the user requirement in the latter stage. There are two basic approaches currently being adopted in this taxonomy. The first, the static circumstances refer to the understanding of the smart city definition and building block. The second, the dynamic ones relate to the ability of the application for supporting the strategic regulation, drawing from both of local regulation and international standard. This paper also gives an illustration how this approach could be applied in the dentistry area, and consequently, provide a greater advantage.
Ivermectin activates GIRK channels in a PIP2‐dependent, Gβγ‐independent manner and an amino acid residue at the slide helix governs the activation

Ivermectin (IVM) is a widely used antiparasitic drug in humans and pets which activates glutamate‐gated Cl− channel in parasites. It is known that IVM binds to the transmembrane domains (TMs) of several ligand‐gated channels, such as Cys‐loop receptors and P2X receptors. We found that the G‐protein‐gated inwardly rectifying K+ (GIRK) channel, especially GIRK2, is activated by IVM directly in a Gβγ‐independent manner, but the activation is dependent on phosphatidylinositol‐4,5‐biphosphate (PIP2). We identified a critical amino acid residue of GIRK2 for activation by IVM, Ile82, located in the slide helix between the TM1 and the N‐terminal cytoplasmic tail domain (CTD). The results demonstrate that the TM–CTD interface in GIRK channel, rather than the TMs, governs IVM‐mediated activation and provide us with novel insights on the mode of action of IVM in ion channels.
Action potentials and frequency-dependent secretion in the mouse neurohypophysis.

The frequency-dependence of secretion of arginine vasopressin (AVP) from the mouse neural lobe in vitro was studied and found to be comparable to that reported for the rat neural lobe in vitro. For a stimulus train of 600 pulses, the secretion of AVP per pulse (i.e., facilitation) increased to a maximum at 20 Hz. Compound intracellular action potentials were recorded from the mouse neural lobe using optical recording methods and potentiometric dyes. These extrinsic optical signals reflect the true time courses of transmembrane potential changes (e.g., action potentials), and the action potentials recorded from mouse neural lobes had a duration of 5 ms; at half-maximum peak height. Optical recordings during repetitive stimulation showed that significant spike broadening occurred in each subsequent spike at 10 and 16 Hz stimulation. These data are consistent with a spike broadening hypothesis of frequency-dependent facilitation in the neural lobe. However, 4-aminopyridine, a drug which causes spike broadening in neural tissues by blocking potassium channels, did not produce an increase in secretion of AVP per stimulus from the mouse neural lobe.
Fatal Pericardial Tamponade by a Guide Wire during Jugular Catheter Insertion

This article is also accessible online at: http://BioMedNet.com/karger Dear Sir, Central venous catheters are widely used in patients with end-stage renal failure in whom blood access has failed or was not created sufficiently in advance to be functioning when replacement therapy is required. Cardiac tamponade is a well-recognized complication of central venous cannulation [1, 2]. Perforation of the heart may occur at the time of insertion, but may also occur any time the catheter is in place [3]. It usually manifests in patients when hemodialysis is started. So far, the reported perforations have been attributed to the catheter itself. Only 1 case of cardiac perforation with life-threatening pericardial tamponade due to the Seldinger guide wire was reported [4]. We describe a case of fatal cardiac perforation by a guide wire during right internal jugular vein catheterization. A 75-year-old woman having end-stage renal failure was admitted to the hospital and underwent insertion of Silastic twin catheters in the right jugular vein at the bedside [5]. With the patient in the Trendelenburg position, under echographic guidance we inserted two J-wires in the right internal jugular vein. After the second soft guide wire insertion, the patient developed profound hypotension and loss of consciousness. Ex-
Facial image de-identification using active appearance model

Nowadays, the task of preservation of personal data present in public audio-visual records becomes more important. This paper describes an image processing method for de-identification of visual personal data based on a facial image. There are many primitive methods with high robustness but image quality of de-identified data is usually very poor. The advantages of this proposed method include especially very good results in quality preservation of the original image data and the possibility of a partial image reconstruction from de-identified data. The main objective has been achieved by using Active Appearance Model algorithm tested on a created database with the overall success rate of automatic recognition tool around 0.8 %. The de-identified image data look also authentic and it is possible to determine the expression or gender of the de-identified person.
Firefighter Work Duration Influences the Extent of Acute Kidney Injury

Purpose We tested the hypothesis that elevations in biomarkers of acute kidney injury are influenced by the magnitude of hyperthermia and dehydration elicited by two common firefighter work durations. Methods Twenty-nine healthy adults (10 females) wearing firefighter protective clothing completed two randomized trials where they walked at 4.8 km·h−1, 5% grade in a 38°C, 50% RH environment. In the short trial, subjects completed two 20-min exercise bouts. In the long trial (LONG), subjects completed three 20-min exercise bouts. Each exercise bout was separated by 10 min of standing rest in an ~20°C environment. Venous blood samples were obtained before and immediately after exercise, and after 1 h recovery. Dependent variables included changes in core temperature, body weight, plasma volume, serum creatinine, and plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, a marker of renal tubule injury. Results Changes in core temperature (+2.0°C ± 0.7°C vs +1.1°C ± 0.4°C, P < 0.01), body weight (−0.9% ± 0.6% vs −0.5% ± 0.5%, P < 0.01), and plasma volume (−11% ± 5% vs −8% ± 6%, P < 0.01) during exercise were greater in LONG. Increases in creatinine were higher in LONG postexercise (0.18 ± 0.15 vs 0.08 ± 0.07 mg·dL−1, P < 0.01) and after recovery (0.21 ± 0.16 vs 0.14 ± 0.10 mg·dL−1, P < 0.01). Increases in neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin were greater in LONG postexercise (27.0 ± 20.5 vs 12.7 ± 18.0 ng·mL−1, P = 0.01) and after recovery (16.9 ± 15.6 vs 1.5 ± 15.1 ng·mL−1, P = 0.02). Conclusions Biomarkers of acute kidney injury are influenced by the magnitude of hyperthermia and hypovolemia elicited by exercise in the heat.
SWAP70 is a universal GEF-like adaptor for tethering actin to phagosomes

ABSTRACT We recently identified a key role for SWAP70 as the tethering factor stabilizing F-actin filaments on the surface of phagosomes in human dendritic cells by interacting both with Rho-family GTPases and the lipid phosphatidylinositol (3,4)-bisphosphate. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether this role of SWAP70 was general among immune phagocytes. Our data reveal that SWAP70 is recruited to early phagosomes of macrophages and dendritic cells from both human and mouse. The putative inhibitor of SWAP70 sanguinarine blocked phagocytosis and F-actin polymerization, supporting a key role for SWAP70 in phagocytosis as demonstrated previously with knock-down. Moreover, SWAP70 was recently shown to sequester the F-actin severing protein cofilin and we investigated this relationship in phagocytosis. Our data show an increased activation of cellular cofilin upon siRNA knockdown of SWAP70. Finally, we explored whether SWAP70 would be recruited to the immune synapse between dendritic cells and T cells required for antigen presentation, as the formation of such synapses depends on F-actin. However, we observed that SWAP70 was depleted at immune synapses and specifically was recruited to phagosomes. Our data support an essential and specific role for SWAP70 in tethering and stabilizing F-actin to the phagosomal surface in a wide range of phagocytes.
Measurement of Enamel Remineralization Using Microradiography and Confocal Microscopy

Tooth minerals are lost and regained constantly in a normal, human oral environment. Different methods have been developed to measure this gain and loss in enamel minerals; however, these methods deal with different problems, such as being time consuming or involving the use of X–rays. The aim of this study was to determine if remineralization measured in a thin enamel section (TS) by transversal microradiography (MR) can be reliably monitored by measuring lesion parameters (area, total and average dye fluorescence) on the same TS or on half a tooth (HT) with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Thirty–six human enamel specimens were demineralized for 96h, and then half of each specimen was covered with an acid–resistant nail varnish. Specimens were divided into three groups (12/group) and subjected for 20 days to a cyclic remineralization regimen with consisted daily of a 4–hour acid challenge, four 1–min treatment periods with 0, 250 or 1,100 ppm F dentifrice slurries (1:2; dentifrice:water) and 20 h in pooled, human saliva, at room temperature. Specimens were cut and analyzed by MR, then stained with a fluorescent dye (0.1mM rhodamine B) for 1 h and analyzed using CLSM. Both MR and CLSM detected significantly greater remineralization (p<0.05) in the specimens treated with the fluoride–containing dentifrices than in the specimens treated with 0 ppm F. Significant differences were detected between specimens treated witht the fluoride–containing dentifrices by MR and CLSM (HT area and total fluorescence). Statistically significant (p<0.05) Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between the MR and CLSM data: difference in MR mineral content (ΔM) versus HT lesion area = 0.71; ΔM versus HT total fluorescence = 0.70; ΔM versus HT average fluorescence = 0.61; ΔM versus TS lesion area = 0.88; ΔM versus TS total fluorescence = 0.63, and ΔM versus TS average fluorescence = 0.40. It is concluded that confocal microscopy in either TS or HT may provide valid surrogates (area and total fluorescence) for MR measurements in enamel remineralization studies.