Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strain differences in the distribution of NDP‐ase labelled microglia in the normal rabbit retina

Nucleoside diphosphatase (NDP‐ase) labelled microglial cells were examined in retinas of three strains of rabbit, the New Zealand White (albino), the Canberra Half‐Lop, and the Dutch Belted. The distribution in the nerve fibre and inner plexiform layers was similar in all strains. However, the outer plexiform layer (OPL) of Dutch‐Belted rabbits was completely covered with a population of non‐overlapping NDP‐ase positive microglia while the OPL of New Zealand White and Half‐Lop strains contained only occasional isolated cells. In the Dutch‐Belted strain the area covered by the processes of each cell was less in central than peripheral retina where the cell density was lower. In the central retina of the New Zealand White and Half‐Lop strains the cells covered an area similar to that of peripheral Dutch‐Belted cells, suggesting that they were at a low density and there was no hidden population of cells. This finding was confirmed by Griffonia simplicifolia lectin labelling. Therefore the data is consistent with there being a strain variation in OPL microglia. The intensity of NDP‐ase label in the IPL and GCL was less in the New Zealand White and Half‐Lop strains and although the intensity increased after retinal injury it never reached that of the Dutch‐Belted retinas. These variations in the intensity of NDP‐ase expression and the localization of microglial cells may be important in inflammation and also for CNS function. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sequence and temporal appearance of the early transcribed baculovirus gene HE65

We have identified the early transcribed HE65 gene by screening a cDNA library from polyadenylated RNA which was isolated at 1 h after infection of Spodoptera frugiperda cells with Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV). Nucleotide sequencing analysis of the HE65-specific cDNA clone reveals one open reading frame of 1,662 nucleotides from which a protein of 65 kDa in size can be predicted. The HE65 gene is located downstream of the late transcribed p80 gene and upstream of the homologous region hr4left, which overlaps the 5' sequences of the HE65 gene. An HE65-specific transcript of about 1,800 nucleotides is detectable 2 h postinfection and remains stable during the late phases of infection. RNase protection and primer extension analyses demonstrate that transcripts from the early start site of HE65 continue to accumulate from 2 to 48 h postinfection, even in the presence of aphidicolin. Furthermore, transcriptional analysis of the HE65 gene indicates a lower intensity of early transcription in comparison with the very early transcribed genes IEN, PE38, and ME53.
Optimization of Goal-Oriented Voluntary Movements

A four-segment biomechanical model and a control characterizing the action of the central nervous system (CNS) are used to investigate optimization of the postural stabilization process and the execution of voluntary movement. The point-to-point voluntary movement is optimized using different measures of performance (cost functions) in the time- and frequency domains. In particular kinematic measure (jerk) and an LQ-type measure are considered and compared. The results of the study show that jerk optimization is better suited for musculoskeletal systems in synthesis of voluntary movement. These results are consistent with the existing literature
A Seminal Vesicle Autoantigen of Mouse Is Able to Suppress Sperm Capacitation-Related Events Stimulated by Serum Albumin1

Abstract We studied the effect of a mouse seminal vesicle autoantigen (SVA) on BSA-stimulated functions of mouse sperm. Uncapacitated, capacitated, and acrosome-reacted stages of sperm were morphologically scored, and the cellular zinc content was examined cytologically in a modified Tyrode solution at 37°C for 80 min. More than 85% of control cells remained uncapacitated. Addition of 0.3% SVA to the cell incubation did not affect the cell status. Approximately 65% of cells were capacitated in the incubation medium containing 0.3% BSA. Only 30% of the cells became capacitated after incubation with 0.3% BSA and 0.3% SVA together. The decapacitation effect by 0.3% SVA could be subdued by more than 3% BSA in the cell incubation. Whereas BSA did, SVA did not cause removal of Zn2+ from sperm, but SVA could suppress the BSA effect. The tyrosine phosphorylated proteins in sperm were detected after incubation in a modified HEPES medium containing 0.3% BSA and/or 0.3% SVA at 37°C for 90 min. Whereas BSA enhanced greatly, SVA did not cause phosphorylation of proteins in the range of Mr 40 000–120 000. The BSA-stimulated protein tyrosine phosphorylation could be suppressed by SVA in the cell incubation.
Review of protocol stack development of Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network (UASN)

Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network (UASN) has become increasingly important, with numerous applications emerging from various areas such as commercial, environmental-research and defense. This paper provides a comprehensive view of current state-of-the-art in UASN by analyzing the research done by various communities. It briefly states the basics of underwater acoustic communication and cites advances in research and development at various layers of networking modules, namely physical, data link, network, transport and application layer. It also covers interesting new concepts of cross-layer protocol stack design along with requirement of network management protocols pertaining to UASN. Finally, various hardware, software tools and test-beds developed by prominent universities/research organizations are described. We also briefly provide information about the test-bed set-up at our laboratory at BITS -Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus.
The war on drugs--a peace proposal.

After nearly 10 years of escalation, the government assault on illicit drugs has proved to be a costly failure. We have all been paying the price in misdirected resources, social tension, violent crime, ill health, compromised civil liberties, and international conflict. The war on drugs is, in effect if not in intention, a war on drug users. The federal budget for the control of illicit drugs has increased more than eightfold since 1981, and more than two thirds of the total is devoted to the enforcement of increasingly harsh criminal laws1. These laws needlessly make criminals of at least .
Design as a Critical Tool in Bariatric Patient Care

Both men and women in the United States are roughly an inch taller and 25 pounds heavier than they were in 1960, says the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An increasing number are also overweight or obese. In fact, obesity has become an alarming epidemic with enormous implications for our health care system. A critical concern is the ability to care physically and emotionally for this segment of the patient population. Respecting patient dignity and delivering optimum clinical care are primary issues, as are establishing procedures for safeguarding the health and well-being of these patients and their caregivers. Design is a critical tool in the care of and the improved long-term clinical outcomes for bariatric patients; success mandates a three-prong approach to the design process: appropriate facilities and space, proper equipment and furnishings, and training and standardized care protocols. Together, these components ensure the ability of a health care provider to adequately care for all patients—including this newest and rapidly growing patient segment—with equality and dignity.
Scepticism with regard to reason

Until recently, philosophical scholarship has not been kind to Hume’s arguments in “Of scepticism with regard to reason” (A Treatise of Human Nature, 1.4.1). 1 Reid gives the negative arguments a pretty rough ride, though in the end he agrees with Hume’s conclusion that reason cannot be defended by reason. 2 Stove’s comment that the argument is “not merely defective, but one of the worst arguments ever to impose itself on a man of genius” (Stove 1973), while extreme, is not untypical. Many important books on Hume (e.g. Stroud 1977) simply ignore it, though this may be because it is difficult to find any trace of the arguments in the Enquiry Concerning the Human Understanding. 3 Furthermore, when attention was paid to the arguments, it was devoted mainly to the second of the two negative arguments Hume puts forward, and that argument was held to contain an elementary mistake concerning beliefs about beliefs (McNabb 1951).
Local Optimal File Delivery Scheduling in a Hop by Hop File Delivery System on a One Link Model

Many content distribution systems such as CDN and P2P file sharing have been developed. In these systems, file-type contents require downloads to be completed before they can be played and they have no value before the download finishes. Therefore, a user's satisfaction depends on the length of the service latency. That is, the length of time from when the user issued a request until the user received an entire file. Reducing the sum of that time is necessary for the whole delivery system to satisfy users and maintain dependability on system performance. We discuss a hop-by-hop file delivery system suitable for delivering file contents whereby the sum of service latency is reduced by using the request conditions. Moreover, we propose a file delivery scheduling algorithm for a one-link model given that the content request frequency is unknown. The algorithm is based on a local optimal strategy. We performed a characteristic analysis by computer simulation. The results showed that our algorithm performs at nearly the theoretical efficiency limit of the hop-by-hop system when the request frequency distribution of each content has a deviation.
Mechanism for Controlling the Dimer-Monomer Switch and Coupling Dimerization to Catalysis of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 3C-Like Protease

ABSTRACT Unlike 3C protease, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 3C-like protease (3CLpro) is only enzymatically active as a homodimer and its catalysis is under extensive regulation by the unique extra domain. Despite intense studies, two puzzles still remain: (i) how the dimer-monomer switch is controlled and (ii) why dimerization is absolutely required for catalysis. Here we report the monomeric crystal structure of the SARS-CoV 3CLpro mutant R298A at a resolution of 1.75 Å. Detailed analysis reveals that Arg298 serves as a key component for maintaining dimerization, and consequently, its mutation will trigger a cooperative switch from a dimer to a monomer. The monomeric enzyme is irreversibly inactivated because its catalytic machinery is frozen in the collapsed state, characteristic of the formation of a short 310-helix from an active-site loop. Remarkably, dimerization appears to be coupled to catalysis in 3CLpro through the use of overlapped residues for two networks, one for dimerization and another for the catalysis.
Molecular identification of the liver- and the heart-type fatty acid-binding proteins in human and rat kidney. Use of the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

The cDNAs of two types of fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) present in human kidney, previously described as types A and B, were isolated using reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) with human kidney mRNA and various sets of primers. The cDNA fragments were cloned and sequenced. Renal FABP type A and B cDNAs appeared to be completely identical to human liver- and heart-type FABP cDNAs respectively. In the second part of this study we demonstrated the presence of liver-type FABP in rat kidney by chromatography, e.l. i.s. a. and immunocytochemistry. The ratio and cellular distribution of the two FABP types varies markedly in human and rat kidney. Using RT-PCR we were also able to prepare and identify liver- and heart-type FABP cDNAs with mRNA from both male and female rat kidney.
Evolution of Deep Brain Stimulation: Human Electrometer and Smart Devices Supporting the Next Generation of Therapy

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) provides therapeutic benefit for several neuropathologies, including Parkinson disease (PD), epilepsy, chronic pain, and depression. Despite well‐established clinical efficacy, the mechanism of DBS remains poorly understood. In this review, we begin by summarizing the current understanding of the DBS mechanism. Using this knowledge as a framework, we then explore a specific hypothesis regarding DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) for the treatment of PD. This hypothesis states that therapeutic benefit is provided, at least in part, by activation of surviving nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons, subsequent striatal dopamine release, and resumption of striatal target cell control by dopamine. While highly controversial, we present preliminary data that are consistent with specific predications testing this hypothesis. We additionally propose that developing new technologies (e.g., human electrometer and closed‐loop smart devices) for monitoring dopaminergic neurotransmission during STN DBS will further advance this treatment approach.
Laser catheter coagulation of normal and scarred ventricular myocardium in dogs

Larger lesions would increase success rates of catheter ablation of ventricular arrhythmias. Therefore, improved radio frequency current application techniques, but also alternative energy sources, are being investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine morphology and dimensions of ventricular lesions induced by transcatheter application of laser energy.
Sharing results from complex disease genetics studies: a community based participatory research approach

Objectives. Dissemination of research results to communities builds capacity of the community to understand and utilize the results. The objective of this manuscript was to propose a culturally appropriate approach to disseminate complex disease genetics research findings in small Alaska Native communities. Study Design. The Center for Alaska Native Health Research is a community-based participatory research project (CBPR) directed at understanding the interactions between genetic, nutritional and psychosocial risk factors for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in Yup`ik Eskimos. Methods. We have consulted with regional healthcare providers, tribal leaders, and university-, local-, and national-institutional review boards to identify potential mechanisms for sharing population-based genetics research results or progress. Results. We propose a six step CBPR-approach to conducting genetics research in isolated identifiable communities. This CPBR-approach includes generating a common research question, determining community interest, recruitment, capacity building, sharing power and control, avoiding group harm, and development of culturally appropriate dissemination procedures. Conclusions. Research scientists and community members should both benefit from population-based genetics research. Although we are just beginning our discussions with regard to sharing genetics research progress and findings, we believe that it is essential move forward as co-researchers in the CBPR enterprise.
Community Photo Tagging: Engagement and Quality Study

With today's dissemination of digital cameras, running events are usually well-presented in various photo sharing platforms. The number of photos from one medium-sized race can easily exceed a thousand or two, therefore, it is a tedious task for a participant to find photos where he/she is depicted. Bibtaggers is a crowd-based service allowing volunteers (usually, race participants) to collectively tag photos with race bib numbers, therefore enabling fast photo search. The paper presents results obtained using the service, specifically, the quality of tags collected and the user engagement data. These results are also compared to bib tags collected with a help of Amazon Mechanical Turk using similar procedure but different (monetary) incentive.
Stabilization of Heavy Metals in Contaminated Sediments Using Organic Chelating Agents

A stabilization treatment for heavy metals in sediments was developed using the heavy metal chelators ammonium dipropyl dithiophosphate (ADD) and potassium diisopropyl dithiophosphate (PDD). The results indicate that 7% ADD and 7% PDD achieved Pb and Cu stabilization rates of up to 99%, Cd stabilization rates of 78% and 95%, and Zn stabilization rates of 21 and 51%, respectively. At pH levels ranging from 2 to 12, the amount of heavy metals in leachate from the stabilized product using the chelating agents were significantly less than those using Na2S and Na3PO4. After treatment, the chelating agents were mainly bound to the exchangeable fraction of heavy metals in the sediment and formed stable bonds with organic matter, thus significantly reducing the biological risks of heavy metals in sediment.
Plasma prolactin and glucose alterations induced by surgical stress: a single or dual response?

The neuroendocrine response to surgical trauma is a complex set of hormonal and metabolic changes evoked by anxiety, blood loss, tissue damage, visceral handling, and also by the anaesthetic drugs and procedures (Traynor & Hall, 1981). A useful approach to understanding the surgery-induced stress syndrome is to individualize these stressful stimuli in order to explore the specific effects of anxiety, anaesthesia or surgery itself on the endocrine and metabolic responses that are observed altogether. The relative importance of each element contributing to surgical stress should be better characterized in order to provide the rationale for improving the management of surgical patients. For instance, it remains unclear whether the physiological alterations induced by surgical stress are a single syndrome arising from the addition of several stressors or comprise parallel responses to each stressor, with some convergent end-points.
An integrated pricing and lot sizing model with reliability consideration

This paper addresses a production-marketing problem where the reliability of the production process can be imperfect and the inventory and the setup costs per production cycle are not known in advance. The proposed model of this paper simultaneously determines lot size, marketing expenditure, setup cost, inventory holding cost, and reliability of the production process. The demand is a function of price and marketing expenditure and the production unit cost is considered to be a function of lot size. The resulted problem is modeled in a form of nonlinear posynomial geometric programming and a closed form solution is derived. The implementation of the proposed method is illustrated using a numerical example.
On computing best fly

With growing popularity of online 3D shape databases, the problem of navigation and remote visualisation of large 3D shape models in such repositories is gaining prominence. While some recent work has focused on automatically computing the best view(s) of a given model, little attention has been given to the problem's dynamic counterpart -- best fly. In this paper, we propose a solution to this problem that extends on previous best view methods. Given a shape, we use its best views to compute a path on its viewsphere which acts as a trajectory for a virtual camera pointing at the object. We then use the model's geometric properties to determine the speed and zoom of the camera along the path.
jmbReview Nitric Oxide Inhibition and Procollagen Type I Peptide Synthesis Activities of a Phenolic Amide Identified from the Stem of Lycium chinense

Boxthorn (Lycium chinense Miller) belongs to the Solanaceae family originating from China and is now widely planted in subtropical areas such as Korea, Japan, and Southeastern Asia [1, 2]. Boxthorn fruits, leaves, and root bark are used in cooking and medicine [3]. The red-colored fruits contain several volatile, steroidal, and alkaloidal compounds [4]. These compounds have medical functions such as antihypertensive activity, inhibition of fatty liver development, and reducing the sugar content in the blood [5]. The leaves of one boxthorn species (L. barbarum) are rich in flavonoids that have radical scavenging activity, and antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and anticancer effects [6-8]. The root bark contains acyclic diterpene glycosides, cyclic peptides, sesquiterpenes, spermine alkaloids, flavonoids, and cerebrosides [4, 9]. Inflammation, a body defense mechanism, is generated by leukocyte migration into damaged tissues. Migrating leukocytes destroy injurious factors, which include physical, chemical, and microbiological toxins [10]. Generally, acute inflammation induces beneficial responses such as inactivation or destruction of toxic organisms, removal of irritants, and restoration of damaged tissues, whereas chronic inflammation and infection are recognized risk factors for a variety of human cancers, skin problems, Received: February 3, 2017 Revised: May 15, 2017 Accepted: May 21, 2017
Revisiting Source-Level XQuery Normalization

XQuery has become the standard for querying XML. Just like SQL, XQuery allows nested expressions. To optimize XQuery processing, a lot of research has been done on normalization, i.e., transforming nested expressions to equivalent unnested ones. Previous normalization rules are classified into two categories—source-level and algebra-level—depending on whether a construct is specified in the XQuery syntax or as equivalent algebraic expressions. From an implementation point of view, the former is preferable to the latter since it can be implemented in a variety of XQuery engines with different algebras. However, existing source-level rules have several problems: They do not handle quantified expressions, incur duplicated query results, and use many temporary files. In this paper, we propose new source-level normalization rules that solve these problems. Through analysis and experiments, we show that our normalization rules can reduce query execution time from hours to a few seconds and can be adapted to a variety of XQuery engines.
Ontology matching based on Probabilistic Description Logic ∗

A lot of attention has been devoted to probabilistic methods for discovering semantic mappings between ontologies. Despite impressive theory foundation, these methods usually require massive data instances to learn the mappings, which are not always available in practice. In this paper we present the Probabilistic Description Logic based Ontology Matcher (PDLOM) for discovering such mappings using the inference service provided by Probabilistic Description Logic (P-CLASSIC), which allows for computing the probability of a concept description in an ontology. Unlike other probability based approaches, PDLOM only needs a probability distribution over primitive concepts instead of massive data instances of all concepts in the ontologies. We propose to exploit a search engine to get the probability distribution required by Probabilistic Description Logic. We evaluate our algorithm and compare against the schema matching tool COMA++. PDLOM shows an average improvement of 6% in quality over COMA++. Key-Words: Ontology matching, Probabilistic Description Logic, Bayesian networks, Search engine, Page count