Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation with sodium alginate gel for repair of spinal cord injury in mice].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of sodium alginate gels on marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) in mice. METHODS In the present study, effects of different sterilization methods and concentrations of sodium alginate gels were examined. Marrow mesenchymal stem cells (mMSCs) were isolated from mice and cultured. Cells were cultured with sodium alginate gels and MTT assay was applied to determine the cell viability. Mice spinal cord injury was induced by spinal cord transection. mMSCs were transplanted into the cavity of injured spinal cord with sodium alginate gels. The effects of sodium alginate gel were assessed by BMS scales and immunofluorescence staining for NF-200. RESULTS Compared with liquid form, solid form sodium alginate gel prepared with high pressure vapor sterilization had a better effect on cell viability. SCI mice treated with 10 % sodium alginate gel and mMSCs achieved higher score in BMS scale as well as higher expression of NF-200 compared with the untreated SCI group. CONCLUSION Sodium alginate gel prepared with solid form sterilization induces mMSCs proliferation and thus can be used as the carrier of stem cell in treatment of SCI.
Efficient Acoustic Modeling Method for Unsupervised Speech Recognition using Multi-Task Deep Neural Network

This paper proposes a method of acoustic modeling for zero-resourced languages speech recognition under mismatch conditions. In those languages, very limited or no transcribed speech is available for traditional monolingual speech recognition. Conventional methods such as IPA based universal acoustic modeling has been proved to be effective under matched acoustic conditions (similar speaking styles, adjacent languages, etc.), while usually poorly preformed when mismatch occurs. Since mismatch problems between languages often appears, in this paper, unsupervised acoustic modeling via cross-lingual knowledge sharing has thus been proposed: first, initial acoustic models (AM) for a target zero-resourced language are trained using Multi-Task Deep Neural Networks (MDNN) – different languages’ speech mapped to the phonemes of the target language (mapped data) is jointly trained together with the same data transcribed language specifically and respectively (specific data); then, automatically transcribed target language data is used in the iterative process to train new AMs, with various auxiliary tasks. Experiment on 100 hour Japanese speech without transcripts achieved a character error rate (CER) of 57.21%, 19.32% absolute improvement compared to baseline (IPA based universal acoustic modeling).
There is an “app” for that: Designing mobile phone technology to improve asthma action plan use in adolescent patients

PURPOSE Asthma burden affects mortality, morbidity, quality of life, and the economy. Written asthma action plans are standard of care according to national guidelines, but these plans are often not prescribed. The purpose of this project was to develop an asthma action plan application for smartphones. DATA SOURCES A development studio was consulted for support in developing a smartphone application to code the software for the asthma action plan and assist in the design process. During development of the application, a survey was conducted to assist in design of the application and functionality. CONCLUSIONS All survey participants agreed that the application was easy to use, could be used without written instruction, and was designed for adolescents with asthma of any severity. Patients and providers mostly agreed that the app would help provide information about what to do in the event of an asthma exacerbation, and the application would be used frequently. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE There was consensus from both patients and providers that this application is not only functional but also helpful in the event of an asthma exacerbation. The project met the goal of designing a mobile phone application that would improve patient access to asthma action plans.
Analysis of SEU effects in a pipelined processor

Modern processors embed features such as pipelined execution units and cache memories that can hardly be controlled by programmers through the processor instruction set. As a result, software-based fault injection approaches are no longer suitable for assessing the effects of SEUs in modern processors, since they are not able to evaluate the effects of SEUs affecting pipelines and caches. In this paper we report an analysis of a commercial processor core where the effects of SEUs located in the processor pipeline and cache memories are studied. Moreover the obtained results are compared with those software-based approaches provide. Experimental results show that software-based approaches may lead to errors during the failure rate estimation of up to 400%.
The role and use of non-saccharomyces yeasts in wine production

The contribution by the numerous grape-must-associated non-Saccharomyces yeasts to wine fermentation has been debated extensively. These yeasts, naturally present in all wine fermentations, are metabolically active and their metabolites can impact on wine quality. Although often seen as a source of microbial spoilage, there is substantial contrary evidence pointing to a positive contribution by these yeasts. The role of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in wine fermentation is therefore receiving increasing attention by wine microbiologists in Old and New World wine producing countries. Species that have been investigated for wine production thus far include those from the Candida, Kloeckera, Hanseniaspora, Zygosaccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, Torulaspora, Brettanomyces, Saccharomycodes, Pichia and Williopsis genera. In this review the use and role of non-Saccharomyces yeast in wine production is presented and research trends are discussed.
Homologous membrane folate binding proteins in human placenta: cloning and sequence of a cDNA.

A preparation of folate binding protein purified from human placental membranes in the presence of a variety of protease inhibitors followed by deglycosylation with N-glycanase gave a sharp band at Mr approximately 28,000 following SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The deglycosylated protein bound [3H]folic acid as tightly as the native protein. Peptides obtained following digestion of the purified protein with staphylococcal V8 protease and HPLC purification were sequenced. Polyclonal antibodies against the protein preparation were affinity purified and used to screen a placental cDNA expression library. A full-length cDNA for a placental folate binding protein was thus obtained and the corresponding protein sequence deduced. This result, taken together with the peptide sequence data, indicates the expression of at least two homologous folate binding proteins in placenta, one of which appears to be identical with the folate binding protein from human milk and nasopharyngeal epidermoid carcinoma (KB) cells; the cDNA sequence obtained corresponds to the other protein. The deduced protein sequence is characterized by a putative 16-residue amino-terminal signal peptide that is cleaved, resulting in a 239-residue polypeptide. The mature protein exhibits two potential sites for N-linked glycosylation at Asn-99 and Asn-179, eight potential intramolecular disulfide bonds, and a stretch of hydrophobic residues at the carboxyl terminus that could form a transmembrane domain. The protein bears a 68% sequence homology with the KB cell folate binding protein and may represent a fetal folate transport protein. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Designing Perferable Virtual Worlds: An Analogy of Space

Based on an analogy of space, this study adopted two 2D-based web usability models, namely landscape preference model (LPM) and architectural quality model (AQM), to test their applicability in 3D-based virtual worlds. An exploratory crosssectional study with Second Life users was conducted and data were analyzed using a partial least squares (PLS) technique. The findings of this study demonstrate that these models have strong psychometric properties and explain a large amount of variance of the attitudes and perceptions of virtual world users associated with its usability factors. For LPM, except for significant legibility-affective appraisal path and insignificant variety-cognitive appraisal path, all paths in the original model were confirmed. For AQM, all relationships held except an insignificant external security-firmness relationship. Although further investigation is warranted, the findings indicate these models can successfully be used as theoretical alternatives to design usable virtual worlds. Key implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Real‐time measurement of cytosolic free calcium concentration in Jurkat cells during ELF magnetic field exposure and evaluation of the role of cell cycle

Extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF MF) have been reported to alter a number of cell signaling pathways, including those involved in proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis where cytosolic free calcium ([Ca2+]c) plays an important role. To better understand the biological conditions under which ELF MF exposure might alter [Ca2+]c, we measured [Ca2+]c by ratiometric fluorescence spectrophotometry during exposure to ELF MF in Jurkat E6.1 cells synchronized to different phases of the cell cycle. Suspensions of cells were exposed either to a near zero MF (Null) or a 60 Hz, 100 µT sinusoidal MF superimposed upon a collinear 78.1 µT static MF (AC + DC). An initial series of experiments indicated that the maximum increase in [Ca2+]c above baseline after stimulation with anti‐CD3 was significantly higher in samples exposed to AC + DC (n = 30) compared to Null (n = 30) with the largest difference in G2‐M enriched samples. However, in a second study with G2‐M enriched cells, samples treated with AC + DC (n = 17) were not statistically different from Null‐treated samples (n = 27). Detailed analysis revealed that the dynamics in [Ca2+]c before and after stimulation with anti‐CD3 were dissimilar between Null samples from each study. From the results, we concluded (i) that the ELF MF increased [Ca2+]c during an antibody‐induced signaling event, (ii) that the ELF MF effect did not depend to a large degree on cell cycle, and (iii) that a field‐related change in [Ca2+]c signaling appeared to correlate with features in the [Ca2+]c dynamics. Future work could evaluate [Ca2+]c dynamics in relation to the phase of the cell cycle and inter‐study variation, which may reveal factors important for the observation of real‐time effects of ELF MF on [Ca2+]c. Bioelectromagnetics 27:354–364, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
DIFFERENTIAL EFFECT OF 2-AMINOETHYL-ISOTHIOUREA, AN INHIBITOR OF THE INDUCIBLE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE, ON MICROVASCULAR BLOOD FLOW AND ORGAN INJURY IN MODELS OF HEPATIC ISCHEMIA-REPERFUSION AND ENDOTOXEMIA

ABSTRACT The vasodilator nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the regulation of systemic blood pressure and local organ blood flow. Inhibitors of the constitutively expressed nitric oxide synthase in endothelial cells (eNOS), e.g., Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (l-NAME), aggravated liver injury in a variety of models. On the other hand, inhibitors of the inducible NOS (iNOS), e.g., 2-aminoethyl-isothiourea (AET), were found to be beneficial during endotoxemia. The aim of this investigation was to study the effect of AET compared with l-NAME on liver microvascular blood flow and injury in more complex models with multiple insults, i.e., ischemia (20 min)-reperfusion (8 h) in combination with . 5 mg/kg endotoxin (IRE). Male Fisher rats were treated with 10 mg/kg AET or l-NAME and subjected to IRE. At 8 h, liver injury (plasma ALT: 1320 ± 164 U/L) was significantly increased in AET-treated (5,018 ± 1,379 U/L) and l-NAME-treated groups (2,429 ± 228 U/L). Each inhibitor attenuated microvascular blood flow (assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry) to a similar degree. In striking contrast, AET completely reversed the endotoxin-induced impairment of the microvascular blood flow and significantly protected against an endotoxin-induced liver injury (plasma ALT: 3,007 ± 268 U/L (ET); 460 ± 39 U/L (ET + AET)). Infusion of endothelin-1 reduced microvascular blood flow by 50–60% and caused liver injury. Our data demonstrated that an inhibitor of eNOS (l-NAME) has a consistent detrimental effect on liver injury during ischemia-reperfusion and endotoxemia mainly because it can cause additional ischemia by reducing the microvascular blood flow. However, selective inhibitors of iNOS (AET) can impair hepatic blood flow and aggravate the injury or improve blood flow and attenuate organ injury depending on the experimental model. These results suggest that iNOS inhibitors may not be universally beneficial and should be tested in a variety of experimental models of sepsis/endotoxemia before used in clinical settings.
ROBUST ESTIMATION OF TRIFOCAL TENSORS USING NATURAL FEATURES FOR AUGMENTED REALITY SYSTEMS

Augmented reality deals with the problem of dynamically augmenting or enhancing the real world with computer generated virtual scenes. Registration is one of the most pivotal problems currently limiting AR applications. In this paper, a novel registration method using natural features based on online estimation of trifocal tensors is proposed. This method consists of two stages: offline initialization and online registration. Initialization involves specifying four points in two reference images respectively to build the world coordinate system on which a virtual object will be augmented. In online registration, the natural feature correspondences detected from the reference views are tracked in the current frame to build the feature triples. Then these triples are used to estimate the corresponding trifocal tensors in the image sequence by which the four specified points are transferred to compute the registration matrix for augmentation. The estimated registration matrix will be used as an initial estimate for a nonlinear optimization method that minimizes the actual residual errors based on the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) minimization method, thus making the results more robust and stable. This paper also proposes a robust method for estimating the trifocal tensors, where a modified RANSAC algorithm is used to remove outliers. Compared with standard RANSAC, our method can significantly reduce computation complexity, while overcoming the disturbance of mismatches. Some experiments have been carried out to demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach. ∗ corresponding author 892 T. Guan, L. Li, Ch. Wang
Effect of sodium nitroprusside on growth and terpenoid indole alkaloid production in Catharanthus roseus hairy root cultures

Nitric oxide (NO) is known as a signaling molecule involved in elicitor‐induced defense responses of plants. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a donor of NO, stimulates catharanthine formation in Catharanthus roseus cells. 1 Two important terpenoid indole alkaloids produced in small quantities within C. roseus are vinblastine and vincristine which are being used clinically as anticancer drugs. We are interested in engineering C. roseus hairy roots to increase the production of the TIAs. The present work investigates the effects of treating different concentrations of SNP to the hairy root cultures from line LBE‐6‐1. The alkaloid concentrations were analyzed 9, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, and 30 days after treatment of SNP on day 0. We also studied the transient effects of SNP treatment during the exponential phase in C. roseus hairy roots. Analysis of the results showed that treatment of 0.1‐mM SNP did not affect the growth of hairy roots, whereas 1‐mM SNP suppressed the growth significantly, and 10‐mM SNP almost completely inhibited the growth of hairy roots. 0.1‐mM SNP treatment on day 0 caused a significant increase in the concentration of serpentine, catharanthine, ajmalicine, lochnericine and tabersonine production. SNP treatment on day 12 stimulated the formation of serpentine, catharanthine, ajmalicine, hörhammericine, lochnericine and tabersonine by day 21. After the initial stimulation, serpentine, horhammericine and lochnericine concentrations returned to the basal level by day 28. Treatment of 0.1‐mM SNP on day 0 caused significant decrease in the mRNA levels for TDC, ASA, STR, ORCA3, ZCT1, and Crgbf1 on day 23. Treating 0.1‐mM SNP on day 12 caused decreases in the expression levels of STR, ORCA3, ZCT1, and Crgbf1 on day 21 and day 28. Compared with day 28, the mRNA transcript of ZCT1 on day 21 is about twofold higher. Expression levels of G10H increased significantly. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 2011
Segmental isotopic labeling of ubiquitin chains to unravel monomer-specific molecular behavior.

Ubiquitination, the attachment of a 76 a.a. protein ubiquitin (Ub) or of a polyubiquitin (polyUb) chain to a protein target, is involved in a wide range of cellular processes in eukaryotes, ranging from progression through the cell cycle, to transcriptional activation, antigen processing, and vesicular trafficking of proteins[1]. Ub monomers are usually linked to each other via an isopeptide bond between the e-amino group of a lysine residue in the proximal Ub and the C-terminal Gly76 of the successive Ub also known as the distal Ub. Thanks to the seven lysines in the Ub sequence, polyUb chains can be formed of various linkages and lengths (e.g.,[2]). A central question in Ub biology concerns the molecular mechanisms underlying the ability of different polyUb chains to act as distinct molecular signals for diverse cellular events. For example, K48-linked polyUbs act as a universal signal for proteasomal degradation, while K63-linked chains serve as regulatory rather than proteolytic signals. The biological role and the structural and recognition properties of polyUb chains assembled through the other five lysines (6, 11, 27, 29, and 33) or head-to-tail are currently the focus of extensive research (e.g., [2, 3]). It is believed that the specificity in the recognition signal carried by each polyUb chain depends on the linkage type that defines the unique conformation(s) that the chain can adopt. [2] Uncovering the mechanisms that allow various polyUb chains to serve as distinct molecular signals requires the ability to make these chains with the native connectivity, defined linkage and composition, controlled length, and in sufficient quantities for structural/biochemical studies.
Large Animal Models for Stem and Progenitor Cell Analysis

Extrapolation of an understanding regarding hematopoiesis and, in particular, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from rodent models or in vitro human cell models to applications in humans has proven very difficult. This is not surprising, given the differences between rodent and human hematopoietic physiology and the lack of true in vitro assays for HSCs. Therefore, translational preclinical development of genetic and cellular therapies is dependent on the utilization of practical and well‐defined large animal models. This chapter will introduce the most commonly used model species, including macaques, baboons, dogs, cats, and sheep, and explain the particular advantages and limitations of each. Specific protocols for the support of macaques through ablative cell and gene therapy procedures will be included to introduce investigators to the types of resources and support required to maintain a large animal facility dedicated to high‐intensity experimentation, and also to introduce investigators to the types of procedures that are possible.
Mapping the Kidney Potassium Channel ROMK1

ROMK1, also known as Kir 1.1, is an inwardly rectifying K+ channel and is the prototypical member of the large Kir gene family. The accepted model of Kir topology predicts intracellular NH2 and COOH termini, and two membrane-spanning segments, M1 and M2, connected by an intramembranous pore-forming segment, H5. The sequence of H5 is similar in voltage-dependent K+ channels and features a strictly conserved GY/FG in its mid-region, which has been proposed as the selectivity filter of the pore. We have been usingN-glycosylation substitution mutants to map the extracellular topology of ROMK1 biochemically and have described several loci in H5 that were glycosylated. We now report glycosylation at loci Tyr144 and Phe146, which indicates that the signature GYG sequence (143–145) rather than being intramembranous is extracellular. The COOH terminus was predicted to begin at position 178, but contrary to the model, we observed that position 257 was glycosylated and surrounding positions at 199, 222, and 298 were unglycosylated. N-Glycosylation sequon substitution at the latter three positions abolished K+/Na+selectivity. Our results suggest a major revision of the topology of ROMK1 with H5 and the pore signature sequence now completely extracellular. The COOH terminus appears to form two additional membrane-spanning segments and to contribute to the ion conduction pathway.
Flavonoids and their properties to form chelate complexes

: The medical properties of naturally occurring compounds such as flavonoids have been well known for many years. However, the discovery that complexes of flavonoids with metal ions are more effective than free flavonoids changed the course of chemistry research. Flavonoids can be effective drugs because of their potent chelating or neuroprotective, radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory properties. Our paper is a literature review about flavonoids and their complexes which are generally used in medicine and pharmacy.
Saliva flow rate, amylase activity, and protein and electrolyte concentrations in saliva after acute alcohol consumption.

OBJECTIVE The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of acute alcohol consumption on saliva secretion rate and selected salivary parameters in healthy nonalcoholic volunteers. STUDY DESIGN Twenty-four volunteers (37.7 +/- 9.6 years, mean +/- SD) consumed 0.6 g or 0.7 g alcohol/kg of body weight (for women and men, respectively) in a soft drink. Saliva samples were collected, first (S0) before any alcohol was consumed, 45 minutes after consumption (S1) and, finally, 60 minutes after S1 (S2). Flow rates of both resting whole saliva and paraffin-stimulated (SWS) whole saliva were assessed. SWS was assessed for amylase, total protein, inorganic phosphate (PO4(3-)), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), and calcium (Ca2+) content. RESULTS SWS, but not resting whole saliva (in milliliters/minute), decreased significantly after consumption of alcohol. Amylase activity (P =.010) and the concentrations of Na+ (P =.000) and Ca2+ (P =.002) decreased significantly between S0 and S1. When SWS was analyzed for output, the total protein concentration (S0 to S1, P =.000; S0 to S2, P =.033) and amylase activity (S0 to S1, P =.000) decreased significantly. Further, the output of all the studied electrolytes decreased significantly as blood alcohol concentration increased. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that acute alcohol consumption causes a decrease in SWS flow rate. The decrease in flow rate also results in impaired output of total protein and amylase, as well as in a decrease in the output of electrolytes.