pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Mitochondria as the target for mildronate's protective effects in azidothymidine (AZT)-induced toxicity of isolated rat liver mitochondria

Previously mildronate, an aza-butyrobetaine derivative, was shown to be a cytoprotective drug, through its mechanism of action of inhibition of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1, thus protecting mitochondria from long-chain fatty acid accumulation and subsequent damage. Recently in an azidothymidine (AZT)-induced cardiotoxicity model in vivo (in mice), we have found mildronate's ability of protecting heart tissue from nuclear factor kappaB abnormal expression. Preliminary data also demonstrate cerebro- and hepatoprotecting properties of mildronate in AZT-toxicity models. We suggest that mildronate may target its action predominantly to mitochondria. The present study in isolated rat liver mitochondria was designed to clarify mitochondrial targets for mildronate by using AZT as a model compound. The aim of this study was to investigate: (1) whether mildronate may protect mitochondria from AZT-induced toxicity; and (2) which is the most critical target in mitochondrial processes that is responsible for mildronate's regulatory action. The results showed that mildronate protected mitochondria from AZT-induced damage predominantly at the level of complex I, mainly by reducing hydrogen peroxide generation. Significant protection of AZT-caused inhibition of uncoupled respiration, ADP to oxygen ratio, and transmembrane potential were also observed. Mildronate per se had no effect on the bioenergetics, oxidative stress, or permeability transition of rat liver mitochondria. Since mitochondrial complex I is the first enzyme of the respiratory electron transport chain and its damage is considered to be responsible for different mitochondrial diseases, we may account for mildronate's effectiveness in the prevention of pathologies associated with mitochondrial dysfunctions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cbf.148
Adenosine A3 receptors in the rat hippocampus: Lack of interaction with A1 receptors

Adenosine acts as a neuromodulator in the hippocampus essentially through activation of inhibitory A1 receptors. Using single-cell PCR analysis, we found that CA1 pyramidal cells coexpress A1 receptor mRNA together with that of another adenosine receptor, the A3 receptor. As occurs for the A1 receptor, Western blot analysis indicated that the A3 receptor is also located in hippocampal nerve terminals. However, activation of A3 receptors with its purportedly selective agonist Cl-IBMECA (0.1-10 µM) failed to affect hippocampal synaptic transmission or to modify the evoked release of glutamate or GABA. Also, blockade of A3 receptors with MRS 1191 (5 µM) failed to affect either hypoxia- or ischemia-induced depression of hippocampal synaptic transmission. Activation of A3 receptors also failed to control A1 receptor function, as Cl-IBMECA (100 nM) did not modify the ability of CPA to displace [3H]DPCPX binding to hippocampal membranes or the A1 receptor-mediated inhibition of hippocampal synaptic transmission. However, ligand binding studies revealed that Cl-IBMECA displaced the binding of an A1 receptor agonist ([3H]R-PIA, Ki=47 nM) or antagonist ([3H]DPCPX, Ki=130 nM), which suggests that A3 receptor ligands also act on native A1 receptors. We believe that A3 receptors are expressed in hippocampal neurons and are located in hippocampal nerve terminals, though their function remains elusive. Drug Dev. Res. 58:428-438, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ddr.1018
Better bitmap performance with Roaring bitmaps

Bitmap indexes are commonly used in databases and search engines. By
exploiting bit-level parallelism, they can significantly accelerate queries.
However, they can use much memory, and thus we might prefer compressed bitmap
indexes. Following Oracle's lead, bitmaps are often compressed using run-length
encoding (RLE). Building on prior work, we introduce the Roaring compressed
bitmap format: it uses packed arrays for compression instead of RLE. We compare
it to two high-performance RLE-based bitmap encoding techniques: WAH (Word
Aligned Hybrid compression scheme) and Concise (Compressed `n' Composable
Integer Set). On synthetic and real data, we find that Roaring bitmaps (1)
often compress significantly better (e.g., 2 times) and (2) are faster than the
compressed alternatives (up to 900 times faster for intersections). Our results
challenge the view that RLE-based bitmap compression is best
Conformal Higgs Inflation

We investigate a locally scale-invariant (that is, Weyl-invariant) theory
which describes the coupling of gravity and the standard model from the
viewpont of the Higgs mechanism and inflation. It is shown that this theory
exhibits a peculiar feature of a coupling between the gauge field and the
inflaton in a large field limit whereas it nicely describes the standard model
coupled to general relativity in a small field limit. Moreover, we discuss a
possibility that this Weyl invariant theory could explain the recent BICEP2
measurement by deforming the potential term in an appropriate way, and find it
to be difficult to do that even if we introduce a non-analytical type of the
potential.Comment: 13 page
Self-Dual Chern-Simons Solitons and Generalized Heisenberg Ferromagnet
  Models

We consider the (2+1)-dimensional gauged Heisenberg ferromagnet model coupled
with the Chern-Simons gauge fields. Self-dual Chern-Simons solitons, the static
zero energy solution saturating Bogomol'nyi bounds, are shown to exist when the
generalized spin variable is valued in the Hermitian symmetric spaces G/H. By
gauging the maximal torus subgroup of H, we obtain self-dual solitons which
satisfy vortex-type nonlinear equations thereby extending the two dimensional
instantons in a nontrivial way. An explicit example for the CP(N) case is
given.Comment: 11 page
Proper Generalized Decomposition method for incompressible Navier–Stokes equations with a spectral discretization

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amc.2013.02.022Proper Generalized Decomposition (PGD) is a method which consists in looking for the solution to a problem in a separate form. This approach has been increasingly used over the last few years to solve mathematical problems. The originality of this work consists in the association of PGD with a spectral collocation method to solve transfer equations as well as Navier–Stokes equations. In the first stage, the PGD method and its association with spectral discretization is detailed. This approach was tested for several problems: the Poisson equation, the Darcy problem, Navier–Stokes equations (the Taylor Green problem and the lid-driven cavity). In the Navier–Stokes problems, the coupling between velocity and pressure was performed using a fractional step scheme and a PN—PN-2 discretization. For all problems considered, the results from PGD simulations were compared with those obtained by a standard solver and/or with the results found in the literature. The simulations performed showed that PGD is as accurate as standard solvers. PGD preserves the spectral behavior of the errors in velocity and pressure when the time step or the space step decreases. Moreover, for a given number of discretization nodes, PGD is faster than the standard solvers
A cooperative multi-agent robotics system: design and modelling

This paper presents the development of the robotic multi-agent system SMART. In this system, the agent\ud
concept is applied to both hardware and software entities. Hardware agents are robots, with three and\ud
four legs, and an IP-camera that takes images of the scene where the cooperative task is carried out. Hardware\ud
agents strongly cooperate with software agents. These latter agents can be classified into image processing,\ud
communications, task management and decision making, planning and trajectory generation agents. To model, control and evaluate the performance of cooperative tasks among agents, a kind of PetriNet, called Work-Flow Petri Net, is used. Experimental results shows the good performance of the system
The Childhood Obesity Epidemic as a Result of\ud
Nongenetic Evolution: The Maternal Resources\ud
Hypothesis

Over the past century, socioenvironmental evolution (eg, reduced pathogenic load, decreased physical\ud
activity, and improved nutrition) led to cumulative increments in maternal energy resources (ie, body mass\ud
and adiposity) and decrements in energy expenditure and metabolic control. These decrements reduced the\ud
competition between maternal and fetal energy demands and increased the availability of energy substrates\ud
to the intrauterine milieu. This perturbation of mother-conceptus energy partitioning stimulated fetal\ud
pancreatic b-cell and adipocyte hyperplasia, thereby inducing an enduring competitive dominance of\ud
adipocytes over other tissues in the acquisition and sequestering of nutrient energy via intensified insulin\ud
secretion and hyperplastic adiposity. At menarche, the competitive dominance of adipocytes was further\ud
amplified via hormone-induced adipocyte hyperplasia and weight-induced decrements in physical activity.\ud
These metabolic and behavioral effects were propagated progressively when obese, inactive, metabolically\ud
compromised women produced progressively larger, more inactive, metabolically compromised children.\ud
Consequently, the evolution of human energy metabolism was markedly altered. This phenotypic evolution\ud
was exacerbated by increments in the use of cesarean sections, which allowed both the larger fetuses and the\ud
metabolically compromised mothers who produced them to survive and reproduce. Thus, natural selection\ud
was iatrogenically rendered artificial selection, and the frequency of obese, inactive, metabolically\ud
compromised phenotypes increased in the global population. By the late 20th century, a metabolic tipping\ud
point was reached at which the postprandial insulin response was so intense, the relative number of adipocytes\ud
so large, and inactivity so pervasive that the competitive dominance of adipocytes in the sequestering\ud
of nutrient energy was inevitable and obesity was unavoidable
Mechanists must be holists too: Perspectives from Circadian Biology

The pursuit of mechanistic explanations in biology has produced a great deal of knowledge about the parts, operations, and organization of mechanisms taken to be responsible for biological phenomena. Holist critics have often raised important criticisms of proposed mechanistic explanations, but until recently holists have not had alternative research strategies through which to advance explanations. This paper argues both that the results of mechanistic strategies has forced mechanists to confront ways in which whole systems affect their components and that new representational and modeling strategies are providing tools for understanding these effects of whole systems upon components. Drawing from research on the mechanism responsible for circadian rhythms in mammals, I develop two examples in which mechanistic analysis is being integrated into a more holist perspective: research revealing intercellular integration of circadian mechanisms with those involved in cell metabolism and research revealing that stable␣rhythms are dependent on how individual cells in the suprachiasmatic nucleus synchronize with each other to generate regular rhythms. Tools such as network diagramming and computational modeling are providing means to integrate mechanistic models into accounts of whole systems
Some General Regularities of Techno-Economic Evolution

One of the most exciting phenomena of the modern world is the fundamentally homogeneous direction of the overall techno-economic development trajectory in practically all regions of the world. The existing economic systems in different countries are collapsing one after another under the pressure of an expanding industrial culture and are becoming drawn into the international division of labor. Simultaneously, their economic development is influenced by the general regularities of the world techno-economic system, the rhythm of which is set by the industrially developed countries. These general regularities of long-term techno-economic development, invariant under different sociopolitical systems, are the subject of this chapter
Learning Rates for Energy Technologies

Technological learning, i.e., cost reductions as technology manufacturers accumulate experience, is increasingly being incorporated in models to assess long-term energy strategies and greenhouse gas emissions. Most of these applications use learning rates based on studies of non-energy technologies, or sparse results from a few energy studies. This report is a step towards a larger empirical basis for choosing learning rates (or learning rate distributions) of energy conversion technologies of energy models. We assemble data on experience accumulation and cost reductions for a number of energy technologies, estimate learning rates for the resulting 26 data sets, analyze their variability, and evaluate their usefulness for applications in long-term energy models
Angular momentum generation from holographic Chern-Simons models

We study parity-violating effects, particularly the generation of angular momentum density and its relation to the parity-odd and dissipationless transport coefficient Hall viscosity, in strongly-coupled quantum fluid systems in 2+1 dimensions using holographic method. We employ a class of 3+1-dimensional holographic models of Einstein-Maxwell system with gauge and gravitational Chern-Simons terms coupled to a dynamical scalar field. The scalar can condensate and break the parity spontaneously. We find that when the scalar condensates, a non-vanishing angular momentum density and an associated edge current are generated, and they receive contributions from both gauge and gravitational Chern-Simons terms. The angular momentum density does not satisfy a membrane paradigm form because the vector mode fluctuations from which it is calculated are effectively massive. On the other hand, the emergence of Hall viscosity is a consequence of the gravitational Chern-Simons term alone and it has membrane paradigm form. We present both general analytic results and numeric results which take back-reactions into account. The ratio between Hall viscosity and angular momentum density resulting from the gravitational Chern-Simons term has in general a deviation from the universal 1/2 value obtained from field theory and condensed matter physics
Euclidean Dynamical Triangulation revisited: is the phase transition really 1st order?

The transition between the two phases of 4D Euclidean Dynamical Triangulation [1] was long believed to be of second order until in 1996 first order behavior was found for sufficiently large systems [5, 9]. However, one may wonder if this finding was affected by the numerical methods used: to control volume fluctuations, in both studies [5, 9] an artificial harmonic potential was added to the action and in [9] measurements were taken after a fixed number of accepted instead of attempted moves which introduces an additional error. Finally the simulations suffer from strong critical slowing down which may have been underestimated
Decomposing color structure into multiplet bases

We illustrate how QCD color structure elegantly can be decomposed into orthogonal multiplet bases corresponding to irreducible representations of SU( N c ) with the aid of Wigner 3 j and 6 j coefficients. We also show how to calculate the relevant 3 j and 6 j coefficients using multiplet bases and birdtrack techniques and argue that only a relatively small number of Wigner 3 j and 6 j coefficients are required. For up to six gluons plus quark-antiquark pairs we explicitly calculate all 6 j coefficients required for up to NLO calculations
On the peculiar nature of turbulence in planetary dynamos

in press in Compte Rendu de l'Academie des Sciences doi:10.1016/j.crhy.2008.07.009International audienceUnder the combined constraints of rapid rotation, sphericity, and magnetic ﬁeld, motions in planetary cores get organized in a peculiar way. Classical hydrodynamic turbulence is not present, but turbulent motions can take place under the action of the buoyancy and Laplace forces. Laboratory experiments, such as the rotating spherical magnetic Couette DTS experiment in Grenoble, help us understand what motions take place in planetary core conditions
A Design Science Oriented Framework for Experimental Research in Information Quality

Part 3: Finance and Service ScienceInternational audienceDesign science has been used as a new research paradigm in information quality research. Within design science, experimental validation has been recognized as one of the most important research methodologies. However, as there is a lack of a coherent framework for conducting experimental research, different information quality studies may produce different results, which can be even conflicting. In order to reduce this ambiguity, we have proposed a framework that is used to (1) refine the experimental methodology in information quality research, (2) advance the rigorous information quality research in design science, and (3) demonstrate an exemplary experimental validation in design science
Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants and organophosphate pesticides, and markers of glucose metabolism at birth

International audienceBackground Experimental evidence suggests that developmental exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POP) and to some non persistent pesticides may disrupt metabolic regulation of glucose metabolism and insulin secretion, and thereby contribute to the current epidemic of obesity and metabolic disorders. Quasi-experimental situations of undernutrition in utero have provided some information. However, the evidence in humans concerning the role of the prenatal environment in these disorders is contradictory, and little is known about long-term outcomes, such as type 2 diabetes, of prenatal exposure. Objectives Our aim was to evaluate the effects of prenatal exposure to POP and organophosphate pesticides on fetal markers of glucose metabolism in a sample of newborns from the Pelagie mother–child cohort in Brittany (France). Methods Dialkylphosphate (DAP) metabolites of organophosphate pesticides were measured in maternal urine collected at the beginning of pregnancy. Cord blood was assayed for polychlorinated biphenyl congener 153 (PCB153), p,p′-dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene (DDE) and other POP. Insulin and adiponectin were determined in cord blood serum (n=268). Results A decrease in adiponectin and insulin levels was observed with increasing levels of DDE, but only in girls and not boys. Adiponectin levels were not related to the concentrations of other POP or DAP metabolites. Decreasing insulin levels were observed with increasing PCB153 concentrations. Insulin levels increased with DAP urinary levels. Additional adjustment for BMI z-score at birth modified some of these relations. Conclusions Our observations bring support for a potential role of organophosphate pesticides and POP in alterations to glucose metabolism observable at birt
Recent advances in cancer treatment by Iron Chelators

International audienceThe development of new therapeutic alternatives for cancers is a major public health priority. Among the more promising approaches, the iron depletion strategy based on metal chelation in the tumoral environment has been particularly studied in recent decades. After a short description of the importance of iron for cancer cell proliferation, we will review the different iron chelators developed as potential chemotherapeutics. Finally, the recent efforts to vectorize the chelating agents specifically in the microtumoral environment will be discussed in detai
Baboons' hand preference resists to spatial factors for a communicative gesture but not for a simple manipulative action

International audienceOlive baboons (Papio anubis) do acquire and use intentional requesting gestures in experimental contexts. Individual's hand preference for these gestures is consistent with that observed for typical communicative gestures, but not for manipulative actions. Here, we examine whether the strength of hand preference may also be a good marker of hemispheric specialization for communicative gestures, hence differing from the strength of hand preference for manipulative actions. We compared the consistency of individuals' hand preference with regard to the variation in space of either (i) a communicative partner or (ii) a food item to grasp using a controlled set-up. We report more consistent hand preference for communicative gestures than for grasping actions. Established hand preference in the midline was stronger for gesturing than for grasping and allowed to predict the consistency of hand preference across positions. We found no significant relation between the direction of hand preference and the task. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 55: 651-661, 2013
Inter-comparison exercises on dissolved gases for groundwater dating - (1) Goals of the exercise and site choice, validation of the sampling strategy

International audienceTwo international inter-comparison exercises devoted to dissolved gases and isotope analyses in groundwater, used as tools for groundwater dating were organized in 2012 in France (IDES- Université Paris Sud - CNRS and OSUR - Université Rennes 1- CNRS). The goal was to compare sampling and analytical protocols through results obtained by the community of groundwater dating laboratories. The two exercises were: GDAT1 on three supply boreholes in a homogeneous sand-aquifer of Fontainebleau (Paris Basin, France) and GDAT2 on two supply boreholes (shallow and deep) in a fractured rock aquifer in French Brittany. This twostep exercise is the first exercise which included a large number of gases and isotopes usually used in groundwater as dating tools and also permit to discuss the uncertainties related to sampling protocols issuing from each laboratory methods. The two tests allowed 31 Laboratories from 14 countries to compare their protocols for both sampling and analyses. This paper presents the participants and parameters measured, and focuses on the validation of the sampling strategy. Two laboratories analyzed CFC and SF6 samples collected at regular intervals during the sampling operations in order to verify water homogeneity. The results obtained by the two "reference" laboratories along with monitoring of field parameters showed no clear trend of gas concentration or physic-chemical properties. It can be concluded that the pumped groundwater composition remained constant during sampling. This study also shows the potential for relatively constant pumped groundwater composition from a specific well despite the complexity and/or mixing processes that may occur at a larger scale in the aquifer
Two dimensional numerical simulations of 1/f noise by GR mechanisms in thin film transistors: Effects of induced defect technology

International audienceTwo dimensional (2D) numerical simulation of low-frequency (1/f) noise is carried out in N-channel polysilicon thin film transistors biased from weak to strong inversion. Noise is simulated by Generation-Recombination processes. Simulation is based on the impedance field method of Shockley. A 2D analysis of the local noise level shows that contribution at grain boundaries dominates from weak to strong inversion. 1/f noise level in the bulk of the active layer is higher when devices are biased in the weak inversion. In the strong inversion contribution of sources close to the interface dominates