Notes

Pleiotropic Actions associated with Aldehyde Reductase (AKR1A).
Ascorbic acid 2-glucoside (AA2G), glucosylated ascorbic acid (AA), has superior properties for bioavailability and stability compared to AA. Although AA2G has shown radioprotective properties similar to AA, effects for UV light, especially UVC and UVB, are not studied. AA2G was tested for cytotoxicity and protective effects against ionizing radiation, UVC, and broadband and narrowband UVB in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and compared to AA and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Pretreatment with DMSO, AA, and AA2G showed comparative protective effects in CHO wild type and radiosensitive xrs5 cells for cell death against ionizing radiation with reducing the number of radiation-induced DNA damages. Pretreatment with AA and AA2G protected CHO wild type and UV sensitive UV135 cells from UVC and broadband UV, but not from narrowband UVB. DMSO showed no protective effects against tested UV. The UV filtration effects of AA and AA2G were analyzed with a spectrometer and spectroradiometer. AA and AA2G blocked UVC and reduced short wavelengths of UVB, but had no effect on wavelengths above 300nm. These results suggest that AA2G protects cells from radiation by acting as a radical scavenger to reduce initial DNA damage, as well as protecting cells from certain UVB wavelengths by filtration.Drafting involves cycling so close behind another person that wind resistance is significantly reduced, which is illegal during most long distance and several short distance triathlon and duathlon events. In this paper, a proof of concept for a drafting detection system based on computer vision is proposed. After detecting and tracking a bicycle through the various scenes, the distance to this object is estimated through computational geometry. The probability of drafting is then determined through statistical analysis of subsequent measurements over an extended period of time. These algorithms are tested using a static recording and a recording that simulates a race situation with ground truth distances obtained from a Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) system. The most accurate developed distance estimation method yields an average error of 0 . 46 m in our test scenario. When sampling the distances at periods of 1 or 2 s, simulations demonstrate that a drafting violation is detected quickly for cyclists riding at 2 m or more below the limit, while generally avoiding false positives during the race-like test set-up and five hour race simulations.3D pose estimation is always an active but challenging task for object detection in remote sensing images. In this paper, we present a new algorithm for predicting an object's 3D pose in remote sensing images, called Anchor Points Prediction (APP). Compared to previous methods, such as RoI Transform, our object results of the final output can obtain direction information. We predict the object's multiple feature points based on the neural network to obtain the homograph transformation relationship between object coordinates and image coordinates. The resulting 3D pose can accurately describe the three-dimensional position and attitude of the object. At the same time, we redefine the method I o U A P P for calculating the direction and posture of the object. We tested our algorithm on the HRSC2016 dataset and the DOTA dataset with accuracy rates of 0.863 and 0.701, respectively. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the APP algorithm is significantly improved. At the same time, the algorithm can achieve one-stage prediction, which makes the calculation process easier and more efficient.Milk is a source of essential nutrients for infants and adults, and its production has increased worldwide over the past years. Despite developments in the dairy industry, premature spoilage of milk due to the contamination by Bacillus cereus continues to be a problem and causes considerable economic losses. B. cereus is ubiquitously present in nature and can contaminate milk through a variety of means from the farm to the processing plant, during transport or distribution. There is a need to detect and quantify spores directly in food samples, because B. cereus might be present in food only in the sporulated form. Traditional microbiological detection methods used in dairy industries to detect spores show limits of time (they are time consuming), efficiency and sensitivity. The low level of B. cereus spores in milk implies that highly sensitive detection methods should be applied for dairy products screening for spore contamination. This review describes the advantages and disadvantages of classical microbiological methods used to detect B. cereus spores in milk and milk products, related to novel methods based on molecular biology, biosensors and nanotechnology.The detection and processing of chemical stimuli involve coordinated neuronal networks that process sensory information. This allows animals, such as the model species Drosophila melanogaster, to detect food sources and to choose a potential mate. In peripheral olfactory tissues, several classes of proteins are acting to modulate the detection of chemosensory signals. This includes odorant-binding proteins together with odorant-degrading enzymes (ODEs). These enzymes, which primarily act to eliminate toxic compounds from the whole organism also modulate chemodetection. ODEs are thought to neutralize the stimulus molecule concurrently to its detection, avoiding receptor saturation thus allowing chemosensory neurons to respond to the next stimulus. Here, we show that one UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT36E1) expressed in D. melanogaster antennal olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) is involved in sex pheromone discrimination. UGT36E1 overexpression caused by an insertion mutation affected male behavioral ability to discriminate sex pheromones while it increased OSN electrophysiological activity to male pheromones. Reciprocally, the decreased expression of UGT36E1, controlled by an RNAi transgene, improved male ability to discriminate sex pheromones whereas it decreased electrophysiological activity in the relevant OSNs. When we combined the two genotypes (mutation and RNAi), we restored wild-type-like levels both for the behavioral discrimination and UGT36E1 expression. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that this UGT plays a pivotal role in Drosophila pheromonal detection.Candida albicans, along with other closely related Candida species, are the primary causative agents of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC)-a multifactorial infectious disease of the lower female reproductive tract resulting in pathologic inflammation. Unlike other forms of candidiasis, VVC is a disease of immunocompetent and otherwise healthy women, most predominant during their child-bearing years. While VVC is non-lethal, its high global incidence and profound negative impact on quality-of-life necessitates further understanding of the host and fungal factors that drive disease pathogenesis. In this review, we cover the current state of our understanding of the epidemiology, host response, fungal pathogenicity mechanisms, impact of the microbiome, and novel approaches to treatment of this most prevalent human candidal infection. We also offer insight into the latest advancements in the VVC field and identify important questions that still remain. Integrase strand-transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) are now included in preferred first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected adults. Studies of Western clade-B HIV-1 show increased resistance to INSTIs following mutations in integrase and nef 3'polypurine tract (3'-PPT). With anticipated shifts in Africa (where 25.6-million HIV-infected people resides) to INSTIs-based ART, it is critical to monitor patients in African countries for resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) affecting INSTIs efficacy. We analyzed HIV-1 integrase and 3'-PPT sequences in 345 clinical samples from INSTIs-naïve HIV-infected Cameroonians for polymorphisms and RAMs that affect INSTIs. Phylogeny showed high genetic diversity, with the predominance of HIV-1 CRF02_AG. Major INSTIs RAMs T66A and N155K were found in two (0.6%) samples. Integrase polymorphic and accessory RAMs found included T97A, E157Q, A128T, M50I, S119R, L74M, L74I, S230N, and E138D (0.3%-23.5% of samples). Ten (3.2%) samples had both I72V+L74M, L74M+T97A, or I72V+T97A mutations; thirty-one (9.8%) had 3'-PPT mutations. The low frequency of major INSTIs RAMs shows that INSTIs-based ART can be successfully used in Cameroon. Several samples had 1 INSTIs accessory RAMs known to reduce INSTIs efficacy; thus, INSTIs-based ART would require genetic surveillance. The 3'-PPT mutations could also affect INSTIs. For patients failing INSTIs-based ART with no INSTIs RAMs, monitoring 3'-PPT sequences could reveal treatment failure etiology.Coal combustion product in the form of fly ash has been sieved and successfully utilised as a main substrate and a carrier of silicon and aluminium in a set of hydrothermal syntheses of zeolites. The final product was abundant in zeolite X phase (Faujasite framework). Raw fly ash as well as its derivatives, after being sieved (fractions ≤ 63, 63-125, 125-180 and ≥ 180 µm), and the obtained zeolite materials were subjected to mineralogical characterisation using powder X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence, laser diffraction-based particle size analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The influence of fraction separation on the zeolitization process under hydrothermal synthesis was investigated. Analyses performed on the derived zeolite X samples revealed a meaningful impact of the given fly ash fraction on synthesis efficiency, chemistry, quality as well as physicochemical properties, while favouring a given morphological form of zeolite crystals. Intedanib The obtained zeolites possess great potential for use in many areas of industry and environmental protection or engineering.Little is known about how predators or their cues affect the acquisition and allocation of energy throughout the ontogeny of prey organisms. To address this question, we have been comparing the ontogenetic body-mass scaling of various traits related to energy intake and use between populations of a keystone amphipod crustacean inhabiting freshwater springs, with versus without fish predators. In this progress report, we analyze new and previously reported data to develop a synthetic picture of how the presence/absence of fish predators affects the scaling of food assimilation, fat content, metabolism, growth and reproduction in populations of Gammarus minus located in central Pennsylvania (USA). Our analysis reveals two major clusters of 'symmorphic allometry' (parallel scaling relationships) for traits related to somatic versus reproductive investment. In the presence of fish predators, the scaling exponents for somatic traits tend to decrease, whereas those for reproductive traits tend to increase. This divergence of scaling exponents reflects an intensified trade-off between somatic and reproductive investments resulting from low adult survival in the face of size-selective predation. Our results indicate the value of an integrated view of the ontogenetic size-specific energetics of organisms and its response to both top-down (predation) and bottom-up (resource supply) effects.
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