Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A 16S rRNA-based PCR assay for detection and identification of granulocytic Ehrlichia species in dogs, horses, and cattle

A PCR-based assay was developed for detecting DNA of granulocytic ehrlichiae in blood samples from dogs, horses, and cattle, Primers were designed from 16S rRNA sequence information to specifically amplify DNA from a newly identified Swedish Ehrlichia species. The 16S rRNA nucleotide sequence of this Swedish species differs in only two and three positions from the sequences of Ehrlichia phagocytophila and Ehrlichia equi, respectively, which were also amplified by this PCR system. For evaluation, PCR results were compared with microscopic examination of stained blood smears for the detection of granulocytes containing ehrlichiae (morulae). Thirty-four of 36 microscopically positive samples were also positive by PCR, and 6 microscopically negative samples were negative by PCR as well. Six samples, in which morulae-like structures had been seen, were negative by PCR, also at a lower annealing temperature and when a reamplification of the first PCR products was performed. The identities of the PCR products from some canine and equine isolates were verified by direct DNA sequencing and were found to be identical with the Ehrlichia sequence found in these animal species that had been obtained earlier. The sequences of a segment of approximately 600 nucleotides from two bovine isolates were identical to that of E. phagocytophila, whereas the sequence of another bovine isolate differed in two positions from that of E. phagocytophila and in three positions from the sequences of the canine and equine isolates. Serum samples were analyzed by indirect fluorescent-antibody testing. Seventy-three percent of the animals which were positive by microscopy and PCR also had positive antibody titers. However, it was not possible to rely on a single serological result for diagnosis of present infection. It was, therefore, concluded that PCR was the most reliable method, useful in the clinical laboratory for specific and early diagnosis of granulocytic ehrlichiosis in animals.
Thermal Diffusion-Based Access Load Balancing for P2P File Sharing Networks

In the present paper, we propose a file replication method to dynamically balance loads of peers in unstructured peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks. Load balancing is considered to require uniform storage access by file replication. We then define the load index as the storage access ratio. In the proposed method, each peer autonomously regulates the file replication probability to uniform storage accesses as thermal diffusion phenomena. Simulation results reveal that the proposed method can control the file sharing network to balance loads while dynamically adapting to change of storage accesses that is caused by change of popularity trends, and therefore keep load balancing performance stable. In addition, the proposed method achieves greater adaptability to sudden changes in storage accesses than our previous method.
Neural control of tuneable skin iridescence in squid

Fast dynamic control of skin coloration is rare in the animal kingdom, whether it be pigmentary or structural. Iridescent structural coloration results when nanoscale structures disrupt incident light and selectively reflect specific colours. Unlike animals with fixed iridescent coloration (e.g. butterflies), squid iridophores (i.e. aggregations of iridescent cells in the skin) produce dynamically tuneable structural coloration, as exogenous application of acetylcholine (ACh) changes the colour and brightness output. Previous efforts to stimulate iridophores neurally or to identify the source of endogenous ACh were unsuccessful, leaving researchers to question the activation mechanism. We developed a novel neurophysiological preparation in the squid Doryteuthis pealeii and demonstrated that electrical stimulation of neurons in the skin shifts the spectral peak of the reflected light to shorter wavelengths (greater than 145 nm) and increases the peak reflectance (greater than 245%) of innervated iridophores. We show ACh is released within the iridophore layer and that extensive nerve branching is seen within the iridophore. The dynamic colour shift is significantly faster (17 s) than the peak reflectance increase (32 s), revealing two distinct mechanisms. Responses from a structurally altered preparation indicate that the reflectin protein condensation mechanism explains peak reflectance change, while an undiscovered mechanism causes the fast colour shift.
A 3-Gb/s optical detector in standard CMOS for 850-nm optical communication

This paper presents a monolithic optical detector, consisting of an integrated photodiode and a preamplifier in a standard 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS technology. A data rate of 3 Gb/s at BER <10/sup -11/ was achieved for /spl lambda/=850 nm with 25-/spl mu/W peak-peak optical power. This data rate is more than four times than that of current state-of-the-art optical detectors in standard CMOS reported so far. High-speed operation is achieved without reducing circuit responsivity by using an inherently robust analog equalizer that compensates (in gain and phase) for the photodiode roll-off over more than three decades. The presented solution is applicable to various photodiode structures, wavelengths, and CMOS generations.
Lecture 1 Introduction to Protein Structure and NMR

Today we first talked about the protein structure, and then presented some principles in protein structure determination using NMR technique. Proteins consist of linear polymers of amino acids, and generally different sequences of amino acids have different three-dimensional protein structures. The following figure (Figure 1) shows the structure of a prototypical amino acid, where R stands for any of 20 amino acid side chains. Figure 1: The structure of an amino acid. Through a reaction of the corresponding amino and carboxyl groups, amino acids form peptide bonds. We refer to the atoms in the peptide bond as the peptide backbone. The characteristics of the peptide bond is shown in Figure 2. The peptide bond is ideally, although not in reality, planar and rigid, and the rotation is only allowed by the φ (C α − N) and ψ (C α − C) torsion angles. Given a sequence of n amino acids, we are interesting in finding all torsion angles (φ 1 , ψ 1 , φ 2 , ψ 2 , · · ·, φ n , ψ n) for all peptide bonds to determine the three-dimensional structure of the protein backbone. Some NMR spectra can give us some biophysical (frequency) signals, which represent geometry information about the protein structure, such as the distance and angle information. Determination of the three-dimensional structure (φ and ψ angles) of protein backbone can be regarded as a graph realization or distance geometry problem, based on known distance
Impact of pollution controls in Beijing on atmospheric oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) during the 2008 Olympic Games: observation and modeling implications

Abstract. Oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) are important products of the photo-oxidation of hydrocarbons. They influence the oxidizing capacity and the ozone-forming potential of the atmosphere. In the summer of 2008, 2 months of emission restrictions were enforced in Beijing to improve air quality during the Olympic Games. Observational evidence reported in related studies that these control measures were efficient in reducing the concentrations of primary anthropogenic pollutants (CO, NOx and non-methane hydrocarbons, i.e., NMHCs) by 30–40%. In this study, the influence of the emission restrictions on ambient levels of OVOCs was explored using a neural network analysis with consideration of meteorological conditions. Statistically significant reductions in formaldehyde (HCHO), acetaldehyde (CH3CHO), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and methanol were found to be 12.9, 15.8, 17.1 and 19.6%, respectively, when the restrictions were in place. The effect of emission controls on acetone was not detected in neural network simulations, probably due to pollution transport from surrounding areas outside Beijing. Although the ambient levels of most NMHCs were reduced by ~35% during the full control period, the emission ratios of reactive alkenes and aromatics closely related to automobile sources did not present much difference (
Autonomous cholesterol biosynthesis in murine hepatoma. A receptor defect with normal coated pits

These studies indicate that autonomous cholesterol biosynthesis by hepatocellular carcinoma may result from absent or defective receptors for chylomicron remnants on the surface of the malignant hepatocytes. In vivo, DAB2 hepatoma or liver were perfused with chylomicron remnants labeled with tritiated palmitic acid. Normal liver had chylomicron remnant uptake/gm tissue that was ten times that of hepatoma. In vitro studies using isolated hepatocytes and cultured DAB2 hepatoma cells showed similar results. Uptake of chylomicron remnants labeled with 3H‐palmitic acid by normal hepatocytes during a 4‐hour period was ten times that of hepatoma cells. Both in vivo and in vitro differences were statistically highly significant (P < 0.005). Since many surface receptors are related to the coated pits, the cellular membranes of both neoplastic and normal liver cells were examined by electron microscopy. Coated pits were present in both the hepatoma and normal liver cells and occupied 2.61% and 2.65% of the cell surface, respectively. The defective uptake of chylomicron remnants by DAB 2 hepatoma appears to be related to the chylomicron remnant receptor and not to the coated pit‐internalization mechanism.
Principal Component Analysis with Contaminated Data: The High Dimensional Case

We consider the dimensionality-reduction problem (finding a subspace approximation of observed data) for contaminated data in the high dimensional regime, where the number of observations is of the same magnitude as the number of variables of each observation, and the data set contains some (arbitrarily) corrupted observations. We propose a High-dimensional Robust Principal Component Analysis (HR-PCA) algorithm that is tractable, robust to contaminated points, and easily kernelizable. The resulting subspace has a bounded deviation from the desired one, achieves maximal robustness -- a breakdown point of 50% while all existing algorithms have a breakdown point of zero, and unlike ordinary PCA algorithms, achieves optimality in the limit case where the proportion of corrupted points goes to zero.
Psychiatric Symptoms in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Survivors: A 1-Year National Multicenter Study

Objective:To evaluate prevalence, severity, and co-occurrence of and risk factors for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms over the first year after acute respiratory distress syndrome. Design:Prospective longitudinal cohort study. Settings:Forty-one Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Network hospitals across the United States. Patients:Six hundred ninety-eight acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Psychiatric symptoms were evaluated by using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Impact of Event Scale-Revised at 6 and 12 months. Adjusted prevalence ratios for substantial symptoms (binary outcome) and severity scores were calculated by using Poisson and linear regression, respectively. During 12 months, a total of 416 of 629 patients (66%) with at least one psychiatric outcome measure had substantial symptoms in at least one domain. There was a high and almost identical prevalence of substantial symptoms (36%, 42%, and 24% for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder) at 6 and 12 months. The most common pattern of co-occurrence was having symptoms of all three psychiatric domains simultaneously. Younger age, female sex, unemployment, alcohol misuse, and greater opioid use in the ICU were significantly associated with psychiatric symptoms, whereas greater severity of illness and ICU length of stay were not associated. Conclusions:Psychiatric symptoms occurred in two thirds of acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors with frequent co-occurrence. Sociodemographic characteristics and in-ICU opioid administration, rather than traditional measures of critical illness severity, should be considered in identifying the patients at highest risk for psychiatric symptoms during recovery. Given high co-occurrence, acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors should be simultaneously evaluated for a full spectrum of psychiatric sequelae to maximize recovery.
Compiling and Using Finite-State Syntactic Rules

A language-independent framework for syntactic finite-state parsing is discussed. The article presents a framework, a formalism, a compiler and a parser for grammars written in this formalism. As a substantial example, fragments from a nontrivial finite-state grammar of English are discussed.The linguistic framework of the present approach is based on a surface syntactic tagging scheme by F. Karlsson. This representation is slightly less powerful than phrase structure tree notation, letting some ambiguous constructions be described more concisely.The finite-state rule compiler implements what was briefly sketched by Koskenniemi (1990). It is based on the calculus of finite-state machines. The compiler transforms rules into rule-automata. The run-time parser exploits one of certain alternative strategies in performing the effective intersection of the rule automata and the sentence automaton.Fragments of a fairly comprehensive finite-state grammar of English are presented here, including samples from non-finite constructions as a demonstration of the capacity of the present formalism, which goes far beyond plain disambiguation or part of speech tagging. The grammar itself is directly related to a parser and tagging system for English created as a part of project SIMPR using Karlsson's CG (Constraint Grammar) formalism.
Compact Modeling of Transition Metal Dichalcogenide based Thin body Transistors and Circuit Validation

In this paper, we present a compact model for surface potential and drain current in transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) channel material-based n-type and p-type FETs. The model considers 2-D density of states and Fermi–Dirac statistics along with drift-diffusion transport model and includes velocity saturation and trap state effects. The developed model has been implemented in Verilog-A and is applicable for symmetric double gate as well as top-gated TMD-on-insulator FETs. The presented model is extensively validated with simulation as well as experimental data for different TMD materials-based FETs and shows excellent agreement with both the simulation and the experimental data. We further validate the model at circuit level using experimental data of MoS2 FET-based inverter.
Self-Esteem and Foreign Language Learning

Self-Esteem and Foreign Language Learning deals with a topic which has been given surprisingly little attention in Second and Foreign Language Acquisition studies. Although there are several studies dealing with general education, this volume addresses the need to take self-esteem into consideration in the language classroom and adopts both theoretical/research and practical perspectives, with the hope of being useful for both researchers and practitioners. The book is organized into three main parts. Part I serves as an introduction to self-esteem. Part II reports on the existing literature about the theory and research dealing with self-esteem and foreign language learning, and Part III includes procedures for implementation and activities for classroom applications. Self-Esteem and Foreign Language Learning is edited by Fernando Rubio (PhD.), a researcher and teacher at the University of Huelva in Spain. Most of the chapters have been written by members of the research group "Affective factors in language learning", which has also published a book on Multiple Intelligences and the teaching of English (Dr. Jane Arnold, Dr. Carmen Fonseca, etc.). There are two outside contributions: one is by Andrew Wright, author of numerous publications for language teachers, and the other by Veronica de Andres, teacher trainer from the University of El Salvador (Argentina) and member of the executive board of the International Council for Self-Esteem. Dr. Elaine Horwitz of the University of Texas has contributed a preface.
Building an e-portfolio learning model: Goal orientation and metacognitive strategies

Recent wide acceptance of e-Portfolios has occurred because researchers believe it helps promote students’ learning in higher education. This study uses goal orientation theory to investigate the relationship between goal orientations, metacognitive strategies, and enjoyment when students use e-Portfolio. This paper contributes to research by goal orientation, metacognitive strategies and enjoyment to explain student learning behavior when using e-Portfolio to providing further evidence. A sample of 219 university students took part in this research to verify the proposed model. The study employs structural equation modeling with the LISREL to explain the model. The results show that students’ mastery goals for using e-Portfolio have a positive effect on their metacognitive strategies and enjoyment. Performance-approach goals have a negative effect on metacognitive strategies and a positive effect on enjoyment. Performance-avoidance goals have a positive effect on metacognitive strategies. Students’ enjoyment has a positive effect on their metacognitive strategies, and mastery goals can predict metacognitive strategies through enjoyment. This paper also discusses study findings and implications for future research. https://doi.org/10.34105/j.kmel. 2012.04. 003
International master franchise agreements: An investigation of control from operational, relational and evolutionary perspectives

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the inter‐organisational processes used to control international master franchise agreements from operational, relational and evolutionary perspectives.Design/methodology/approach – The research is undertaken through a qualitative, in‐depth case study in the international hotel industry. The case comprises an international master franchise agreement between a large US‐based hotel franchisor and its European master franchisee.Findings – The study identifies the inter‐related nature of operational and relational control processes and how these evolve over the life of a master franchise agreement. It reveals how the perceptions of franchise members serve to enhance or inhibit the development of relational norms and how these, in turn, impact on the predominant type of control and the specific inter‐organisational processes employed.Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a single in‐depth case study within one industrial context and the universality .
Family Function in Families of Children With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

This article investigates the relationships of child- and family-related variables with family function in families with children who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Child-related variables included level of disability (indicator: Barthel Index) and age at diagnosis. Family-related variables included caregiver health status (indicator: Duke Health Profile), family income and employment, family support (indicator: Family APGAR), family hardiness (indicator: Family Hardiness Index), and family functioning (indicator: Family Assessment Device). Family function displayed a significant correlation with age at diagnosis, but not with disability level. It was also significantly correlated with family hardiness, caregiver health status, and levels of family support, but not with income or employment variables. These findings highlight the need to assist families to cope with the presence of serious illness in their children.
Effect of nerve impulses on the membrane potential of glial cells in the central nervous system of amphibia.

NEURONS AND G . LIAL CELLS in most parts of the nervo us system are intimately apposed, separated from each other by channels about 150 A. wide. It is natural to wonder whether the two types of cell influence one another either “electrically” (i.e., by current flow from one cell to the other) or by the release of a substance. It has been shown in the leech nervous system that if current is supplied to the interior of a nerve cell through an intracellular electrode, very little will enter the neighboring glial cell; most will pass through the intercellular clefts which have a relatively low resistance. Similarly, currents which flow during nerve impulses alter the membrane potential of the surrounding glia to a negligible extent good agreement with subsequent findings that the (10) clefts These results were in l between neurons and glial cells served as channels for the rapid diffusion of ions and of small molecules both in the leech and in amphibia (l&9). In the central nervous system of the leech, which contains smooth muscle cells in its connective tissue capsule, the effect of massive neuronal activity on the resting potential of glial cells could not be studied adequately because the preparation under these conditions and dislodged the electrode (1 0) . moved
Twisting of X-Ray Isophotes in Triaxial Galaxies

We investigate X-ray isophote twists created by triaxiality differences between the luminous stellar distributions and the dark halos in elliptical galaxies. For a typically oblate luminous galaxy embedded in a more prolate halo formed by dissipationless collapse, the triaxiality difference of ΔT ≃ 0.7 leads to typical isophote twists of ⟨ΔψX⟩ ≃ 16° ± 19° at 3 effective stellar radii. In a model that includes baryonic dissipation, the effect is smaller, with ΔT ≃ 0.3 and ⟨ΔψX⟩ ≃ 5° ± 8°. Thus, accurate measurements of X-ray isophote twists may be able to set constraints on the interactions between baryons and dissipationless dark matter during galaxy formation. The 30° X-ray isophote twist in the E4 galaxy NGC 720 cannot be reproduced by our model, suggesting an intrinsic misalignment between the halo and the stars rather than a projection effect.
[Sex determination in the teleost medaka, Oryzias latipes].

Although the sex of most animals is determined by genetic information, sex-determining genes had been identified only in mammals, several flies, and the worm Caenorhabditis elegans until the recent discovery of DMY (DM-domain gene on the Y chromosome) in the sex-determining region on the Y chromosome of the teleost fish medaka, Oryzias latipes. Functional and expression analyses of DMY have shown it to be the master gene for male sex determination in the medaka. The only sex-determining genes found so far in vertebrates are Sry and DMY. Therefore, the medaka is expected to become a good experimental animal for investigating the precise mechanisms involved in primary sex determination in nonmammalian vertebrates. This article reviews the origin of DMY and the sexual development of gonads in the medaka. The putative functions of DMY are also discussed.