Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
StyA1 and StyA2B from Rhodococcus opacus 1CP: a Multifunctional Styrene Monooxygenase System

ABSTRACT Two-component flavoprotein monooxygenases are emerging biocatalysts that generally consist of a monooxygenase and a reductase component. Here we show that Rhodococcus opacus 1CP encodes a multifunctional enantioselective flavoprotein monooxygenase system composed of a single styrene monooxygenase (SMO) (StyA1) and another styrene monooxygenase fused to an NADH-flavin oxidoreductase (StyA2B). StyA1 and StyA2B convert styrene and chemical analogues to the corresponding epoxides at the expense of FADH2 provided from StyA2B. The StyA1/StyA2B system presents the highest monooxygenase activity in an equimolar ratio of StyA1 and StyA2B, indicating (transient) protein complex formation. StyA1 is also active when FADH2 is supplied by StyB from Pseudomonas sp. VLB120 or PheA2 from Rhodococcus opacus 1CP. However, in both cases the reductase produces an excess of FADH2, resulting in a high waste of NADH. The epoxidation rate of StyA1 heavily depends on the type of reductase. This supports that the FADH2-induced activation of StyA1 requires interprotein communication. We conclude that the StyA1/StyA2B system represents a novel type of multifunctional flavoprotein monooxygenase. Its unique mechanism of cofactor utilization provides new opportunities for biotechnological applications and is highly relevant from a structural and evolutionary point of view.
Interferon-Inducible Protein 10, but Not Monokine Induced by Gamma Interferon, Promotes Protective Type 1 Immunity in Murine Klebsiella pneumoniae Pneumonia

ABSTRACT CXC chemokines that lack the ELR motif, including interferon-inducible protein 10 [IP-10 (CXCL10)] and monokine induced by gamma interferon (IFN-γ) [MIG (CXCL9)], have been shown to mediate the generation of type 1 immune responses. In this study, we found that intrapulmonary administration of the gram-negative bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae resulted in the local and systemic expression of IP-10, followed sequentially by MIG expression. MIG mRNA expression in the lungs of Klebsiella-infected mice required the endogenous production of IFN-γ, whereas IP-10 was expressed in both an IFN-γ-dependent and an IFN-γ-independent fashion. Antibody-mediated neutralization of IP-10 resulted in reduced bacterial clearance and decreased survival, whereas bacterial clearance was unaltered in mice treated with anti-MIG antibody. Impaired bacterial clearance in anti-IP-10 antibody-treated mice was associated with significant reductions in the number and/or activational status of NK and NK-T cells, CD4+ T cells, and γδ T cells, as well as a reduction in the expression of IFN-γ. Conversely, the transient transgenic expression of murine IP-10 using adenovirus-mediated gene transfer resulted in improved bacterial clearance when IP-10 adenovirus was given concomitant with intrapulmonary bacterial challenge. These results indicate that IP-10 is an important component of innate immunity against extracellular bacterial pathogens of the lung and may represent a candidate molecule for immunotherapy in the setting of severe respiratory tract infection.
Dose-Related Effects of Statins on Symptomatic Intracerebral Hemorrhage and Outcome After Thrombolysis for Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose— The aim of our study was to assess whether statins have dose-dependent effects on risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) and outcome after intravenous thrombolysis for ischemic stroke. Methods— We pooled data from 2 European intravenous thrombolysis registries. Statin doses were stratified in 3 groups according to the attainable lowering of cholesterol levels (low dose: simvastatin 20 mg or equivalent; medium dose: simvastatin 40 mg or equivalent; and high dose: simvastatin 80 mg or equivalent). sICH was defined according to the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study. Modified Rankin Scale score 0 to 2 at 3 months was considered a favorable outcome. Results— Among 1446 patients analyzed (median age, 75 years; median initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 11; 54% men), 317 (22%) used statins before intravenous thrombolysis. Of them, 120 patients had low-dose, 134 medium-dose, and 63 high-dose statin therapy. sICH occurred in 4% of patients (n=53). Frequency of sICH was 2%, 6%, and 13% in patients with low-, medium-, and high-dose statin treatment, respectively (P<0.01). Adjusted odds ratio (OR) for sICH was 2.4 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1–5.3) and 5.3 (95% CI, 2.3–12.3) for patients with medium- and high-dose statins compared with non–statin users. Statin users more often achieved favorable outcome compared with non–statin users (58% versus 51%; P=0.03). An independent association of statin use with favorable outcome was detected (adjusted OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.3–2.5). The association was maintained when stratifying for statin dose, although it was not significant in the high-dose group anymore (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 0.9–3.2). Conclusions— We observed an association between increasing dose of statin use and risk of sICH after intravenous thrombolysis. Nevertheless, there was an overall beneficial effect of previous statin use on favorable 3-month outcome.
16 Power Plant Maintenance Scheduling Using Ant Colony Optimization

Under the pressure of rapid development around the globe, power demand has drastically increased during the past decade. To meet this demand, the development of power system technology has become increasingly important in order to maintain a reliable and economic electric power supply (Lin et al., 1992). One major concern of such development is the optimization of power plant maintenance scheduling. Maintenance is aimed at extending the lifetime of power generating facilities, or at least extending the mean time to the next failure for which repair costs may be significant. In addition, an effective maintenance policy can reduce the frequency of service interruptions and the consequences of these interruptions (Endrenyi et al., 2001). In other words, having an effective maintenance schedule is very important for a power system to operate economically and with high reliability. Determination of an optimum maintenance schedule is not an easy process. The difficulty lies in the high degree of interaction between several subsystems, such as commitment of generating units, economical planning and asset management. Often, an iterative negotiation is carried out between asset managers, production managers and schedule planners until a satisfactory maintenance schedule is obtained. In addition, power plant maintenance scheduling is required to be optimized with regard to a number of uncertainties, including power demand, forced outage of generating units, hydrological considerations in the case of hydropower systems and trading value forecasts in a deregulated electricity market. Consequently, the number of potential maintenance schedules is generally extremely large, requiring a systematic approach in order to ensure that optimal or near-optimal maintenance schedules are obtained within an acceptable timeframe. Over the past two decades, many studies have focused on the development of methods for optimizing maintenance schedules for power plants. Traditionally, mathematical programming approaches have been used, including dynamic programming (Yamayee et al., 1983), integer programming (Dopazo & Merrill, 1975), mixed-integer programming (Ahmad & Kothari, 2000) and the implicit enumeration algorithm (Escudero et al., 1980). More recently, metaheuristics have been favored, including genetic algorithms (GAs) (Aldridge et al., 1999), simulated annealing (SA) (Satoh & Nara, 1991) and tabu search (TS) (El-Amin et al., 2000). These methods have generally been shown to outperform mathematical programming methods and other conventional approaches in terms of the
Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-2α Regulates GM-CSF–Derived Soluble Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 1 Production from Macrophages and Inhibits Tumor Growth and Angiogenesis

Macrophage secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in response to the hypoxic tumor microenvironment contributes to tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. We have recently demonstrated that macrophages stimulated with GM-CSF at low O2 secrete high levels of a soluble form of the VEGF receptor 1 (sVEGFR-1), which neutralizes VEGF and inhibits its biological activity. Using small interfering RNA targeting to deplete hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α or HIF-2α in murine macrophages, we found that macrophage production of sVEGFR-1 in response to low O2 was dependent on HIF-2α, whereas HIF-1α specifically regulated VEGF production. In our current report, we evaluated the growth of B16F10 malignant melanoma in mice with a monocyte/macrophage-selective deletion of HIF-1α or HIF-2α (HIF-1αflox/flox- or HIF-2αflox/+/LysMcre mice). GM-CSF treatment increased intratumoral VEGF and sVEGFR-1 in control mice, an effect that was associated with a decrease in microvessel density. GM-CSF treatment of HIF-1αflox/flox/LysMcre mice induced sVEGFR-1 but not VEGF, resulting in an overall greater reduction in tumor growth and angiogenesis compared with control mice. In addition, real-time PCR for melanoma-specific genes revealed a significantly reduced presence of lung micrometastases in HIF-1αflox/flox/LysMcre mice treated with GM-CSF. Conversely, GM-CSF treatment induced VEGF but not sVEGFR-1 in HIF-2αflox/+/LysMcre mice, and, correspondingly, GM-CSF did not decrease tumor growth, angiogenesis, or lung metastasis in these mice. This study reveals opposing roles for the HIFs in the regulation of angiogenesis by tumor-associated macrophages and suggests that administration of GM-CSF might be an effective means of inducing sVEGFR-1 and inhibiting tumor growth and angiogenesis in patients with melanoma.
Changes of the vegetation of wet meadows depending on management

Central Europe wet meadows are characterized by considerable species richness. The biodiversity maintenance of the wet meadows is connected with regular management (i.e. grazing or mowing). As their area drastically decreased due to changes in land use in the last century, they have become the object of interest among scientists, conservation biologists. This thesis is composed of three original studies which are focused on escribing diversity patterns of the whole spectra of wet meadows at landscape level and dynamic of their changes depending on different management regimes (mowing/abandonment,fertilizing/unfertilizing). The synthesis of these studies reveals the description of the processes underlying the wet meadows species loss depending on land use changes and proposes the principles for sustainable conservation management.
Prevalence and Functional Consequences of Femoroacetabular Impingement in Young Male Ice Hockey Players

Background: Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), which is highly prevalent in adult ice hockey players, is often associated with negative clinical and functional outcomes. It is unclear, however, whether FAI-related bony deformities and symptoms may lead to functional alterations as reflected in hip muscle strength, range of motion (ROM), and on-ice physical performance in youth ice hockey players. Hypothesis: Compared with players with neither structural signs nor symptoms related to FAI, players with symptomatic FAI would show hip muscle weakness and reduced hip ROM, which would in turn affect ice hockey physical performance. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: A total of 74 young male ice hockey players were evaluated bilaterally for passive hip internal rotation ROM by use of a hip examination chair. Only the side with less internal rotation ROM was further investigated. FAI-related bony deformities were evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The involved hip was classified as symptomatic or asymptomatic based on the presence of hip pain during exercise and results from the flexion/adduction/internal rotation (FADIR) provocation test. Hip muscle strength, passive hip ROM, and on-ice physical performance were compared between players with no FAI, players with asymptomatic MRI-positive FAI, and players with symptomatic FAI. Results: Fifty of 74 players (68%) had FAI-related bony deformities, of whom 16 (22%) were symptomatic. Hip muscle strength, hip ROM, and on-ice physical performance did not differ significantly between players with no FAI and those with asymptomatic or symptomatic FAI. Conclusion: Despite a high prevalence of FAI-related bony deformities, youth ice hockey players with asymptomatic or symptomatic FAI did not show functional impairments in terms of hip muscle strength, hip ROM, or on-ice physical performance. Clinical Relevance: Hip muscle strength, passive hip ROM, and on-ice physical performance do not seem to discriminate for FAI-related signs and symptoms in young male ice hockey players.
The Significance of the Frontal Lobes for Mental Performances*

attitude, as lack of approach to imagined things, as inability to give himself an account of acting or thinking, as inability to make a separation between the ego and the world. At bottom, all these terms and others which one may use to characterize the facts mean the same. The widely different manifestations in behaviour represent, without exception, one and the same defect in the underlying attitude. We can distinguish two different kinds of human attitude toward the world: (1) A concrete attitude, in which we are directed toward given objects and directed in our thinking and acting by them; (2) a more abstract attitude, in which we are moved at first to think about the objects and to give an account of them to ourselves. To each of these attitudes belongs a particular kind of behaviour. In the first we are acting in the world, manipulating the objects; our activity is determined directly by the claims of the objects upon us. In the second attitude we are thinking rather than acting, even our activity being directed by thinking. Our actions are governed not so much by the objects before us as by what we think about them. In the first attitude we behave more passively, in the second, more actively. Some tasks can be performed only by the one type of behaviour, others only by the other. In patients with lesions of the frontal lobe, active (abstract) behaviour is lacking, but the concrete behaviour may be very well
The Cloud Adoption Toolkit: supporting cloud adoption decisions in the enterprise

Cloud computing promises a radical shift in the provisioning of computing resources within the enterprise. This paper describes the challenges that decision makers face when assessing the feasibility of the adoption of cloud computing in their organizations, and describes our Cloud Adoption Toolkit, which has been developed to support this process. The toolkit provides a framework to support decision makers in identifying their concerns, and matching these concerns to appropriate tools/techniques that can be used to address them. Cost Modeling is the most mature tool in the toolkit, and this paper shows its effectiveness by demonstrating how practitioners can use it to examine the costs of deploying their IT systems on the cloud. The Cost Modeling tool is evaluated using a case study of an organization that is considering the migration of some of its IT systems to the cloud. The case study shows that running systems on the cloud using a traditional ‘always on’ approach can be less cost effective, and the elastic nature of the cloud has to be used to reduce costs. Therefore, decision makers have to model the variations in resource usage and their systems' deployment options to obtain accurate cost estimates. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Monocyte Release of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and Interleukin-1β in Primary Type IIa and IIb Dyslipidemic Patients Treated With Statins or Fibrates

Both 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) as well as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)α activators (fibrates) proved to be effective in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The benefits of hypolipemic therapy in cardiovascular diseases cannot be explained only by the lipid-lowering potential of these agents. The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of hypolipemic agents on proinflammatory cytokine release from human monocytes in relationship with their action on plasma levels of sensitive systemic marker of low-grade vascular inflammation. Plasma lipid and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels, and the release of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and interleukin-1β from monocytes were assessed at baseline and 30 and 90 days following randomization of IIa dyslipidemic patients into fluvastatin or simvastatin groups and randomization of type IIb dyslipidemic patients to the micronized form of either ciprofibrate or fenofibrate. Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated monocytes from dyslipidemic patients released significantly more TNFα (types IIa and IIb dyslipidemias) and interleukin-1β (type IIa dyslipidemia) in comparison with monocytes in 59 age-, sex-, and weight-matched control subjects. Their baseline hsCRP levels were also higher. Both statins and fibrates reduced the release of TNFα and interleukin-1β, and lowered plasma hsCRP levels. The effects of hypolipemic agents on cytokine release and plasma hsCRP were unrelated to their lipid-lowering action. Our results have demonstrated that type IIa and IIb dyslipidemic patients exhibit the abnormal pattern of TNFα and interleukin-1β production by activated monocytes. Both HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and PPARα activators normalize monocytic secretion of these cytokines, and this action may partially contribute to the systemic antiinflammatory effect of hypolipemic agents. The statin- and fibrate-induced suppression of proinflammatory cytokine release from monocytes seems to play a role in their beneficial effect on the incidence of cardiovascular events.
Examining Traffic Flow and Speed Data: Determining Imitative Behavior

Objectives: This article will empirically examine the contagion theory using traffic count and speed data. This theory proposes that a driver's choice of speed will be influenced by the speed of other drivers on the road. Thus, if a person is driving at the speed limit but a certain number of the surrounding vehicles are driving faster, the person can be influenced to increase his speed. It is implied that there would be different types or groups of drivers, each with different propensities toward imitation. Imitative behavior will be considered as a possible mechanism behind contagion theory. Methods: A standard traffic counter was used to collect for a period of 8 days. Using cluster analysis, the data will be differentiated and the group characteristics examined. Finally, these effects will be examined on an hourly basis to determine whether time of day has any effect upon the outcome. Results: The analysis produced several groups of drivers similar to that predicted by contagion theory. Two groups of drivers, high-speed and lower speed drivers, remain relatively stable in numbers as expected. Two intermediate groups showed signs of imitative behavior. Conclusions: The results appear to support contagion theory as a social mechanism influencing individual drivers’ choices of speed. Several alternative explanations are introduced as partial explanations. In light of the traffic accident problem in the United Arab Emirates and recent police programs aimed at reducing this problem, such studies aid in determining the extent of speeding behavior and the effectiveness of recent initiatives.
Compositionally analyzing a proportional-integral controller family

We define always eventually region stability and then formulate the absolute always eventually region stability problem as the problem of finding a class of plants that a generic proportional-integral (PI) controller can always eventually stabilize. We use real quantifier elimination methods to solve the absolute always eventually region stability problem. The class of plants found in our solution includes nonlinear and switched plant models. Our analysis reveals that if a PI controller satisfies two assumptions of the form: (a) the proportional gain Kp and the integral gain Ki satisfy an inequality, and (b) the integral of the error term in the controller is saturated, then such a PI controller can be used to establish always eventually region stability for any plant that suitably responds to the control input. Such a result is useful for compositionally verifying a system consisting of a plant and a controller.
Liveness Detection for Face Recognition

Biometrics is an emerging technology that enables uniquely recognizing humans based upon one or more intrinsic physiological or behavioral characteristics, such as faces, fingerprints, irises, voices (Ross et al., 2006). However, spoofing attack (or copy attack) is still a fatal threat for biometric authentication systems (Schukers, 2002). Liveness detection, which aims at recognition of human physiological activities as the liveness indicator to prevent spoofing attack, is becoming a very active topic in field of fingerprint recognition and iris recognition (Schuckers, 2002; Bigun et al., 2004; Parthasaradhi et al., 2005; Antonelli et al., 2006). In face recognition community, although numerous recognition approaches have been presented, the effort on anti-spoofing is still very limited (Zhao et al., 2003). The most common faking way is to use a facial photograph of a valid user to spoof face recognition systems. Nowadays, video of a valid user can also be easily captured by needle camera for spoofing. Therefore anti-spoof problem should be well solved before face recognition could be widely applied in our life. Most of the current face recognition works with excellent performance, are based on intensity images and equipped with a generic camera. Thus, an anti-spoofing method without additional device will be preferable, since it could be easily integrated into the existing face recognition systems. In Section 2, we give a brief review of spoofing ways in face recognition and some related work. The potential clues will be also presented and commented. In Section 3, a real-time liveness detection approach is presented against photograph spoofing in a non-intrusive manner for face recognition, which does not require any additional hardware except for a generic webcamera. In Section 4, databases are introduced for eyeblink-based anti-spoofing. Section 5 presents an extensive set of experiments to show effectiveness of our approach. Discussions are in Section 6.
Designing workspaces for cross-functional knowledge-sharing in R&D: the "co-location pilot" of Novartis

Purpose – This paper examines co-location as an important solution to design workspaces in research and development (R & D). It argues that co-locating R & D units in multi-space environments serves knowledge creation by leveraging knowledge sharing across boundaries. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on a co-location project of the knowledge-intensive, multi-national company Novartis. To compare communication and collaboration patterns, we interviewed and observed employees before and after co-location into the “co-location pilot” and investigated a control group that was not co-located. The use of data and method triangulation as a research approach underlines the inherent dynamics of the co-location in this study. Findings – The study suggests findings leveraging knowledge sharing in two different ways. Co-location of dispersed project team members increases unplanned face-to-face communication leading to faster and more precise flows of knowledge by transcending knowledge boundaries. C.