Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Chromatin Insulator-Like Element in the Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Latency-Associated Transcript Region Binds CCCTC-Binding Factor and Displays Enhancer-Blocking and Silencing Activities

ABSTRACT A previous study demonstrated that the latency-associated transcript (LAT) promoter and the LAT enhancer/reactivation critical region (rcr) are enriched in acetyl histone H3 (K9, K14) during herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) latency, whereas all lytic genes analyzed (ICP0, UL54, ICP4, and DNA polymerase) are not (N. J. Kubat, R. K. Tran, P. McAnany, and D. C. Bloom, J. Virol. 78:1139-1149, 2004). This suggests that the HSV-1 latent genome is organized into histone H3 (K9, K14) hyperacetylated and hypoacetylated regions corresponding to transcriptionally permissive and transcriptionally repressed chromatin domains, respectively. Such an organization implies that chromatin insulators, similar to those of cellular chromosomes, may separate distinct transcriptional domains of the HSV-1 latent genome. In the present study, we sought to identify cis elements that could partition the HSV-1 genome into distinct chromatin domains. Sequence analysis coupled with chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays revealed that (i) the long and short repeats and the unique-short region of the HSV-1 genome contain clustered CTCF (CCCTC-binding factor) motifs, (ii) CTCF motif clusters similar to those in HSV-1 are conserved in other alphaherpesviruses, (iii) CTCF binds to these motifs on latent HSV-1 genomes in vivo, and (iv) a 1.5-kb region containing the CTCF motif cluster in the LAT region possesses insulator activities, specifically, enhancer blocking and silencing. The finding that CTCF, a cellular protein associated with chromatin insulators, binds to motifs on the latent genome and insulates the LAT enhancer suggests that CTCF may facilitate the formation of distinct chromatin boundaries during herpesvirus latency.
Time trends (1983–1999) for organochlorines and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) from lakes michigan, huron, and superior, USA

The U.S. Geological Service Great Lakes Science Center has archived rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) collected from the early 1980s to the present. These fish were collected to provide time‐ and site‐dependent contaminant residue data needed by researchers and managers to fill critical data gaps regarding trends and behavior of persistent organic contaminants in the Great Lakes ecosystem. In the present study, data are presented for concentrations of several organochlorine (OC) contaminants in the archived smelt, including DDT, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), toxaphene, and chlordanes in Lakes Michigan and Huron (MI, USA) and in Lake Superior (MN, USA). The trends for all the OCs were declining as a first‐order decay over the sampled time series (1983/1985–1993/1999) with the exception of toxaphene in Lake Superior and PCBs at the Charlevoix/Little Traverse Bay site in Lake Michigan. Concentration of the emerging contaminant, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), also was traced from its apparent entry into this ecosystem in approximately 1980 until 1999. Time trends for the PBDEs were increasing exponentially at all sites, with concentration‐doubling times varying from 1.58 to 2.94 years.
Effect of ultrasonic dispersion methods on thermal and mechanical properties of organoclay epoxy nanocomposites

This report highlights the importance of nanocomposite formation and dispersion upon improvements in properties for high performance epoxy based layered silicate nanocomposites. This is achieved through the preparation of epoxy nanocomposites with varying clay concentrations using ultrasonic and solvent based fabrication and standard shear mixing procedures. Ultrasonication (combined with a solvent), in comparison to shear mixing methods, produces superior nanoscale dispersion according to SEM and TEM. As a result of the improvements in nanoscale dispersion, the corresponding improvements in fracture toughness, strength, strain to failure (compressive and flexural) and char stability are presented. TGA shows that while the initial thermal decomposition process is not affected, the stability of the char layer formed during decomposition increases with improved nanoscale dispersion as well as increasing concentration. The effect of moisture upon the dynamic mechanical thermal analysis of the epoxy nanocomposites displays some dependence upon the clay dispersion with a modest increase in plasticisation for the sonicated samples. Overall, this work shows that for a high performance epoxy anhydride resin system, significant improvements in key properties can be achieved at low levels of addition if appropriate sonicated dispersion methods can be utilised.
Low Temperature Fracture Properties of Polyphosphoric Acid Modified Asphalt Mixtures

AbstractThe low temperature fracture properties of polyphosphoric acid (PPA) modified mixtures are evaluated and compared with those of polymer modified mixtures. The main objective is to determine whether PPA can partially or completely substitute traditional polymer modifiers, without adversely affecting the mixture’s resistance to thermal cracking. Laboratory compacted and field cored test samples from the Minnesota Road Research Project (MnROAD) were tested using traditional methods as well as newly developed fracture testing protocols: indirect tensile test (IDT), semicircular bending test (SCB), and disk-shaped compact tension test (DCT). The effects of temperature, air-void content, comma and long-term aging on low temperature fracture properties were analyzed; and field performance observations of the test cells from MnROAD were discussed. On the basis of the analysis, the fracture resistance of the PPA modified mixture is less than that of the SBS modified mixture. However, when PPA is used to su.
Thermo-Mechanically Coupled Modeling of Cooling Temperature History Effects on Precipitation Hardening in Hot Strip Coiled Products

When producing hot strip, HSLA(High Strength Low Alloyed) products the coiling temperature and the subsequent coil cooling is of great importance for the final mechanical properties. A thermo-mechanically coupled model has been developed where the anisotropic stress dependent thermal properties caused by the layered structure and the asymmetric cooling are included. Additionally the precipitation hardening effect on the yield strength, influenced by the thermal history during cooling was compared with mechanical tensile testing along the strip length at SSAB EMEA works in Borlänge, Sweden. Good agreement between measured and predicted yield stress variations in head and tail was obtained.
Construct Measurement and Validation Procedures in MIS and Behavioral Research: Integrating New and Existing Techniques

Despite the fact that validating the measures of constructs is critical to building cumulative knowledge in MIS and the behavioral sciences, the process of scale development and validation continues to be a challenging activity. Undoubtedly, part of the problem is that many of the scale development procedures advocated in the literature are limited by the fact that they (1) fail to adequately discuss how to develop appropriate conceptual definitions of the focal construct, (2) often fail to properly specify the measurement model that relates the latent construct to its indicators, and (3) underutilize techniques that provide evidence that the set of items used to represent the focal construct actually measures what it purports to measure. Therefore, the purpose of the present paper is to integrate new and existing techniques into a comprehensive set of recommendations that can be used to give researchers in MIS and the behavioral sciences a framework for developing valid measures. First, we briefly elaborate upon some of the limitations of current scale development practices. Following this, we discuss each of the steps in the scale development process while paying particular attention to the differences that are required when one is attempting to develop scales for constructs with formative indicators as opposed to constructs with reflective indicators. Finally, we discuss several things that should be done after the initial development of a scale to examine its generalizability and to enhance its usefulness.
Hemoglobin A1c and the Progression of Coronary Artery Calcification Among Adults Without Diabetes

OBJECTIVE Higher levels of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk among individuals without diabetes and may also be positively associated with coronary artery calcification (CAC). This study investigated the association of HbA1c with CAC progression in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We included 2,076 participants with HbA1c and noncontrast computed tomography (CT) assessed at baseline (2005–2006), and CT repeated 5 years later (2010–2011). CAC progression was defined as 1) incident CAC (increase >0 Agatston units among those with no CAC at baseline), 2) any CAC progression (increase >10 Agatston units between examinations), and 3) advanced CAC progression (increase >100 Agatston units between examinations). RESULTS During the 5-year follow-up period, 12.9% of participants without baseline CAC developed incident CAC; among all participants, 18.2% had any CAC progression and 5.4% had advanced CAC progression. Higher HbA1c was associated with incident CAC (risk ratio [RR] = 1.45; 95% CI 1.02, 2.06), any CAC progression (RR = 1.51; 95% CI 1.16, 1.96), and advanced CAC progression (RR = 2.42; 95% CI 1.47, 3.99) after adjustment for sociodemographic factors. Additional adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors attenuated the associations of HbA1c with incident CAC (RR = 1.05; 95% CI 0.74, 1.49) and any CAC progression (RR = 1.13; 95% CI 0.87, 1.47). In contrast, the association of HbA1c with advanced CAC progression persisted in multivariable adjusted models (RR = 1.78; 95% CI 1.08, 2.95). CONCLUSIONS Higher HbA1c was independently associated with advanced CAC progression among individuals without diabetes, while the associations with incident CAC and any CAC progression were accounted for by other established cardiovascular risk factors.
Fetal biophysical profile score and perinatal outcome.

BACKGROUND Sudden fetal demise, perinatal morbidity and mortality are still some of the major obstetrical challenges. Reduced fetal movements may have some bearing to fetal asphyxia and death, so timely detection of such condition and measures taken can prevent such mishaps. METHODS A descriptive prospective study was conducted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology from January to December 2002 in 55 cases to find out the relationship of Biophysical Profile Score with perinatal outcome in pregnant mothers with decreased fetal movement counts at or above 34 weeks of gestational age. The mode of delivery, Apgar score, neonatal admission and perinatal mortality were analyzed. RESULTS The study demonstrated that most of the fetuses were in good condition with 87% of the cases scoring 8-10 BPS (normal), 6% scoring six (equivocal) and only 7% got four score (abnormal). Having the abnormal BPS of four significantly increased the risk of perinatal mortality by 50% (p=0.000). This study could not detect any significant association between Apgar score and neonatal morbidities, but showed significant correlation between BPS and caesarean section. The patients having lower BPS tended to undergo more caesarean section delivery than patients having normal BPS (p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS An abnormal BPS of four in cases of reduced fetal movement counts significantly influenced the risk of perinatal death. However reduced fetal movements only did not raise the risk of fetal morbidity and mortality. So BPS should be beneficial to detect the fetuses at risk in the patients having less fetal movements for the proper management at right time.
Influence of nitrogen flow rate on growth of TiAlN films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering

Abstract Thin films of TiAlN were deposited on (111) oriented silicon single crystal substrates from a composite Ti–Al target by DC reactive magnetron sputtering at 773 K under various N2 flow rates. Substantial influence of N2 flow rate on the rate of deposition, grain size, crystallinity, composition, hardness and resistivity was observed. While the deposition rate, grain size and the ratio of concentration of Ti to Al of the deposited TiAlN films decreased with increasing N2 flow rate, the resistivity of the films increased with increasing N2 flow rate.
Effects of six in-office agents of desensitization on the permeability of dentin - An in-vitro hydraulic conductance study

The objective of this in-vitro study was to evaluate the effects of six in-office agents of desensitization on the hydraulic conductance of human dentin by measuring the mean percentage reduction in permeability over a period of one month. The tested agents were Fluoride varnish (Fluorprotector),resin desensitizer ( Gluma desensitizer ), adhesive resin ( Gluma comfort bond ), laser (Nd: YAG Laser), fluoride iontophoresis (Electric pulp tester, for fluoride iontophoresis) and 3% Potassium oxalate(freshly prepared). Sixty non carious, intact human mandibular third molars were sectioned at mid coronal region and polished to obtain a 1mm thick disc which were divided into six groups. A split chamber device with fluid filtration apparatus was constructed for hydraulic conductance measurements. Permeability of dentin discs was measured at baseline that serves as a control and following the application of the various in-office agents, measurements was recorded post operatively, after 24 hrs, after I week and after 1 month. Mean percentage reduction in permeability was tabulated and statistically analyzed. The results of this study indicate that all the tested agents led to a decrease in dentin permeability Nd: YAG laser gave the highest reduction in permeability throughout the entire period of study followed by Gluma desensitizer Gluma comfort bond, Fluoride iontophoresis, and Fluor protector and 3% Potassium oxalate was the least effective.
Cell‐Free Synthesis of the D2‐Cell Adhesion Molecule: Evidence for Three Primary Translation Products

Abstract: The D2‐cell adhesion molecule (D2‐CAM) is a membrane glycoprotein that is involved in cell‐cell adhesion in the nervous system. To study the biosynthesis of D2‐CAM we have translated free and membrane‐bound polysomes from rat brain in vitro in the rabbit reticulocyte lysate system. D2‐CAM was exclusively synthesized on membrane‐bound polysomes. The primary translation products of D2‐CAM were three polypeptides of apparent molecular weights 187,000, 134,000, and 112,000. No interconversion between these polypeptides was detected. In contrast to previous suggestions, we conclude that all three D2‐CAM polypeptides are primary translation products. When translating polysomes from embryonic and postnatal rat brain, we found that the relative amounts of the three polypeptides synthesized varied with age. Their molecular weights, however, were not age‐dependent.
EFFECT OF DIFFERENT CYCLING CONDITIONS ON SAGITALL AND FRONTAL LOWER LIMB KINEMATICS OF COMPETITIVE AND RECREATIONAL CYCLISTS

The aim of the current study was to compare sagittal and frontal hip, knee and ankle joint kinematics between competitive and recreational road cyclists across different workloads and pedalling cadences. Five competitive and five recreational healthy male road cyclists performed four conditions (85 rpm and 95 rpm at 200 W and 65 rpm and 75 rpm at 230 W) in random order to cover a variety cadences and workloads used during competition or training (plane, slight hill, medium hill and steep hill). Lower limb kinematic data were collected with nine infrared cameras. T-test and effect size statistics established significant differences in the power phase (0-180") of the crank cycle for knee abduction, knee extension and hip adduction between the two groups. Increase in hip and knee frontal plane motion indicated altered pedalling technique for recreational cyclists.
Multicell Multiuser OFDMA Dynamic Resource Allocation Using Ant Colony Optimization

Evolutionary algorithms like genetic algorithms and ACO are potential candidates for solving any NP-hard problem, because of their ability to obtain acceptable suboptimum (or sometimes could be the optimum) solutions. This paper proposes an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) based algorithm to solve the centralized resource allocation problem of a multicell multiuser OFDMA network. The proposed ACO is assisted by a water filling algorithm for power allocation. Two metrics used in ACO algorithms: the visibility and the trail intensity are defined so that they are suitable to evaluate the solution. Visibility is used to select subcarriers and power which increase the total transmitted bit of the cell while trail intensity gives solutions which decrease the inter-cell interference. Simulation results show that with these definitions, the proposed algorithm is working successfully and increases the total network transmitted bits without increasing the maximum transmit power level.
Management continuity in local health networks

Introduction Patients increasingly receive care from multiple providers in a variety of settings. They expect management continuity that crosses boundaries and bridges gaps in the healthcare system. To our knowledge, little research has been done to assess coordination across organizational and professional boundaries from the patients’ perspective. Our objective was to assess whether greater local health network integration is associated with management continuity as perceived by patients. Method We used the data from a research project on the development and validation of a generic and comprehensive continuity measurement instrument that can be applied to a variety of patient conditions and settings. We used the results of a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2009 with 256 patients in two local health networks in Quebec, Canada. We compared four aspects of management continuity between two contrasting network types (highly integrated vs. poorly integrated). Results The scores obtained in the highly integrated network are better than those of the poorly integrated network on all dimensions of management continuity (coordinator role, role clarity and coordination between clinics, and information gaps between providers) except for experience of care plan. Conclusion Some aspects of care coordination among professionals and organizations are noticed by patients and may be valid indicators to assess care coordination.
Stent-Assisted Coiling of Ruptured and Incidental Aneurysms of the Intracranial Circulation Using Moderately Flow-Redirecting, Braided Leo Stents—Initial Experience in 39 Patients

Background Flow diversion (FD)—a young technique using stents with highly increased surface coverage—was introduced to treat complex aneurysms without intra-aneurysmal material placement and has amended the spectrum of endovascular techniques such as stent-assisted coil occlusion considerably. However, ischemic complications, a common side effect in FD, occur more frequently compared with the conventional endovascular approaches and certainly limit the indication of this technique. Our study aimed to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of stent-assisted coiling using low profile self-expandable stents, which exhibit only moderate flow-redirecting properties and therefore represent a combination of hemodynamic endovascular and occlusive endosaccular therapy. Materials and methods 39 Patients were included in our retrospective study. Occlusion rates were assessed 6 months after the procedure in a total of 27 cases using the Raymond scale. Results Complete occlusion (Raymond I) was achieved in 24/27 aneurysms. Small neck remnants (Raymond II) were evident in 3/27 aneurysms. There were no cases with sac remnant or complete persistence of aneurysmal filling (Raymond III and IV). Conclusion Our study demonstrates interventional treatment of intracranial aneurysms using flow-redirecting stent-assisted coiling to be technically feasible and highly effective in aneurysmal occlusion. We believe that this approach is outstanding in the prevention of long-term aneurysmal reperfusion and exhibits a more acceptable risk profile than highly efficient FD techniques.
Sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease Among Workers in Copper–Beryllium Distribution Centers

Objective: Little is known about the risk of sensitization and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) among workers performing limited processing of copper–beryllium alloys downstream of the primary beryllium industry. In this study, we performed a cross-sectional survey of employees at three copper–beryllium alloy distribution centers. Methods: One hundred workers were invited to be tested for beryllium sensitization using the beryllium blood lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT); a sensitized worker was further evaluated for CBD. Available beryllium mass concentration air sampling data were obtained for characterization of airborne exposure. Results: One participant, who had exposure to other forms of beryllium, was found to be sensitized and to have CBD, resulting in a prevalence of sensitization/CBD of 1% for all tested. Conclusions: The overall prevalence of beryllium sensitization and CBD for workers in these three copper–beryllium alloy distribution centers is lower than for workers in primary beryllium production facilities.
Scalable Evaluation of Trajectory Queries over Imprecise Location Data

Trajectory queries, which retrieve nearby objects for every point of a given route, can be used to identify alerts of potential threats along a vessel route, or monitor the adjacent rescuers to a travel path. However, the locations of these objects (e.g., threats, succours) may not be precisely obtained due to hardware limitations of measuring devices, as well as complex natures of the surroundings. For such data, we consider a common model, where the possible locations of an object are bounded by a closed region, called “imprecise region”. Ignoring or coarsely wrapping imprecision can render low query qualities, and cause undesirable consequences such as missing alerts of threats and poor response rescue time. Also, the query is quite time-consuming, since all points on the trajectory are considered. In this paper, we study how to efficiently evaluate trajectory queries over imprecise objects, by proposing a novel concept, u-bisector, which is an extension of bisector specified for imprecise data. Based on the u-bisector, we provide an efficient and versatile solution which supports different shapes of commonly-used imprecise regions (e.g., rectangles, circles, and line segments). Extensive experiments on real datasets show that our proposal achieves better efficiency, quality, and scalability than its competitors.
Numeric simulation of near-surface moisture migration and stress development in concrete exposed to fire

A methodology is presented for computing stresses in structural concrete members exposed to fire. Coupled heat and moisture migration simulations are used to establish temperature, pore pressure, and liquid-saturation state variables within near-surface zones of heated concrete members. Particular attention is placed on the use of coupled heat and multiphase fluid flow simulations to study phenomena such as moisture-clogging. Once the state variables are determined, a procedure for combining the effects of thermal dilation, mechanical loads, pore pressure, and boundary conditions is proposed and demonstrated. Combined stresses are computed for varying displacement boundary conditions using data obtained from coupled heat and moisture flow simulations. These stresses are then compared to stresses computed from thermal analyses in which moisture effects are omitted. The results demonstrate that moisture migration has a significant influence on the development of thermal stresses.