Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
B-lymphocyte Fc receptor-associated non-H-2 antigens are determined by a single polymorphic locus which is linked of the Mls locus

Certain non-H-2 alloantigens are associated with murine B-lymphocyte Fc receptors in that pretreatment of spleen cells with alloantibodies against these antigens inhibited binding of Ig complexes to B-cell Fc receptors. This inhibition was specific in that: (a) as has been shown previously, the Fc portion of the alloantibody was not required to produce inhibition; and (b) antibodies against some non-H-2 antigens but not antibodies against others (including some that were expressed on B cells) caused such inhibition. Backcross experiments revealed that the B-cell Fc receptor-associated non-H-2 antigens were determined by the gene(s) of a single background locus in each of the three strains tested (A/J, B10, and CBA/J). This locus was poly-morphic in that at least four different B-cell Fc receptor:associated non-H-2 antigens were identified (one each in the A/J, B10, and CBAJJ and one antigen shared or crossreactive between the B10 and CBA/J). These antigens were primarily but not exclusively expressed on B lymphocytes as determined by immunofluorescence studies, and on the basis of capping experiments they did not appear to be identical to B-cell Fc receptors. Linkage studies revealed that the locus which determined these antigens was not linked to the albino locus nor the heavy chain allotype locus and expression was neither sex-limited nor an X-linked recessive trait. However, this locus was closely linked but not identical to the Mls locus (apparent recombination frequency 6.8 percent). Thus, two closely linked non-H-2 loci both determine the expression of antigens which have characteristics similar to Ia antigens. One locus is polymorphic and determines the expression of antigens which are primarily expressed on B cells and are specifically associated with the Fc receptors of these cells. The other (Mls locus) determines antigens which are stimulatory in mixed lymphocyte cultures. These observations suggest that there may be a second gene complex which is the analogue of the I region of the H-2 complex.
Compositional Analysis Techniques For Multiprocessor Soft Real-Time Scheduling

The design of systems in which timing constraints must be met (real-time systems) is being affected by three trends in hardware and software development. First, in the past few years, multiprocessor and multicore platforms have become standard in desktop and server systems and continue to expand in the domain of embedded systems. Second, real-time concepts are being applied in the design of general-purpose operating systems (like Linux) and attempts are being made to tailor these systems to support tasks with timing constraints. Third, in many embedded systems, it is now more economical to use a single multiprocessor instead of several uniprocessor elements; this motivates the need to share the increasing processing capacity of multiprocessor platforms among several applications supplied by different vendors and each having different timing constraints in a manner that ensures that these constraints were met. These trends suggest the need for mechanisms that enable real-time tasks to be bundled into multiple components and integrated in larger settings. There is a substantial body of prior work on the multiprocessor schedulability analysis of real-time systems modeled as periodic and sporadic task systems. Unfortunately, these standard task models can be pessimistic if long chains of dependent tasks are being analyzed. In work that introduces less pessimistic and more sophisticated workload models, only partitioned scheduling is assumed so that each task is statically assigned to some processor. This results in pessimism in the amount of needed processing resources. In this dissertation, we extend prior work on multiprocessor soft real-time scheduling and construct new analysis tools that can be used to design component-based soft real-time systems. These tools allow multiprocessor real-time systems to be designed and analyzed for which standard workload and platform models are inapplicable and for which state-of-the-art uniprocessor and multiprocessor analysis techniques give results that are too pessimistic.
What do Analysts Really Predict ? Inferences from Earnings Restatements and Managed Earnings

This paper examines whether analysts earnings forecasts incorporate or exclude the managed earnings component. The results, based on a sample of 285 restatements and a much larger sample of cases where earnings are likely to have been managed upward, are consistent with analysts predicting the earnings number that will eventually be reported by the firm. Further, the managed earnings component appears to influence analysts’ subsequent earnings forecasts, leading to upward forecast revisions and upgraded stock recommendations. The findings are further consistent with management signaling through earnings management favorable future performance. What do Analysts Really Predict? Inferences from Earnings Restatements and Managed Earnings
EVIDENCE BASED PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY AND PRACTICE SARS related preventive and risk behaviours practised by Hong Kong-mainland China cross border travellers during the outbreak of the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong

Objectives: To investigate patterns of behaviours and attitudes related to SARS prevention in the Hong Kong cross border traveller population. Settings: A survey was carried out at the Hong Kong-China cross border checkpoint in the middle of the epidemic. Participants: A total of 839 Hong Kong adult residents returning to Hong Kong from mainland China were surveyed. Main outcome measures: Practice of preventive measures and relevant behaviours and attitudes. Results: Around 40% of the respondents were using masks all or most of the time in public places or washing their hands frequently (.10 times per day) and about one third avoided visiting crowded places in mainland China. Such figures were however lower than those practised by the general public in Hong Kong. SARS related perceptions, such as perceived risk of transmission and efficacy, etc, were associated with mask use and not visiting crowded places, but not with hand washing, which was associated with duration of stay. Gender differences were also observed. Around 70% of the travellers would have delayed medical consultation for influenza-like illness in China; 12.7% would not wear masks during such episodes of illness. Furthermore, about 30% of the respondents used to wear masks in Hong Kong but not in mainland China. Conclusions: The findings have implications on cross border prevention of SARS. It seems that those travelling during the SARS epidemic were a ‘‘self selected’’ group, and they were using less preventive measures. Special attention and intervention need to be provided to travellers to prevent a second wave cross border transmission of the disease.
Changes in bread consumption and 4-year changes in adiposity in Spanish subjects at high cardiovascular risk

The effects of bread consumption change over time on anthropometric measures have been scarcely studied. We analysed 2213 participants at high risk for CVD from the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) trial to assess the association between changes in the consumption of bread and weight and waist circumference gain over time. Dietary habits were assessed with validated FFQ at baseline and repeatedly every year during 4 years of follow-up. Using multivariate models to adjust for covariates, long-term weight and waist circumference changes according to quartiles of change in energy-adjusted white and whole-grain bread consumption were calculated. The present results showed that over 4 years, participants in the highest quartile of change in white bread intake gained 0·76 kg more than those in the lowest quartile (P for trend = 0·003) and 1·28 cm more than those in the lowest quartile (P for trend < 0·001). No significant dose–response relationships were observed for change in whole-bread consumption and anthropometric measures. Gaining weight (>2 kg) and gaining waist circumference (>2 cm) during follow-up was not associated with increase in bread consumption, but participants in the highest quartile of changes in white bread intake had a reduction of 33 % in the odds of losing weight (>2 kg) and a reduction of 36 % in the odds of losing waist circumference (>2 cm). The present results suggest that reducing white bread, but not whole-grain bread consumption, within a Mediterranean-style food pattern setting is associated with lower gains in weight and abdominal fat.
Revisiting the Need for Vaccine Prevention of Late-Onset Neonatal Group B Streptococcal Disease: A Multistate, Population-Based Analysis

Background: Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis for neonatal group B streptococcal disease (GBS) effectively prevents disease among infants <7 days old, but there are no prevention strategies for late-onset GBS disease (onset on days 7–89 of life). We describe trends in late-onset GBS over a 16-year period to characterize disease burden and estimate vaccine preventability. Methods: We conducted active, population-based surveillance for invasive late-onset GBS disease in 10 states from 1990 to 2005. A case was defined by GBS isolation from a normally sterile site on day 7–89 of life in a surveillance area resident. Incidence rates were calculated per 1000 resident live births. Results: We identified 1726 cases; 26% presented with meningitis, and the case fatality ratio was 4.3%. Incidence was similar throughout the study period. Incidence among black infants was approximately 3 times that among nonblack infants; the disparity persisted when data were stratified by gestational age. We estimate approximately 1300 cases of late-onset GBS occur annually in the United States. Birth at <37 weeks gestation was common among case-infants (49%) and was associated with elevated case fatality (relative risk: 3.8; 95% confidence interval: 1.1–13.2). Of 653 serotyped isolates, serotypes III (53%), IA (24%), and V (13%) predominated. During 2003–2005, 81 (36%) of the 227 cases caused by serotypes III, IA, and V were born before 34 weeks gestation. Conclusions: The late-onset GBS disease burden remains substantial. A trivalent vaccine could be an effective prevention strategy. Because many cases were born preterm, reducing the opportunity for transplacental antibody transfer, adolescent immunization should be considered.
LOCH: supporting informal language learning outside the classroom with handhelds

The continuous development of wireless and mobile technologies has allowed the creation of an additional platform for supporting learning, one that can be embedded in the same physical space in which the learning is taking place. This paper describes a computer supported ubiquitous learning environment for language learning, called LOCH (language-learning outside the classroom with handhelds). In the environment, the teacher assigns field activities to the students, who go around the town to fulfil them and share their individual experiences. The main aim of this project, called one day trip with PDA (personal digital assistant), was to integrate the knowledge acquired in the classroom and the real needs of the students in their daily life.
Association between cancer risk perception and screening behavior among diverse women.

BACKGROUND We measured the perception of breast, cervical, and colon cancer risks and screening in diverse women to examine the association between risk perception and screening behavior. METHODS Cross-sectional telephone and in-person interviews of women aged 50 to 80 years were conducted in English, Spanish, or Chinese. The women were recruited from primary care practices in San Francisco, California (academic general internal medicine, family medicine, women's health practices, a community-based clinic in Chinatown, and the Community Health Network Clinics, which is affiliated with the San Francisco Department of Public Health), with at least 1 visit within the previous 2 years. Perceived personal risk for each cancer was measured on a word scale (no risk to very high risk) and compared with self-reported screening behavior by ethnicity. RESULTS A total of 1160 women participated: 338 (29%) were White, 167 (14%) were African American, 239 (21%) were Latina, and 416 (36%)were Asian. The average participant was 61 years old and a high school graduate; 18% had a personal history of cancer, and 42% had a family history of cancer. The perceived lifetime risk of cancer varied by ethnicity. Compared with White women, Latinas had a higher perceived risk for cervical cancer (odds ratio [OR], 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8-4.6) and colon cancer (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.8-5.0) after multivariate adjustment, and Asians had a lower perceived risk for cervical cancer (OR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.4-0.9) and colon cancer (OR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.3-0.9). Higher colon cancer risk perception was associated with having undergone colonoscopy within 10 years (OR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.4-5.4). CONCLUSIONS Risk perception was significantly associated with colon cancer screening behavior (P=.001). Evaluation of patients' perceived risk of cancer may be useful to clinicians who are recommending screening tests.
Evaluation of the Highest Probability SVM Nearest Neighbor Classifier with Variable Relative Error Cost

In this paper we evaluate the performance of the highest probability SVM nearest neighbor (HP-SVM-NN) classifier, which combines the ideas of the SVM and k-NN classifiers, on the task of spam filtering, using the pure SVM classifier as a quality baseline. To classify a sample the HP-SVM-NN classifier does the following: for each k in a predefined set {k1, . , kN} it trains an SVM model on k nearest labeled samples, uses this model to classify the given sample, and transforms the output of SVM into posterior probabilities of the two classes using sigmoid approximation; than it selects that of the 2×N resulting answers which has the highest probability. The experimental evaluation shows, that in terms of ROC curves the algorithm is able to achieve higher accuracy than the pure SVM classifier.
Canonical SecA Associates with an Accessory Secretory Protein Complex Involved in Biogenesis of a Streptococcal Serine-Rich Repeat Glycoprotein

ABSTRACT Fap1, a serine-rich repeat glycoprotein (SRRP), is required for bacterial biofilm formation of Streptococcus parasanguinis. Fap1-like SRRPs are found in many Gram-positive bacteria and have been implicated in bacterial fitness and virulence. A conserved five-gene cluster, secY2-gap1-gap2-gap3-secA2, located immediately downstream of fap1, is required for Fap1 biogenesis. secA2, gap1, and gap3 encode three putative accessory Sec proteins. SecA2 mediates export of mature Fap1, and Gap1 and Gap3 are required for Fap1 biogenesis. Interestingly, gap1 and gap3 mutants exhibited the same phenotype as a secA2 mutant, implying that Gap1 and Gap3 may interact with SecA2 to mediate Fap1 biogenesis. Glutathione S-transferase pulldown experiments revealed a direct interaction between SecA2, Gap1, and Gap3 in vitro. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated the formation of a SecA2-Gap1-Gap3 complex. Homologues of SecA2, Gap1, and Gap3 are conserved in many streptococci and staphylococci. The corresponding homologues from Streptococcus agalactiae also interacted with each other and formed a protein complex. Furthermore, the Gap1 homologues from S. agalactiae and Streptococcus sanguinis rescued the Fap1 defect in the Gap1 mutant, indicating the functional conservation of the accessory Sec complex. Importantly, canonical SecA interacted with the accessory Sec protein complex, suggesting that the biogenesis of SRRPs mediated by the accessory Sec system is linked to the canonical Sec system.
Quantitative timed simulation functions and refinement metrics for real-time systems

We introduce quantatitive timed refinement metrics and quantitative timed simulation functions, incorporating zenoness checks, for timed systems. These functions assign positive real numbers between zero and infinity which quantify the timing mismatches between two timed systems, amongst non-zeno runs. We quantify timing mismatches in three ways: (1) the maximum timing mismatch that can arise, (2) the "steady-state" maximum timing mismatches, where initial transient timing mismatches are ignored; and (3) the (long-run) average timing mismatches amongst two systems. These three kinds of mismatches constitute three important types of timing differences. Our event times are the global times, measured from the start of the system execution, not just the time durations of individual steps. We present algorithms over timed automata for computing the three quantitative simulation functions to within any desired degree of accuracy. In order to compute the values of the quantitative simulation functions, we use a game theoretic formulation. We introduce two new kinds of objectives for two player games on finite state game graphs: (1) eventual debit-sum level objectives, and (2) average debit-sum level objectives. We present algorithms for computing the optimal values for these objectives for player 1, and then use these algorithms to compute the values of the quantitative timed simulation functions.
Limited Therapeutic Time Windows of Mild-to-Moderate Hypothermia in a Focal Ischemia Model in Rat

Although many studies have shown the great potential of induced hypothermia in stroke treatment, we recognize that there are limitations to the protective effects of hypothermia even in the laboratory. Here, we review our experiments on the protective effects of mild-to-moderate hypothermia in rats. Focal ischemia was induced by bilateral common carotid artery (CCA) occlusion for 1 to 2 hours combined with permanent or transient middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. We compared the effects of mild (33°C) and moderate (30°C) hypothermia, evaluated therapeutic time windows, and studied the underlying mechanisms. On review, our findings revealed that the protective effects of induced mild hypothermia (33°C) were limited, and the therapeutic time window of even moderate hypothermia (30°C) was very short in our specific models, although this limitation might be due to the relatively brief periods of hypothermia used. In addition, we found that hypothermia reduced brain injury by preserving Akt activity, PTEN phosphorylation and εPKC activity, while inhibiting ROS production, and δPKC activity.
Fungal Genome Initiative A White Paper for Fungal Genomics July 10 , 2004

Since 2001 fungal scientists and members of the Broad Institute have been pursuing a comprehensive plan to apply comparative sequence analysis to study the evolution of eukaryotic cellular processes and the molecular basis for fungal pathogenesis. In this white paper we seek approval to sequence four fungi to continue these efforts: • Schizosaccharomyces octosporus and Schizosaccharomyces japonicus — t o improve the annotation of the S. pombe genome sequence. • Trichophyton rubrum — the cause of athlete's foot and the first organism to be sequenced in the class of fungi that adhere to human skin. • Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis — the causal organism in the recent dramatic decline of global amphibian populations. The sequences of these four genomes, totaling 88 Mb, will both directly contribute to the study of key fungal pathogens and advance the utility of S. pombe, a widely used model for molecular and cellular research.
Efflux of metabolized and nonmetabolized fatty acid from canine myocardium. Implications for quantifying myocardial metabolism tomographically.

It has generally been assumed, from assessment of myocardial metabolism with [1(-11)C]palmitate and positron emission tomography, that clearance of the radiolabel from the myocardium is attributable solely to efflux of the products of oxidative metabolism. However, interpretations would differ if this assumption were unfulfilled. Furthermore, efflux of metabolized and nonmetabolized tracer has not been quantified. Accordingly, in this study, myocardium was perfused extracorporeally in 21 open-chest anesthetized dogs, and the extraction and clearance of [1(-11)C]palmitate were characterized under baseline conditions (normoxia, n = 21), and, again, with ischemia (n = 6), with hypoxia (n = 9), or under control conditions (n = 6). After intracoronary bolus injection of [1(-11)C]palmitate, myocardial time activity curves were measured with a beta-probe, and the products of oxidative metabolism (11CO2) and efflux of extracted but nonmetabolized fatty acid ("back-diffusion" of [1(-11)C]palmitate) were measured directly from analysis of arterial and regional coronary venous blood. Under control conditions, 45.2 +/- 3.8% (mean +/- SD) of initially extracted [1(-11)C]palmitate was metabolized to 11CO2, whereas 6.2 +/- 2.6% back-diffused in unaltered form in 1-10 minutes. In contrast, with ischemia (perfusion of 26% of baseline), only 16.9 +/- 9.8% of administered tracer evolved as 11CO2 (P less than 0.001 compared with control) but 15.6 +/- 8.9% (i.e., almost half of the total amount cleared) evolved unaltered as [1(-11)C]palmitate (P less than 0.05). Similarly, with hypoxia, 15.1 +/- 8.4% evolved as 11CO2 (P less than 0.0001) and 18.8 +/- 11.7% back-diffused (P less than 0.001). Overall, from 1-40 minutes after intracoronary injection of tracer, back-diffusion of [1(-11)C]palmitate contributed 40.6% of total radioactivity in the effluent with ischemia, 48.7% with hypoxia, but only 8.9% under control conditions. Despite the increased back-diffusion of [1(-11)C]palmitate seen with ischemia and hypoxia, the overall residue of 11C activity in myocardium increased, consistent with the diminished clearance observed in the myocardial time-activity curves and the increase in the tissue content of triglyceride and nonesterified fatty acid. Our results indicate that estimates of oxidative metabolism based upon clearance of radiolabeled fatty acid must take into account the efflux of initially extracted but nonmetabolized fatty acid. The findings apply to external determination of oxidative metabolism of the heart with any imaging modality that delineates retention and clearance of labeled fatty acids or their analogs.
Flexural/tensile-strength ratio in engineered cementitious composites

In this paper the flexural behavior of a strain-hardening engineered cementitious composite (ECC) is studied and compared with that observed in a regular fiber/reinforced cementitious composite (FRC). Unlike concrete or regular FRC, ECC materials are characterized by their ability to sustain higher levels of loading after first cracking while undergoing additional straining. This strain-hardening behavior gives ECCs a significant advantage under flexural loading. In quasi-brittle materials such as regular FRC, the ratio of flexural strength (the modulus of rupture) to tensile strength is known to vary between 1 and 3, depending on the details of the reinforcement and the geometry of the specimen. In this paper, the strain-hardening behavior observed in an ECC led to a high flexural-strength-to-tensile-strength ratio. In a third-point bending test, the flexural strength of an ECC was measured to be five times its tensile (first-cracking) strength. This result was also predicted by a simple theoretical model. The model can be used for the purpose of optimizing the flexural strength of ECCs.