Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The acid tolerance response of Salmonella typhimurium involves transient synthesis of key acid shock proteins

Although Salmonella typhimurium prefers neutral-pH environments, it can adapt to survive conditions of severe low-pH stress (pH 3.3). The process, termed the acid tolerance response (ATR), includes two distinct stages. The first stage, called pre-acid shock, is induced at pH 5.8 and involves the production of an inducible pH homeostasis system functional at external pH values below 4.0. The second stage occurs following an acid shock shift to pH 4.5 or below and is called the post-acid shock stage. During this stage of the ATR, 43 acid shock proteins (ASPs) are synthesized. The present data reveal that several ASPs important for pH 3.3 acid tolerance are only transiently produced. Their disappearance after 30 to 40 min of pH 4.4 acid shock coincides with an inability to survive subsequent pH 3.3 acid challenge. Clearly, an essential feature of inducible acid tolerance is an ability to synthesize these key ASPs. The pre-acid shock stage, with its inducible pH homeostasis system, offers the cell an enhanced ability to synthesize ASPs following rapid shifts to conditions below pH 4.0, an external pH that normally prevents ASP synthesis. The data also address possible signals for ASP synthesis. The inducing signal for 22 ASPs appears to be internal acidification, while external pH serves to induce 13 others. Of the 14 transient ASPs, 10 are induced in response to changes in internal pH. Mutations in the fur (ferric uptake regulator) locus that produce an Atr- acid-sensitive phenotype also eliminate induction of six transiently induced ASPs.
Social, demographic, and medical influences on physical activity in child and adolescent cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE This study evaluated associations between social, environmental, demographic, and medical predictors, and child and adolescent survivors' physical activity (PA). METHODS A structured telephone survey was conducted with 105 caregiver-survivor (aged 8-16 years) pairs and 36 caregivers of younger survivors (aged 6-7 years) alone. Participants completed measures assessing survivor PA and proposed predictors of PA including demographic, medical, social, and environmental influences. RESULTS Social influences, including family PA, family support for PA, and peer support for PA, emerged as unique predictors of survivor PA. These variables predicted PA after controlling for demographic and medical factors. Child survivors' PA was more strongly predicted by family influences while adolescent survivors' PA was more strongly influenced by family and peer influences. CONCLUSIONS Child and adolescent survivors' PA is strongly influenced by social factors. This finding parallels results with healthy children. PA interventions should focus on family and peer support to increase survivors' PA behaviors.
THE EFFECT OF AUDIENCE SPECIFICATION ON UNDERGRADUATES: ATTITUDE, STRATEGIES, AND WRITING

This study investigated the effects of assigning an audience on undergraduates' attitudes, composing strategies, and persuasive writing. Eighty-seven students in an intermediate composition course took a writing pretest without an assigned audience. Then, they were randomly assigned to three posttest conditions: (a) imaginary assigned reader, (b) real assigned reader, and (c) no assigned reader. For all participants the posttest was a second draft about the pretest topic. When the assigned reader and English teachers rated the essays for persuasiveness, assigning an audience had a limited effect on the assigned reader's scores and no significant effect on the teachers' scores. However, analyses of questionnaire and interview data indicated that assigning an audience increased students' interest, effort, and use of audience-based strategies. In addition, the questionnaires revealed an audience effect across groups. That is, students who said they had thought of someone like the assigned reader were twice as likely to persuade the assigned reader as students who had not. Studies suggest that most secondary and college students are not adapting their writing to audiences beyond the classroom (Applebee, 1981; Britton, Burgess, Martin, McLeod, & Rosen, 1975; Cooper, 1984; NAEP, 1985, 1986). Some researchers have attributed this problem to a deficiency in students' (a) cognitive development (Lunsford, 1979; Moffett, 1968; Shaughnessy, 1977), (b) knowledge of text conventions (Dillon, 1981; Park, 1982, 1986), or (c) coordination of composing demands (Bereiter, 1980; Kroll, 1984; Scardamalia, 1981). While acknowledging these deficiencies, other researchers have argued that the school context also contributes to the problem (Applebee, 1981; Collins & Williamson, 1984). The studies cited above indicate that most school writing addresses overhearers teachers who are not personally involved with the topic. In contrast, most on-the-job writing addresses rhetorical audiences (see Anderson, 1985). According to Bitzer (1971), a rheThis article is based on the first author's doctoral dissertation (University of Maryland, 1987). The research was supported by a fellowship from the United Negro College Fund and by a grant from the University of Maryland, College Park. Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 23, No. 1, February 1989
Merging in the Horn Fragment

Belief merging is a central operation within the field of belief change and addresses the problem of combining multiple, possibly mutually inconsistent knowledge bases into a single, consistent one. A current research trend in belief change is concerned with representation theorems tailored to fragments of logic, in particular Horn logic. Hereby, the goal is to guarantee that the result of the change operations stays within the fragment under consideration. While several such results have been obtained for Horn revision and Horn contraction, merging of Horn theories has been neglected so far. In this article, we provide a novel representation theorem for Horn merging by strengthening the standard merging postulates. Moreover, we present concrete Horn merging operators satisfying all postulates.
Determination of Nerve Fiber Diameter Distribution From Compound Action Potential: A Continuous Approach

When a signal is initiated in the nerve, it is transmitted along each nerve fiber via an action potential (called single fiber action potential (SFAP)) which travels with a velocity that is related with the diameter of the fiber. The additive superposition of SFAPs constitutes the compound action potential (CAP) of the nerve. The fiber diameter distribution (FDD) in the nerve can be computed from the CAP data by solving an inverse problem. This is usually achieved by dividing the fibers into a finite number of diameter groups and solve a corresponding linear system to optimize FDD. However, number of fibers in a nerve can be measured sometimes in thousands and it is possible to assume a continuous distribution for the fiber diameters which leads to a gradient optimization problem. In this paper, we have evaluated this continuous approach to the solution of the inverse problem. We have utilized an analytical function for SFAP and an assumed a polynomial form for FDD. The inverse problem involves the optimization of polynomial coefficients to obtain the best estimate for the FDD. We have observed that an eighth order polynomial for FDD can capture both unimodal and bimodal fiber distributions present in vivo, even in case of noisy CAP data. The assumed FDD distribution regularizes the ill-conditioned inverse problem and produces good results.
A Novel Extracellular Hsp90 Mediated Co-Receptor Function for LRP1 Regulates EphA2 Dependent Glioblastoma Cell Invasion

Background Extracellular Hsp90 protein (eHsp90) potentiates cancer cell motility and invasion through a poorly understood mechanism involving ligand mediated function with its cognate receptor LRP1. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represents one of the most aggressive and lethal brain cancers. The receptor tyrosine kinase EphA2 is overexpressed in the majority of GBM specimens and is a critical mediator of GBM invasiveness through its AKT dependent activation of EphA2 at S897 (P-EphA2S897). We explored whether eHsp90 may confer invasive properties to GBM via regulation of EphA2 mediated signaling. Principal Findings We find that eHsp90 signaling is essential for sustaining AKT activation, P-EphA2S897, lamellipodia formation, and concomitant GBM cell motility and invasion. Furthermore, eHsp90 promotes the recruitment of LRP1 to EphA2 in an AKT dependent manner. A finding supported by biochemical methodology and the dual expression of LRP1 and P-EphA2S897 in primary and recurrent GBM tumor specimens. Moreover, hypoxia mediated facilitation of GBM motility and invasion is dependent upon eHsp90-LRP1 signaling. Hypoxia dramatically elevated surface expression of both eHsp90 and LRP1, concomitant with eHsp90 dependent activation of src, AKT, and EphA2. Significance We herein demonstrate a novel crosstalk mechanism involving eHsp90-LRP1 dependent regulation of EphA2 function. We highlight a dual role for eHsp90 in transducing signaling via LRP1, and in facilitating LRP1 co-receptor function for EphA2. Taken together, our results demonstrate activation of the eHsp90-LRP1 signaling axis as an obligate step in the initiation and maintenance of AKT signaling and EphA2 activation, thereby implicating this pathway as an integral component contributing to the aggressive nature of GBM.
Ultrasonic tomography of green wood using a non-parametric imaging algorithm with reflected waves

Abstract• Ultrasonic computed tomography in reflection was used to assess the integrity of green wood. Qualitative reflectivity images were obtained from back-scattered measurements by reflection tomography, like ultrasound in medical applications. • The reconstruction algorithm was designed using, in particular, a linear approximation of the forward problem (Born approximation) and based on the assumption that a transversal cross section of wood is isotropic. The experimental device was composed of only one rotating emitter—receiver transducer to record and compute the projections. In this specific case, a tomographic projection was directly associated with a recorded signal. The qualitative aspect of this imaging technique was validated by performing a numerical simulation and tested on a small diameter green wood (Picea abies) log. • The images obtained were geometrically accurate considering the internal inclusions. It was, however, not possible in the simulation to differentiate the object shape from the background (coupling medium) because the reflectivity value associated with the object was too low. The image obtained with the spruce sample mainly showed the position of the bark as indicated by a very high contrast area. The proportion of transmitted energy was, however, sufficient to reconstruct the artificial inclusion within the sample. Résumé• L’imagerie tomographique ultrasonore en réflexion a été employée pour évaluer l’intégrité de bois à l’état vert. La tomographie en réflexion a permis d’obtenir des images qualitatives de réflectivité à partir de mesures rétro — diffusées analogues à l’échographie en médecine. • L’algorithme de reconstruction était conçu en utilisant notamment une approximation linéaire du problème direct (l’approximation de Born) et en supposant que la section transverse du bois était isotrope. Le dispositif expérimental était composé d’un seul transducteur émetteur — récepteur en rotation pour enregistrer et calculer les projections. Dans ce cas spécifique, une projection tomographique était directement associée au signal enregistré. L’aspect qualitatif de cette technique d’imagerie a été validé en effectuant une simulation numérique et a été testé sur un rondin de faible diamètre à l’état vert (Picea abies). • Les images obtenues étaient géométriquement justes en se référant aux inclusions internes. Il n’a cependant pas été possible lors de la simulation de discriminer l’objet de l’arrière plan (milieu couplant) en raison de la trop faible valeur de réflectivité associée à l’objet. L’image obtenue avec l’échantillon d’épicéa a principalement montré la position de l’écorce marquée par un très fort contraste. La proportion d’énergie transmise a cependant été suffisante pour reconstruire l’inclusion artificielle à l’intérieur de l’échantillon.
Small changes in enzyme function can lead to surprisingly large fitness effects during adaptive evolution of antibiotic resistance

In principle, evolutionary outcomes could be largely predicted if all of the relevant physicochemical variants of a particular protein function under selection were known and integrated into an appropriate physiological model. We have tested this principle by generating a family of variants of the tetracycline resistance protein TetX2 and identified the physicochemical properties most correlated with organismal fitness. Surprisingly, small changes in the Km(MCN), less than twofold, were sufficient to produce highly successful adaptive mutants over clinically relevant drug concentrations. We then built a quantitative model directly relating the in vitro physicochemical properties of the mutant enzymes to the growth rates of bacteria carrying a single chromosomal copy of the tet(X2) variants over a wide range of minocycline (MCN) concentrations. Importantly, this model allows the prediction of enzymatic properties directly from cellular growth rates as well as the physicochemical-fitness landscape of TetX2. Using experimental evolution and deep sequencing to monitor the allelic frequencies of the seven most biochemically efficient TetX2 mutants in 10 independently evolving populations, we showed that the model correctly predicted the success of the two most beneficial variants tet(X2)T280A and tet(X2)N371I. The structure of the most efficient variant, TetX2T280A, in complex with MCN at 2.7 Å resolution suggests an indirect effect on enzyme kinetics. Taken together, these findings support an important role for readily accessible small steps in protein evolution that can, in turn, greatly increase the fitness of an organism during natural selection.
A FURTHER DROP INTO QUIESCENCE BY THE ECLIPSING NEUTRON STAR 4U 2129+47

The low-mass X-ray binary 4U 2129+47 was discovered during a previous X-ray outburst phase and was classified as an accretion disk corona source. A 1% delay between two mid-eclipse epochs measured ∼22 days apart was reported from two XMM-Newton observations taken in 2005, providing support to the previous suggestion that 4U 2129+47 might be in a hierarchical triple system. In this work, we present timing and spectral analysis of three recent XMM-Newton observations of 4U 2129+47, carried out between 2007 November and 2008 January. We found that except for the two 2005 XMM-Newton observations, all other observations are consistent with a linear ephemeris with a constant period of 18 857.63 s; however, we confirm the time delay reported for the two 2005 XMM-Newton observations. Compared to a Chandra observation taken in 2000, these new observations also confirm the disappearance of the sinusoidal modulation of the light curve as reported from two 2005 XMM-Newton observations. We further show that, compared to the Chandra observation, all of the XMM-Newton observations have 40% lower 0.5–2 keV absorbed fluxes, and the most recent XMM-Newton observations have a combined 2–6 keV flux that is nearly 80% lower. Taken as a whole, the timing results support the hypothesis that the system is in a hierarchical triple system (with a third body period of at least 175 days). The spectral results raise the question of whether the drop in soft X-ray flux is solely attributable to the loss of the hard X-ray tail (which might be related to the loss of sinusoidal orbital modulation), or is indicative of further cooling of the quiescent neutron star after cessation of residual, low-level accretion.
A Divisive Information-Theoretic Feature Clustering Algorithm for Text Classification

High dimensionality of text can be a deterrent in applying complex learners such as Support Vector Machines to the task of text classification. Feature clustering is a powerful alternative to feature selection for reducing the dimensionality of text data. In this paper we propose a new information-theoretic divisive algorithm for feature/word clustering and apply it to text classification. Existing techniques for such "distributional clustering" of words are agglomerative in nature and result in (i) sub-optimal word clusters and (ii) high computational cost. In order to explicitly capture the optimality of word clusters in an information theoretic framework, we first derive a global criterion for feature clustering. We then present a fast, divisive algorithm that monotonically decreases this objective function value. We show that our algorithm minimizes the "within-cluster Jensen-Shannon divergence" while simultaneously maximizing the "between-cluster Jensen-Shannon divergence". In comparison to the previously proposed agglomerative strategies our divisive algorithm is much faster and achieves comparable or higher classification accuracies. We further show that feature clustering is an effective technique for building smaller class models in hierarchical classification. We present detailed experimental results using Naive Bayes and Support Vector Machines on the 20Newsgroups data set and a 3-level hierarchy of HTML documents collected from the Open Directory project (www.dmoz.org).
Inherited lipodystrophies and the metabolic syndrome

Lipodystrophies represent a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by an abnormal subcutaneous fat distribution, the extent of which can vary from localized, to partial, to generalized lipoatrophy. Whereas partial and generalized lipodystrophies are each associated with metabolic abnormalities, the localized form is not. These metabolic changes include insulin resistance with type 2 diabetes, acanthosis nigricans, dyslipidaemia predominantly consisting of hypertriglyceridaemia (associated with the onset of pancreatitis) and depressed HDL cholesterol, liver steatosis and hypertension. Affected women are often hirsute and this can be associated with the presence of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Most of these clinical features are present to some extent in patients with the common metabolic syndrome. As the prevalence of metabolic syndrome far outweighs that of lipodystrophy, the diagnosis of this rare disorder may often be overlooked with the affected patient diagnosed as merely being ‘yet’ another case of metabolic syndrome. In this article, we draw attention to the importance of recognizing patients with lipodystrophy who present with metabolic abnormalities, as both the diagnostic as well as the therapeutic approach of these patients differ profoundly from patients with the metabolic syndrome.
A note on designing evaluations of health effects of cultural activities at work

The present pilot study was performed as part of the preparation for a larger controlled evaluation of health effects of a work site-based cultural programme. Forty participants, 10 in each of 4 work sites, were exposed to cultural events that took place once a week during a 3-month period. Standardised health questionnaires were distributed and blood samples collected before and after the three-month period. Visual analogue scales were distributed before and after the event, and from those average emotional effects for each individual were calculated. The individuals who had the highest average emotional effects were those who had the most pronounced deterioration in social support at work – a possible jealousy effect. The potentially most important effect to be evaluated is probably a collective beneficial “climate change” effect which cannot be studied if participants are sparsely distributed in the work site.
Diagnostic Accuracy of a Bioluminescence System for the Assessment of Caries Activity on Occlusal Surfaces

Objective: Assessment of caries lesion activity is usually performed using visual-tactile criteria. A new approach is to use a system consisting of a photoprotein, which is specific for free calcium ions, along with an integrated camera that visualizes the elevated calcium ions on the lesion as a light signal (bioluminescence). This study aimed to evaluate the reproducibility and diagnostic accuracy of a newly developed bioluminescence system to assess caries lesion activity on occlusal surfaces in vitro. Materials and Methods: Ninety-four extracted permanent teeth with sound surfaces and both active and inactive caries lesions were included. The extent and activity of the investigation sites were classified visually according to the International Caries Detection and Assessment System. Digital images of the teeth were produced by the bioluminescence system and the images were analyzed for the presence of caries activity (the bioluminescent areas at the investigation sites). The images were reanalyzed after 4 weeks. Teeth were hemisected and methyl red dye was applied on the sections to validate lesion activity histologically. Results: Agreement between the bioluminescence readings was shown by κ values of 0.802–0.917. A significant positive correlation (p < 0.001) was found across all methods (rs 0.618–0.811). Sensitivity and specificity for activity assessment using histology as the gold standard (cut-off: active/inactive) were, respectively, 83.6 and 85.0% for the visual assessment, and 92.5 and 90.0% for the bioluminescence method. Comparison of areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves showed no significant difference between the visual and bioluminescence systems (p = 0.094). Conclusion: The bioluminescence system demonstrated high in vitro reproducibility and good diagnostic accuracy for activity assessment of caries lesions on occlusal surfaces which were not significantly different from the values obtained in the visual assessment.
The Power and Ideology of Artistic Creation

There is increasing evidence that in Classic Maya society some of the finest objects were produced by artists who were elites. Excavations at the rapidly abandoned center of Aguateca, Guatemala, in particular, have provided clear archaeological evidence of craft production by elites. These data present a unique test case for refining the archaeological theory of craft specialization. For the Classic Maya, the manufacture of art objects was an act of creation loaded with symbolic meaning. Skilled crafting, along with the privileged knowledge encoded in the products, formed an important part of the high culture that served to distinguish the elite from the rest of society. The cultural and symbolic capital resulting from artistic creation also had critical meaning and consequences for competition among elites. Such a system of craft specialization needs to be understood in its social and cultural contexts, with particular emphasis on the power relations and ideologies surrounding production.
IMPLICIT STATE-SPACE REPRESENTATION : A UNIFYING FRAMEWORK FOR FWL IMPLEMENTATION OF LTI SYSTEMS

Abstract Practically, some intermediary realizations are used in order to simulate, numerically, dynamic systems. One of the most popular is the state-space realization. It reveals to be very useful to study the impact of Finite Word Length implementation, especially in the case of embedded controller. Numerous works concerned the design of the “best” realization concerning parameterisation, numerical noise minimisation or saving computation. This paper points out however that a standard state-space realization is too basic to take into account some interesting realizations. On the contrary, it highlights that implicit state-space realizations allows a more direct link with the macroscopic computations to be performed. It is necessary to describe some popular algorithms simulating LTI systems. Moreover, such a representation has the important property to unify different ways of research considering differently the possibilities offered by using the shift, δ or γ operators.