Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mycobacterium tuberculosis 16-kDa Antigen (Hsp16.3) Functions as an Oligomeric Structure in Vitro to Suppress Thermal Aggregation (*)

Tuberculosis continues to be a major disease threatening millions of lives worldwide. Several antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, identified by monoclonal antibodies, have been cloned and are being exploited in the development of improved vaccines and diagnostic reagents. We have expressed and purified the 16-kDa antigen, an immunodominant antigen with serodiagnostic value, which has been previously cloned and shown to share low sequence homology with the α-crystallin-related small heat shock protein family. Sedimentation equilibrium analytical ultracentrifugation and dynamic light scattering demonstrate the formation of a specific oligomer, 149 ± 8 kDa, consisting of approximately nine monomers. In 4 M urea, a smaller oligomer of 47 ± 6 kDa (or trimer) is produced. Analysis by electron cryomicroscopy reveals a triangular shaped oligomeric structure arising from the presence of three subparticles or globules. Taken together, the data suggest an antigen complex structure of a trimer of trimers. This antigen, independent of ATP addition, effectively suppresses the thermal aggregation of citrate synthase at 40°C, indicating that it can function as a molecular chaperone in vitro. A complex between the antigen and heat-denatured citrate synthase can be detected and isolated using high performance liquid chromatography. We propose to rename the 16-kDa antigen Hsp16.3 to be consistent with other members of the small heat shock protein family.
VRACK — virtual reality augmented cycling kit: Design and validation

In this paper the virtual reality augmented cycling kit (VRACK) a mechatronic rehabilitation system with an interactive virtual environment is presented. It was designed as a modular system that can convert most bicycles in virtual reality (VR) cycles. Novel hardware components embedded with sensors were implemented on a stationary exercise bicycle to monitor physiological and biomechanical parameters of participants while immersing them in a virtual reality simulation providing the user with visual, auditory and haptic feedback. This modular and adaptable system attaches to commercially-available stationary bicycle systems and interfaces with a personal computer for simulation and data acquisition processes. The bicycle system includes novel handle bars based on hydraulic pressure sensors and innovative pedals that monitor lower extremity kinetics and kinematics. Parameters monitored by these systems are communicated to a practitioner's interface screen and can be amplified before entering its virtual environment. The first prototype of the system was successful in demonstrating that a modular mechatronic kit can monitor and record kinetic, kinematic and physiologic parameters of riders.
Translation-Invariant Orientation Tuning in Visual “Complex” Cells Could Derive from Intradendritic Computations

Hubel and Wiesel (1962) first distinguished “simple” from “complex” cells in visual cortex and proposed a processing hierarchy in which rows of LGN cells are pooled to drive oriented simple cell subunits, which are pooled in turn to drive complex cells. Although parsimonious and highly influential, the pure hierarchical model has since been challenged by results indicating that many complex cells receive excitatory monosynaptic input from LGN cells or do not depend on simple cell input. Alternative accounts of complex cell orientation tuning remain scant, however, and the function of monosynaptic LGN contacts onto complex cell dendrites remains unknown. We have used a biophysically detailed compartmental model to investigate whether nonlinear integration of LGN synaptic inputs within the dendrites of individual pyramidal cells could contribute to complex-cell receptive field structure. We show that an isolated cortical neuron with “active” dendrites, driven only by excitatory inputs from overlapping ON- and OFF-center LGN subfields, can produce clear phase-invariant orientation tuning—a hallmark response characteristic of a complex cell. The tuning is shown to depend critically both on the spatial arrangement of LGN synaptic contacts across the complex cell dendritic tree, established by a Hebbian developmental principle, and on the physiological efficacy of excitatory voltage-dependent dendritic ion channels. We conclude that unoriented LGN inputs to a complex cell could contribute in a significant way to its orientation tuning, acting in concert with oriented inputs to the same cell provided by simple cells or other complex cells. As such, our model provides a novel, experimentally testable hypothesis regarding the basis of orientation tuning in the complex cell population, and more generally underscores the potential importance of nonlinear intradendritic subunit processing in cortical neurophysiology.
Soil Erosion Caused by Snow Avalanches: a Case Study in the Aosta Valley (NW Italy)

Abstract Snow avalanches can exert considerable erosive forces on soils. If a snow avalanche flows directly over bare ground, basal shear forces may scrape away and entrain soil. Soil material entrained by the avalanche is transported to the deposition zone, changing the chemical composition of the soils and potentially contributing to unique landforms. The quantity of soil material eroded and accumulated depends on avalanche characteristics and on morphological features, as well as soil properties and vegetation cover. We monitored a channeled avalanche path in the Aosta Valley of NW Italy in order to assess the contribution of avalanche debris to the formation of soils in the runout zone. Sediment concentration estimates and measurements of the avalanche deposit volumes were used to estimate the total sediment load. The collected sediments were separated into fine sediments (<2 mm) and large (>2 mm) organic and mineral fractions. Results, obtained from the winter seasons of 2006, 2007, and 2008, showed that the amount of sediment deposited on the preexistent soil at the foot of the avalanche path was mainly the fine sediments fraction. The total carbon and nitrogen content in the fine sediment fraction ranged respectively from 6.6 to 9.0% and 0.37 to 0.42%. The total sediment load transported out of the 3.5 km2 basin was estimated to be 7585 kg in 2006, 27,115 kg in 2007, and 2323 kg in 2008. This mass transport resulted in basin averaged denudation rates ranging from 0.67 g m−2 event−1 in 2008 to 7.77 g m−2 event−1 in 2007. Annual accumulation in the runout zone was 240 Mg ha−1 in 2006, 38 Mg ha−1 in 2007 and 10 Mg ha−1 in 2008. The inorganic N concentration of the snow in the runout zone was significantly greater than in the starting zone and was correlated with the organic fraction accumulated by the avalanche. By redistributing snow, avalanches not only redistribute water but also nutrients that can be available for plants in the growing season. Moreover, avalanche paths are places where soil accumulates in some areas and erodes in others, contributing to potentially unique pedo-environmental conditions.
Armored scale insect endosymbiont diversity at the species level: genealogical patterns of Uzinura diasipipdicola in the Chionaspis pinifoliae–Chionaspis heterophyllae species complex (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Diaspididae)

Abstract Armored scale insects and their primary bacterial endosymbionts show nearly identical patterns of co-diversification when viewed at the family level, though the persistence of these patterns at the species level has not been explored in this group. Therefore we investigated genealogical patterns of co-diversification near the species level between the primary endosymbiont Uzinura diaspidicola and its hosts in the Chionaspis pinifoliae–Chionaspis heterophyllae species complex. To do this we generated DNA sequence data from three endosymbiont loci (rspB, GroEL, and 16S) and analyzed each locus independently using statistical parsimony network analyses and as a concatenated dataset using Bayesian phylogenetic reconstructions. We found that for two endosymbiont loci, 16S and GroEL, sequences from U. diaspidicola were broadly associated with host species designations, while for rspB this pattern was less clear as C. heterophyllae (species S1) shared haplotypes with several other Chionaspis species. We then compared the topological congruence of the phylogenetic reconstructions generated from a concatenated dataset of endosymbiont loci (including all three loci, above) to that from a concatenated dataset of armored scale hosts, using published data from two nuclear loci (28S and EF1α) and one mitochondrial locus (COI–COII) from the armored scale hosts. We calculated whether the two topologies were congruent using the Shimodaira–Hasegawa test. We found no significant differences (P = 0.4892) between the topologies suggesting that, at least at this level of resolution, co-diversification of U. diaspidicola with its armored scale hosts also occurs near the species level. This is the first such study of co-speciation at the species level between U. diaspidicola and a group of armored scale insects.
Effect of music on state anxiety scores in patients undergoing fiberoptic bronchoscopy.

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of music on state anxiety levels in patients undergoing flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FFB). DESIGN Randomized clinical trial using pretests, posttests, and two groups. SETTING Pulmonary special-procedures unit of a tertiary-care referral center. PATIENTS Sixty adult patients: 30 patients received music during bronchoscopy and 30 control subjects received no music. RESULTS The study population had baseline state anxiety levels similar to those previously reported in surgical patients (42.6 +/- 13 vs 42.7 +/- 14; p value, not significant [NS]) and higher than those reported in normal working adults (42.6 +/- 13 vs 34.4 +/- 10; p < 0.001). Experimental and control groups were similar in patient and procedure-related characteristics and baseline pre-FFB state and trait anxiety scores. Although trait anxiety scores decreased significantly after the procedure (pooled post-FFB scores of 32.6 +/- 10 vs pre-FFB scores of 35.5 +/- 11; p < 0.001), no reductions were noted in state anxiety (pooled post-FFB scores of 42.8 +/- 13 vs pre-FFB scores of 42.6 +/- 13; p value, NS). More importantly, playing music through headphones during FFB did not result in a statistically or clinically significant reduction in either state or trait anxiety when compared to control subjects. CONCLUSION Relaxation music administered through headphones to patients during flexible bronchoscopy does not decrease procedure-related state anxiety.
Knowledge, Networks, and Knowledge Networks

A large and growing body of empirical research shows that social relationships and the networks these relationships constitute are influential in explaining the processes of knowledge creation, diffusion, absorption, and use. The authors refer to such networks as “knowledge networks. ” They advance an understanding of knowledge networks at multiple levels by conducting a systematic review and analysis of empirical research published on this topic in leading management, psychology, sociology, and economics journals. The authors develop a comprehensive framework that organizes the knowledge networks literature, which they use to review extant empirical research within and across multiple disciplines and levels of analysis. They identify points of coherence and conflict in theoretical arguments and empirical results within and across levels and identify emerging themes and promising areas for future research.
Underestimation of the importance of blood pressure and cholesterol for coronary heart disease mortality in old age.

AIMS To take appropriate account of duration of follow-up in estimating age-specific associations of 'usual' blood pressure and cholesterol with death from coronary heart disease. METHODS AND RESULTS Blood pressure and cholesterol were measured in 18 841 men at entry to the Whitehall study, and coronary heart disease mortality was recorded during a 26-year period. Biennial re-measurements of these risk factors in the Framingham study were used to obtain period-specific corrections for 'regression dilution'. For coronary heart disease deaths at ages 40-64, 65-74 and 75+ years in the Whitehall study, the mean times since baseline were 9, 15, and 21 years, respectively. In uncorrected analyses of coronary heart disease risk in each age range, a 10 mmHg lower systolic blood pressure at baseline was associated with proportional risk reductions of only 19%, 14% and 10%, respectively (P<0.001 for trend with age). After period-specific correction for regression dilution, a 10 mmHg lower usual systolic blood pressure about 5 years before coronary heart disease death was associated with risk reductions of 25%, 23% and 21%, respectively (trend P=0.1). Similarly, a 1 mmol . l(-1)lower blood cholesterol was associated with proportional reductions in coronary heart disease risk of 21%, 17% and 11% (trend P<0.001) in uncorrected analyses, by contrast with proportional reductions of 27%, 26% and 21% (trend P=0.5) after period-specific correction. CONCLUSIONS After making appropriate allowance for the longer interval between baseline measurements and death at older ages, reductions in the risk of coronary heart disease death associated with differences in usual levels of blood pressure or cholesterol at some particular fixed time prior to death were about as great in old age as in middle age.
Controversies in cardiovascular medicine C-reactive protein is a bystander of cardiovascular disease

A large number of studies have evaluated the association of hs-C-reactive protein with atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease (CHD) in mechanistic, genetic, population-based studies, as well as clinical trials. This paper reviews the collective evidence to determine if hs-C-reactive protein is part of the causal pathway of atherosclerosis and CHD or whether it is a bystander. Keyword C-reactive protein
Remote or Extraischemic Intracerebral Hemorrhage—An Uncommon Complication of Stroke Thrombolysis: Results From the Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke-International Stroke Thrombolysis Register

Background and Purpose— Intracerebral hemorrhage after treatment with intravenous recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator for ischemic stroke can occur in local relation to the infarct, as well as in brain areas remote from infarcted tissue. We aimed to describe risk factors, 3-month mortality, and functional outcome in patients with the poorly understood complication of remote intracerebral hemorrhage, as well as local intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods— In this study, 43 494 patients treated with intravenous recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator, with complete imaging data, were enrolled in the Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke-International Stroke Thrombolysis Register (SITS-ISTR) during 2002 to 2011. Baseline data were compared among 970 patients (2.2%) with remote parenchymal hemorrhage (PHr), 2325 (5.3%) with PH, 438 (1.0%) with both PH and PHr, and 39 761 (91.4%) without PH or PHr. Independent risk factors for all hemorrhage types were obtained by multivariate logistic regression. Results— Previous stroke (P=0.023) and higher age (P<0.001) were independently associated with PHr, but not with PH. Atrial fibrillation, computed tomographic hyperdense cerebral artery sign, and elevated blood glucose were associated with PH, but not with PHr. Female sex had a stronger association with PHr than with PH. Functional independence at 3 months was more common in PHr than in PH (34% versus 24%; P<0.001), whereas 3-month mortality was lower (34% versus 39%; P<0.001). Conclusions— Differences between risk factor profiles indicate an influence of previous vascular pathology in PHr and acute large-vessel occlusion in PH. Additional research is needed on the effect of pre-existing cerebrovascular disease on complications of recanalization therapy in acute ischemic stroke.
An Empirical Study of Determinants of E-Commerce Adoption in SMEs in Vietnam: An Economy in Transition

Experts and business pundits forecasted drastic changes in Vietnam's fledgling e-commerce when the Southeast Asian country became an official member of the World Trade Organization WTO in 2007. Over the past few years, as part of the Reform-called Doi moi-some Vietnamese enterprises have adopted e-commerce and already benefitted from it. In this research, the authors adapt the Technology-Organization-Environment TOE framework and test a model of e-commerce adoption including numerous internal and external factors identified in empirical studies. The final sample of 926 small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam includes both adopter and non-adopter firms. The policy implications of this study on promoting e-commerce adoption by SMEs in transition economies, such as Vietnam, are discussed.
Genetic analysis and QTL mapping of agro-morphological traits in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) under two contrasting water treatment conditions

The present study was undertaken to investigate the genetic basis and map quantitative trait loci (QTLs), controlling agronomic traits in sunflower under well-watered and water-stressed conditions. Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) coming from the cross between sunflower parental lines PAC2 and RHA266 were evaluated in a rectangular 8X9 lattice design with two replications in each treatment conditions. High genetic variability and transgressive segregation was observed for all studied traits in both water treatment conditions. Significant correlations were observed among studied traits. QTL-mapping was performed using a recently developed SSR sunflower linkage map. One to eleven QTLs were found for studied trait across two water treatment conditions. The percentage of phenotypic variance (R2) explained by QTLs ranged from 0.23 to 48.89%. Based on overlapping support intervals, the co-location of QTLs for studied traits was determined. QTLs controlling most of the traits were overlapped on different linkage groups, which was in accordance with the phenotypic correlation results among the traits. A comparative analysis of identified QTLs herein with those described in previous studies for drought adaptive traits revealed a number of QTLs in common. These QTLs have potential use in marker-assisted selection.
Frequency assignment for cellular mobile systems using a hybrid Tabu search with an adaptive constraint satisfaction technique

This paper presents a new algorithm for solving the frequency assignment problem in cellular mobile systems. The proposed algorithm is based on a Taboo search starting with a sequential local search method. Instead of using a minimum number of frequencies and reusing them a maximum number of times, our algorithm assembles to maximum the frequencies while avoiding deadlock. This algorithm introduces a powerful sequential local search method to start with an initial solution respecting all constraints, and minimizing the costs of employment. This initial solution is used to construct a global solution by permutation of all frequencies of a constraint link in its frequency domain in order to obtain the smallest maximum frequency used and the overall cost of such a solution. The algorithm reduces both the search space, the order of variables and values and avoids cycles through by the use of a temporary Taboo list. Our approach has been tested on standard benchmark problems called Philadelphia benchmarks of frequency assignment problem. The results obtained are equivalent to those of current methods. Moreover, our approach shows more efficiency in terms of flexibility and autonomy.
Accelerating Elliptic Curve Cryptography on System-on-Programmable-Chip

This paper proposes an approach to accelerate elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) algorithm on system-on-programmable-chip (SOPC). We firstly analyzed the software efficiency of field multiplication and field division over GF(2m) on Nios II processor. Hardware acceleration for both field multiplication and division is investigated. The designs are integrated and verified with Nios II processor. The experimental results showed that accelerators improve the performance of ECC considerably with the cost of more areas.
Identification of a novel FBN1 mutation in a Chinese family with isolated ectopia lentis

Purpose To identify the genetic defect in a Chinese family with autosomal dominant inherited ectopia lentis. Methods twenty-one family members, including seven patients underwent general physical and fully ophthalmic examinations. Genomic DNA was extracted from leukocytes of venous blood of these individuals in the family. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and direct sequencing of all 65 coding exons of the fibrillin-1 gene (FBN1) were analyzed. Results Mutation screening in FBN1 identified a T>C transition at nucleotide position c,1759 leading to substitution of Cysteine for Arginine at codon 587 (C587R). This nucleotide substitution was not seen in any unaffected member of the family. Conclusions We detected a novel mutation in FBN1. Our result expands the mutation spectrum of FBN1 and help in the study of the molecular pathogenesis of Marfan syndrome and Marfan-related diseases.
Complex-Network Modeling of a Call Network

Recently, real-life data have revealed that the number of calls originating from or received by a telephone number in a network follows a power-law distribution. They show that a few telephone numbers make or receive a very large number of calls, whereas a large number of telephone numbers make or receive very few calls. The data have overthrown the general assumption that all telephone numbers are similar in generating telephone traffic. The first objective of this paper is to therefore construct a telephone call network (TCN) with connection properties following power-law distributions. With a more realistic TCN, researchers and engineers will be able to evaluate the telephone traffic behavior more accurately. Having constructed the aforementioned TCNs, we then consider the scenario when there is a sudden surge in the number of telephone calls, for example, during natural or man-made disasters. Under such a condition, the telephone network is usually overloaded and cannot operate properly. To mitigate the problem, we propose a preferential call blocking (PCB) scheme, aiming at blocking calls to target telephone numbers which have large numbers of incoming calls (in-strengths). We will investigate the effect on the carried traffic intensity when the PCB scheme is applied. We will compare the results with a benchmark, which corresponds to the case when all calls are blocked with equal probability. For the sake of completeness, we will also study the effectiveness of the blocking schemes when applied to a traditional TCN, in which all telephone numbers can call one another with equal probability.