Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Essential Role of Lys55 Interaction with Its Partner Serine Proteases: Mannan-Binding Lectin Involved in the Identification of the Site of Human

2 Mannan-binding lectin (MBL) is an oligomeric lectin that binds neutral carbohydrates on pathogens, forms complexes with MBL-associated serine proteases (MASP)-1, -2, and -3 and 19-kDa MBL-associated protein (MAp19), and triggers the complement lectin pathway through activation of MASP-2. To identify the MASP binding site(s) of human MBL, point mutants targeting residues C-terminal to the hinge region were produced and tested for their interaction with the MASPs and MAp19 using surface plasmon resonance and functional assays. Mutation Lys 55 Ala abolished interaction with the MASPs and MAp19 and prevented formation of functional MBL-MASP-2 complexes. Mutations Lys 55 Gln and Lys 55 Glu abolished binding to MASP-1 and -3 and strongly inhibited interaction with MAp19. Conversely, mutation Lys 55 Arg abolished interaction with MASP-2 and MAp19, but only weakened interaction with MASP-1 and -3. Mutation Arg 47 Glu inhibited interaction with MAp19 and decreased the ability of MBL to trigger the lectin pathway. Mutant Arg 47 Lys showed no interaction with the MASPs or MAp19, likely resulting from a defect in oligomerization. In contrast, mutation Arg 47 Ala had no impact on the interaction with the MASPs and MAp19, nor on the ability of MBL to trigger the lectin pathway. Mutation Pro 53 Ala only had a slight effect on the interaction with MASP-1 and -3, whereas mutations at residues Leu 49 and Leu 56 were ineffective. In conclusion, the MASP binding site of MBL involves a sequence stretch centered on residue Lys 55 , which may form an ionic
X-ray emission from haloes of simulated disc galaxies

ABSTRACT Bolometric and 0.2-2 keV X-ray luminosities of the hot gas haloes of simulated discgalaxies have been calculated at redshift z=0. The TreeSPH simulations are fullycosmological and the sample of 44 disc galaxies span a range in characteristic circularspeeds of V c = 130-325 km s −1 . The galaxies have been obtained in simulations witha considerable range of physical parameters, varying the baryonic fraction, the gasmetallicity, the meta-galactic UV ﬁeld, the cosmology, the dark matter type, and alsothe numerical resolution. The models are found to be in agreement with the (few)relevant X-ray observations available at present. The amount of hot gas in the haloesis also consistent with constraints from pulsar dispersion measures in the Milky Way.Forthcoming XMM and Chandra observations should enable much more stringenttests and provide constraints on the physical parameters. We ﬁnd that simple coolingﬂow models over-predict X-ray luminosities by up to two orders of magnitude forhigh (but still realistic) cooling eﬃciencies relative to the models presented here. Ourresults display a clear trend that increasing cooling eﬃciency leads to decreasing X-ray luminosities at z=0. The reason is found to be that increased cooling eﬃciencyleads to a decreased fraction of hot gas relative to total baryonic mass inside of thevirial radius at present. At gas metal abundances of a third solar this hot gas fractionbecomes as low as just a few percent. We also ﬁnd that most of the X-ray emissioncomes from the inner parts (r<∼20 kpc) of the hot galactic haloes. Finally, we ﬁnd forrealistic choices of the physical parameters that disc galaxy haloes possibly were morethan one order of magnitude brighter in soft X-ray emission at z∼1, than at present.Key words: methods: N-body simulations –cooling ﬂows –galaxies: evolution –galaxies: formation –galaxies: halos –galaxies: spiral –X-rays: galaxies
General practice — chaos, complexity and innovation

Primary health care (PHC) reforms focus on improving access to and effectiveness of general practice services, with greater emphasis on health promotion, prevention and chronic disease management, and integration with population health approaches. Currently, reforms are often based on scant evidence from the most accessible and easily known PHC domains and activities, yet most PHC is complex and poorly understood. Complexity theory is based on understanding patterns that are not predictable by traditional evidence and social knowledge, within a complex adaptive system. Complexity knowledge provides a way of understanding the general practitioner's role in PHC in self‐organising local networks, with a capacity to generate new solutions integrated through historical and social connections. Complex systems provide a framework for an expanded knowledge base, debate and discussion of reforms and development of PHC goals and strategies.
HOW THE SOLAR WIND TIES TO ITS PHOTOSPHERIC ORIGINS

We present a new method of visualizing the solar photospheric magnetic field based on the “Magnetic Range of Influence” (MRoI). The MRoI is a simple realization of the magnetic environment in the photosphere, reflecting the distance required to balance the integrated magnetic field contained in any magnetogram pixel. It provides a new perspective on where subterrestrial field lines in a Potential Field Source Surface (PFSS) model connect to the photosphere, and thus the source of Earth-directed solar wind (within the limitations of PFSS models), something that is not usually obvious from a regular synoptic magnetogram. In each of three sample solar rotations, at different phases of the solar cycle, the PFSS footpoint either jumps between isolated areas of high MRoI or moves slowly within one such area. Footpoint motions are consistent with Fisk's interchange reconnection model.
An Adaptive Cross-Layer Mechanism of Multi-channel Multi-interface Wireless Networks for Real-Time Video Streaming

Real-time video streaming over wireless links imposes strong demands on video codecs and quality of networks. Many measures are made to design proper routing protocols and channel assignments (CAs) for multi-channel multi-interface (MCMI) wireless networks, since it can provide higher performance than single channel. However, there still has not been a well-studied proposal to guarantee real-time video quality in this situation. Hence, it motivates us to explore the potential synergies of exchanging information between different layers to support real-time video streaming over MCMI wireless networks. In this article we jointly consider three layers of the protocol stack: the application, data link and physical layers, and propose an adaptive cross-layer mechanism for real-time video streaming (ACMRV) used in this scenario, which includes both an efficient CA and an adaptive FEC mechanism. We analyze the performance of the proposed architecture and extensively evaluate it via NS-2. The results show that the real-time video quality can be greatly improved by our proposal.
Antimicrobial performance of mesoporous titania thin films: role of pore size, hydrophobicity, and antibiotic release

Implant-associated infections are undesirable complications that might arise after implant surgery. If the infection is not prevented, it can lead to tremendous cost, trauma, and even life threatening conditions for the patient. Development of an implant coating loaded with antimicrobial substances would be an effective way to improve the success rate of implants. In this study, the in vitro efficacy of mesoporous titania thin films used as a novel antimicrobial release coating was evaluated. Mesoporous titania thin films with pore diameters of 4, 6, and 7 nm were synthesized using the evaporation-induced self-assembly method. The films were characterized and loaded with antimicrobial agents, including vancomycin, gentamicin, and daptomycin. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used to evaluate their effectiveness toward inhibiting bacterial colonization. Drug loading and delivery were studied using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, which showed successful loading and release of the antibiotics from the surfaces. Results from counting bacterial colony-forming units showed reduced bacterial adhesion on the drug-loaded films. Interestingly, the presence of the pores alone had a desired effect on bacterial colonization, which can be attributed to the documented nanotopographical effect. In summary, this study provides significant promise for the use of mesoporous titania thin films for reducing implant infections.
A Baseline for the Multivariate Comparison of Resting-State Networks

As the size of functional and structural MRI datasets expands, it becomes increasingly important to establish a baseline from which diagnostic relevance may be determined, a processing strategy that efficiently prepares data for analysis, and a statistical approach that identifies important effects in a manner that is both robust and reproducible. In this paper, we introduce a multivariate analytic approach that optimizes sensitivity and reduces unnecessary testing. We demonstrate the utility of this mega-analytic approach by identifying the effects of age and gender on the resting-state networks (RSNs) of 603 healthy adolescents and adults (mean age: 23.4 years, range: 12–71 years). Data were collected on the same scanner, preprocessed using an automated analysis pipeline based in SPM, and studied using group independent component analysis. RSNs were identified and evaluated in terms of three primary outcome measures: time course spectral power, spatial map intensity, and functional network connectivity. Results revealed robust effects of age on all three outcome measures, largely indicating decreases in network coherence and connectivity with increasing age. Gender effects were of smaller magnitude but suggested stronger intra-network connectivity in females and more inter-network connectivity in males, particularly with regard to sensorimotor networks. These findings, along with the analysis approach and statistical framework described here, provide a useful baseline for future investigations of brain networks in health and disease.
REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE ART OF NAMED ENTITY AND WORD SENSE DISAMBIGUATION

QTLeapPROJECT FP7 #610516 P2 QTLeap Machine translation is a computational procedure that seeks to provide the translation of utterances from one language into another language. Research and development around this grand challenge is bringing this technology to a level of maturity that already supports useful practical solutions. It permits to get at least the gist of the utterances being translated, and even to get pretty good results for some language pairs in some focused discourse domains, helping to reduce costs and to improve productivity in international businesses. There is nevertheless still a way to go for this technology to attain a level of maturity that permits the delivery of quality translation across the board. The goal of the QTLeap project is to research on and deliver an articulated methodology for machine translation that explores deep language engineering approaches in view of breaking the way to translations of higher quality. The deeper the processing of utterances the less language-specific differences remain between the representation of the meaning of a given utterance and the meaning representation of its translation. Further chances of success can thus be explored by machine translation systems that are based on deeper semantic engineering approaches. Deep language processing has its stepping-stone in linguistically principled methods and generalizations. It has been evolving towards supporting realistic applications, namely by embedding more data based solutions, and by exploring new types of datasets recently developed, such as parallel DeepBanks. This progress is further supported by recent advances in terms of lexical processing. These advances have been made possible by enhanced techniques for referential and conceptual ambiguity resolution, and supported also by new types of datasets recently developed as linked open data. The project QTLeap explores novel ways for attaining machine translation of higher quality that are opened by a new generation of increasingly sophisticated semantic datasets and by recent advances in deep language processing.
A distributed and self-calibrating model-predictive controller for energy and thermal management of high-performance multicores

High-end multicore processors are characterized by high power density with significant spatial and temporal variability. This leads to power and temperature hot-spots, which may cause non-uniform ageing and accelerated chip failure. These critical issues can be tackled on-line by closed-loop thermal and reliability management policies. Model predictive controllers (MPC) outperform classic feedback controllers since they are capable of minimizing a cost function while enforcing safe working temperature. Unfortunately basic MPC controllers rely on a-priori knowledge of multicore thermal model and their complexity exponentially grows with the number of controlled cores. In this paper we present a scalable, fully-distributed, energy-aware thermal management solution. The model-predictive controller complexity is drastically reduced by splitting it in a set of simpler interacting controllers, each allocated to a core in the system. Locally, each node selects the optimal frequency to meet temperature constraints while minimizing the performance penalty and system energy. Global optimality is achieved by letting controllers exchange a limited amount of information at run-time on a neighbourhood basis. We address model uncertainty by supporting learning of the thermal model with a novel distributed self-calibration approach that matches well the controller architecture.
The role of maltreatment experience in children's understanding of the antecedents of emotion

The ability to understand the causes and likely triggers of emotions has important consequences for children's adaptation to their social environment. Yet, little is currently known about the processes that contribute to the development of emotion understanding. To assess how well children understood the antecedents of emotional reactions in others, we presented children with a variety of emotional situations that varied in outcome and equivocality. Children were told the emotional outcome and asked to rate whether a situation was a likely cause of such an outcome. We tested the effects of maltreatment experience on children's ability to map emotions to their eliciting events and their understanding of emotion–situation pairings. The present data suggest that typically developing children are able to distinguish between common elicitors of negative and positive events. In contrast, children who develop within maltreating contexts, where emotions are extreme and inconsistent, interpret positive, equivocal, and negative events as being equally plausible causes of sadness and anger. This difference in maltreated children's reasoning about emotions suggests a critical role of experience in aiding children's mastery of the structure of interpersonal discourse.
A prospective study of self-reported sleep duration and incident diabetes in women.

Short-term sleep restriction results in impaired glucose tolerance. To test whether habitually short sleep duration increases the risk of developing diabetes, we studied a cohort of 70,026 women enrolled in the Nurses Health Study, without diabetes at baseline, and who responded to a question about daily sleep duration in 1986. Subjects were followed until 1996 for the diagnosis of diabetes (1,969 cases). Long and short sleep durations were associated with an increased risk of diabetes diagnosis. The relative risks (RRs) for short (slept < or =5 h per day) and long (slept > or =9 h per day) sleepers were 1.57 (95% CI 1.28-1.92) and 1.47 (1.19-1.80), respectively. After adjustment for BMI and a variety of confounders, the RR was not significantly increased for short sleepers (1.18 [0.96-1.44]) but remained modestly increased for long sleepers (1.29 [1.05-1.59]). We then performed a similar analysis using only symptomatic cases (n = 1,187). Adjusted RRs for symptomatic diabetes were modestly elevated in both short (1.34 [1.04-1.72]) and long (1.35 [1.04-1.75]) sleepers. Our data suggest that the association between a reduced self-reported sleep duration and diabetes diagnosis could be due to confounding by BMI, or sleep restriction may mediate its effects on diabetes through weight gain. Sleep restriction may be an independent risk factor for developing symptomatic diabetes.
Human Primary Tumorgraft Models : Comparisons with Traditional Oncology Pre-Clinical Models and The Clinical Relevance and Utility of Primary Tumorgrafts in Basic and Translational Oncology Research

Laboratory models that accurately replicate human tumors are integral to cancer research. However, comparative studies between commonly employed laboratory models and human tumors have demonstrated that some models have molecular and genomic alterations dissimilar to the cancer type they attempt to replicate. In contrast, several recent comparative studies suggest that patient-derived tumors grown in mice maintain many of the important characteristics of the original tumor and represent an important tool for the development of new cancer therapeutics. Many models are now available for mechanistic and therapeutic research, and each system has both strengths and weakness. This review will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the most commonly used models of cancer and highlight advances in the generation and use of patient-derived tumorgrafts.
A genetic basis for functional hypothalamic amenorrhea.

BACKGROUND Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea is a reversible form of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) deficiency commonly triggered by stressors such as excessive exercise, nutritional deficits, or psychological distress. Women vary in their susceptibility to inhibition of the reproductive axis by such stressors, but it is unknown whether this variability reflects a genetic predisposition to hypothalamic amenorrhea. We hypothesized that mutations in genes involved in idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, a congenital form of GnRH deficiency, are associated with hypothalamic amenorrhea. METHODS We analyzed the coding sequence of genes associated with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in 55 women with hypothalamic amenorrhea and performed in vitro studies of the identified mutations. RESULTS Six heterozygous mutations were identified in 7 of the 55 patients with hypothalamic amenorrhea: two variants in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 gene FGFR1 (G260E and R756H), two in the prokineticin receptor 2 gene PROKR2 (R85H and L173R), one in the GnRH receptor gene GNRHR (R262Q), and one in the Kallmann syndrome 1 sequence gene KAL1 (V371I). No mutations were found in a cohort of 422 controls with normal menstrual cycles. In vitro studies showed that FGFR1 G260E, FGFR1 R756H, and PROKR2 R85H are loss-of-function mutations, as has been previously shown for PROKR2 L173R and GNRHR R262Q. CONCLUSIONS Rare variants in genes associated with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism are found in women with hypothalamic amenorrhea, suggesting that these mutations may contribute to the variable susceptibility of women to the functional changes in GnRH secretion that characterize hypothalamic amenorrhea. Our observations provide evidence for the role of rare variants in common multifactorial disease. (Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00494169.).
Dynamically generated variability in plant-pathogen systems with biological control

Using a combination of replicated microcosm experiments, simple nonlinear modelling and model fitting we show that unexpected levels of variability can be detected and described in the dynamics of plant disease. Temporal development of damping-off disease of radish seedlings caused by an economically important plant pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani, is quantified, with and without the addition of an antagonistic fungus, Trichoderma viride. The biological control agent reduces the average amount of disease but also greatly enhances the variability among replicates. The results are shown to be consistent with predictions from a nonlinear model that exhibits dynamically generated variability in which small differences in the initiation of infection associated with the antagonist are later amplified as the pathogen spreads from plant to plant. The effect of dynamically generated variability is mediated by the interruption of transient disease progress curves for separate replicates by an exponential decrease in susceptibility of the host over time. The decay term essentially ‘freezes’ the dynamics of the transient behaviour so that the solutions for different replicates settle on asymptotes that depend on initial conditions and parameter values. The effect is further magnified by nonlinear terms in the infection force in the models. A generalization of the Lyapunov exponent is introduced to quantify the amplification. The observed behaviour has profound consequences for the design and interpretation of ecological experiments, and can also account for the notorious failure of many biological control strategies through the creation of ‘hot spots’, created by the amplification of plant to plant infection, where the control by the antagonist is locally unsuccessful.
Rheological, Morphological and Mechanical Studies of Sustainably Sourced Polymer Blends Based on Poly(Lactic Acid) and Polyamide 11

The objective of this study was to gain a deep understanding of composition and compatibilization effects on the properties of entirely sustainably sourced polymer blends based on polylactide (PLA) and polyamide 11 (PA11). Generally, PLA cannot challenge regular commodity polymers due to its weak thermo-mechanical properties and its poor elongation properties. With this work, however, we present a promising route to overcome these drawbacks in order to enhance the processability of PLA: blending the polymer with various compositions of other ductile biopolymers such as PA11, as well as mixing PLA/PA11 blends with various amounts of a chain extender, Joncryl ADR®-4368, containing reactive epoxy functions, in a laboratory-scale twin-screw extruder. The effects on the rheological, morphological and mechanical properties were investigated. Results showed that a “self compatibilization” between PLA and PA11 chains can occur but it was found to be insufficient, contrary to recent work reported in the literature. The role of Joncryl as a compatibilizer for the PLA/PA11 system has been demonstrated by the significant decrease of particle size and interfacial tension as well as the improvement of ductile properties. Moreover, a new relaxation peak appeared in the relaxation spectrum, indicating the generation of a copolymer at the polymer-polymer interface.
of occupational hygiene reports on suitability of respiratory protective equipment ( RPE )

This report presents an overview of evidence on RPE and user behaviour drawn from a number of sources, including published material; IOM reports; and the expertise and experience of IOM staff. It provides an evidence-base for factors influencing the use (or non-use) of RPE in the workplace and on how well RPE programmes are currently implemented. Although the remit was RPE, the study adopted a wider remit of personal protective equipment (PPE), on the basis that, although there will be equipment specific issues, the underlying principles influencing the use of any PPE will be essentially the same as those specifically relating to RPE. From the reviews, it is clear that the first steps in any RPE programme start with management. Managers at all levels need to:
Gender and sociolinguistic variation

Part I Gender Differences in Pronunciation and Grammar 7 Introduction Yanyuwa: 'Men speak one way, women speak another' John Bradley 2 Sex and Covert Prestige Peter Trudgill 3 Linguistic Variation and Social Function Jenny Cheshire 4 Girl-talk/Boy-talk: Sex Differences in Adolescent Speech Edina Eisikovits 5 Black Women in the Rural South: Conservative and Innovative Patricia C. Nichols 6 Gender and Sociolinguistic Variation Penelope Eckert 7 13