Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural Determinants for High-Affinity Zolpidem Binding to GABA-A receptors

The imidazopyridine zolpidem (Ambien) is one of the most commonly prescribed sleep aids in the United States (Rush, 1998). Similar to classic benzodiazepines (BZDs), zolpidem binds at the extracellular N-terminal α/γ subunit interface of the GABA-A receptor (GABAR). However, zolpidem differs significantly from classic BZDs in chemical structure and neuropharmacological properties. Thus, classic BZDs and zolpidem are likely to have different requirements for high-affinity binding to GABARs. To date, three residues—γ2Met57, γ2Phe77, and γ2Met130—have been identified as necessary for high-affinity zolpidem binding (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94:8824-8829, 1997; Mol Pharmacol 52:874-881, 1997). In this study, we used radioligand binding techniques, γ2/α1 chimeric subunits (χ), site-directed mutagenesis, and molecular modeling to identify additional γ2 subunit residues important for high-affinity zolpidem binding. Whereas α1β2χ receptors containing only the first 161 amino-terminal residues of the γ2 subunit bind the classic BZD flunitrazepam with wild-type affinity, zolpidem affinity is decreased ∼8-fold. By incrementally restoring γ2 subunit sequence, we identified a seven-amino acid stretch in the γ2 subunit loop F region (amino acids 186-192) that is required to confer high-affinity zolpidem binding to GABARs. When mapped to a homology model, these seven amino acids make up part of loop F located at the α/γ interface. Based on in silico zolpidem docking, three residues within loop F, γ2Glu189, γ2Thr193, and γ2Arg194, emerge as being important for stabilizing zolpidem in the BZD binding pocket and probably interact with other loop F residues to maintain the structural integrity of the BZD binding site.
A Statistical Model of Nominal Anaphora

In this paper, we present an analysis of nominal anaphora along with a probabilistic model of nominal anaphora resolution. Throughout this work we focus on non-pronominal anaphora. The goal of this work is to present a viable probabilistic model that is consistent with the ideas of theoretical linguistics and the results of experimental psycholinguistics. Where applicable, we present research which motivated the model derivation. This work differs from previous work in that it is completely statistical and isolates the task of non-pronominal noun-phrase coreference. Finally, we present the experimental results of an implementation of the proposed probabilistic model.
Human Neuroscience

Busigny et al., 2010a) hold that prosopagnosia cannot be related to general difficulty in discriminating visually similar exemplars of face and non-face categories. (b) Regarding the second point, the debate revolves around De Renzi et al.'s (1991) proposal of distinguishing an " appercep-tive " from an " associative " form of prosopagnosia, extending to selective face recognition disorders the classical Lissauer's (1890) distinction between an " apperceptive " and an " asso-ciative " form of visual agnosia. According to this distinction, in apperceptive agnosias recognition fails because of a subtle defect in visual perception, whereas in associative agnosias an intact visual percept cannot be associated with data stored in memory or deriving from other perceptual modalities. De Renzi et al. (1991) applied this basic distinction to face recognition , translated it into operational terms and proposed classifying as " apperceptive " the face recognition disorders of patients who, in addition to being unable to recognize familiar faces, also had problems in treating unknown faces, and as " associative " those in which no problem was found in the treatment of unfamiliar faces. Results obtained on Benton and Van Allen's (1968) unfamiliar matching tests (Benton Face Recognition Test, BFRT) are usually considered to provide the most reliable discrimination between apperceptive and associative forms of prosopagnosia; however, some authors
O R I G I N a L I N V E S T I G a T I O N Open Access

PPARg gene C161T substitution alters lipid profile in Chinese patients with coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus Abstract Background: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor g (PPARg) is a ligand-activated transcription factor, which regulates gene expression of the key proteins involved in lipid metabolism, vascular inflammation, and proliferation. PPARg may contribute to attenuating atherogenesis and postangioplasty restenosis. PPARg C161! T substitution is associated with a reduced risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). Whether or not the gene substitution alters the risk of CAD in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients remains unclear. Methods: A total of 556 unrelated subjects from a Chinese Han population, including 89 healthy subjects, 78 CAD patients, 86 T2DM patients, and 303 CAD combined with T2DM patients, were recruited to enroll in this study. PPARgC161! T gene polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Plasma levels of lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, glucose, and insulin were measured by ELISA or radioimmunoassay (RIA). The coronary artery lesions were evaluated by coronary angiography. Results: The frequency of the 161T allele in CAD, T2DM, and CAD combined with T2DM patients was similar to that observed in the healthy control group. However, in CAD combined with T2DM patients, the group with angiographically documented moderate stenoses had a higher frequency of the 161T allele in comparison to the group with severe stenoses (P < 0.05). Moreover, in CAD with T2DM patients, the triglyceride levels and apoB in CC homozygote carriers were significantly higher than those in " T " allele carriers.
Equivalent Displacement Damage Dose for On-Orbit Space Applications

The calculation of the displacement damage dose (DDD) in a material is not often as straightforward as simply combining the particle fluence and the nonionizing energy loss (NIEL) but often requires a consideration of the degradation parametrics of a particular microelectronic device. This paper defines an Equivalent Displacement Damage Dose (EDDD) which is more representative of the degradation of the device. Displacement damage radiation effects in solar cells will be used to illustrate the model.
The Escherichia coli K12 Capsule does not Confer Resistance to Either Tetracycline or Streptomycin

Bacterial capsules can regulate the passage of molecules into cells, however it is not known whether they confer antibiotic resistance, and if this potential resistance is directed at specific classes of antibiotics. This study examined whether the Escherichia coli K12 capsule provides resistance to the antibiotics streptomycin and tetracycline. This potential resistance was investigated by comparing a strain with a deletion of the wza gene, which encodes a capsular polysaccharide transport protein, to wildtype cells. The amount of capsular polysaccharides produced by the ∆wza mutant was reduced compared to wildtype cells at 21 o C, but not 37 o C. A broth minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay determined antibiotic susceptibility, and no difference between wildtype and the ∆wza mutant was observed. Additionally, both cell types were four times more susceptible to both antibiotics at 21°C relative to 37oC. Taken together, these results indicate that the E. coli K12 capsule does not play a role in conferring resistance to either streptomycin or tetracycline.
Letter to the editor Formant frequencies and body size of speaker: a weak relationship in adult humans

This paper investigates the relationship between formant frequencies and body size in human adults. In Experiment I, correlation coefficients were obtained between acoustic correlates of the five Spanish vowels uttered by 82 speakers as a function of speakers’ heights and weights. In Experiment II correlations were calculated from formant parameters obtained by means of a long-term average analysis of connected speech from 91 speakers. Results of both experiments showed that, in contrast to Fitch’s (J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 102 (1997) 1213) findings in macaque vocalizations, the relationship within sex between formant parameters and body size is very weak in human adults. At the same time, it is evident that correlations within the female group are greater than in male group. These results imply that the pattern of individual vocal tract development is relatively free from skeletal size constraints, due to the human descent of larynx from standard mammal position. This disassociation of vocal tract-body size is more important in human males.
Incremental Prognostic Value of Cardiac Computed Tomography in Coronary Artery Disease Using CONFIRM: COroNary Computed Tomography Angiography Evaluation for Clinical Outcomes: An InteRnational Multicenter Registry

Background— Large multicenter studies validating the prognostic value of coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) are lacking. We sought to confirm the independent and incremental prognostic value of coronary artery disease (CAD) severity measured using 64-slice CCTA over LVEF and clinical variables. Methods and Results— A large international multicenter registry (CONFIRM Registry) was queried, and CCTA patients with LVEF data on CCTA were screened. Patients with a history of myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, or cardiac transplantation were excluded. The National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III risk was calculated for each patient, and CCTA was evaluated for CAD severity (normal, nonobstructive, non–high-risk, or high-risk CAD) and LVEF <50%. Patients were followed for an end point of all-cause mortality; 27 125 patients underwent CCTA at 12 participating centers, with a total of 14 064 patients meeting the analysis criteria. Follow-up was available for 13 966 (99.3%) patients (mean follow-up of 22.5 months; 95% confidence interval, 22.3 to 22.7 months). All-cause mortality (271 deaths) occurred in 0.65% of patients without coronary atherosclerosis, 1.99% of patients with nonobstructive CAD, 2.90% of patients with non–high-risk CAD, and 4.95% for patients with high-risk CAD. Multivariable analysis confirmed that LVEF <50% (hazard ratio, 2.74; 95% confidence interval, 2.12 to 3.51) and CAD severity (hazard ratio,1.58; 95% confidence interval, 1.42 to 1.76) were predictors of all-cause mortality, and CAD severity had incremental value over LVEF and clinical variables. Conclusions— Our results demonstrate that CCTA measures of CAD severity and LVEF have independent prognostic value. Incorporation of CAD severity provides incremental value for predicting all-cause death over routine clinical predictors and LVEF in patients with suspected obstructive CAD.
Fluid Exchanges: The Negotiation of Intimacy between Tourist Women and Local Men in a Transnational Town in Caribbean Costa Rica

In a transnational tourist town in black Caribbean Costa Rica situated both on the margins of “white” Costa Rican society and squarely in global tourism, the mobility of European and North American women tourists in and out constitute a significant tourist flow. Central to the town's social sexual history and modes of sociability are economically ambiguous sexual and often intimate relations between female tourists and local predominantly black Caribbean men. I use the concept of “fluid exchanges” to comprehend the fluidity and corporeality of these relationships in which, I argue, intimacy plays a significant role. Local men, who are situated outside of hegemonic masculinity, use sexual knowledge and masculine privilege to “give” intimacy freely as well as to bargain for payment and acquire cosmopolitan identities, and to regulate the unfettered mobility of First World women tourists within a disparate global sex market and era where new erotic subjectivities and transnational intimate relations are being forged in hybrid and fluid places like Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica.
LPRE: Lost Speech Packet Recovery with Enhancement

In the Internet telephony, loss of IP packets causes instantaneous discontinuities in the received speech. In this paper, we have focused on finding an error resilient method for this problem. Our proposed method creates artificial correlation between speech samples that pre-distorts the speech signal. The receiver uses this correlation to reconstruct the lost speech packets. An appropriate speech enhancement technique is designed for the reduction of the processing error in the recovered speech caused by the speech codecs. The SegSNR results show the superiority of our proposed speech enhancement method over a recently proposed one.
Flow Beneath a Ship at Small Underkeel Clearance

This article looks at the case of a large, flat-bottomed ship, such as a bulk carrier, moving in close proximity to a flat sea floor. It is shown that the flow beneath the ship can be modeled as a shear flow between two parallel plates, one of which is moving. The resulting flow can be represented using laminar Couette flow at low Reynolds numbers (possible at model scale) or the very different turbulent Couette flow at high Reynolds numbers (full scale). Implications of these flow models on squat and viscous resistance are discussed.
Endogenous growth factors as cosmeceuticals

Growth factors play an important role in reversing the effects of skin aging mediated by chronological and environmental factors. Excessive oxidation of intraand extracellular components result in breakdown of collagen and elastin network in the dermis and produce the effect of facial aging. Topical application of human growth factors in multiple clinical studies has been shown to reduce the signs and symptoms of skin aging, including statically significant reduction in fine lines and wrinkles and increase in dermal collagen synthesis. More double-blind and controlled studies are needed to confirm the preliminary clinical effects of growth factor products, and more controls on product quality and stability need to be established.
Insertion and Assembly of Human Tom7 into the Preprotein Translocase Complex of the Outer Mitochondrial Membrane*

Tom7 is a component of the translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane (TOM) and assembles into a general import pore complex that translocates preproteins into mitochondria. We have identified the human Tom7 homolog and characterized its import and assembly into the mammalian TOM complex. Tom7 is imported into mitochondria in a nucleotide-independent manner and is anchored to the outer membrane with its C terminus facing the intermembrane space. Unlike studies in fungi, we found that human Tom7 assembles into an ∼120-kDa import intermediate in HeLa cell mitochondria. To detect subunits within this complex, we employed a novel supershift analysis whereby mitochondria containing newly imported Tom7 were incubated with antibodies specific for individual TOM components prior to separation by blue native electrophoresis. We found that the 120-kDa complex contains Tom40 and lacks receptor components. This intermediate can be chased to the stable ∼380-kDa mammalian TOM complex that additionally contains Tom22. Overexpression of Tom22 in HeLa cells results in the rapid assembly of Tom7 into the 380-kDa complex indicating that Tom22 is rate-limiting for TOM complex formation. These results indicate that the levels of Tom22 within mitochondria dictate the assembly of TOM complexes and hence may regulate its biogenesis.
Are Teen Delinquency Abstainers Social Introverts?: A Test of Moffitt’s Theory

Prior research has identified a small group of adolescents who completely refrain from delinquent behavior. Researchers have hypothesized that these adolescents may be excluded from normative peer activities and are thus insulated from delinquent peer role models. A central argument in Moffitt’s account of delinquency abstention, for example, is that delinquency abstainers are socially isolated due to certain unappealing physical/personality characteristics. Using the detailed friendship network data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the authors attempt to test Moffitt’s account of delinquency abstention, particularly the association between social exclusion and delinquency. Their results do not suggest strong empirical support for the hypothesis that delinquency abstention is ‘‘correlated with unpopularity and social isolation. ’’ The complex associations between adolescent friendship network characteristics and delinquency abstention highlight the necessity for future research on peer contexts in which adolescents are embedded. The authors’ findings appear to challenge Moffitt’s theory, suggesting the need for certain modifications.
Robust Adaptive Regulation without Persistent Excitation

This paper presents a globally convergent adaptive regulator for minimum or nonminimum phase systems subject to bounded disturbances. The control strategy is designed for a particular input-output representation obtained from the state space representation of the system. The leading coefficient of the new representation is the product of the observability and controllability matrices of the system. The controller scheme uses a Least Squares identification algorithm with dead zone. The dead zone is chosen to obtain convergence properties on the estimates and on the "covariance matrix" as well. This allows the definition of modified estimates which secure well-conditioned matrices in the adaptive control law. Explicit bounds on the plant output are given.
Immune factors and immunoregulation in tuberculosis Immune factors and immunoregulation in tuberculosis

Pathogens causing tuberculosis and other chronic infectious diseases of major public health importance commonly have complex mechanisms involved in their persistence in the host despite specific and sometimes strong immune responses. These diseases are also associated with the lack of efficient vaccines, difficult therapeutics and a high mortality rate among susceptible individuals. Here, we will review features of the host immune response that contribute to the occurrence of disease. In addition, we propose that the immune responses observed in tuberculosis cannot be interpreted solely on the basis of a Th1-Th2 counter-regulatory paradigm since there is growing evidence that natural regulatory T cells may play an important role in the regulation of host immune responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Thus, the development of more effective vaccines against this bacterial disease should take into account the role of natural regulatory T cells in the progression to severe disease and persistence of infection. Finally, new treatments based on manipulation of regulatory T cells should be investigated. Correspondence
An EEG Study on the Effects of Induced Spiritual Experiences on Somatosensory Processing and Sensory Suppression

In the present EEG study a placebo God Helmet was used to induce spiritual experiences in the lab, by boosting the expectations and suggestibility of participants. At a behavioral level it was found that instructions regarding whether the helmet was turned on or off were not effective, but that individual differences in beliefs in the effectiveness of the helmet, magical ideation, absorption and paranormal beliefs were strongly related to induced spiritual experiences. At a neural level, believers compared to skeptics were characterized by trend for increased theta / alpha power during the helmet session and trend for a reduced auditory suppression of the P2 component. These novel findings indicate that individual personality differences are a strong predictor of induced spiritual experiences and that reduced sensory suppression may reflect a reduced pre-reflective sense of agency, which in turn could underlie proneness to self-induced spiritual experiences.
The point cloud visualisation for rotary optical rangefinders

This paper describes the point cloud visualization for rotary optical rangefinders. Measured distance data with image information from captured frames give a possibility to create a colored point cloud. The distance is measured by the vertical laser line and to select a color value directly from an actual measured frame is not possible. For this reason, the previous measurement frame is used. The individual frames shifting is estimated by the temple matching algorithm. The purpose of the paper is to show how easily it is possible to combine measurement data with image information in case of a color point cloud construction. The paper includes several examples of different point clouds to verify the algorithm's ability.
Declined Natural Killer Cells Emerging in Women with Unexplained Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion and Further Reducing after Medical Therapy.

BACKGROUND As focus grows on reproduction, the issue of Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion (RSA), especially for unexplained reasons (URSA), is grabbing more and more attention in gynecological immunology. We investigated the changes of peripheral lymphocyte subsets focusing on whether they had some relationship with development of URSA. METHODS The percentage and absolute count of lymphocyte subsets (T cells, Th cells, Ts cells, B cells, NK cells) were simultaneously evaluated by flow cytometry in URSA patients (n = 48) and healthy controls (HC, n = 22). RESULTS Significantly lower percentage and absolute counts of NKT cells and NK cells were observed in URSA compared to the HC. After medical therapy, an obviously increase was shown in the percentage of both T cells and B cells, whereas it presented a reduction in the percentage of NK cells. CONCLUSIONS The flow cytometry test in T, B, NK cells is a method available to identify URSA patients from healthy women and to provide reference guides for clinical therapy.
Exploring predictors of technology adoption among older adults

The purpose of this study was to investigate predictors of older adult technology adoption through a mixed methods perspective. One hundred and seventy-six older adults responded to a quantitative survey assessing their technology adoption. Four participants were selected for qualitative interviews. The mean age of participants was 74.71 years old that included an age range of 65-96 year old participants. The majority of older adults lived independently, and no participants lived in care facilities. In the quantitative phase, structural equation modeling in Mplus was used to evaluate the fit of a technology adoption model using personality, self-efficacy, perceptions of technology, and attitudes of technology as predictors. Noteworthy findings indicated the model showed a good fit predicting technology adoption. Education, perceived usefulness, and attitudes toward using technology were positively associated with technology adoption. Participant age was negatively associated with technology adoption, indicating younger older adults were significantly more likely to adopt technology. Greater levels of agreeableness predicted greater levels of perceived usefulness and self-efficacy. Additionally, a significant indirect effect was obtained from perceived usefulness via attitudes toward using technology to technology adoption. This finding indicated that greater levels of perceived usefulness influenced more positive attitudes toward technology which in turn predicted greater levels of technology adoption. The qualitative phase indicated three themes specifically highlighting the importance of 1) earlier life experiences (e.g., workplace experiences), 2) personal preferences (e.g., choices regarding keeping up with technology), and 3) societal perspectives (e.g., concern for human interaction) on technology adoption. A revised theoretical model of technology adoption is suggested, tying together the quantitative and vii