Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Crystal Structure of Bovine Coronavirus Spike Protein Lectin Domain*

Background: Coronavirus spike protein N-terminal domains (NTDs) bind sugar or protein receptors. Results: We determined crystal structure of bovine coronavirus NTD and located its sugar-binding site using mutagenesis. Conclusion: Bovine coronavirus NTD shares structural folds and sugar-binding sites with human galectins and has subtle yet functionally important differences from protein-binding NTD of mouse coronavirus. Significance: This study explores origin and evolution of coronavirus NTDs. The spike protein N-terminal domains (NTDs) of bovine coronavirus (BCoV) and mouse hepatitis coronavirus (MHV) recognize sugar and protein receptors, respectively, despite their significant sequence homology. We recently determined the crystal structure of MHV NTD complexed with its protein receptor murine carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1), which surprisingly revealed a human galectin (galactose-binding lectin) fold in MHV NTD. Here, we have determined at 1.55 Å resolution the crystal structure of BCoV NTD, which also has the human galectin fold. Using mutagenesis, we have located the sugar-binding site in BCoV NTD, which overlaps with the galactose-binding site in human galectins. Using a glycan array screen, we have identified 5-N-acetyl-9-O-acetylneuraminic acid as the preferred sugar substrate for BCoV NTD. Subtle structural differences between BCoV and MHV NTDs, primarily involving different conformations of receptor-binding loops, explain why BCoV NTD does not bind CEACAM1 and why MHV NTD does not bind sugar. These results suggest a successful viral evolution strategy in which coronaviruses stole a galectin from hosts, incorporated it into their spike protein, and evolved it into viral receptor-binding domains with altered sugar specificity in contemporary BCoV or novel protein specificity in contemporary MHV.
Hydration and Physical Performance

There is a rich scientific literature regarding hydration status and physical function that began in the late 1800s, although the relationship was likely apparent centuries before that. A decrease in body water from normal levels (often referred to as dehydration or hypohydration) provokes changes in cardiovascular, thermoregulatory, metabolic, and central nervous function that become increasingly greater as dehydration worsens. Similarly, performance impairment often reported with modest dehydration (e.g., −2% body mass) is also exacerbated by greater fluid loss. Dehydration during physical activity in the heat provokes greater performance decrements than similar activity in cooler conditions, a difference thought to be due, at least in part, to greater cardiovascular and thermoregulatory strain associated with heat exposure. There is little doubt that performance during prolonged, continuous exercise in the heat is impaired by levels of dehydration ≥ −2% body mass, and there is some evidence that lower levels of dehydration can also impair performance even during relatively short-duration, intermittent exercise. Although additional research is needed to more fully understand low-level dehydration's effects on physical performance, one can generalize that when performance is at stake, it is better to be well-hydrated than dehydrated. This generalization holds true in the occupational, military, and sports settings.
Annotating Anaphoric Shell Nouns with their Antecedents

Anaphoric shell nouns such as this issue and this fact conceptually encapsulate complex pieces of information (Schmid, 2000). We examine the feasibility of annotating such anaphoric nouns using crowdsourcing. In particular, we present our methodology for reliably annotating antecedents of such anaphoric nouns and the challenges we faced in doing so. We also evaluated the quality of crowd annotation using experts. The results suggest that most of the crowd annotations were good enough to use as training data for resolving such anaphoric nouns.
Chronic Binge Alcohol Administration Dysregulates Hippocampal Genes Involved in Immunity and Neurogenesis in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Macaques

Alcohol use disorders (AUD) exacerbate neurocognitive dysfunction in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV+) patients. We have shown that chronic binge alcohol (CBA) administration (13–14 g EtOH/kg/wk) prior to and during simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in rhesus macaques unmasks learning deficits in operant learning and memory tasks. The underlying mechanisms of neurocognitive alterations due to alcohol and SIV are not known. This exploratory study examined the CBA-induced differential expression of hippocampal genes in SIV-infected (CBA/SIV+; n = 2) macaques in contrast to those of sucrose administered, SIV-infected (SUC/SIV+; n = 2) macaques. Transcriptomes of hippocampal samples dissected from brains obtained at necropsy (16 months post-SIV inoculation) were analyzed to determine differentially expressed genes. MetaCore from Thomson Reuters revealed enrichment of genes involved in inflammation, immune responses, and neurodevelopment. Functional relevance of these alterations was examined in vitro by exposing murine neural progenitor cells (NPCs) to ethanol (EtOH) and HIV trans-activator of transcription (Tat) protein. EtOH impaired NPC differentiation as indicated by decreased βIII tubulin expression. These findings suggest a role for neuroinflammation and neurogenesis in CBA/SIV neuropathogenesis and warrant further investigation of their potential contribution to CBA-mediated neurobehavioral deficits.
Signaling Product Quality with After-Sales Service Contracts

Due to its complex nature, after-sales service support for systems such as aircraft engines is commonly outsourced to the vendor. A key input to contracting for such support is system reliability. When producttechnology is new, the vendor often knows more about reliability than the buyer, potentially leading to contractual inefficiencies. This paper examines the role of after-sales contracts as a mechanism for signaling reliability. We focus on two commonly encountered categories of contracts, the (generalized) Time and Material contract and the performance-based contract (PBC). We find that they differ substantially in their ability to signal reliability, achieve system efficiency, and allocate rents in the supply chain. While the vendor of a reliable product is always better-off with PBC, the same is not true for the buyer or the vendor of an unreliable product. This sheds new light on the on-going debate regarding the relative merits of the two contracting strategies.
T.U.L.I.P. Protocol (TCE, UOI, Leiter-R as Indicators of Predictivity) for the Assessment of the Developmental Potential in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The article aims to highlight some predictive indicators of improvement in ADOS scores in a group of 49 children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. For this purpose we created a specific protocol named T.U. L.I. P. that, using the Fluid Reasoning of the Leiter-R, the presence of Emotional Contagion (TCE) and the ability to understand the intentions of the others (UOI) as predictive indicators, can identify a category of autistic children who positively respond to treatment and improves the autistic symptomatology. The children who at the intake had predictive indicators of Emerging or Present UOI and TCE improved their autistic symptomatology with therapy and some of them (those with Present indicators) positively changed their ADOS diagnosis. In pre-school children, or in the first year of their schooling, the assessment of cognitive and social components shows that relational skills have a greater importance in predicting the decrease of the ADOS scores. The presence of predictive indicators, especially on the emotional response and the ability to understand the intentions of the others, also helps to work through a developmental- relational approach that activates in children their existing potentialities to get improvements even in the cognitive functioning. The Social Affection component of the ADOS-2 correlates with predictive indicators and accounts for an intervention targeted to the emotional dimension.
Nighttime Ozone Chemical Equilibrium in the Mesopause Region

We examine the applicability of the assumption that nighttime ozone is in photochemical equilibrium. The analysis is based on calculations with a 3‐D chemical transport model. These data are used to determine the ratio of correct (calculated) O3 density to its equilibrium value for the conditions of the nighttime mesosphere depending on the altitude, latitude, and month in the annual cycle. The results obtained demonstrate that the retrieval of O and H distributions using the assumption of photochemical ozone equilibrium may lead to a significant error below 81–87 km depending on season. Possible modifications of the currently used approach that allow improving the quality of retrieval of O and H mesospheric distributions from satellite‐based observations are discussed.
Global software development at Siemens: experience from nine projects

We report on the experiences of Siemens Corporation in nine globally-distributed software development projects. These projects represent a range of collaboration models, from co-development to outsourcing of components to outsourcing the software for an entire project. We report experience and lessons in issues of project management, division of labor, ongoing coordination of technical work, and communication. We include lessons learned, and conclude the paper with suggestions about important open research issues in this area.
Excess bandwidth distribution in DiffServ networks

The per-hop-behaviors (PHB) proposed for use within the DiffServ architecture are designed to meet the demands of diverse Internet applications. An important aspect of one such PHB, assured forwarding (AF), is the distribution of excess bandwidth among aggregates with different network parameters in an over-provisioned network. The lack of control over excess bandwidth distribution can be an impediment for successful adoption of AF PHB, particularly for applications built over congestion reactive transport protocols like TCP. This paper presents a model that helps understand the dependence of excess bandwidth distribution on different network parameters, including the number of flows per aggregate that has so far been ignored in previous studies. Furthermore, considering the dynamic behavior of a DiffServ controlled TCP aggregate we show that the mechanisms of DiffServ complicate TCP dynamics and changes its convergence properties. This knowledge can guide the design of networks and their various components such as meters and markers to achieve more control over the excess bandwidth distribution and make AF PHB more attractive. The model is validated through ns-2 simulation studies
An Active Guarding Circuit Design for Wideband Substrate Noise Suppression

In this paper, an active guarding circuit is presented for wideband substrate noise suppression. A feed-forward compensation mechanism is proposed to extend the noise suppression bandwidth and to adjust the amplitude of phase-inversed noise cancellation current by introducing a zero and an amplitude controller. A noise decoupling mechanism is developed to provide a decoupling path and to sense the noise level for generating noise cancellation current. With substrate characterization, parameters of substrate network impedance, decoupling factor, and amplitude of noise cancellation current can be either obtained or determined. The active guarding circuit is implemented in a 90-nm CMOS process based on substrate characterization. The measured substrate noise suppression is better than -9 dB from dc to 250 MHz. The - 3-dB suppression bandwidth is effectively extended to 1.2 GHz. The power consumption and circuit area are 2.5 mW and 20times mum times 41 mum, respectively.
Further evidence of sex-linked major-gene influence on human spatial visualizing ability.

This study supports with more extensive data earlier indications that the ability of human subjects to visualize spatial relations and mentally manipulate visual images is influenced by an X-linked gene [1-3]. In this and other respects, spatial ability is distinct from verbal ability and general intelligence, which are demonstrated models of autosomal polygenic inheritance [4]. Because of the imprecision of present psychometric techniques, however, we cannot justify treating the spatial trait as a Mendelian character and determining its mode of inheritance by conven-tional pedigree analysis (for example, in the manner of the X-linked anomalies of color vision). Errors of classification make the results of such an analysis ambiguous at best. The approach which we take here is to demonstrate that quantitative features of the data are consistent with a model of an X-linked recessive gene effect superimposed upon a background of polygenic variation and measurement error. In our discussion of these results, we examine a number of other genetic and non-genetic interpretations of the data without finding a plausible alternative to the X-linked major-gene model.
Enhancing aesthetic appreciation by priming canvases with actions that match the artist's painting style

The creation of an artwork requires motor activity. To what extent is art appreciation divorced from that activity and to what extent is it linked to it? That is the question which we set out to answer. We presented participants with pointillist-style paintings featuring discernible brushstrokes and asked them to rate their liking of each canvas when it was preceded by images priming a motor act either compatible or incompatible with the simulation of the artist's movements. We show that action priming, when congruent with the artist's painting style, enhanced aesthetic preference. These results support the hypothesis that involuntary covert painting simulation contributes to aesthetic appreciation during passive observation of artwork.
Bayesian Identity Clustering

Our goal is to establish how many different people are present in a set of N facial images, and determine the correspondence between people and images. Our approach is Bayesian: in the training phase, we learn a probabilistic generative model for face data. Individual identity is represented as a latent variable in this model, and is constrained to be identical when faces match. We use this model to calculate the likelihood for the whole dataset for each hypothesized clustering: using a process equivalent to Bayesian model selection, we marginalize over the unknown identity variables allowing us to compare models with differing numbers of people. For large datasets, it is not possible to exhaustively examine every possible clustering, and we introduce approximate algorithms to cope with this case. We demonstrate results both for frontal faces, and for face sets containing large pose variations. We present a detailed quantitative evaluation of the results for a standard dataset.
Activated Neutrophils Induce Erythrocyte Immunoglobulin Binding and Membrane Protein Degradation

Neutrophil‐induced alterations in feline erythrocytes were investigated to elucidate the pathogenesis off the erythrocyte destruction associated with inflammatory disease. Incubation of erythrocytes with zymosan‐activated neutrophils, at target:effector concentrations of 50:1, resulted in immunoglobulin binding to the erythrocyte membrane and degradation of membrane proteins. Vitamin E and superoxide dismutase/catalase attenuated the immunoglobulin binding. Proteolysis was not prevented by addition of antioxidants or protease inhibitors to the erythrocyte:neutrophil coculture and was not reproduced with chemical oxidation or calcium loading of erythrocytes.
Observation of pain control in patients with bisphosphonate-induced osteonecrosis using low level laser therapy: preliminary results.

BACKGROUND Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) is an adverse side effect associated with bisphosphonate (BP) therapy, especially when parenteral BP administration is used. Patients affected by BRONJ present wide areas of exposed necrotic bone, particularly after surgical oral procedures. The main symptom is pain that is poorly controlled by common analgesic drugs. Recently, many studies have pointed to the beneficial effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in pain reduction for many pathological conditions. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether LLLT could be helpful in managing BRONJ by reducing the problems associated with this condition and the use of analgesic drugs. METHODS Twelve patients affected by BRONJ were monitored at the Complex Operative Unit of Oral Pathology. Among these patients, only seven referred to pain in necrotic areas and were recruited for LLLT. Laser applications were performed with a double diode laser simultaneously emitting at two different wavelengths (λ = 650 nm and λ = 904-910 nm, spot size = 8 mm). All of the patients were irradiated with a fluence of 0.053 J/cm(2) for 15 min five times over a period of 2 weeks, in a non-contact mode, ∼1 mm from the pathologic area. The patient's maximum and minimum pain was recorded using a numeric rating scale (NRS) evaluation before and after the treatment. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS Six patients showed significant pain reduction, and only one patient indicated a worsening of the symptoms, which was probably related to a reinfection of the BRONJ site, which occurred during the study. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was found between the NRS rates before and after the protocol. CONCLUSIONS This pilot study suggests that LLLT may be a valid technique to support the treatment of BRONJ-related pain, even though the low number of cases in this study does not permit any conclusive consideration.
Becoming cruel

Appetitive aggression – a rewarding perception of the perpetration of violence – seems to be an adaptation common to adverse conditions. Children raised within armed groups may develop attitudes and values that favour harming others when socialized within a combat force. Combatants who joined an armed force early in their lives should, therefore, perceive aggression in a more appetitive way than those who were recruited later. We interviewed 95 former members of armed groups operating in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Those combatants that were having higher levels of appetitive aggression were those who joined a rebel force earlier in life. Surprisingly, neither the amount of military training nor the amount of time spent in the forces had a significant effect on the level of appetitive aggression. Our results show that when civil socialization is replaced by socialization within an armed group early in life, self-regulation of appetitive aggression may become deficient, leading to a higher propensity towards cruelty.
Factors Affecting Employee Retention: A Comparative Analysis of two Organizations from Heavy Engineering Industry

The study explores to identify the main factors of retention management strategies in organizations. The organizations taken into consideration are two heavy engineering manufacturers based in India. The data was collected from 100 employees holding middle managerial positions in the two organizations. The Cronbac's alpha of the questionnaire was found to be 0.823& Pearson correlation was 0.951 (p<0.001). The factor analysis of the component retention management strategies' led to the extraction of 3 factors each from both the organizations. The factors for EEPL* were competence & relationship oriented, scholastic & futuristic oriented and â€œdevelopmental & reward oriented; while for MBPL*, the factor were relationship oriented, competence & scholastic orientedâ€ and reward oriented. The results indicate that these factors have substantial roles to play in making employees stay and how at middle managerial level different aspects are valued while deciding upon the retention strategies in similar contexts (i.e. sector). Keywords: Retention Strategies, Employee Retention, Retention Management
The YjbH Adaptor Protein Enhances Proteolysis of the Transcriptional Regulator Spx in Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT Spx is a global regulator that is widespread among the low-G+C-content Gram-positive bacteria. Spx has been extensively studied in Bacillus subtilis, where it acts as an activator and a repressor of transcription in response to disulfide stress. Under nonstress conditions, Spx is rapidly degraded by the ClpXP protease. This degradation is enhanced by the YjbH adaptor protein. Upon disulfide stress, the amount of Spx rapidly increases due to a decrease in degradation. In the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, Spx is a global regulator influencing growth, biofilm formation, and general stress protection, and cells lacking the spx gene exhibit poor growth also under nonstress conditions. To investigate the mechanism by which the activity of Spx is regulated, we identified a homolog in S. aureus of the B. subtilis yjbH gene. The gene encodes a protein that shows approximately 30% sequence identity to YjbH of B. subtilis. Heterologous expression of S. aureus yjbH in a B. subtilis yjbH mutant restored Spx to wild-type levels both under nonstress conditions and under conditions of disulfide stress. From these studies, we conclude that the two YjbH homologues have a conserved physiological function. Accordingly, inactivation of yjbH in S. aureus increased the level of Spx protein and transcription of the Spx-regulated gene trxB. Notably, the yjbH mutant exhibited reduced growth and increased pigmentation, and both phenotypes were reversed by complementation of the yjbH gene.
Expression of the SK2 calcium‐activated potassium channel is required for cholinergic function in mouse cochlear hair cells

Efferent inhibition of cochlear hair cells is mediated by ‘nicotinic’ cholinergic receptors functionally coupled to calcium‐activated, small conductance (SK2) potassium channels. We recorded from cochlear hair cells in SK2 knockout mice to evaluate further the role of this channel in efferent function. Since cholinergic inhibitory synapses can be found on inner or outer hair cells, depending on developmental age, both cell types were studied. To determine if SK channel activity was indeed eliminated, seconds‐long voltage‐gated calcium influx was used to activate slowly rising and falling calcium‐dependent potassium currents. These were identified as SK currents by their time course, calcium dependence and sensitivity to block by apamin in wild‐type IHCs. IHCs from knockout mice had no SK current by these same criteria. Thus, the SK2 gene is solely responsible for encoding the SK channels of inner hair cells. Other aspects of hair cell excitability remained relatively unaffected. Unexpectedly, cholinergic synaptic currents were entirely absent from both inner and outer SK2‐knockout hair cells. Further, direct application of ACh caused no change in membrane current, implying absent or otherwise dysfunctional ACh receptors. Immunohistology of whole‐mounts using the antibody to the synaptic vesicle protein 2 (SV2) revealed a pronounced reduction of efferent innervation to outer hair cells (OHCs) in the knockout cochleas. Quantitative RT‐PCR analysis, however, showed no change in the mRNA levels of α9 and α10 nicotinic ACh receptor (nAChR) genes. Thus, some aspect of translation or subsequent protein processing leads to non‐functional or absent ACh receptors. These results indicate that SK2 channels are required both for expression of functional nAChRs, and for establishment and/or maintenance of efferent terminals in the cochlea.