Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The RNA binding protein Cwc2 interacts directly with the U6 snRNA to link the nineteen complex to the spliceosome during pre-mRNA splicing

Intron removal during pre-messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) splicing involves arrangement of snRNAs into conformations that promote the two catalytic steps. The Prp19 complex [nineteen complex (NTC)] can specify U5 and U6 snRNA interactions with pre-mRNA during spliceosome activation. A candidate for linking the NTC to the snRNAs is the NTC protein Cwc2, which contains motifs known to bind RNA, a zinc finger and RNA recognition motif (RRM). In yeast cells mutation of either the zinc finger or RRM destabilize Cwc2 and are lethal. Yeast cells depleted of Cwc2 accumulate pre-mRNA and display reduced levels of U1, U4, U5 and U6 snRNAs. Cwc2 depletion also reduces U4/U6 snRNA complex levels, as found with depletion of other NTC proteins, but without increase in free U4. Purified Cwc2 displays general RNA binding properties and can bind both snRNAs and pre-mRNA in vitro. A Cwc2 RRM fragment alone can bind RNA but with reduced efficiency. Under splicing conditions Cwc2 can associate with U2, U5 and U6 snRNAs, but can only be crosslinked directly to the U6 snRNA. Cwc2 associates with U6 both before and after the first step of splicing. We propose that Cwc2 links the NTC to the spliceosome during pre-mRNA splicing through the U6 snRNA.
Photoperiodic and Food Signals Control Expression Pattern of the Clock Gene, Period, in the Linden Bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus

The temporal expression pattern of the circadian clock gene period was compared between heads of the linden bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus , kept under diapause-promoting short days (SD) and diapause-preventing long days (LD) using a real-time PCR quantification. Diapause or reproduction was programmed by photoperiod during the larval stage, but the first difference in per mRNA abundance between SD and LD insects was observed only after adult ecdysis. The expression level of per mRNA was markedly higher, up to more than 10-fold, in the destined-to diapause animals compared with those scheduled for reproduction. Up-regulation of per transcript was restricted to an early diapause peak, with the maximum expression on days 3 to 5 after adult ecdysis. Starvation reduced the peak level of per mRNA to about 50% of the value found in feeding females in the SD conditions, but per mRNA abundance was similarly low in fasting and feeding females in LD. Photoperiodic refractoriness in either wild-type postdiapause adults or in a selected nondiapause variant of P. apterus was associated with reproduction and low, LD-like levels of per mRNA under both SD and LD. Overall, the data suggest that the photoperiodic programming itself has no direct effect on per mRNA abundance, but it does determine the response of per transcript to food signals during subsequent expression of diapause/reproduction physiology.
Development of a metal matrix composite layer on a microalloyed steel surface by dissociating MAX211 Ti2AlC particles using a TIG torch technique

Abstract A surface engineering method utilised a tungsten inert gas torch to melt a preplaced MAX211, Ti2AlC powder particles into a microalloyed steel substrate with the aim of producing a surface metal matrix composite. In this study, the two different shielding gases, argon and a mixture of argon + helium (80 + 20%), were used to protect the surfaces under different processing conditions, with the aim of finding the optimal conditions for further studies. An analysis of the morphology, microstructure and hardness profile of the melted zone, showed that in general, samples melted under argon achieved a higher hardness and exhibited a smaller penetration into the substrate compared to melting under a mixture of argon + helium. An XRD study showed that the Ti2AlC powder decomposed to TiC particles dispersed in mainly TiAl.
Sexual dimorphism in foramen magnum dimensions in the South Indian population: A digital submentovertex radiographic study

Purpose of the Study: Personal identification is a vital arena of forensic investigation, facilitating the search for missing persons. This process of identification is eased by the determination of age, sex, and ethnicity. In situations where there are fragmented and mutilated skeletal remains, sex determination is relatively difficult, and it becomes important to establish the accuracy of individual bones. Aim: This study aims to evaluate sexual dimorphism in foramen magnum (FM) dimensions in the South Indian population using digital submentovertex (SMV) radiograph. Materials and Methods: 150 individuals (75 males and 75 females) were subjected to digital SMV radiography. FM in the resultant image was assessed for longitudinal and transverse diameters, circumference, and area. Also, one particular shape was assigned to each image based on the classification of Chethan et al. of FM shapes. Three qualified oral radiologists performed all the measurements twice within an interval of 10 days. Results and Conclusion: The values obtained for all four parameters were statistically significant and higher in males than in females. The most common morphology of FM was an egg shape while hexagonal was the least common morphology. Circumference was the best indicator of sex followed by area, transverse diameter, and longitudinal diameter. Having achieved a high accuracy of 67.3% with digital SMV radiograph makes it a reliable and reproducible alternative to dry skulls for sex determination.
Personality System Perceived Environment System Behavior System Sensation seeking Adolescent Cigarette Smoking Peer smoking Parental monitoring Delinquent behavior

This study applies Jessor and Jessor’s problem behavior theory to examine factors predicting adolescent smoking behavior both directly and indirectly. Measures include adolescent smoking and other psychosocial variables including sensation seeking, peer smoking behavior, parental monitoring, and delinquent behaviors. Middle school students (N = 260) from two schools in the northeast United States participated in the study. The results indicate that sensation seeking and parental monitoring contribute to adolescent smoking indirectly, through the mediation of peer smoking behavior and engagement in delinquent behaviors. Peer smoking behavior and delinquent behaviors predict adolescent smoking directly. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Primary Structure Revision and Active Site Mapping of E. Coli Isoleucyl-tRNA Synthetase by Means of Maldi Mass Spectrometry

The correct amino acid sequence of E. coli isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleRS) was established by means of peptide mapping by MALDI mass spectrometry, using a set of four endoproteases (trypsin, LysC, AspN and GluC). Thereafter, the active site of IleRS was mapped by affinity labeling with reactive analogs of the substrates. For the ATP binding site, the affinity labeling reagent was pyridoxal 5'-diphospho-5'-adenosine (ADP-PL), whereas periodate-oxidized tRNAIle, the 2',3'-dialdehyde derivative of tRNAIle was used to label the binding site for the 3'-end of tRNA on the synthetase. Incubation of either reagent with IleRS resulted in a rapid loss of both the tRNAIle aminoacylation and isoleucinedependent isotopic ATP-PPi exchange activities. The stoichiometries of IleRS labeling by ADP-PL or tRNAIleox corresponded to 1 mol of reagent incorporated per mol of enzyme. Altogether, the oxidized 3'-end of tRNAIle and the pyridoxal moiety of the ATP analog ADP-PL react with the lysyl residues 601 and 604 of the consensus sequence 601KMSKS605. Identification of the binding site for L-isoleucine or for non cognate amino acids on E. coli IleRS was achieved by qualitative comparative labeling of the synthetase with bromomethyl ketone derivatives of L-isoleucine (IBMK) or of the non-cognate amino acids valine (VBMK), phenylalanine (FBMK) and norleucine (NleBMK). Labeling of the enzyme with IBMK resulted in a complete loss of isoleucine-dependent isotopic [32P]PPi-ATP exchange activity. VBMK, NleBMK and FBMK were also capable of abolishing the activity of IleRS, FBMK being the less efficient in inactivating the synthetase. Analysis by MALDI mass spectrometry designated cysteines-462 and -718 as the target residues of the substrate analog IBMK on E. coli IleRS, whereas VBMK, NleBMK and FBMK labeled in common His-394, His-478 and Cys-718. In addition, VBMK and NleBMK, which are chemically similar to IBMK, were found covalently bound to Cys-462, and VBMK was specifically attached to His-332 (or His-337) of the synthetase. The amino acid residues labeled by the substrate analogs are mainly distributed between three regions in the primary structure of E. coli IleRS: these are segments [325-394], [451-479] and [591-604]. In the 3-D structures of IleRS from T. thermophilus and S. aureus, the [325-394] stretch is part of the editing domain, while fragments [451-479] and [591-604] representing the isoleucine binding domain and the dinucleotide (or Rossmann) fold domain, respectively, are located in the catalytic core. His-332 of E. coli IleRS, that is strictly conserved among all the available IleRS sequences is located in the editing active site of the synthetase. It is proposed that His-332 of E. coli IleRS participates directly in hydrolysis, or helps to deprotonate the hydroxyl group of threonine at the hydrolytic site.
Adaptation Data Selection using Neural Language Models: Experiments in Machine Translation

Data selection is an effective approach to domain adaptation in statistical machine translation. The idea is to use language models trained on small in-domain text to select similar sentences from large general-domain corpora, which are then incorporated into the training data. Substantial gains have been demonstrated in previous works, which employ standard ngram language models. Here, we explore the use of neural language models for data selection. We hypothesize that the continuous vector representation of words in neural language models makes them more effective than n-grams for modeling unknown word contexts, which are prevalent in general-domain text. In a comprehensive evaluation of 4 language pairs (English to German, French, Russian, Spanish), we found that neural language models are indeed viable tools for data selection: while the improvements are varied (i.e. 0.1 to 1.7 gains in BLEU), they are fast to train on small in-domain data and can sometimes substantially outperform conventional n-grams.
Paradoxical kinesia at war

Paradoxical kinesia is the sudden transient ability of a patient with Parkinson's disease to perform a task he was previously unable to perform, usually when facing an immediate threat. The sensory cues governing this behavior and the prevalence in real life situations are unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of paradoxical kinesia in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients whose residential area was suddenly a war zone, under a life threatening missile attack, necessitating immediate evacuation. Fifty PD patients were interviewed during and immediately following the war. Only two patients experienced paradoxical kinesia, one war related and the other historical, both in response to visual cues. In contrast, an auditory stimulus in the form of a frightening loud siren, warning patients of an imminent missile attack, did not induce paradoxical kinesia. When questioned about their general function during wartime, patients reported significant increases in OFF time (P < 0.01), dyskinesia (P < 0.009), anxiety (P < 0.002), and depression (P < 0.01) as compared with their performance before the war. Paradoxical kinesia is uncommon, even in the face of danger. Visual, but not auditory, triggers appear to be needed to prompt its occurrence. © 2007 Movement Disorder Society
Microglia communication: Parallels between aging and Alzheimer's disease

Aging alters the functional integrity of the adult brain, driving cognitive impairments and susceptibility to neurodegenerative disorders in healthy individuals. In fact, aging remains the most dominant risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent findings have expanded our understanding of microglia function in the normal aging and AD brain, provoking an appreciation for microglia involvement in remodeling neuronal connections and maintaining brain integrity. This homeostatic function of microglia is achieved in part through the ability of microglia to interact extensively with and rapidly respond to changes in the brain microenvironment to enable adequate phenotypic transformations. Here, we discuss pro‐inflammatory drivers of microglia transformation in aging and AD by focusing on the immune‐modulatory functions of secreted factors, such as cytokines, complement factors and extracellular vesicles. We highlight the involvement of these secreted factors in aging and AD‐associated cellular changes in microglia immune activation, surveillance function, and phagocytosis. Finally, we discuss how pro‐inflammatory phenotypic changes associated with altered immune communication could both facilitate and exacerbate impairments in synaptic plasticity and cognitive function observed in the aged and AD brain.
Continuous Control of the Degree of Articulation in HMM-Based Speech Synthesis

This paper focuses on the implementation of a continuous control of the degree of articulation (hypo/hyperarticulation) in the framework of HMM-based speech synthesis. The adaptation of a neutral speech synthesizer to generate hypo and hyperarticulated speech using a limited amount of speech data is first studied. This is done using inter-speaker voice adaptation techniques, applied here to intra-speaker voice adaptation. The implementation of a continuous control of the degree of articulation is then proposed in a second step. Finally, a subjective evaluation shows that good quality neutral/hypo/hyperarticulated speech, and also any intermediate, interpolated or extrapolated articulation degrees, can be obtained from an HMM-based speech synthesizer.
Late preconditioning against myocardial stunning. An endogenous protective mechanism that confers resistance to postischemic dysfunction 24 h after brief ischemia in conscious pigs.

Conscious pigs underwent a sequence of 10 2-min coronary occlusions, each separated by 2 min of reperfusion, for three consecutive days (days 1, 2, and 3 of stage I). The recovery of systolic wall thickening (WTh) after the 10th reperfusion was markedly improved on days 2 and 3 compared with day 1, indicating that the myocardium had become preconditioned against "stunning. " 10 d after stage I, pigs underwent again a sequence of 10 2-min coronary occlusions for two consecutive days (days 1 and 2 of stage II). On day 1 of stage II, the recovery of WTh after the 10th reperfusion was similar to that noted on day 1 of stage I; on day 2 of stage II, however, the recovery of WTh was again markedly improved compared with day 1. Blockade of adenosine receptors with 8-p-sulfophenyl theophylline failed to prevent the development of preconditioning against stunning. Northern blot analysis demonstrated an increase in heat stress protein (HSP) 70 mRNA 2 h after the preconditioning ischemia; at this same time point, immunohistochemical analysis revealed a concentration of HSP70 in the nucleus and an overall increase in staining for HSP70. 24 h after the preconditioning ischemia, Western dot blot analysis demonstrated an increase in HSP70. This study indicates the existence of a new, previously unrecognized cardioprotective phenomenon. The results demonstrate that a brief ischemic stress induces a powerful, long-lasting (at least 48 h) adaptive response that renders the myocardium relatively resistant to stunning 24 h later (late preconditioning against stunning). This adaptive response disappears within 10 d after the last ischemic stress but can be reinduced by another ischemic stress. Unlike early and late preconditioning against infarction, late preconditioning against stunning is not blocked by adenosine receptor antagonists, and therefore appears to involve a mechanism different from that of other forms of preconditioning currently known. The increase in myocardial HSP70 is compatible with, but does not prove, a role of HSPs in the pathogenesis of this phenomenon.
Association between periodontal disease and Interleukin-1β +3953 and vitamin D receptor Taq1 genetic polymorphisms in an Italian caucasian population.

AIM Periodontal diseases entail a variety of conditions affecting the periodontium. The pathogenesis results from a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Although there are evidences to confirm a role of genetic determinants, the outcome of the available studies is controversial and the largest part of the research has been carried out in Asian populations. METHODS We investigated two polymorphisms in the genes encoding Interelukin-1β (IL-1β +3953 C>T; rs1143634) and vitamin D receptor (VDR Taq1; rs731236) in 42 Caucasian patients with chronic periodontal disease and 39 Caucasian subjects, matched for age and gender. RESULTS The IL-1β C allele was present in 100% of cases and 92% of controls (p=0.07), the T allele was present in 19% of cases and in 44% controls (p=0.017). The prevalence of the VDR Taq1 tt genotype was lower in patients as compared with controls (i.e., 10 versus 59%; p<0.01), whereas the tT and TT genotypes were disproportionally higher in patients than in cases (i.e., 62 versus 33% for tT and 29% versus 8% for TT; p<0.01). The t allele was present in 71% of cases and 92% of controls (p=0.016), whereas the T allele was present in 90% of patients with periodontal disease and in 41% controls (p<0.01). CONCLUSION The results of this case control study at-test that the T allele of VDR Taq1 is strongly associated with periodontal disease, whereas the t allele of the IL-1β +3953 confers a slightly protection against the risk of periodontitis.
Serological relationships among meningococci.

Interest in the meningococcus has waxed and waned with the epidemics due to this microorganism. During waves of cerebrospinal fever, intensive study of the incriminated organism has been made, whereas, during the years between, other emergencies have crowded such studies into the background. Each wave of meningococcus meningitis has brought substantial contribution to knowledge, but continuity was lacking, and there has been little consolidation of the information gained. These troughs between the peaks of interest in the meningococcus are probably responsible, in part, for the tendency of new groups of workers in the field to overlook the background of information accumulated during past years by their predecessors. Long known fundamental facts are sometimes reported as new and sometimes disregarded altogether, whereas undue emphasis may be placed upon relatively unimportant recent observations. In no phase of this situation is the lack of coordination more evident than in the confusion which surrounds the classification of the meningococcus. Recent work has added new information, and some increase in the incidence of meningococcus infection has again awakened interest in this microorganism. Hence, an attempt to clarify the relationship among meningococci, and especially to correlate with each other t'he various classifications that have been proposed, seems timely. Literature in this field is voluminous, and a brief review may aid in orientation of the confused worker. Serological differences among meningococci were reported first by Dopter in 1909 (20) when he found some nasopharyngeal strains that were not agglutinated by his meningococcus antiserum although they did give complement fixation. He designated these as parameningococci. Later Dopter and Pauron (21), in 1914, separated these by agglutinin absorption into alpha, beta and gamma parameningococci, alpha being most commonly and gamma least commonly encountered. During the years of World War I meningococcus meningitis had wide spread incidence, and the case fatality rate was very high, especially among the armed forces of the countries involved. Flexner (26), 1913, reported serum treatment in thirteen hundred cases, and Wollstein (70), in 1914, recommended that Dopter's parameningococcus be included among the meningococci used in production of therapeutic serum as it was different from those which she had described as "normal" and "irregular". Hence, the 1914-1918 period brought intensive research on the classification of the meningococcus with the end in view of improving treatment. British workers did a large share of this work. During 1915 Gordon and Mur-
EMR: A Scalable Graph-Based Ranking Model for Content-Based Image Retrieval

Graph-based ranking models have been widely applied in information retrieval area. In this paper, we focus on a well known graph-based model - the Ranking on Data Manifold model, or Manifold Ranking (MR). Particularly, it has been successfully applied to content-based image retrieval, because of its outstanding ability to discover underlying geometrical structure of the given image database. However, manifold ranking is computationally very expensive, which significantly limits its applicability to large databases especially for the cases that the queries are out of the database (new samples). We propose a novel scalable graph-based ranking model called Efficient Manifold Ranking (EMR), trying to address the shortcomings of MR from two main perspectives: scalable graph construction and efficient ranking computation. Specifically, we build an anchor graph on the database instead of a traditional k-nearest neighbor graph, and design a new form of adjacency matrix utilized to speed up the ranking. An approximate method is adopted for efficient out-of-sample retrieval. Experimental results on some large scale image databases demonstrate that EMR is a promising method for real world retrieval applications.
Collateral ventilation in a canine model with bronchial obstruction: assessment with xenon-enhanced dual-energy CT.

PURPOSE To determine the feasibility of the use of xenon-enhanced dynamic dual-energy computed tomography (CT) for visualization and quantitative assessment of collateral ventilation in a canine model with bronchial obstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was approved by the institutional animal care and use committee. One segmental bronchus was occluded in nine dogs (weight range, 20-25 kg). Dynamic dual-energy CT scanning was performed by using dual-source CT during the wash-in-washout study of xenon inhalation via mechanical ventilation. Imaging parameters were 14 x 1.2-mm collimation, 40 mAs (effective) at 140 kV and 170 mAs (effective) at 80 kV, pitch of 0.45, and 0.33-second rotation time. By using dual-energy software, CT images and xenon maps were reconstructed. CT attenuation values were measured in the airways proximal to obstruction (AW(PROX)) and airways distal to obstruction (AW(DIST)) and at the parenchyma with patent airways (P(PATE)) and parenchyma with obstructed airways (P(OBST)). CT attenuation values on dynamic xenon maps were plotted with exponential function; ventilation parameters, including velocity of ventilation (K value), magnitude of ventilation (A value), and time of arrival (TOA), were calculated on the basis of the Kety model. RESULTS In all animals, delayed and weaker xenon enhancement was identified at the airway and parenchyma distal to obstruction. For the A value, in the wash-in study, the differences between AW(PROX) and AW(DIST) and between P(PATE) and P(OBST) were significant (71.80 and 57.64, P = .05; 51.86 and 37.52 HU, P = .02). The K value of P(OBST) was lower than that of P(PATE) in the wash-in study (0.006 and 0 .010, P = .06). Mean and standard deviation for TOA were observed in the following increasing order: AW(PROX) ([3.50 +/- 7.70] x 10(-6) sec), P(PATE) (4.58 +/- 2.83), AW(DIST) (9.20 +/- 6.87), and P(OBST) (21.00 +/- 13.44). CONCLUSION Collateral ventilation in a canine model with bronchial obstruction can be quantitatively assessed by using xenon-enhanced dynamic dual-energy CT.