Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Abnormal sensorimotor control, but intact force field adaptation, in multiple sclerosis subjects with no clinical disability

In MS subjects with no clinical disability, we assessed sensorimotor organization and their ability to adapt to an unfamiliar dynamical environment. Eleven MS subjects performed reaching movements while a robot generated a speed-dependent force field. Control and adaptation performance were compared with that of an equal number of control subjects. During a familiarization phase, when the robot generated no forces, the movements of MS subjects were more curved, displayed greater and more variable directional errors and a longer deceleration phase. During the force field phase, both MS and control subjects gradually learned to predict the robot-generated forces. The rates of adaptation were similar, but MS subjects showed a greater variability in responding to the force field. These results suggest that MS subjects have a preserved capability of learning to predict the effects of the forces, but make greater errors when actually using such predictions to generate movements. Inaccurate motor commands are then compensated later in the movement through an extra amount of sensory-based corrections. This indicates that early in the disease MS subjects have intact adaptive capabilities, but impaired movement execution. Multiple Sclerosis 2008; 14: 330—342. http://msj.sagepub. com
Nα-Terminal Acetylation for T Cell Recognition: Molecular Basis of MHC Class I–Restricted Nα-Acetylpeptide Presentation

As one of the most common posttranslational modifications (PTMs) of eukaryotic proteins, Nα-terminal acetylation (Nt-acetylation) generates a class of Nα-acetylpeptides that are known to be presented by MHC class I at the cell surface. Although such PTM plays a pivotal role in adjusting proteolysis, the molecular basis for the presentation and T cell recognition of Nα-acetylpeptides remains largely unknown. In this study, we determined a high-resolution crystallographic structure of HLA (HLA)-B*3901 complexed with an Nα-acetylpeptide derived from natural cellular processing, also in comparison with the unmodified-peptide complex. Unlike the α-amino–free P1 residues of unmodified peptide, of which the α-amino group inserts into pocket A of the Ag-binding groove, the Nα-linked acetyl of the acetylated P1-Ser protrudes out of the groove for T cell recognition. Moreover, the Nt-acetylation not only alters the conformation of the peptide but also switches the residues in the α1-helix of HLA-B*3901, which may impact the T cell engagement. The thermostability measurements of complexes between Nα-acetylpeptides and a series of MHC class I molecules derived from different species reveal reduced stability. Our findings provide the insight into the mode of Nα-acetylpeptide–specific presentation by classical MHC class I molecules and shed light on the potential of acetylepitope-based immune intervene and vaccine development.
Can Bacteria Evolve Resistance to Quorum Sensing Disruption?

Traditional treatment of bacterial infections relies heavily on the use of antibacterial compounds that either kill bacteria (bactericidal) or inhibit their growth (bacteriostatic). Typically, the targets for the main conventional antibiotics are essential cellular processes such as bacterial cell wall biosynthesis, bacterial protein synthesis, and bacterial DNA replication and repair. However, resistance to these drugs arises and spreads very rapidly, even to such an extent that bacteria have been identified that are simultaneously resistant to all available antibiotics [1]. The increasing occurrence of resistant bacteria gradually renders antibiotics ineffective in treating infections and has enormous human and economic consequences worldwide. As a result, the identification of novel drug targets and the development of novel therapeutics constitute an important area of current scientific research. An alternative to killing or inhibiting growth of pathogenic bacteria is the specific attenuation of bacterial virulence, which can be attained by targeting key regulatory systems that mediate the expression of virulence factors. One of the target regulatory systems is quorum sensing (QS), or bacterial cell-to-cell communication. QS is a mechanism of gene regulation in which bacteria coordinate the expression of certain genes in response to the presence or absence of small signal molecules (Figure 1). Figure 1 General scheme of a quorum sensing system. Quorum Sensing: Bacterial Cell-to-Cell Communication QS was first discovered in the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri and was thought to be restricted to only a limited series of species. Later on, similar systems were found to be present in many other Gram-negative bacteria. These Gram-negative bacteria use acylated homoserine lactones (AHLs) as signal molecules (for a review see [2]). AHLs are typically produced by a homolog of V. fischeri LuxI and detected by a homolog of V. fischeri LuxR. In addition to the AHL-mediated systems in Gram-negative bacteria, some Gram-positive bacteria also regulate a variety of processes by QS. The QS systems of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus, for instance, have been extensively studied (for a review see [3]). A different kind of QS system is found in vibrios. These bacteria use multichannel QS systems in which different types of signal molecules are produced. The signal molecules are detected at the cell surface by membrane-bound, two-component receptor proteins that feed a common phosphorylation/dephosphorylation signal transduction cascade (for a review on QS in vibrios, see [4]). One of the signals produced by vibrios is the so-called autoinducer 2 (AI-2), a furanosyl borate diester [5]. AI-2 activity has been detected in many different species (Gram-negative as well as Gram-positive), although its function as a signal is not generally accepted for all species (for a detailed discussion see [6]). The language of bacteria seems to be even more diversified as new QS systems, using different types of signal molecules, are still being discovered [7].
Characterizing Liminal And Type I Graph C*-Algebras

We prove that the C*-algebra of a directed graph $E$ is liminal iff the graph satisfies the finiteness condition: if $p$ is an infinite path or a path ending with a sink or an infinite emitter, and if $v$ is any vertex, then there are only finitely many paths starting with $v$ and ending with a vertex in $p$. Moreover, C*(E) is Type I precisely when the circuits of $E$ are either terminal or transitory, i.e., $E$ has no vertex which is on multiple circuits, and $E$ satisfies the weaker condition: for any infinite path $\lambda$, there are only finitely many vertices of $\lambda$ that get back to $\lambda$ in an infinite number of ways.
BMC Systems Biology

Background: Constraint-based flux analysis of metabolic network model quantifies the reaction flux distribution to characterize the state of cellular metabolism. However, metabolites are key players in the metabolic network and the current reaction-centric approach may not account for the effect of metabolite perturbation on the cellular physiology due to the inherent limitation in model formulation. Thus, it would be practical to incorporate the metabolite states into the model for the analysis of the network. Results: Presented herein is a metabolite-centric approach of analyzing the metabolic network by including the turnover rate of metabolite, known as flux-sum, as key descriptive variable within the model formulation. By doing so, the effect of varying metabolite flux-sum
Research on airborne bistatic SAR squint imaging mode algorithm and experiment data processing

The parallel flight squint mode of airborne bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is discussed in this paper. The bistatic squint imaging mode (SIM) algorithm is used to solve the coupling between the range and the azimuth of this mode. Simulation results prove the availability of this algorithm. The bistatic SIM algorithm is also used to process the experiment data, and a well focused Bistatic SAR image is generated successfully. Comparing the generated image with the bistatic rang-Doppler (RD) algorithm, we can find that the result of bistatic SIM algorithm is much better than that of bistatic RD algorithm in the parallel flight squint mode.
Association of Eubacterium nodatum and Treponema denticola with human periodontitis lesions.

BACKGROUND The purpose of the present investigation was to compare the levels, proportions and percentage of sites colonized by 40 bacterial species in subgingival plaque samples from periodontally healthy subjects and patients with chronic periodontitis to seek possible pathogens other than the consensus pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia. METHOD Subgingival plaque samples were taken from the mesial aspect of each tooth in 635 subjects with chronic periodontitis and 189 periodontally healthy subjects. The samples were individually analyzed for their content of 40 bacterial species using checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization (total samples = 21,832). Mean counts, % DNA probe counts and percentage of sites colonized at >10(5) were determined for each species in each subject and then averaged in each clinical group. Significance of difference between groups was determined using the Mann-Whitney test. Association between combinations of species and periodontal status was examined by stepwise logistic regression analysis. Analyses were repeated using a subset of subjects from both clinical groups who had proportions of P. gingivalis plus T. forsythia less than the median (4.42%) found in periodontally healthy subjects. All analyses were adjusted for multiple comparisons. RESULTS For the 824 subjects the consensus pathogens P. gingivalis and T. forsythia as well as Eubacterium nodatum and Treponema denticola had significantly higher mean counts, proportions and percentage of sites colonized in samples from subjects with periodontitis than from periodontally healthy subjects. There were significantly more Capnocytophaga gingivalis, Streptococcus gordonii and Veillonella parvula in periodontally healthy subjects. E. nodatum, T. denticola, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus intermedius, Fusobacterium nucleatum ssp. vincentii all had higher counts and proportions in diseased than healthy subjects who had low proportions of P. gingivalis and T. forsythia. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the same species groups were associated with disease status after adjusting for the proportions of the other species. CONCLUSIONS This investigation confirmed the strong association of P. gingivalis and T. forsythia with chronic periodontitis and emphasized a strong association of E. nodatum and T. denticola with periodontitis whether in the presence or absence of high levels of the consensus pathogens. Other species, including S. oralis, Eikenella corrodens, S. intermedius and F. nucleatum ssp. vincentii, were associated with disease when P. gingivalis and T. forsythia were present in low proportions.
Optimal Management of Methotrexate Intoxication in a Child with Osteosarcoma

OBJECTIVE To describe the time course and management of methotrexate (MTX) toxicity in a 14-year-old Hispanic boy with osteosarcoma treated with high-dose MTX. CASE SUMMARY During the sixth cycle of high-dose MTX, severe intoxication was observed with high MTX plasma concentrations, acute renal failure, and hepatitis, followed by mucositis and moderate myelosuppression. Intensification of urine alkalinization and increased leucovorin dosages did not decrease plasma concentrations of MTX or prevent systemic toxicities. Carboxypeptidase G2 and aminophylline were thus administered as a second-intention rescue strategy. Within 2 weeks, a recovery of clinical symptoms and normalization of the biological abnormalities were observed. Limb salvage surgery was performed, which permitted classifying the patient as an MTX high-responder. Thereafter, MTX was successfully resumed, leading to clinical recovery of the patient. Concomitantly, homocysteine plasma levels, a marker of the pharmacodynamic effect of MTX, were measured. During the intoxication, homocysteine plasma levels were significantly increased, parallel to the excessive MTX plasma concentrations observed. DISCUSSION According to the excessive MTX levels measured in this patient, along with the observed clinical (mucositis) and biological (hepatitis, renal injury) adverse effects, we suggest that MTX may be a cause of these complications. Use of the Naranjo probability scale indicated a probable relationship between the complications and MTX. CONCLUSIONS This observation shows that severe complications observed during one cycle of high-dose MTX is not predictive of the tolerability of further courses. Optimal management of such complications, using specific therapeutic intervention, may be considered.
Cyclic Damage Evolution in a PMC Laminate

Using damage mechanics, cyclic damage evolution has been described and evaluated in a non-crimped glass epoxy fabric composite. A fundamental fatigue study has been carried out by progressively monitoring the fatigue damage modulus and crack density throughout the life of an [0,+45,90,-45]2 (antisymmetric) laminate cycled at a stress ratio R (minimum stress/maximum stress) of 0.1. Development of damage can be separated into two main stages. Initially, damage increases very quickly during the first 10% of life (Stage I). Afterwhich, it increases more slowly at a relatively constant rate to failure (Stage II). The changes in the fatigue modulus and crack density both show the same behaviour. A large amount of damage in the form of transverse matrix cracks develops during the first cycle. These then remain constant throughout life. By contrast, the number of shear matrix cracks increase continually. The crack density is cycle, not stress dependent. This behaviour is reflected by changes in the fatigue modulus. Using damage mechanics, a representative equation has been applied to express the progressive evolution of damage. The significance of which is that the amount of fatigue damage at the end of Stage I for any stress level can be used to predict fatigue life and the stress-life diagram for the laminate.
Analysis of the query logs of a Web site search engine

A large number of studies have investigated the transaction log of general-purpose search engines such as Excite and AltaVista, but few studies have reported on the analysis of search logs for search engines that are limited to particular Web sites, namely, Web site search engines. In this article, we report our research on analyzing the search logs of the search engine of the Utah state government Web site. Our results show that some statistics, such as the number of search terms per query, of Web users are the same for general-purpose search engines and Web site search engines, but others, such as the search topics and the terms used, are considerably different. Possible reasons for the differences include the focused domain of Web site search engines and users' different information needs. The findings are useful for Web site developers to improve the performance of their services provided on the Web and for researchers to conduct further research in this area. The analysis also can be applied in e-government research by investigating how information should be delivered to users in government Web sites.
CLASSES OF NON-HERMITIAN OPERATORS WITH REAL EIGENVALUES

Classes of non-Hermitian operators that have only real eigenvalues are presented. The investigated operators appear in quantum mechanics and are ex- pressed in terms of the generators of the Weyl-Heisenberg algebra. For each non- Hermitian operator A, it is found a Hermitian involutive operator ˆ J such that A is ˆ J-Hermitian, that is, ˆ JA = A � ˆ J. Moreover, we construct a positive definite Her- mitian Q such that A is Q-Hermitian, allowing for the standard probabilistic inter- pretation of quantum mechanics. Finally, it is shown that the considered matrices are similar to Hermitian matrices.
Role of mast cells in progressive renal diseases.

Advances in understanding mast cell biology reveal their diverse functional capacity well beyond already established roles in host defense against parasites and allergic disease. Mast cells can initiate, amplify, and direct innate and adaptive immune responses. They also modulate inflammation and regulate immunity. Mast cells potentially induce tissue repair and direct fibrosis; however, they also play other roles in tissue remodeling and repair. Various activation and differentiating signals result in a diverse range of functional phenotypes called "mast cell heterogeneity. " Mast cells are significant participants in chronic progressive kidney disease, and their presence is associated with function loss and fibrosis. This suggests a potential role in the fibrotic process, which may involve mast cell activation of local renin-angiotensin systems. Experimental animal studies suggest, however, they do not directly cause renal fibrosis but rather spark inflammation. Evidence for both pro- and anti-inflammatory roles in nephritis is emerging.
Probability distributions of optical flow

Gradient methods are widely used in the computation of optical flow. The authors discuss extensions of these methods which compute probability distributions of optical flow. The use of distributions allows representation of the uncertainties inherent in the optical flow computation, facilitating the combination with information from other sources. Distributed optical flow for a synthetic image sequence is computed, and it is demonstrated that the probabilistic model accounts for the errors in the flow estimates. The distributed optical flow for a real image sequence is computed. <<ETX>>
Requirement of plakophilin 2 for heart morphogenesis and cardiac junction formation

Plakophilins are proteins of the armadillo family that function in embryonic development and in the adult, and when mutated can cause disease. We have ablated the plakophilin 2 gene in mice. The resulting mutant mice exhibit lethal alterations in heart morphogenesis and stability at mid-gestation (E10.5–E11), characterized by reduced trabeculation, disarrayed cytoskeleton, ruptures of cardiac walls, and blood leakage into the pericardiac cavity. In the absence of plakophilin 2, the cytoskeletal linker protein desmoplakin dissociates from the plaques of the adhering junctions that connect the cardiomyocytes and forms granular aggregates in the cytoplasm. By contrast, embryonic epithelia show normal junctions. Thus, we conclude that plakophilin 2 is important for the assembly of junctional proteins and represents an essential morphogenic factor and architectural component of the heart.
Sexual behaviour in a rural high HIV prevalence South African community: time trends in the antiretroviral treatment era

Objectives:Data from generalized epidemic settings have consistently found that patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduce sexual risk behaviours, but how sexual behaviour changes in the general population in response to ART availability, including amongst HIV-uninfected and undiagnosed adults, has not been characterized in these settings. Design:General population open cohort. Methods:We report trends in sexual behaviour indicators for men aged 17–54 years and women aged 17–49 years in rural KwaZulu-Natal province, based on annual sexual behaviour surveys during ART scale-up from 2005 to 2011. Estimates are adjusted for survey nonparticipation and nonresponse to individual survey items using inverse probability weighting and multiple imputation. Trends are presented by HIV status, knowledge of status, age and marital status. Results:Reports of condom use at last sex with a regular partner increased by 2.6% points per year [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5%, 3.7%] for men and 4.1% per year (3.0%, 5.3%) for women. Condom use at last sex with a casual partner was high and did not change significantly over the period for both sexes. There were statistically significant declines in the percentage reporting multiple partnerships in the last year and the point prevalence of concurrency. Trends within subgroups were generally consistent with overall estimates. Conclusion:We find no evidence of increased sexual risk-taking following ART availability and protective changes in some behaviours, suggesting that general trends in sexual behaviour are not counter-acting preventive effects of HIV treatment. Continued monitoring of population-level sexual behaviour indicators will be essential to interpret the success of combination-prevention programmes.
Critical Connections: Health and Academics

BACKGROUND While it is a national priority to support the health and education of students, these sectors must better align, integrate, and collaborate to achieve this priority. This article summarizes the literature on the connection between health and academic achievement using the Whole School, Whole Community, and Whole Child (WSCC) framework as a way to address health-related barriers to learning. METHODS A literature review was conducted on the association between student health and academic achievement. RESULTS Most of the evidence examined the association between student health behaviors and academic achievement, with physical activity having the most published studies and consistent findings. The evidence supports the need for school health services by demonstrating the association between chronic conditions and decreased achievement. Safe and positive school environments were associated with improved health behaviors and achievement. Engaging families and community members in schools also had a positive effect on students' health and achievement. CONCLUSIONS Schools can improve the health and learning of students by supporting opportunities to learn about and practice healthy behaviors, providing school health services, creating safe and positive school environments, and engaging families and community. This evidence supports WSCC as a potential framework for achieving national educational and health goals.
Influence of Milling Media on Mechanically Exfoliated MoS2

Wet ball milling was used to exfoliate MoS2. The aim of the study was to examine how the surface energy of all the individual materials affected the formation of the nanosheets. Two types of milling balls were selected: one made of steel and one made of Al2O3. The liquids used were water (H2O), isopropyl alcohol (C3H8O) and kerosene. The obtained nanosheets were identified and characterized using transmission/scanning electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Following sedimentation, scattered light intensity was measured. Our experiments showed that the material of the milling balls played a significant role in the experiment and had an influence on the number of the nanosheets obtained. Irrespective of the liquid employed, the number of nanosheets in the suspension obtained by milling with Al2O3 balls was greater by 100% than those obtained via milling with steel balls.