Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selective Contribution of the Twin-Arginine Translocation Pathway to Protein Secretion in Bacillus subtilis *

The availability of the complete genome sequence of Bacillus subtilis has allowed the prediction of all exported proteins of this Gram-positive eubacterium. Recently, ∼180 secretory and 114 lipoprotein signal peptides were predicted to direct protein export from the cytoplasm. Whereas most exported proteins appear to use the Sec pathway, 69 of these proteins could potentially use the Tat pathway, as their signal peptides contain RR- or KR-motifs. In the present studies, proteomic techniques were applied to verify how many extracellular B. subtilis proteins follow the Tat pathway. Strikingly, the extracellular accumulation of 13 proteins with potential RR/KR-signal peptides was Tat-independent, showing that their RR/KR-motifs are not recognized by the Tat machinery. In fact, only the phosphodiesterase PhoD was shown to be secreted in a strictly Tat-dependent manner. Sodium azide-inhibition of SecA strongly affected the extracellular appearance of de novosynthesized proteins, including the lipase LipA and two other proteins with predicted RR/KR-signal peptides. The SecA-dependent export of pre-LipA is particularly remarkable, because its RR-signal peptide conforms well to stringent criteria for the prediction of Tat-dependent export in Escherichia coli. Taken together, our observations show that the Tat pathway makes a highly selective contribution to the extracellular proteome of B. subtilis.
Levels of toxins in oral tobacco products in the UK

Objective: This study examined the constituents of smokeless tobacco products available in the UK and compared them with products available in India, Sweden, and the USA Methods: Seven UK brands of smokeless tobacco, including a tooth cleaning powder, and four international brands of smokeless tobacco were tested for a range of toxins and known carcinogens, such as tobacco specific N-nitrosamines (TSNA), as well as nicotine availability. Results: Ten of the 11 brands tested had detectable levels of tobacco specific nitrosamines, which are proven carcinogens, and levels varied 130-fold. All had detectable levels of benzo(a)pyrene, another proven carcinogen (with around 175-fold variation) and several toxic metals (with nearly 150-fold variation). Nicotine availability varied in the UK products from 0.1 mg/g to 63.2 mg/g. All the tobacco products tested are likely to be hazardous to users’ health, but the data indicate that it should be possible to reduce key toxins to non-detectable levels. Conclusions: Smokeless tobacco products should be regulated and standards set for maximum levels of toxins and carcinogens.
Patient sex role and preference for a male or female physician.

A study was undertaken to test whether a patient's sex role, as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory, is associated with preference for a male or female physician. One hundred ninety-three patients completed a physician preference survey and the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Thirty-six percent of patients preferred a physician of a specific sex. For women, sex role was associated with preference for a female physician (chi 2 = 16.14, P less than .01). Women with an androgynous sex role who gave a preference always chose a female physician; three fourths of women with an undifferentiated sex role who gave a preference always chose a female physician. Regardless of sex role, men who gave a preference always chose a male physician. For women, these findings support the hypothesis that sex role is associated with preference for a female physician.
Impact of impaired inspiratory muscle strength on dyspnea and walking capacity in sarcoidosis.

BACKGROUND Dyspnea and fatigue are frequent but poorly understood symptoms in sarcoidosis patients. This study was aimed at assessing the clinical impact of inspiratory muscle impairment on dyspnea and exercise tolerance. This is the first study using nonvolitional tests that are independent of the patient's cooperation and motivation in addition to volitional tests of inspiratory muscle strength in patients with sarcoidosis. METHODS Peak maximal inspiratory mouth pressure (Pimaxpeak), maximal inspiratory pressure sustained for 1.0 s (Pimax1.0), twitch mouth pressure (TwPmo), lung function test results, blood gas measurements, 6-min walking distance (6MWD), and Borg dyspnea scale (BDS) scores were assessed in 24 male sarcoidosis patients and 24 healthy male control subjects matched for age and body mass index. RESULTS Mean (+/- SD) Pimaxpeak (95.2 +/- 25.3% vs 124.6 +/- 23.4% predicted, respectively; p < 0.001) and Pimax1.0 (85.6 +/- 31.4% vs 125.8 +/- 26.8% predicted, respectively; p < 0.001) were lower in sarcoidosis patients compared to control subjects. TwPmo tended to be lower in sarcoidosis patients, and there were three patients who had TwPmo values of < 1.0 kPa, which is a strong indicator of inspiratory muscle weakness. The mean 6MWD was 582 +/- 97 m in sarcoidosis patients and 638 +/- 65 in control subjects (p = 0.025). The mean BDS score was higher in sarcoidosis patients (3.3 +/- 1.7 vs 0.2 +/- 0.5, respectively; p < 0.001). Compared to maximal inspiratory pressure, lung function parameters, and blood gas levels, TwPmo was the strongest predictor for 6MWD (r = 0.663; p = 0.003) and BDS score (r = 0.575; p = 0.012) in sarcoidosis patients following multiple linear regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS Impairment of inspiratory muscle strength occurs in sarcoidosis patients, and has been suggested to be an important factor causing dyspnea and reduced walking capacity, but this is only reliably detectable when using nonvolitional tests of inspiratory muscle strength.
Measuring Local Institutions and Organizations: The Role of Community Institutional Capacity in Social Capital

This study tests the assumption that community-based organizations and other neighborhood institutions help build community well-being, and, in testing the assumption, seeks to develop a measure of these organizations that represents the social-capital generating function of organizations. The study examines: (1) whether the presence (the number or density) of organizations, institutions and businesses is related to neighborhood well-being; (2) if the location (distance) of community-based organizations has a role in neighborhood well-being, and (3) whether the capacity of community organizations factors into neighborhood well-being.
Low-Frequency Noise Characteristics of Advanced Si and SiGe Bipolar Transistors

also with Institut fur Materialphysik, Universitat Wien, andLudwig-Boltzmann-Institut fur Festkorperphysik,Wien, AustriaAbstractA comprehensive low- frequency noise characterization of advancedSi and SiGe bipolar transistors is presented. The Si transistors werefound to show higher low-frequency noise than the SiGe devices. Thisis proofed to be a consequence of the oxide grown at the poly-monosilicon interface in the case of the Si devices for the adjustmentof the current gain. The incorporation of Ge in the SiGe HBTs wasfound not to degrade the low-frequency noise performance in com-parison to the Si BTs.
Arterial Hypoxemia and Hyperinsulinemia in the Chronically Hyperglycemic Fetal Lamb

Summary: Sustained fetal hyperglycemia was produced in eight chronically catheterized fetal lambs (seven twins, one singleton) by means of direct fetal glucose infusion. In twin preparations, only one twin was infused, the noninfused twin serving as a simultaneous in utero control. Glucose infusions lasted 7.6 ± 118 days and resulted in significant fetal hyperglycemia (from 20.3 ± 1.1 mg/dl to 58.2 ± 4.7 mg/dl, P < 0.001). The magnitude of the hyperglycemia was linearly related to the glucose infusion rate. Elevations of fetal plasma glucose and glucose infusion rate were associated with a significant fall in fetal arterial oxygen content (P < 0.001). In twin preparations studied, these relationships remained when the simultaneously sampled, noninfused twin was used as control. The fetal glucose-induced hypoxemia was not associated with fetal acidosis (tissue hypoxia) until the arterial oxygen content fell below 30% of baseline (mean base deficit in acidotic fetuses = 11.2 ± 2.2 meq/liter). Although Pao2 fell in hypoxemic fetuses (from 13.5 ±1.2 mmHg to 9.7 ±1.2 mmHg), the difference was not significant. Fetal plasma insulin rose during hyperglycemia from 10.2 ±3.1 μU/ml to a peak concentration of 26.2 ± 3.3 μU/ml, but this response was blunted in markedly hypoxemic fetuses. Neither fetal anemia nor hemoconcentration were evident in these preparations to account for the fall in fetal oxygen content.Speculation: Glucose-induced hypoxemia may be the result of accelerated fetal and/or uteroplacental oxygen consumption. In utero hypoxemia in the fetus of the pregnant diabetic may present a unifying hypothesis linking the known clinical findings of increased fetal red blood cell production, polycythemia, and late fetal demise in fetuses of diabetic mothers.
Using semantic fingerprinting in finance

ABSTRACT Researchers in finance and adjacent fields have increasingly been working with textual data, a common challenge being analysing the content of a text. Traditionally, this task has been approached through labour- and computation-intensive work with lists of words. In this article we compare word list analysis with an easy-to-implement and computationally efficient alternative called semantic fingerprinting. Using the prediction of stock return correlations as an illustration, we show semantic fingerprinting to produce superior results. We argue that semantic fingerprinting significantly reduces the barrier to entry for research involving textual content analysis, and we provide guidance on implementing this technique.
Three-Dimensional Cone FIR Filters Design using the McClellan Transform

This paper discusses the design of three-dimensional (3D) FIR cone-shaped filters using the McClellan transform. The new approach proposes a closed-form analytical solution for the transform coefficients in design of this type of filers. A simultaneous determination of the 1D cut-off frequency of the prototype filter is also included in the method. Further, some discussion is addressed to the design of a scaled transform. The performance of the generated transformation function is presented, followed by several 3D magnitude responses obtained with the proposed method. The newly derived expressions are very attractive for real-time adaptive filter design.
Expectations of Profitability Mean-Reversion in Europe

We have found that for net income and earnings before interest and tax the average expected rate of profitability mean reversion (exactly rate of abnormal profitability deterioration) differs significantly from approx. 10 % to 80 % (depending on the estimation method used). Overally results can be understood also that way that investors are rather optimists, expecting the badly performing companies to regain their profitability and the well-performing to keep their superior profitability. Averages of subsequent ROE and ROIC mean-reversion indicate that investors are not far from true.
Finding Needles in a Haystack: Using Data Analytics to Improve Fraud Prediction

ABSTRACT: Developing models to detect financial statement fraud involves challenges related to (1) the rarity of fraud observations, (2) the relative abundance of explanatory variables identified in the prior literature, and (3) the broad underlying definition of fraud. Following the emerging data analytics literature, we introduce and systematically evaluate three data analytics preprocessing methods to address these challenges. Results from evaluating actual cases of financial statement fraud suggest that two of these methods improve fraud prediction performance by approximately 10 percent relative to the best current techniques. Improved fraud prediction can result in meaningful benefits, such as improving the ability of the SEC to detect fraudulent filings and improving audit firms' client portfolio decisions.
Social Capital, Civic Engagement, and Economics in a Transitioning Economy: The Case of Vietnam Provinces

ABSTRACT Social capitalist assert that civic engagement and participation yield significant economic gains for a county but, generally focus on democratic governed societies. The objective of this research is to determine if social capital transitions to Vietnam, a single-party governed country. This analysis first identifies factors that impact civic engagement and participation. Then it analyzes the relationship between civic engagement, participation, and economics. Using the 2012 Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index, we find human capital is a stronger predictor of economics in Vietnam. We conclude by offering policy implications for understanding social capital in single-party, transitioning economy countries.
The effect of the mating-type alleles on intragenic recombination in yeast.

alleles a and CY govern the mating reaction in Saccharomyces cereuisiae T y E ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ and LINDEGREN 1943). High-frequency mating is obtained when haploid a or diploid a a cells are mixed with CY or 01 CY cells (ROMAN, PHILLIPS, and SANDS 1955). Matiings of cells of like mating type are rare and have been observed, in fact, only between CY cells. The mating type alleles also govern spomlation. Cells that have at least one a and one CY allele can be induced to sporulate, whereas a a and 01 CY celjls do not sporulate under any of the conditions that have been tried. Intragenic recombination occurs spontaneously in a O( diploids and its frequency can be increased substantially with ultraviolet light (ROMAN and JACOB 1957). Thus there is reason to believe that chromosomal pairing can occur during mitosis in cells of this type (see also WILKIE and LEWIS 1963; HURST and FOGEL 1964). The fact that a a and 01 ,T cells do not sporulate suggests the possibility that such cells are defective in the meiotic process. Mitotic intragenic recombination should not be affected if the lesion does not interfere with chromosomal pairing and exchange. If the lesion prevents or inhibits pairing and exchange, a reduction in intragenic recombination would be expected. The experiments described below were designed to test these alternatives.
The gene encoding IFP 53/tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase is regulated by the gamma-interferon activation factor.

We have obtained genomic DNA encoding the interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-inducible IFP 53/tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase. Comparison with several different IFP 53 cDNA clones revealed a complex pattern of alternatively spliced 5'-untranslated regions. The interferon-responsive region within the IFP 53 promoter was found to contain a gamma-interferon activation site (GAS) but not the interferon-stimulated response element and to bind the gamma-interferon activation factor (GAF). GAF.GAS complexes contained the IFN-regulated 91-kDa protein. Competition experiments defined the GAS boundaries and showed that GAF binding to the IFP 53 GAS could be prevented by an excess of the IFN-gamma response regions of several other IFN-gamma-inducible genes. We thus provide evidence for a central role of GAS.GAF in gene transcription mediated by IFN-gamma and suggest a consensus sequence defining more precisely the requirements for GAF binding to DNA.
HER2 status on persistent disseminated tumor cells after adjuvant therapy may differ from initial HER2 status on primary tumor.

BACKGROUND Persistence of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) is observed in 10 to 15% of breast cancer patients and is associated with poor prognosis. These patients might benefit from secondary adjuvant targeted therapy. The aim of this study was to assess HER2 status of persistent DTCs to determine whether the use of HER2-targeted agents might be a therapeutic option in patients with tumor cell persistence. PATIENTS AND METHODS Bone marrow was obtained from 85 primary breast cancer patients intraoperatively and after completion of systemic treatment (median follow-up of 13 months; range: 6-30 months). Immunofluorescence double staining was used for identification of cytokeratin-positive, HER2-positive cells. RESULTS A total of 31 out of 85 (36%) patients had DTCs preoperatively. Out of 85 (16%) patients, 14 were DTC positive after completion of surgery and adjuvant cytotoxic therapy. Five of these patients had HER2-positive DTCs, however, the corresponding tumor was HER2 positive in only one case. The remaining nine patients with HER2-negative DTCs had HER2-negative primary tumors. CONCLUSION HER2-positive DTCs can be detected in patients with HER2-negative tumors, even after adjuvant therapy. Such patients may benefit from (secondary) HER2-targeted therapy in an adjuvant setting.
The NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version 2.3 (DISC-2.3): description, acceptability, prevalence rates, and performance in the MECA Study. Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders Study.

OBJECTIVE To describe the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) Version 2.3 and to provide data on its performance characteristics in the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) Study. METHOD Data were collected on the DISC-2.3 at four sites on 1,285 randomly selected children, aged 9 through 17 years, and their parents. Two hundred forty-seven of these child-parent pairs were reassessed on the DISC-2.3 by a clinician interviewer, 1 to 3 weeks later. RESULTS Administration time was approximately 1 hour and the interview was acceptable to more than 90% of subjects. The reliability of questions to parents assessing impairment and age of onset was generally good to acceptable for most diagnoses but was less satisfactory for the child interview. Using information from parent and child, the prevalence for any diagnosis ranged from 50.6 if no impairment criteria were required to 5.4 if a Global Assessment Scale score of 50 or less was necessary. The prevalence of anxiety disorders and enuresis was markedly reduced by requiring attributable impairment. CONCLUSIONS The DISC-2 is a reliable and economical tool for assessing child psychopathology. Reliability of the DISC-P-2.3 is superior to that of the child DISC for most diagnoses but is least good for anxiety disorders. The 2.3 version of the instrument provides a significant improvement over earlier versions.
Has Globalization Really Increased Business Cycle Synchronization?

This paper assesses the strength of business cycle synchronization between 1950 and 2014 in a sample of 21 countries using a new quarterly dataset based on IMF archival data. Contrary to the common wisdom, we find that the globalization period is not associated with more output synchronization at the global level. The world business cycle was as strong during Bretton Woods (1950-1971) than during the Globalization period (1984-2006). Although globalization did not affect the average level of co-movement, trade and financial integration strongly affect the way countries co-move with the rest of the world. We find that financial integration de-synchronizes national outputs from the world cycle, although the magnitude of this effect depends crucially on the type of shocks hitting the world economy. This de-synchronizing effect has offset the synchronizing impact of other forces, such as increased trade integration.
Assessment of Endotoxin Removal from Reclaimed Wastewater Using Coagulation-Flocculation

Following biological treatment, wastewater continues to have endotoxic active materials. However, because there is a trend of potable reuse and because endotoxic active materials potentially have harmful effects on human health, their removal from water is crucial. Lipopolysaccharide endotoxin has hydrophobic groups, and their removal using a coagulation-flocculation alternative is believed to be efficient. Thus, their removal from reclaimed wastewater using the coagulation-flocculation process was assessed. Secondary effluent samples from a wastewater treatment plant located in Sapporo, Japan, were investigated. It was found that this process gave satisfactory results in removing endotoxins, with an optimum removal rate of up to 40.5%. The endotoxin removal was maximized by adjusting the pH at the low range 4 - 5.5, with an aluminum sulfate dose of 80 mg/L. Further increases of the coagulant dose did not improve the removal efficiency. DOC and turbidity removal were at their optimum at higher pH range 5.5 - 6.5. Thus coagulation and flocculation could be considered as the first barrier and should be followed by other treatments to safely reuse reclaimed wastewater.
MODELLING AND SIMULATION OF LIQUID-VAPOR PHASE TRANSITION IN COMPRESSIBLE FLOWS BASED ON THERMODYNAMICAL EQUILIBRIUM ∗

In the present work we investigate the numerical simulation of liquid-vapor phase change in compressible flows. Each phase is modeled as a compressible fluid equipped with its own equation of state (EOS). We suppose that inter-phase equilibrium processes in the medium operate at a short time-scale compared to the other physical phenomena such as convection or thermal diffusion. This assumption provides an implicit definition of an equilibrium EOS for the two-phase medium. Within this framework, mass transfer is the result of local and instantaneous equilibria between both phases. The overall model is strictly hyperbolic. We examine properties of the equilibrium EOS and we propose a discretization strategy based on a finite-volume relaxation method. This method allows to cope with the implicit definition of the equilibrium EOS, even when the model involves complex EOS’s for the pure phases. We present two-dimensional numerical simulations that shows that the model is able to reproduce mechanism such as phase disappearance and nucleation.
Obstetric patients in a surgical intensive care unit: prognostic factors and outcome

Summary The objective of this study was to assess the incidence, prognostic factors and the outcome of obstetric patients admitted in a surgical intensive care unit (SICU) during the ante-partum or postpartum period (within 6 weeks of delivery). Between 1995 and 2002, the patients transferred from the department of obstetrics were retrospectively included into the study. Demographics included: obstetric data, medical and surgical histories, diagnosis, simplified acute physiology score (SAPS II), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation system APACHE II score; and the occurrence of organ failure, therapeutic interventions, length of stay in the SICU and outcome were recorded. During the study period, 364 obstetric patients were admitted to the SICU. Obstetric admissions to the SICU represented 0.6% of all deliveries and the SICU utilisation rate was 14.96%. The main indications for admission were eclampsia (70.6%) and postpartum haemorrhage (16.2%). The overall mortality rate was 16.7% (n = 61). In a logistic regression model, risk factors for death included organ system failure (odds ratio (OR) = 3.95 confidence interval (CI) [1.84 – 8.48], bilirubin >12 mg/l (OR = 1.017 CI [1.00 – 1.03]), and prolonged prothrombin time (OR = 0.97 CI [0.95 – 0.99]). Median length of stay was longer in non- survivors (6.5 ± 7.3 vs 5.5 ± 4.6 days). Maternal condition on admission and associated complications are the major determinant of maternal outcome.