Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
β-1,2-Linked Oligomannosides from Candida albicans Bind to a 32-Kilodalton Macrophage Membrane Protein Homologous to the Mammalian Lectin Galectin-3

ABSTRACT β-1,2-linked oligomannoside residues are present, associated with mannan and a glycolipid, the phospholipomannan, at the Candida albicans cell wall surface. β-1,2-linked oligomannoside residues act as adhesins for macrophages and stimulate these cells to undergo cytokine production. To characterize the macrophage receptor involved in the recognition of C. albicansβ-1,2-oligomannoside we used the J774 mouse cell line, which is devoid of the receptor specific for α-linked mannose residues. A series of experiments based on affinity binding on either C. albicans yeast cells or β-1,2-oligomannoside-conjugated bovine serum albumin (BSA) and subsequent disclosure with biotinylated conjugated BSA repeatedly led to the detection of a 32-kDa macrophage protein. An antiserum specific for this 32-kDa protein inhibitedC. albicans binding to macrophages and was used to immunoprecipitate the molecule. Two high-pressure liquid chromatography-purified peptides from the 32-kDa tryptic digest showed complete homology to galectin-3 (previously designated Mac-2 antigen), an endogenous lectin with pleiotropic functions which is expressed in a wide variety of cell types with which C. albicans interacts as a saprophyte or a parasite.
Theoretical and functional analysis of the SIV fusion peptide.

The fusion domain of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) envelope glycoproteins is a hydrophobic region located at the amino‐terminal extremity of the transmembrane protein (gp32). Assuming an alpha helical structure for the SIV fusogenic domain of gp32 in a lipid environment, theoretical studies have predicted that the fusion peptide would insert obliquely in the lipid bilayer. This oblique insertion could be an initial step of the fusion process by disorganizing locally the structure of the lipid bilayer. We have tested this hypothesis by selectively mutagenizing the SIV gp160 expressed via a vaccinia virus vector, to alter the theoretical angle of insertion of the fusion peptide. The fusogenic activity of the wild‐type and mutant glycoproteins was tested after infection of T4 lymphocytic cell lines by the recombinant vaccinia virus, and measure of syncytia formation. Mutations that modified the oblique orientation reduced the fusogenic activity. In contrast, mutations that conserve the oblique orientation did not alter the fusogenic properties. Our results support the hypothesis that oblique orientation is important for fusogenic activity.
Personality Traits and Sibling Relationships in Emerging Adults

Associations between the Big Five personality traits of siblings and the quality of sibling relationships were examined in a sample of 115 college students and one of their older siblings. Big Five traits, as assessed by Goldberg's 100 adjective markers, predicted a large amount of the variability in sibling Warmth and Conflict. Agreeableness was the most consistent predictor of positive sibling outcomes.
Outcomes of sphincter pharyngoplasty and palatal lengthening for velopharyngeal insufficiency: a 10-year experience.

OBJECTIVE To report our experience in the care of patients treated for velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) with sphincter pharyngoplasty (SP) with or without the addition of palatal lengthening by Furlow palatoplasty (FP). DESIGN Retrospective analysis. SETTING Tertiary care cleft palate and craniofacial clinic. PATIENTS Forty-six children with VPI, most of whom had palatal clefts, treated with SP (1998-2008). INTERVENTIONS Treatment consisted of SP alone (n = 20) or SP plus FP (n = 26). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Rate of revision surgery, indicating persistent VPI after surgical treatment. RESULTS Of 46 patients, 6 (13%) required surgical revision. Regarding need for revision, no statistically significant differences were found concerning age, sex, cleft type, syndrome, or time between palate repair and SP. Indications for revision included persistent hypernasality (n = 2), inferior position (n = 2), flap dehiscence (n = 1), and obstructed sleep (n = 1). Postoperative improvement in velopharyngeal competence was documented in all revision cases. No patients required a second revision. Twenty-six of 46 patients (57%) underwent FP in addition to SP. The remaining 20 patients (43%) had SP alone. The revision rate was 4% (n = 1) for the SP plus FP group and 25% (n = 5) for the SP alone group (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS Sphincter pharyngoplasty is an effective procedure for the management of VPI, with a success rate of 87% when using need for surgical revision as the primary outcome measure. This number improved to 100% after a single revision, with elimination of VPI in all revision cases. Concomitant FP and SP may improve outcomes compared with SP alone. Further prospective studies are needed to elucidate this relationship.
Genetic Variability of Iranian Adani Goat Breed Using Pedigree Analysis

In the current research, genetic diversity of Iranian Adani dairy goat was assessed utilizing pedigree analysis. Pedigree records from a total of 2985 animals during 1999-2013 were analysed. A total of 96 animals were inbred. The average inbreeding coefficients in the whole, the inbred and the reference population (living reproductive animals born from 2009 to 2013) were found 0.24, 7.33 and 0.56 %, respectively. The low inbreeding coefficient obtained for Adani dairy goat was mainly related to the lack of sire registration in a large number of animals (about 44.4% missing sire information). Low ratio of the effective number of founders (fe) to the total number of founders (f) (fe/f=0.13) for Adani goat breed represents unbalanced contribution of founders to the reference population. Effective number of ancestors (fa) was equal to 39. The Ratio of fe to fa was 1.44 which could be a result of occurring genetic bottleneck in the population and the use of a limited number of parents across generations. Low equivalent generation obtained for the Adani dairy goat indicates low pedigree depth in the studied breed and the need for using molecular based methods to overcome the problem of pedigree incompleteness in this breed.
CrySL: Validating Correct Usage of Cryptographic APIs

Various studies have empirically shown that the majority of Java and Android apps misuse cryptographic libraries, causing devastating breaches of data security. Therefore, it is crucial to detect such misuses early in the development process. The fact that insecure usages are not the exception but the norm precludes approaches based on property inference and anomaly detection. In this paper, we present CrySL, a definition language that enables cryptography experts to specify the secure usage of the cryptographic libraries that they provide. CrySL combines the generic concepts of method-call sequences and data-flow constraints with domain-specific constraints related to cryptographic algorithms and their parameters. We have implemented a compiler that translates a CrySL ruleset into a context- and flow-sensitive demand-driven static analysis. The analysis automatically checks a given Java or Android app for violations of the CrySL-encoded rules. We empirically evaluated our ruleset through analyzing 10,001 Android apps. Our results show that misuse of cryptographic APIs is still widespread, with 96% of apps containing at least one misuse. However, we observed fewer of the misuses that were reported in previous work.
Review of social-cognitive problem-solving interventions with children.

This article critically reviews training studies of interpersonal problem solving, family problem solving, verbally mediated self-control applied to social behavior, and social perspective taking with children. Treatment procedures are described, and the outcome data are examined. Although some encouraging results have been reported, the need for assessments of behavioral adjustment, for better control group procedures, and for more long-term follow-up reports are particularly noted. The discussion also considers the need to examine specific deficits in social-cognit ive abilities, the similarities across different training programs, and the need for analysis of the active treatment ingredients in multifaceted training programs. Although it seems reasonable to assert that a child's positive mental health is related to the way he or she resolves the social/interpersonal problems that arise in day-to-day living, there has been surprisingly little systematic research into the processes concerning how children think when confronted with personal and interpersonal problems. Until recently, research into human problem-solv
Birth Order, Sibship Size, and Risk for Germ-Cell Testicular Cancer

Background: Several studies have reported an inverse association between birth order and testicular cancer risk, but estimates vary greatly and the biologic mechanism underlying the association is not established. Methods: We have evaluated the effect of birth order, sibship size, and the combined effect of these 2 variables in relation to risk for testicular cancer in a large, nested case–control study. Specifically, we compared 3051 patients with germ-cell testicular cancer (diagnosed between 1958 and 1998 and identified through the Swedish Cancer Registry) with 9007 population control subjects. Using record linkage with the Multi-Generation Register and the Census, we obtained information on number, order, and sex of the subjects’ siblings, parental age, and paternal socioeconomic status. Results: Both birth order and sibship size had an inverse and monotonically decreasing association with testicular cancer risk after adjusting for parental age, paternal socioeconomic status, and twin status. The associations were modified by subjects’ cohort of birth and were not present among those born after 1959. The odds ratio for having at least 3 siblings, compared with none, was 0.63 (95% confidence interval = 0.53–0.75) among subjects born before 1960. Stratified analyses showed that birth order and number of younger siblings had a similar inverse association with the risk for testicular cancer. Conclusions: Sibship size, and not only birth order, is associated with testicular cancer risk. This suggests a higher prevalence of parental subfertility among patients with testicular cancer.
Necrotizing enterocolitis in infants: clinical outcome and influence on growth and neurodevelopment.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a gastrointestinal emergency in neonates. Whether NEC affects infants' growth and development is controversial. The purpose of this study was to explore the clinical characteristics and outcome and to assess the effect of NEC on growth and neurodevelopment in infants. METHODS A total of 80 neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit from January 1991 to April 2002 with definite, advanced NEC, including 48 with modified Bell's stage II and 32 with stage III. Sixty six of the patients were premature. Very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants without NEC were used as matching controls for the 15 infants with VLBW. The growth and neurodevelopment of patients and controls were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II and compared at 6 and 18 months of corrected age. RESULTS NEC developed an average of 27.7 days after feeding began. The most common initial signs were abdominal distension, decreased activity, hematochezia, and abdominal tenderness. Thirty four patients (43%) required surgical intervention. Three infants developed short bowel syndrome after surgical resection. The overall mortality was 24% (19/80) and was mostly associated with extensive bowel involvement and NEC-related sepsis or multiple organ failure. Of the surviving 61 infants, 12 (20%) developed intestinal strictures, 2 in the ileum, 6 in the colon, and 4 in both ileum and colon. Compared with controls, the VLBW infants with NEC were shorter and had delayed psychomotor development at 18 months of corrected age. Mental development, however, did not differ significantly. CONCLUSIONS Intestinal stricture was the most common gastrointestinal complication in this series of infants with NEC. Besides the bowel sequelae, VLBW infants who survive NEC are at risk for impairment of growth and neurodevelopment.
Dystonia in the joint hypermobility syndrome (a.k.a. Ehlers- Danlos syndrome, hypermobility type)

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome first described by Tschernogobow (1896) in Moscow and Ehlers (1900) in Copenhagen is a mostly autosomal inherited genetic disease of collagen synthesis that sensitizes the ensemble of the connective tissue which becomes less resistant and less elastic. These two characteristics explain the symptomatology: fragility of the skin, of the vessels (haemorrhages) and the presence of a diffuse proprioceptive syndrome due to dysfunction of the receptors which are implanted into little or nonreactive connective tissue. Diagnosis of the hypermobile type of EDS is solely clinical as there is to date no genetic maker for the most frequent form of EDS. The rarity of the disease needs to be put into question before the crowd of patients at consultations. Our experience is based on an active database of 2212 patients which all fall under the Villefranche criteria. A great number of signs and symptoms have yet to be attributed to this syndrome. They are, combined with the unawareness of physicians about the syndrome, at the origin of therapeutic errors accompanied by the iatrogenic effects of prejudice towards these patients. This is the case of dystonia which is present in 75% of our cases. Dystonia plays an important part in the functional discomfort which is at the origin of a number of handicap situations. It seems to be related to dysautonomia common amongst the patients, proprioceptive problems and the multiple pains caused by the syndrome. Dystonia treatment with Amantadine and L-Dopa permits to obtain results which go further than the normally associated extrapyramidal treatment and opens new perspectives on the management of a syndrome that has been particularly difficult to treat.
Hepatitis B virus genetic diversity

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a human DNA virus, which replicates through an RNA intermediate because of the reverse‐transcriptase (RT) activity of its DNA polymerase. As a result, the mutation rate for HBV is higher than the rate observed for most DNA viruses. HBVs are classified into genotypes based on genomic sequencing, and antigenic subtypes based on the antigenic properties of its major surface glycoprotein, the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg). Subgenotypes have been identified within most of the HBV genotypes. The HBV groups defined by the different genotype‐HBsAg subtype associations found over the world display characteristic geographical distributions, reflecting the movements of human populations and other epidemiologically significant events. Such HBV groups constitute genetically stable viral populations sharing a common evolutionary history, but additional stable changes, originating from mutation and mutant selection, are observed within all of them. These viral sub‐populations are known as the HBV variants, and some of which have medical and public health relevance. Pre‐core (pre‐C) defective variants have been shown to make HBV infection much less susceptible to interferon treatment, and treatment failures with other antiviral drugs have been associated with selection of resistant variants that display specific mutations in the genome region encoding the viral RT activity. Since the RT region of the genome overlaps the sequence encoding the HBsAg molecule, selection of drug resistant variants involves, in some cases, the indirect selection of HBsAg variants. Viral variants displaying changes in HBsAg seem to be very common among chronic HBV carriers; and some of these variants may emerge under the pressure of the neutralizing antibody response, leading to vaccine resistance and resistance to immunotherapy. Mutations conferring resistance to immunotherapy are noted often among liver transplant recipients and among babies born to HBV‐carrier mothers. In addition, some of these HBsAg variants have been associated with lack of detection by HBsAg tests used for the diagnosis of HBV infection, for the identification of chronic carriers, for screening of blood donations for transfusion, and in the manufacture of therapeutic blood products. J. Med. Virol. 78:S36–S42, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Automatic Landing Control System Design Using Adaptive Neural Network and Its Hardware Realization

This paper presents an adaptive neural network, designed to improve the performance of conventional automatic landing systems (ALS). Real-time learning was applied to train the neural network using the gradient-descent of an error function to adaptively update weights. Adaptive learning rates were obtained through the analysis of Lyapunov stability to guarantee the convergence of learning. In addition, we applied a DSP controller using the VisSim/TI C2000 Rapid Prototyper to develop an embedded control system and establish on-line real-time control. Simulations show that the proposed control scheme has superior performance to conventional ALS under conditions of wind disturbance of up to 75 ft/s.
Evaluation of transverse changes in the dental arches according to growth pattern: a longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in intercanine (LICW and UICW) and intermolar (LIMW and UIMW) widths on the dental arches of subjects with normal occlusion and Angle Class I malocclusion during the transition to permanent dentition, and evaluate whether or not facial pattern influences on the normal development of the dentition and occlusion. METHODS: Nineteen Caucasian Brazilian children were selected, with ages ranging from 6 to 8.6 years at T1 and from 10.10 to 14.2 years at T2. Their second records consisted of study dental casts and a lateral cephalometric radiograph. To obtain intermolar and intercanine widths a three-dimensional scanner unit (digitizer MicroScribe 3DX) was used connected to a microcomputer. To analyze changes at T1 and T2 Student's paired t-test was applied, whereas Spearman's correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between measurements obtained at T1 and T2 and the facial pattern, both at 95% level of confidence. RESULTS: The mean values found on each assessment time (T1 and T2) were statistically different (p=0.000 for LICW, p=0.001 for UICW, p=0.000 for UIMW, and p=0.046 for LIMW), regardless of the facial pattern. The anterior dimensions, UICW and LICW, increased by 3.21 mm and 1.52 mm, respectively. And the posterior dimensions, UIMW and LIMW, increased by 2.16 mm and 0.50 mm, respectively. Only UIMW showed a significant correlation with the facial pattern (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: There was an increase in dental arch width during the transition period from primary or mixed dentition to permanent dentition irrespective of facial pattern. Only the changes observed in the maxillary intermolar width were associated with the facial pattern.
Stochastic Market Cycles and Option Valuation

A new Jump-Diffusion model of security price evolution is proposed. The model posits that asset price processes can be decomposed into a deterministic drift, a Wiener process, and two compound Poisson processes representing discontinuous price movements due to the arrivals of “good” and “bad” news during periods of economic expansion and contraction. Expansionary periods–Bull Markets–are characterized by more frequent arrival of “good news” that cause large price increases (jumps). Contractionary periods–Bear Markets–are characterized by more frequent arrival of “bad news” that cause large price decreases. Market conditions change at random points in time causing a change of regime. During each market epoch, the jump magnitudes are determined by random draws from stationary distributions. This form of information dynamics permits a simple form of returns’ predictability, where conditional on the current phase of the market, the relative frequency and the direction of price movements may be anticipated. We derive the option pricing formula for this new price process and investigate the pricing bias due to misspecification error. We then generalize the model to allow for the rate of news arrival and the time of regime change to vary stochastically over time. We also outline several strategies for the estimation and simulation of the proposed model but cannot report any results at this time as this work is still in progress.
Hospitalization Rates Before and After Adult-to-Adult Living Donor or Deceased Donor Liver Transplantation

Objective:To compare rates of hospitalization before and after adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant (LDLT) and deceased donor liver transplant (DDLT). Summary Background Data:LDLT recipients have been reported to have lower mortality but a higher complication rate than DDLT recipients. The higher complication rate may be associated with greater consumption of inpatient hospital resources and a higher burden of disease for LDLT recipients. Methods:Data from the 9-center Adult-to-Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation retrospective cohort study were analyzed to determine pretransplant, transplant, and posttransplant hospitalizations among LDLT candidates (potential living donor was evaluated) who received LDLT or DDLT. Hospital days and admission rates for LDLT and DDLT patients were calculated per patient-year at risk, starting from the date of initial potential donor history and physical examination. Rates were compared using overdispersed Poisson regression models. Results:Among 806 candidates, 384 received LDLT and 215 received DDLT. In addition to the 599 transplants, there were 1913 recipient hospitalizations (485 pretransplant; 1428 posttransplant). Mean DDLT recipient pretransplant, transplant, and posttransplant lengths of stay were 5.8 ± 6.3, 27.0 ± 32.6, and 9.0 ± 14.1 days, respectively, and for LDLT were 4.1 ± 3.7, 21.4 ± 24.3, and 7.8 ± 11.4 days, respectively. Compared with DDLT, LDLT recipients had significantly lower adjusted pretransplant hospital day and admission rates, but significantly higher posttransplant rates. Significantly higher LDLT admission rates were observed for biliary tract morbidity throughout the second posttransplant year. Overall hospitalization rates starting from the point of potential donor evaluation were significantly higher for eventual recipients of LDLT. Conclusions:LDLT recipients, despite lower acuity of disease, have higher hospitalization requirements when compared with DDLT recipients. Continuing efforts are warranted to reduce the incidence of complications requiring post-LDLT inpatient admission, with particular emphasis on biliary tract issues.
Comparative In Vitro Activities and Postantibiotic Effects of the Oxazolidinone Compounds Eperezolid (PNU-100592) and Linezolid (PNU-100766) versus Vancomycin against Staphylococcus aureus, Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci, Enterococcus faecalis, and Enterococcus faecium

ABSTRACT The activities of the oxazolidinone antibacterial agents eperezolid (PNU-100592) and linezolid (PNU-100766) were compared with that of vancomycin against clinical isolates of methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (n = 200), coagulase-negative staphylococci (n = 100), and vancomycin-susceptible and -resistant Enterococcus faecalisand Enterococcus faecium (n = 50). Eperezolid and linezolid demonstrated good in vitro inhibitory activity, regardless of methicillin susceptibility for staphylococci (MIC at which 90% of the isolates are inhibited [MIC90] range, 1 to 4 μg/ml) or vancomycin susceptibility for enterococci (MIC90 range, 1 to 4 μg/ml). In time-kill studies, eperezolid and linezolid were bacteriostatic in action. A postantibiotic effect of 0.8 ± 0.5 h was demonstrated for both eperezolid and linezolid against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. faecalis, and E. faecium.