Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of a GHF45 cellulase, AkEG21, from the common sea hare Aplysia kurodai

The common sea hare Aplysia kurodai is known to be a good source for the enzymes degrading seaweed polysaccharides. Recently four cellulases, i.e., 95, 66, 45, and 21 kDa enzymes, were isolated from A. kurodai (Tsuji et al., 2013). The former three cellulases were regarded as glycosyl-hydrolase-family 9 (GHF9) enzymes, while the 21 kDa cellulase was suggested to be a GHF45 enzyme. The 21 kDa cellulase was significantly heat stable, and appeared to be advantageous in performing heterogeneous expression and protein-engineering study. In the present study, we determined some enzymatic properties of the 21 kDa cellulase and cloned its cDNA to provide the basis for the protein engineering study of this cellulase. The purified 21 kDa enzyme, termed AkEG21 in the present study, hydrolyzed carboxymethyl cellulose with an optimal pH and temperature at 4.5 and 40°C, respectively. AkEG21 was considerably heat-stable, i.e., it was not inactivated by the incubation at 55°C for 30 min. AkEG21 degraded phosphoric-acid-swollen cellulose producing cellotriose and cellobiose as major end products but hardly degraded oligosaccharides smaller than tetrasaccharide. This indicated that AkEG21 is an endolytic β-1,4-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.4). A cDNA of 1013 bp encoding AkEG21 was amplified by PCR and the amino-acid sequence of 197 residues was deduced. The sequence comprised the initiation Met, the putative signal peptide of 16 residues for secretion and the catalytic domain of 180 residues, which lined from the N-terminus in this order. The sequence of the catalytic domain showed 47–62% amino-acid identities to those of GHF45 cellulases reported in other mollusks. Both the catalytic residues and the N-glycosylation residues known in other GHF45 cellulases were conserved in AkEG21. Phylogenetic analysis for the amino-acid sequences suggested the close relation between AkEG21 and fungal GHF45 cellulases.
Adsorption by Powders and Porous Solids: Principles, Methodology and Applications

The declared objective of this book is to provide an introductory review of the various theoretical and practical aspects of adsorption by powders and porous solids with particular reference to materials of technological importance. The primary aim is to meet the needs of students and non-specialists, who are new to surface science or who wish to use the advanced techniques now available for the determination of surface area, pore size and surface characterization. In addition, a critical account is given of recent work on the adsorptive properties of activated carbons, oxides, clays and zeolites. Key Features * Provides a comprehensive treatment of adsorption at both the gas/solid interface and the liquid/solid interface * Includes chapters dealing with experimental methodology and the interpretation of adsorption data obtained with porous oxides, carbons and zeolites * Techniques capture the importance of heterogeneous catalysis, chemical engineering and the production of pigments, cements, agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals
Orbital angular momentum of light and the transformation of Laguerre-Gaussian laser modes.

Laser light with a Laguerre-Gaussian amplitude distribution is found to have a well-defined orbital angular momentum. An astigmatic optical system may be used to transform a high-order Laguerre-Gaussian mode into a high-order Hermite-Gaussian mode reversibly. An experiment is proposed to measure the mechanical torque induced by the transfer of orbital angular momentum associated with such a transformation.
Low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D predict hip fracture in the elderly: a NOREPOS study.

BACKGROUND Despite considerable interest, the relationship between circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D and the risk of hip fracture is not fully established. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to study the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations [s-25(OH)D] and the risk of hip fracture in Norway, a high-latitude country that has some of the highest hip fracture rates worldwide. METHODS A total of 21 774 men and women aged 65-79 years attended 4 community-based health studies during 1994-2001. Information on subsequent hip fractures was retrieved from electronic hospital discharge registers, with a maximum follow-up of 10.7 years. Using a stratified case-cohort design, s-25(OH)D was determined by HPLC-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry in stored serum samples in hip fracture cases (n = 1175; 307 men, 868 women) and in gender-stratified random samples (n = 1438). Cox proportional hazards regression adapted for the case-cohort design was performed. RESULTS We observed an inverse association between s-25(OH)D and hip fracture; those with s-25(OH)D in the lowest quartile (<42.2 nmol/L) had a 38% [95% confidence interval (CI) 9-74%] increased risk of hip fracture compared with the highest quartile (≥67.9 nmol/L) in a model accounting for age, gender, study center, and body mass index. The association was stronger in men than in women: hazard ratio 1.65 (95% CI 1.04-2.61) vs hazard ratio 1.25 (95% CI 0.95-1.65). CONCLUSION In this prospective case-cohort study of hip fractures, the largest ever reported, we found an increased risk of hip fracture in subjects in the lowest compared with the highest quartile of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D. In accordance with the findings of previous community-based studies, low vitamin D status was a modest risk factor for hip fracture.
Artificial Neural Network with Steepest Descent Backpropagation Training Algorithm for Modeling Inverse Kinematics of Manipulator

� Abstract—Inverse kinematics analysis plays an important role in developing a robot manipulator. But it is not too easy to derive the inverse kinematic equation of a robot manipulator especially robot manipulator which has numerous degree of freedom. This paper describes an application of Artificial Neural Network for modeling the inverse kinematics equation of a robot manipulator. In this case, the robot has three degree of freedoms and the robot was implemented for drilling a printed circuit board. The artificial neural network architecture used for modeling is a multilayer perceptron networks with steepest descent backpropagation training algorithm. The designed artificial neural network has 2 inputs, 2 outputs and varies in number of hidden layer. Experiments were done in variation of number of hidden layer and learning rate. Experimental results show that the best architecture of artificial neural network used for modeling inverse kinematics of is multilayer perceptron with 1 hidden layer and 38 neurons per hidden layer. This network resulted a RMSE value of 0.01474.
Renal Function Predicts Survival in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background: Among patients with acute ischemic stroke, impaired kidney function has been shown to increase the mortality risk, but the shape of this relationship has not been evaluated in detail. Methods: We estimated the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at the time of hospitalization in 1,175 consecutive patients hospitalized with acute ischemic stroke at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and examined the shape of the association between eGFR and all-cause mortality. Results: There were 508 deaths during a median follow-up of 40.3 months, resulting in a ‘U’-shaped relationship between eGFR and all-cause mortality. The curve was relatively flat between 75 and 110 ml/min/1.73 m2 but increased sharply at lower and higher levels of eGFR (test for nonlinearity: p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Among patients with acute ischemic stroke, a reduced or highly elevated eGFR at hospital admission is associated with a higher mortality rate compared to patients with moderate levels of eGFR.
Formal Modelling and Analysis of Business Information Applications with Fault Tolerant Middleware

Distributed information systems are critical to the functioning ofmany businesses; designing them to be dependable is a challenging butimportant task. We report our experience in using formal methods toenhance processes and tools for development of business informationsoftware based on service-oriented architectures. In our work, whichtakes place in an industrial setting, we focus on the configuration ofmiddleware, verifying application-level requirements in the presenceof faults. In pilot studies provided by SAP, we used the Event-Bformalism and the open Rodin tools platform to prove properties ofmodels of business protocols and expose weaknesses of certainmiddleware configurations with respect to particular protocols. Wethen extended the approach to use models automatically generated fromdiagrammatic design tools, opening the possibility of seamlessintegration with current development environments. Increasedautomation in the verification process, through domain-specific modelsand theories, is a goal for future work.
Acute Cauda Equina Syndrome Secondary to Iliocaval Thrombosis Successfully Treated with Thrombolysis and Pharmacomechanical Thrombectomy

Purpose: To present two cases of lower extremity paraplegia associated with acute iliocaval thrombosis successfully treated with thrombolysis. Case Reports: A 36-year-old morbidly obese woman with a history of lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement 4 years prior presented with back pain. Imaging showed iliac vein engorgement consistent with thrombosis and common femoral vein DVT bilaterally. She was started on intravenous heparin but developed marked lower extremity weakness while anticoagulated. Given these progressive symptoms, systemic tissue plasminogen activator was administered, with subsequent improvement over 48 hours. At 6-month follow-up, she was living independently, with near normal strength and sensation in her lower extremities. While hospitalized following an assault, a 55-year-old man with a history of factor V Leiden, DVT/PE, and prior IVC filter developed marked left lower extremity swelling, which progressed to severe bilateral lower extremity edema and mottling, along with sensory and motor loss of the lower extremities. Lower extremity duplex confirmed extensive DVT extending from the level of the iliac veins down to the tibial vessels. He underwent successful pharmacomechanical thrombectomy. At 6 months, he was walking normally, with no residual neurological symptoms and no evidence of DVT. Conclusion: Acute cauda equina syndrome related to iliocaval thrombosis and epidural variceal engorgement presenting with complete paraplegia has not to our knowledge been reported. Pharmacomechanical thrombectomy affords an opportunity to achieve complete iliocaval clearance in a single procedure and is well-suited to cases in which neural infarction is imminent.
A computational comparison of simulation optimization methods using single observations within a shrinking ball on noisy black-box functions with mixed integer and continuous domains

We focus on simulation optimization algorithms that are designed to accommodate noisy black-box functions on mixed integer/continuous domains. There are several approaches used to account for noise which include aggregating multiple function replications from sample points and a newer method of aggregating single replications within a “shrinking ball. ” We examine a range of algorithms, including, simulated annealing, interacting particle, covariance-matrix adaption evolutionary strategy, and particle swarm optimization to compare the effectiveness in generating optimal solutions using averaged function replications versus a shrinking ball approximation. We explore problems in mixed integer/continuous domains. Six test functions are examined with 10 and 20 dimensions, with integer restrictions enforced on 0%, 50%, and 100% of the dimensions, and with noise ranging from 10% to 20% of function output. This study demonstrates the relative effectiveness of using the shrinking ball approach, demonstrating that its use typically enhances solver performance for the tested optimization methods.
A Morphological Study of Pitting Corrosion of Copper in Soft Tap Water

Abstract A morphological study was carried out on the pitting corrosion of copper in soft tap water at room temperature. Pitting corrosion was initiated through localized breakdown of a relatively thin protective cuprous oxide film. This film increased in thickness and became a scale that separated from the metal surface by cuprous oxide crystals. The oxide crystals ruptured the scale and extruded from it forming mounds at sites that corresponded to grain boundaries. The initiation of pitting attack was observed along the grain boundaries, and the pits developed into hemispherical shapes. After the pits were already established, basic copper sulfate corrosion products were formed on top of the scale through a precipitation reaction that involved basic copper chloride crystals grown underneath the scale. A new mechanism is proposed that can explain pitting corrosion of copper in soft and hard waters. The presence of chloride ions is a prerequisite in the breakdown of the film and the initiation of pitting .
A dynamic weighted method with support vector machines for Chinese word segmentation

We explore how a dynamic weighted method with SVM works well for a Chinese word segmentation task. We set up two systems, System1 uses the uniform weight and we take it as our baseline system, System1 uses the dynamic weighted method as we proposed. We compare the performance of the two systems under different experiments conditions, and experiments results show that System2 got an outstanding performance in every condition we tested. It indicates that the dynamic weighted method we proposed has a stronger performance and can be used in many other SVM task such as chunking, POS and so on. At last, we describe a trick that can calculate the segmentation precision ratio and recall ratio for a segmentation task as soon as the end of the training or test process of a SVM procedure at essentially no extra cost.
Mediation of glucocorticoid receptor function by the activation of latent transforming growth factor beta 1 in MG‐63 human osteosarcoma cells

We analyzed glucocortcoid receptor function using ligand binding assays, DNA band‐shift analysis and trans‐activation of the murine mammary tumor virus‐thymidine kinase‐chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene in transiently transfected MG‐63 human osteosarcoma cells. Dexamethasone increased the distribution of MG‐63 cells in the G1/G0 phase of the cell cycle, thus decreasing the rate of DNA synthesis and cell growth. Its effect on MG‐63 cell growth was neutralized by RU486 and anti‐transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1) antibody. In addition, (i) dexamethasone increased the levels of active TGFβ1 in MG‐63‐conditioned media without significantly altering the expression of TGFβ1 mRNA in MG‐63 cells and (ii) TGFβ1 inhibited proliferation of MG‐63 cells. Therefore, we conclude that glucocorticoid receptor function is mediated by the activation of latent‐TGFβ1 in MG‐63 osteosarcoma cells. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Whole-genome modeling accurately predicts quantitative traits, as revealed in plants

Many adaptive events in natural populations, as well as response to artificial selection, are caused by polygenic action. Under selective pressure, the adaptive traits can quickly respond via small allele frequency shifts spread across numerous loci. We hypothesize that a large proportion of current phenotypic variation between individuals may be best explained by population admixture. We thus consider the complete, genome-wide universe of genetic variability, spread across several ancestral populations originally separated. We experimentally confirmed this hypothesis by predicting the differences in quantitative disease resistance levels among accessions in the wild legume Medicago truncatula. We discovered also that variation in genome admixture proportion explains most of phenotypic variation for several quantitative functional traits, but not for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. We shown that positive selection at the species level might not explain current, rapid adaptation. These findings prove the infinitesimal model as a mechanism for adaptation of quantitative phenotypes. Our study produced the first evidence that the whole-genome modeling of DNA variants is the best approach to describe an inherited quantitative trait in a higher eukaryote organism and proved the high potential of admixture-based analyses. This insight contribute to the understanding of polygenic adaptation, and can accelerate plant and animal breeding, and biomedicine research programs.
A Class of Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) Techniques for Solving Large Electromagnetic Structures

In this paper we present different FDTD techniques which we have developed for solving large electromagnetic structures. The first technique is the M3d24 which is a low dispersion FDTD technique. In this scheme the higher order FDTD updating equations is modified and derived as applications of a version of Ampere's law and Faraday's law using central 2nd order in time and 4th order in space. The second technique is the FDTD hybrid "M3d24-Yee" with subgridding. This scheme is based on applying the conventional FDTD in the vicinity of the structure using a high resolution grid and the M3d 24 method in the rest of the domain using low resolution grid. The third technique is domain decomposition FDTD (DDFDTD) which is based on dividing the 1structure into relatively small sub-regions and applying the FDTD in a serial manner. The fourth technique is the serial parallel FDTD which is based on applying the DDFDTD and the parallel FDTD using MPI functions along two orthogonal directions
Goal Achievement in Partially Known, Partially Observable Domains

We present a decision making algorithm for agents that act in partially observable domains which they do not know fully. Making intelligent choices in such domains is very difficult because actions' effects may not be known a priori (partially known domain), and features may not always be visible (partially observable domain). Nonetheless, we show that an efficient solution is achievable in STRIPS domains by using traditional planning methods. This solution interleaves planning and execution carefully. Computing each plan takes time that is linear in the planning time for the fully observable, fully known domain. The number of actions that it executes is bounded by a polynomial in the length of the optimal plan in the fully observable, fully known domain. Our theoretical results and preliminary experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.
A Praxeology for Rational Negotiation

Multi-agent artificial decision systems require a praxeology, or science of efficient action, that accommodates complex interactions between decision makers. Conventional praxeologies are built on the paradigm of rational choice, which comprises the two companion premises of totally-ordered preferences and individual rationality. Exclusive self-interest when negotiating, however, engenders a pessimistic and defensive attitude, and limits the ability of a decision maker to accommodate the interests of others, and therefore may unnecessarily constrain the negotiability of a decision maker, particularly in cooperative environments. This paper provides a distinct alternative to the hyperrationality of conventional rational choice by waiving reliance on the individual rationality premise and offering an approach to negotiatory decision making that is based on a well-defined mathematical notion of satisficing, or being good enough, that permits the modeling of complex interrelationships between agents, including cooperation, unselfishness, and altruism.
GENETIC BASIS FOR THE 3-ADON AND 15-ADON TRICHOTHECENE CHEMOTYPES IN FUSARIUM

Fungi in the Fusarium graminearum species complex (FGSC) and the related species F. cerealis (synonym F. crookwellense) and F. culmorum can cause Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat, barley, and other small cereal grain crops worldwide and contaminate grain with trichothecene mycotoxins. In general, Fusarium species that cause FHB exhibit three trichothecene production phenotypes (chemotypes): nivalenol (NIV) production, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-ADON) production, or 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON) production. The genetic basis for the NIV versus 3-ADON/15ADON chemotypes has been demonstrated previously. However, until now, the genetic basis for the 3-ADON and 15ADON chemotypes has not been identifi ed. Two genes, TRI3 and TRI8, have been proposed to affect 3-ADON and 15-ADON production based on functional analysis of the genes in 15-ADON strains of the FHB pathogen F. graminearum sensu stricto and in F. sporotrichioides, which produces another type of trichothecene, T-2 toxin. The analyses indicate that TRI3 encodes an enzyme that catalyzes acetylation of trichothecenes at carbon atom 15 (C-15) and that TRI8 encodes an enzyme that deacetylases trichothecenes at C-3. Here, we identifi ed consistent DNA sequence differences in the coding region of the trichothecene biosynthetic gene TRI8 in 3-ADON and 15-ADON strains. Functional analyses of the TRI8 enzyme (Tri8), including gene disruption, cell-free feeding, yeast expression, and fungal transgenic expression, revealed that Tri8 from 3-ADON strains catalyzes deacetylation of the trichothecene biosynthetic intermediate 3,15-diacetyldeoxynivalenol at C-15 to yield 3-ADON, whereas Tri8 from 15-ADON strains catalyzes deacetylation of 3,15-diacetyldeoxynivalenol at carbon 3 to yield 15-ADON. In contrast, the function of TRI3 was the same in NIV, 3-ADON and 15-ADON strains, and the function of TRI8 was the same in NIV strains as it was in 15-ADON strains. Together, our data indicate that differential activity of Tri8 determines the 3-ADON and 15-ADON chemotypes in Fusarium.
Metabolic syndrome as a risk factor for total hip or knee replacement due to primary osteoarthritis: a prospective cohort study (the HUNT study and the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register)

Objective Biochemical changes associated with obesity may accelerate osteoarthritis beyond the effect of mechanical factors. This study investigated whether metabolic syndrome and its components (visceral obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance) were risk factors for subsequent total hip replacement (THR) or total knee replacement (TKR) due to primary osteoarthritis. Design In this prospective cohort study, data from the second survey of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study 2 (HUNT2) were linked to the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register for identification of the outcome of THR or TKR. The analyses were stratified by age (<50, 50–69.9 and ≥70 years) and adjusted for gender, body mass index, smoking, physical activity and education. Results Of the 62,661 participants, 12,593 (20.1%) were identified as having metabolic syndrome, and we recorded 1,840 (2.9%) THRs and 1,111 (1.8%) TKRs during a mean follow-up time of 15.4 years. Cox regression analyses did not show any association between full metabolic syndrome and THR or TKR, except in persons <50 years with metabolic syndrome who had a decreased risk of THR (hazard ratio [HR] 0.58, 95% CI 0.40–0.83). However, when including only participants whose exposure status did not change during follow-up, this protective association was no longer significant. Increased waist circumference was associated with increased risk of TKR in participants <50 years (HR 1.62, 95% CI 1.10–2.39) and 50–69.9 years (HR 1.43, 95% CI 1.14–1.80). Hypertension significantly increased the risk of TKR in participants <50 years (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.05–1.81), and this risk was greater for men. Conclusion This study found an increased risk of TKR in men <50 years with hypertension and persons <70 years with increased waist circumference. Apart from this, neither metabolic syndrome nor its components were associated with increased risk of THR or TKR due to primary osteoarthritis.