Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fungal Metabolite Gliotoxin Inhibits Assembly of the Human Respiratory Burst NADPH Oxidase

ABSTRACT Reactive oxygen species are a critical weapon in the killing of Aspergillus fumigatus by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), as demonstrated by severe aspergillosis in chronic granulomatous disease. In the present study, A. fumigatus-produced mycotoxins (fumagillin, gliotoxin [GT], and helvolic acid) are examined for their effects on the NADPH oxidase activity in human PMN. Of these mycotoxins, only GT significantly and stoichiometrically inhibits phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-stimulated O2− generation, while the other two toxins are ineffective. The inhibition is dependent on the disulfide bridge of GT, which interferes with oxidase activation but not catalysis of the activated oxidase. Specifically, GT inhibits PMA-stimulated events: p47phox phosphorylation, its incorporation into the cytoskeleton, and the membrane translocation of p67phox, p47phox, and p40phox, which are crucial steps in the assembly of the active NADPH oxidase. Thus, damage to p47phox phosphorylation is likely a key to inhibiting NADPH oxidase activation. GT does not inhibit the membrane translocation of Rac2. The inhibition of p47phox phosphorylation is due to the defective membrane translocation of protein kinase C (PKC) βII rather than an effect of GT on PKC βII activity, suggesting a failure of PKC βII to associate with the substrate, p47phox, on the membrane. These results suggest that A. fumigatus may confront PMN by inhibiting the assembly of the NADPH oxidase with its hyphal product, GT.
Enhanced-resolution folded C-section phaser

A new C-section phasers based on folded coupled-line couplers has been proposed for high-resolution analog signal processing (ASP). The folded configuration of the coupled-line coupler provides a tight coupling in a planar configuration between the input and the coupled port, using sections of relatively small coupling values. It subsequently provides a larger group delay swing in the corresponding C-section phaser required for enhanced resolution ASP. The proposed phaser is demonstrated using full-wave simulations.
Exploring Game Space Using Survival Analysis

Game designers adjust game parameters to create an optimal experience for players. We call this high-dimensional set of unique game variants game space . To help designers explore game space and better understand the relationship between design and player experience, we present a method to ﬁnd games of varying di ﬃ - culty. Focusing on a parameterized version of Flappy Bird, a popular minimal score-based action game, we predict each variant’s di ﬃ culty using automatic play testing, Monte-Carlo simulation, a player model based on human motor skills (precision, reaction time, and actions per second), and exponential survival analysis of score histograms. Our techniques include searching for a speciﬁc di ﬃ culty, game space visualization, and computational creativity to ﬁnd interesting variants. We validate our player model with a user study, showing it is e ﬀ ective at predicting game di ﬃ culty.
Characterization of Dictyocaulus Species (Nematoda: Trichostrongyloidea) from Three Species of Wild Ruminants in Northwestern Spain

Abstract Specimens of Dictyocaulus spp. were extracted from the respiratory tracts of 3 ruminant hosts including roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), and chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) from wild populations in the province of León, northwestern Spain. The near-complete nuclear small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene, and 2 regions of the large-subunit ribosomal RNA gene, were amplified by PCR and sequenced. The SSU rDNA gene sequences indicated a high level of similarity between the isolate from C. elaphus and the published sequences for Dictyocaulus eckerti. SSU rDNA gene sequences were identical in the isolates from C. capreolus and R. rupicapra, and both corresponded to published sequences for D. capreolus. The LSU rDNA gene sequences differed in isolates from the latter 2 hosts, indicating the possible presence of an undescribed Dictyocaulus sp. in R. rupicapra. These results showed that the LSU rDNA gene sequences are useful indicators of genetic and species diversity in species of Dictyocaulus.
High salt diet increases the pressor response to stress in female, but not male ETB-receptor-deficient rats

Acute stress in both rodents and humans causes a transient rise in blood pressure associated with an increase in plasma endothelin‐1 (ET‐1). High salt (HS) intake also increases ET‐1 production, and interestingly, blunts the pressor response to acute air jet stress in rats. We previously reported that female rats lacking functional ETB receptors everywhere except sympathetic nerves (ETB def) had a greater degree of hypertension in response to a HS diet compared to their male counterparts when measured by the tail cuff method. However, we now report that salt‐induced hypertension is not different between sexes when measured by telemetry. Therefore, additional experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that female ETB def rats are more sensitive to acute stress when on a HS diet. The pressor response, measured by telemetry, to acute air jet stress was similar between male transgenic control (Tg control) and ETB def rats following chronic HS intake. In contrast, female ETB def rats had a significantly greater pressor response (about twofold higher) than female or male Tg control or male ETB def rats maintained on HS, a finding that cannot be explained by increased vascular reactivity to ET‐1 in female rats as we observed that male ETB def rats had a greater pressor response to i.v. infusion of ET‐1 compared to females. Furthermore, HS feeding exacerbated the pressor response to ET‐1 in both male and female ETB def rats. Given our previous studies demonstrating that the ETA receptor functions to reduce the pressor response to acute stress, these findings further support a role for the ET receptor system in the pressor response to acute stress and that female rats have reduced ETA receptor activity when on a HS diet compared to males.
Protein Structure Prediction System Based on Artificial Neural Networks

Methods based on the neural network techniques are among the most accurate in the secondary structure prediction of globular proteins. Here the same principles have been used for the tertiary structure prediction problem. The map of dihedral phi and psi angles is divided into 10 by 10 squares each spanning 36 by 36 degrees. By predicting the classification of each residue in the protein chain in this map a rough tertiary structure can be deduced. A complete prediction system running on a cluster of workstations and a graphical user interface was developed.
Role of Architecture in the Function and Specificity of Two Notch-Regulated Transcriptional Enhancer Modules

In Drosophila melanogaster, cis-regulatory modules that are activated by the Notch cell–cell signaling pathway all contain two types of transcription factor binding sites: those for the pathway's transducing factor Suppressor of Hairless [Su(H)] and those for one or more tissue- or cell type–specific factors called “local activators. ” The use of different “Su(H) plus local activator” motif combinations, or codes, is critical to ensure that only the correct subset of the broadly utilized Notch pathway's target genes are activated in each developmental context. However, much less is known about the role of enhancer “architecture”—the number, order, spacing, and orientation of its component transcription factor binding motifs—in determining the module's specificity. Here we investigate the relationship between architecture and function for two Notch-regulated enhancers with spatially distinct activities, each of which includes five high-affinity Su(H) sites. We find that the first, which is active specifically in the socket cells of external sensory organs, is largely resistant to perturbations of its architecture. By contrast, the second enhancer, active in the “non-SOP” cells of the proneural clusters from which neural precursors arise, is sensitive to even simple rearrangements of its transcription factor binding sites, responding with both loss of normal specificity and striking ectopic activity. Thus, diverse cryptic specificities can be inherent in an enhancer's particular combination of transcription factor binding motifs. We propose that for certain types of enhancer, architecture plays an essential role in determining specificity, not only by permitting factor–factor synergies necessary to generate the desired activity, but also by preventing other activator synergies that would otherwise lead to unwanted specificities.
Place Recommendation Based on Users Check-in History for Location-Based Services

With rapid growth of the GPS enabled mobile devices, location-based online social network services become very popular, and allow their users to share life experiences with location information. In this paper, we considered a method for recommending places to a user based on spatial databases of location- based online social network services. We used a user-based collaborative filtering method to make a set of recommend places. In the proposed method, we calculate similarity of usersâ€™ check-in activities based on not only their positions but also their semantics such as â€œshoppingâ€, â€œeatingâ€, â€œdrinkingâ€, and so forth. We empirically evaluated our method in a real database and found that the proposed method outperforms the naive singular value decomposition collaborative filtering in its recommendation accuracy.
Toward a parsimonious model of arbitrator acceptability

Purpose – The aim of this study is to take a construct validation approach toward developing and testing a parsimonious, yet comprehensive, higher‐order factor model of arbitrator acceptability that helps to identify what matters most in the arbitrator selection process.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques to examine data from a sample of union advocates attending an arbitration conference to test a hypothesized model of arbitrator acceptability that includes procedural justice, experience, and education as first‐order indicators of arbitrator acceptability. Three competing alternative models that add age, race/gender, and distributive justice, respectively, to the hypothesized model as an additional indicator of arbitrator acceptability were also examined.Findings – Results suggest that the hypothesized model is the best fitting of the four models tested. In addition, the path coefficients of the added paths in each of the alternative models were non‐.
Recent Advances in Application of Biosensors in Tissue Engineering

Biosensors research is a fast growing field in which tens of thousands of papers have been published over the years, and the industry is now worth billions of dollars. The biosensor products have found their applications in numerous industries including food and beverages, agricultural, environmental, medical diagnostics, and pharmaceutical industries and many more. Even though numerous biosensors have been developed for detection of proteins, peptides, enzymes, and numerous other biomolecules for diverse applications, their applications in tissue engineering have remained limited. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in application of novel biosensors in cell culture and tissue engineering, for example, real-time detection of small molecules such as glucose, lactose, and H2O2 as well as serum proteins of large molecular size, such as albumin and alpha-fetoprotein, and inflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-g and TNF-α. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent advancements in biosensors for tissue engineering applications.
Effects of heart failure on brain-type Na+ channels in rabbit ventricular myocytes.

AIMS Brain-type alpha-subunit isoforms of the Na(+) channel are present in various cardiac tissue types and may control pacemaker activity and excitation-contraction coupling. Heart failure (HF) alters pacemaker activity and excitation-contraction coupling. Here, we studied whether HF alters brain-type Na(+) channel properties. METHODS AND RESULTS HF was induced in rabbits by volume/pressure overload. Na(+) currents of ventricular myocytes were recorded in the cell-attached mode of the patch-clamp technique using macropatches. Macropatch recordings were conducted from the middle portions of myocytes or from intercalated disc regions between cell pairs. Both areas exhibited a fast activating and inactivating current, 8.5 times larger in intercalated disc regions. Tetrodotoxin (TTX) (50 nM) did not block currents in the intercalated disc regions, but did block in the middle portions, indicating that the latter currents were TTX-sensitive brain-type Na(+) currents. Macropatch recordings from these regions were used to study the effects of HF on brain-type Na(+) current. Neither current density nor gating properties (activation, inactivation, recovery from inactivation, slow inactivation) differed between CTR and HF. CONCLUSION The density and gating properties of brain-type Na(+) current are not altered in our HF model. In the volume/pressure-overload rabbit model of HF, the role of brain-type Na(+) current in HF-induced changes in excitation-contraction coupling is limited.
Vulnerability Localization Method Based on Software Structural Signature of Complex Network

Software vulnerability localization is of great importance for vulnerability analysis as the basic step of vulnerability exploitation and vulnerability fix up. By viewing large-scale software as a complex network system, we present a new method of vulnerability localization. The software structure is depicted by system-level features of complex network. In this way, we generate structural signatures of the original and patched software respectively. By comparing the structural signatures and splitting the connexity group recursively, the vulnerability location can be localized. To speed up the comparison, backtracking is taken during the recursion. Results of the experiments show the effective localization capability of this method.
Executable Analysis using Abstract Interpretation with Circular Linear Progressions

We propose a new abstract domain for static analysis of executable code. Concrete states are abstracted using circular linear progressions (CLPs). CLPs model computations using a finite word length as is seen in any real life processor. The finite abstraction allows handling overflow scenarios in a natural and straight-forward manner. Abstract transfer functions have been defined for a wide range of operations which makes this domain easily applicable for analyzing code for a wide range of ISAs. CLPs combine the scalability of interval domains with the discreteness of linear congruence domains. We also present a novel, lightweight method to track linear equality relations between static objects that is used by the analysis to improve precision. The analysis is efficient, the total space and time overhead being quadratic in the number of static objects being tracked.
Exploring the Neural Basis of Avatar Identification in Pathological Internet Gamers and of Self-Reflection in Pathological Social Network Users

Background and aims Internet gaming addiction appears to be related to self-concept deficits and increased angular gyrus (AG)-related identification with one’s avatar. For increased social network use, a few existing studies suggest striatal-related positive social feedback as an underlying factor. However, whether an impaired self-concept and its reward-based compensation through the online presentation of an idealized version of the self are related to pathological social network use has not been investigated yet. We aimed to compare different stages of pathological Internet game and social network use to explore the neural basis of avatar and self-identification in addictive use. Methods About 19 pathological Internet gamers, 19 pathological social network users, and 19 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while completing a self-retrieval paradigm, asking participants to rate the degree to which various self-concept-related characteristics described their self, ideal, and avatar. Self-concept-related characteristics were also psychometrically assessed. Results Psychometric testing indicated that pathological Internet gamers exhibited higher self-concept deficits generally, whereas pathological social network users exhibit deficits in emotion regulation only. We observed left AG hyperactivations in Internet gamers during avatar reflection and a correlation with symptom severity. Striatal hypoactivations during self-reflection (vs. ideal reflection) were observed in social network users and were correlated with symptom severity. Discussion and conclusion Internet gaming addiction appears to be linked to increased identification with one’s avatar, evidenced by high left AG activations in pathological Internet gamers. Addiction to social networks seems to be characterized by emotion regulation deficits, reflected by reduced striatal activation during self-reflection compared to during ideal reflection.
Comparison of Perfusion Computed Tomography and Computed Tomography Angiography Source Images With Perfusion-Weighted Imaging and Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in Patients With Acute Stroke of Less Than 6 Hours’ Duration

Background and Purpose— We aimed to determine the diagnostic value of perfusion computed tomography (PCT) and CT angiography (CTA) including CTA source images (CTA-SI) in comparison with perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (PWI) and diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) in acute stroke <6 hours. Methods— Noncontrast-enhanced CT, PCT, CTA, stroke MRI, including PWI and DWI, and MR angiography (MRA), were performed in patients with symptoms of acute stroke lasting <6 hours. We analyzed ischemic lesion volumes on patients’ arrival as shown on NECT, PCT, CTA-SI, DWI, and PWI (Wilcoxon, Spearman, Bland–Altman) and compared them to the infarct extent as shown on day 5 NECT. Results— Twenty-two stroke patients underwent CT and MRI scanning within 6 hours. PCT time to peak (PCT-TTP) volumes did not differ from PWI-TTP (P =0.686 for patients who did not undergo thrombolysis/ P =0.328 for patients who underwent thrombolysis), nor did PCT cerebral blood volume (PCT-CBV) differ from PWI-CBV (P =0.893/ P =0.169). CTA-SI volumes did not differ from DWI volumes (P =0.465/ P =0.086). Lesion volumes measured in PCT maps significantly correlated with lesion volumes on PWI (P =0.0047, r =1.0/ P =0.0019, r =0.897 for TTP; P =0.0054, r =0.983/ P =0.0026, r =0.871 for CBV). Also, PCT-CBV lesion volumes significantly correlated with follow-up CT lesion volumes (P =0.0047, r =1.0/ P =0.0046, r =0.819). Conclusions— In hyperacute stroke, the combination of PCT and CTA can render important diagnostic information regarding the infarct extent and the perfusion deficit. Lesions on PCT-TTP and PCT-CBV do not differ from lesions on PWI-TTP and PWI-CBV; lesions on CTA source images do not differ from lesions on DWI. The combination of noncontrast-enhanced CT (NECT), perfusion CT (PCT), and CT angiography (CTA) can render additional information within <15 minutes and may help in therapeutic decision-making if PWI and DWI are not available or cannot be performed on specific patients.
Robust comprehension of natural language instructions by a domestic service robot

Graphical Abstract We present a method through which domestic service robots can comprehend natural language instructions. For each action type, a variety of natural language expressions can be used, for example, the instruction, ‘Go to the kitchen’ can also be expressed as ‘Move to the kitchen. ’ We are of the view that natural language instructions are intuitive and, therefore, constitute one of the most user-friendly robot instruction methods. In this paper, we propose a method that enables robots to comprehend instructions spoken by a human user in his/her natural language. The proposed method combines action-type classification, which is based on a support vector machine, and slot extraction, which is based on conditional random fields, both of which are required in order for a robot to execute an action. Further, by considering the co-occurrence relationship between the action type and the slots along with the speech recognition score, the proposed method can avoid degradation of the robot’s comprehension accuracy in noisy environments, where inaccurate speech recognition can be problematic. We conducted experiments using a Japanese instruction data-set collected using a questionnaire-based survey. Experimental results show that the robot’s comprehension accuracy is higher in a noisy environment using our method than when using a baseline method with only a 1-best speech recognition result.
Altered intra- and interregional synchronization in relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis: a resting-state fMRI study

Background and purpose Neuroimaging studies of relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have found structural disconnection and large-scale neural network dysfunction. However, few studies have explored the local brain activity of RRMS patients in the resting state. Patients and methods In this study, regional homogeneity (ReHo) and resting-state functional connectivity (FC) were used to investigate intra- and interregional synchronized activity in 22 patients with RRMS and 22 matched healthy controls (HCs). Results Compared with HCs, patients with RRMS showed significantly decreased ReHo in the left insula and right caudate. Through further seed-based FC analysis, we found decreased FC between the left insula and left precentral gyrus in patients with RRMS compared with HCs, as well as increased FC between the right caudate and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that a decreased ReHo value in the left insula was associated with an increased total white matter lesion loads (TWMLL) score (r=−0.594, P=0.004) or a worsened paced auditory serial addition test score (r=0.536, P=0.010). No other significant correlations were observed between the FC value (left insula − left precentral gyrus) and clinical scores (P=0.246–0.982). The ReHo value of the right caudate was negatively correlated with disease duration (r=−0.526, P=0.012) and with the TWMLL score (r=−0.596, P=0.003). Moreover, a positive correlation was observed between the FC value (right caudate − right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and the TWMLL score (r=0.523, P=0.012) or the modified fatigue impact scale-5 score (r=0.608, P=0.003). Conclusion Together, these findings suggest that the insula with regional dysfunction involves disconnection with sensorimotor regions, and demyelinating lesion-related intra- and interregional dysfunction in the caudate is associated with the impact of fatigue on cognitive control functions. Abnormal synchronization of intra- and interregional activity in the insula and caudate may play important roles in the pathology of RRMS.
Determinants of Nursing Home Performance: Examining the Relationship Between Quality and Efficiency

xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Literature Background 2 Purpose of the Study and Research Questions 5 Conceptual Framework 6 Analytical Approach 8 Research Contribution 12 Overview of Remaining Chapters 14 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 16 Definition of Terms 16 Overview of the Nursing Home Industry 19 Growing Elderly Population 19 Increasing Healthcare Costs and Expenditures 20 Recent Nursing Home Decline Versus Expected Increased Demand 21 Quality of Nursing Home Care 24 Table of