Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Borrelia burgdorferi erpT expression in the arthropod vector and murine host

The expression of a Borrelia burgdorferi gene, erpTwas investigated throughout the spirochaete life cycle in the arthropod vector and the murine host. Three phage clones from a B. burgdorferi DNA expression library synthesized a 30 kDa antigen that was recognized by antibodies in the sera of B. burgdorferi‐infected mice but not mice hyperimmunized with B. burgdorferi lysates. Differential antibody binding suggested that this protein was preferentially expressed in vivo. This antigen was designated ErpT, based upon 99.6% homology with the BBF01 sequence in the B. burgdorferi genome. ErpT was not detected on spirochaetes cultured in BSK II medium by indirect immunofluorescence or in B. burgdorferi lysates by immunoblotting, implying that ErpT is not readily produced in vitro. erpT mRNA was not discernible by Northern blot but was identified by RNA polymerase chain reaction in vitro, indicating that erpT is expressed at low levels by cultured spirochaetes. erpT expression was then investigated in the vector and mice because B. burgdorferi do not normally reside in culture medium. RNA polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence studies demonstrated that erpT was expressed by a small minority of B. burgdorferi (11/500, 2.2%) within unfed ticks and then repressed during engorgement. erpT mRNA or ErpT antibodies were first detected in B. burgdorferi‐infected mice at 4 weeks, suggesting that erpT was not expressed in the early stages of murine infection. Then, during persistent infection, RNA polymerase chain reaction showed that erpT was expressed by B. burgdorferi within the joints, heart and spleen, but not by spirochaetes in the skin. Immunization of mice with ErpT was antigenic but was not protective. These studies demonstrate that B. burgdorferi erpT is differentially expressed throughout the B. burgdorferi life cycle, in both the vector and the mammalian host, and is primarily expressed in extracutaneous sites during murine infection.
The intraindustry effects of going concern audit reports

This paper investigates the effect of a going concern opinion (GCO) on the equity value of the announcing firm’s competitors. On average, GCOs increase the value of a value-weighted portfolio of rivals by 0.37% at the event date. This positive effect is significantly larger when the announcing firm is relatively more profitable, the industry is more concentrated, and when rivals and event firms have distinct assets in place and growth opportunities. Additional tests reveal that such competitive effect is not a mere short-term phenomenon as investors can earn up to 1.54% on a risk-adjusted basis over the first postGCO month. This finding is especially interesting as we show that for the industry rivals the one-year and six-month preGCO riskadjusted equity returns are, on average, strongly negative. Our results highlight the impact of mandatory accounting information on market prices at both the firm and industry levels.
A method of Jia Gu Wen recognition based on a two-level classification

Jia Gu Wen is the earliest Chinese character. Since it has many of the properties of drawings, common recognition methods cannot be efficiently applied. We provide a recognition method using a two-level classification. First, we regard the character as a non-directional graph and extract its topological properties. Thus we separate the JGW characters into different classes. Then, based on the definition of an extensive stroke, we extract the relevant properties of the strokes and make a second-level recognition. Experiments have shown that the recognition rate is above 95%.
On the power of unique 2-prover 1-round games

A 2-prover game is called unique if the answer of one prover uniquely determines the answer of the second prover and vice versa (we implicitly assume games to be one round games). The value of a 2-prover game is the maximum acceptance probability of the verifier over all the prover strategies. We make a conjecture regarding the power of unique 2-prover games, which we call the Unique Games Conjecture.
Financial Statement Comparability and Valuation of Seasoned Equity Offerings

This study examines the relationship between financial statement comparability and the valuation of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). We argue that financial statement comparability allows underwriters and investors to better assess the quality of firms that tap into the seasoned equity market through better comparison with peer firms, thus reducing price protection on the part of the underwriter and manipulation of investor perceptions about the true underlying value of the firm’s equity securities on the part of the firm. As a result, we find that SEO firms with better comparability experience less underpricing at the time of seasoned equity offerings. We also find that better financial statement comparability attenuates management’s ability to sell overvalued equity, especially for SEO firms with non-negative earnings surprises and positive real earnings management. Findings in this paper provide empirical evidence to support the decision usefulness of financial statement comparability.
An empirical continuous positive airway pressure trial for suspected obstructive sleep apnea.

BACKGROUND Standard practice in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) management requires that a positive diagnostic, overnight polysomnography (PSG) test be obtained before initiating treatment. However, long waiting times due to lack of access to PSG testing facilities may delay the initiation of definitive treatment for OSA. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the response of patients who had a high clinical suspicion for OSA and who were waiting for a PSG test to an empirical continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) trial. METHODS A retrospective study of all patients who had been offered empirical CPAP therapy for suspected OSA was conducted. After outpatient assessment, 183 patients with a high pretest probability of having OSA began empirical CPAP testing using an arbitrary CPAP pressure. The presence of OSA, the accuracy of empirical CPAP pressure prescription, the adherence to empirical CPAP and the improvement in daytime somnolence were evaluated at the time of PSG. RESULTS Of 183 patients on a CPAP trial, 91% had OSA, which was at least moderate (more than 15 apneas and hypopneas per hour of sleep) in 75% of the patients. Eighty per cent of the patients had significant daytime somnolence (Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS] greater than 10, mean +/- SD ESS 14+/-5), which improved with CPAP (ESS 9.0+/-5, P<0.01). In 40% of the patients, the arbitrary CPAP pressure was lower than that determined by manual titration. Adherence to a trial of CPAP (longer than 2 h/night) predicted OSA with a sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 41%; the positive and negative predictive values were 92% and 22%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS At the time of PSG testing, OSA was present in 91% of the patients who had received empirical CPAP. An empirical CPAP provided satisfactory interim treatment for excessive somnolence, despite the fact that the CPAP pressure was suboptimal in 40% of the patients.
Glycosylation Broadens the Substrate Profile of Membrane Type 1 Matrix Metalloproteinase*

Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is a collagenolytic enzyme that has been implicated in normal development and in pathological processes such as cancer metastasis. The activity of MT1-MMP is regulated extensively at the post-translational level, and the current data support the hypothesis that MT1-MMP activity is modulated by glycosylation. Enzymatic deglycosylation, site-directed mutagenesis, and lectin precipitation assays were used to demonstrate that MT1-MMP contains O-linked complex carbohydrates on the Thr291, Thr299, Thr300, and/or Ser301 residues in the proline-rich linker region. MT1-MMP glycoforms were detected in human cancer cell lines, suggesting that MT1-MMP activity may be regulated by differential glycosylation in vivo. Although the autolytic processing and interstitial collagenase activity of MT1-MMP were not impaired in glycosylation-deficient mutants, cell surface MT1-MMP-catalyzed activation of pro-matrix metalloproteinase-2 (proMMP-2) required proper glycosylation of MT1-MMP. The inability of carbohydrate-free MT1-MMP to activate proMMP-2 was not a result of defective MT1-MMP zymogen activation, aberrant protein stability, or inability of the mature enzyme to oligomerize. Rather, our data support a mechanism whereby glycosylation affects the recruitment of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) to the cell surface, resulting in defective formation of the MT1-MMP/TIMP-2/proMMP-2 trimeric activation complex. These data provide evidence for an additional mechanism for post-translational control of MT1-MMP activity and suggest that glycosylation of MT1-MMP may regulate its substrate targeting.
Time-stepping finite-element analysis of a dual three-phase salient-pole synchronous motor under voltage-source supply

In high-power electric drives the use of multiple three-phase stator windings, supplied by voltage-source PWM inverters, is a design strategy for power rating, performance and reliability enhancement. Possible drawbacks, highlighted in the literature, come from the high-frequency circulation currents that originate in motor phases due to PWM switching. When a synchronous machine is used as the motor, low-frequency current harmonics can arise too, as a consequence of the non-uniform air-gap permeance. This paper discusses the point focusing on a PWM-fed 22-MW salient-pole synchronous motor with dual three-phase stator arrangement conceived for electric ship propulsion. The machine behavior under voltage-source supply is studied through time-stepping Finite-Element Analysis and predicts high internally-generated circulating currents, with a dominant 5th harmonic component. Before its application to the 22-MW motor study, the time-stepping FE methodology for current harmonic prediction is assessed against measurements on a real synchronous machine and on a laboratory prototype.
A Data Mining Classification Approach for Behavioral Malware Detection

Data mining techniques have numerous applications in malware detection. Classification method is one of the most popular data mining techniques. In this paper we present a data mining classification approach to detect malware behavior. We proposed different classification methods in order to detect malware based on the feature and behavior of each malware. A dynamic analysis method has been presented for identifying the malware features. A suggested program has been presented for converting a malware behavior executive history XML file to a suitable WEKA tool input. To illustrate the performance efficiency as well as training data and test, we apply the proposed approaches to a real case study data set using WEKA tool. The evaluation results demonstrated the availability of the proposed data mining approach. Also our proposed data mining approach is more efficient for detecting malware and behavioral classification of malware can be useful to detect malware in a behavioral antivirus.
Investor Sophistication, Learning and the Disposition Effect

This paper analyses the disposition effect at an individual level by studying the trading records of 20 379 investors over 1999-2006. As in previous studies, we confirm a huge heterogeneity among investors and we propose to explain these differences on the basis of financial sophistication and trading behavior proxies. Originally, we use direct sophistication variables: trading of foreign assets, derivative assets and bonds and trading on both tax-free and traditional accounts. We show that these variables reduce significantly the level of the disposition effect. Furthermore, based on a dynamic panel data analysis, we question the ability of investors to correct their bias over time. Results show that individual investor’s disposition effect decreases over time and that our sophistication variables play a role in the decrease.
Social Network Analysis for New Product Recommendation

Collaborative Filtering is one of the most used recommender systems. However, basically it cannot be used to recommend new products to customers because it finds products only based on the purchasing history of each customer. In order to cope with this shortcoming, many researchers have proposed the hybrid recommender system, which is a combination of collaborative filtering and content-based filtering. Content-based filtering recommends the products whose attributes are similar to those of the products that the target customers prefer. However, the hybrid method is used only for the limited categories of products such as music and movie, which are the products whose attributes are easily extracted. Therefore it is essential to find a more effective approach to recommend to customers new products in any category. In this study, we propose a new recommendation method which applies centrality concept widely used to analyze the relational and structural characteristics in social network analysis. The new products are recommended to the customers who are highly likely to buy the products, based on the analysis of the relationships among products by using centrality. The recommendation process consists of following four steps; purchase similarity analysis, product network construction, centrality analysis, and new product recommendation. In order to evaluate the performance of this proposed method, sales data from H department store, one of the well.known department stores in Korea, is used.
Real-time speed estimation of vehicles from uncalibrated view-independent traffic cameras

This paper presents a comprehensive solution for implementing a processing module on traffic cameras that is capable of tracking every vehicle in the camera frame and estimating its speed in real-time. A hybrid framework for multiple vehicle tracking is employed that utilizes Kalman filter and Hungarian Algorithm to resolve occlusions. A speed estimation methodology is described that is robust enough to work with camera feed from any angle without calibration and camera mounted at a minimum height of 7m. The system has been tested on computer-generated sequences as well as real-life scenarios and speed estimates have been obtained with maximum error of less than 3kmph.
A real-time line extraction algorithm

This paper presents an algorithm that is capable of extracting lines from digital images in real-time. The algorithm uses a radial search method that quickly converges to the line segment and then the detected line is verified using the least-mean-squares (LMS) algorithm. Tests were performed on 256/spl times/256 gray scale images using a 166 MHz Pentium processor and an average frame-rate of more than twenty frames/second was achieved. The line extraction performance of the algorithm is comparable with that produced by the well known but much slower, Hough transform. The algorithm is approximately two orders of magnitude faster than the Hough transform.
Portfolio Flows into India: Do Domestic Fundamentals Matter?

This paper analyzes the factors affecting portfolio equity flows into India using monthly data. Flows to India are small compared to other emerging markets, but seem to be relatively less volatile. They also seem to be quite resilient. The paper shows that portfolio flows are determined by both external and domestic factors. Among external factors, LIBOR and emerging market stock returns are important, while the primary domestic determinants are the lagged stock return and changes in credit ratings. In quantitative terms, both external and domestic factors are found to be about equally important.
Road transport pricing: motivation, objectives and design from an economic perspective

Transport pricing is high on the political agenda throughout the world, but as the authors illustrate, governments seeking to implement this often face challenging questions and significant barriers. The associated policy and research questions cannot always be addressed adequately from a mono-disciplinary perspective. This book shows how a multi-disciplinary approach may lead to new types of analysis and insights, contributing to a better understanding of the intricacies of transport pricing and eventually to a potentially more effective and acceptable design of such policies. The study addresses important policy and research themes such as the possible motives for introducing road transport pricing and potential conflicts between these motives, behavioural responses to transport pricing for households and firms, the modelling of transport pricing, and the acceptability of pricing.
miR-151a enhances Slug dependent angiogenesis

MicroRNAs (miRs) are small non-coding RNAs, that modulate cognate gene expression either by inducing mRNA degradation or by blocking translation, and play crucial and complex roles in tissue homeostasis and during disease initiation and progression. The sprouting of new blood vessels by angiogenesis is critical in vascular development and homeostasis and aberrant angiogenesis is associated with pathological conditions such as ischemia and cancer. We have previously established that miR-151a functions as an onco-miR in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells by inducing partial EMT and enhancing tumor growth. Here, we identify anti-miR-151a as a molecule that promotes endothelial cell contacts and barrier properties, suggesting that miR-151a regulates cell-cell junctions. We find that induced miR-151a expression enhances endothelial cell motility and angiogenesis and these functions depend on miR-151a-induced Slug levels. Moreover, we show that miR-151a overexpression enhances tumor-associated angiogenesis in 3D vascularized tumor spheroid assays. Finally, we verify that miR-151a is expressed in the vasculature of normal lung and NSCLC tissue. Our results suggest that miR-151a plays multi-faceted roles in the lung, by regulating multiple functions (cell growth, motility, partial EMT and angiogenesis) in distinct cell types.
Effects of Two Amphibian Pathogens on the Developmental Stability of Green Frogs

Abstract: Developmental instability, measured as fluctuating asymmetry (FA), is often used as a tool to measure stress and the overall quality of organisms. Under FA, it is assumed that control of symmetry during development is costly and that under stress the trajectory of development is disturbed, resulting in asymmetric morphologies. Amphibian emergent infectious diseases (EIDs), such as Ranavirus and chytrid fungus, have been involved in several mortality events, which makes them stressors and allows for the study of FA. We analyzed nine populations of green frogs (Rana clamitans) for the presence or absence of Ranavirus and chytrid fungus. Individuals were measured to determine levels of FA in seven traits under the hypothesis that FA is more likely to be observed in individuals infected by the pathogens. Significantly higher levels of FA were found in individuals with Ranavirus compared with uninfected individuals among all populations and all traits. We did not observe FA in individuals infected with chytrid fungus for any of the traits measured. Additionally, we observed a significant association between Ranavirus infection and levels of FA in both males and females, which may indicate this viral disease is likely to affect both sexes during development. Altogether, our results indicate that some EIDs may have far‐reaching and nonlethal effects on individual development and populations harboring such diseases and that FA can be used as a conservation tool to identify populations subject to such a stress.
OlP‐1, a novel protein that distinguishes early oligodendrocyte precursors

Oligodendrocyte development may be divided into three distinct stages: I) commitment of neuroectoderm cells to the oligodendrocyte lineage, II) migration of precursors into the surrounding parenchyma concomitant with increased proliferation, and III) cessation of migration and proliferation and initiation of myelination. Stage II of development has remained enigmatic because of the paucity of known molecules that distinguish these immature migratory cells. We describe a novel surface protein, termed OlP‐1, which is restricted in expression to this developmental stage in the mouse. Cytofluorographic comparisons with known developmental markers showed OlP‐1 to be expressed primarily by stage II precursors in vitro. Histologic analyses supported this conclusion by showing co‐localization of OlP‐1 with stage II molecules in vivo. Two conclusions were drawn from these results. First, OlP‐1 was a novel protein expressed by murine oligodendrocyte precursors at a point in development that suggested a role in migration or proliferation. Second, dispersal of OlP‐1–positive cells throughout the developing brain did not correlate with the location of myelination which, observed days later, progressed in a caudal to rostral manner. These data supported the concept that the final steps of maturation and myelin gene expression may be dependent upon extrinsic factors located predominantly within white matter tracts. J. Neurosci. Res. 50:591–604, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Phytochemical Profiles of Volatile Constituents from Centaurea ragusina Leaves and Flowers and their Antimicrobial Effects

The volatile oils obtained from the leaves and flowers of the Croatian endemic plant Centaurea ragusina L. were evaluated for antimicrobial activity. The chemical compositions, determined by GC and GC-MS, were complex, with sesquiterpenes the most abundant class of compound. Nonterpene hydrocarbons were also identified in high quantities, while acids and ketones were found in high quantities only in the leaf volatile oil. Aldehydes, alcohols, esters and other compounds were identified in lower quantities. Antimicrobial effects of the volatile samples were investigated by using the disc diffusion and microdilution assays. They were found to inhibit a wide range of bacteria and fungi, causing in vitro growth inhibition at a concentration of 250 μg/mL. The volatile oils displayed great antibacterial potential with MIC values ranging from 16 to 128 μg/mL against the Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus, and lesser activity against the Gram-negative bacteria Cronobacter sakazakii, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as fungal strains (MIC= 32–128 μg/mL).
Diffusion of bacteriophages through artificial biofilm models

The simple two‐chamber diffusion method was improved to study the diffusion properties of bacteriophage (phage) T4 through a model biofilm agarose gel membrane (AGM) embedded with dead host Escherichia coli K12 cells. The apparent diffusion coefficient (Dapp) of phage T4 was calculated to be 2.4 × 10−12 m2/s in 0.5% AGM, which was lower than the coefficient of 4.2 × 10−12 m2/s in 0.5% AGM without host cells. The phage adsorption process by dead host cells slowed the apparent phage diffusion. The Langmuir adsorption equation was used to simulate phage adsorption under different multiplicity of infections (MOIs); the maximum adsorbed phage MOI was calculated to be 417 PFU/CFU, and the Langmuir adsorption constant KL was 6.9 × 10−4 CFU/PFU. To evaluate the effects of phage proliferation on diffusion, a simple syringe‐based biofilm model was developed. The phage was added into this homogenous biofilm model when the host cells were in an exponential growth phase, and the apparent diffusion coefficient was greatly enhanced. We concluded that Dapp of phages through biofilms could be distinctly affected by phage adsorption and proliferation, and that the idea of Dapp and these methods can be used to study diffusion properties through real biofilms. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 2012