Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the Discriminatory Power of Typing Methods for Neisseria gonorrhoeae

ABSTRACT A panel of 18 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, known to be temporally and geographically diverse, was used to evaluate a number of typing systems, including conventional auxotyping and serotyping and the molecular methods of arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR), amplified ribosomal-DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA),opa typing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The discriminatory power of the different typing methods were determined with a collection of 87 clinical isolates from commercial sex workers in Indonesia, and Simpson’s index of diversity was calculated. Of the two traditional techniques, auxotyping and serotyping, the latter gives the highest discriminatory index (DI) (DI, 0.846). The combination of auxotyping and serotyping yields a high DI (DI, 0.928). D11344- and D8635-primed PCR showed low DIs of 0.608 and 0.622, respectively, but a combination of the two primers had a DI of 0.849. The combination of serotyping with D11344-primed or D8635-primed PCR resulted in DIs of 0.936 and 0.937, respectively. ARDRA revealed a low DI of 0.743 alone but a DI of 0.955 in combination with serotyping. PFGE using the restriction enzyme BglII and opatyping produced the highest discrimination (DIs, 0.997 and 0.996, respectively) for isolates of N. gonorrhoeae.
Possible Role of Arachidonic Acid in Stress‐Induced Cytochrome P450IA1 Activity1

We have previously reported that a microcarrier‐attached human hepatoma (Hep G2) cell line responds to hydrodynamic shear upon transfer to an agitated, clean, autoclaved spinner flask with a transient increase in cytochrome P450IA1 (CYPIA1) activity. Physiological changes induced by hydrodynamic stress could be problematic in the scaleup of microcarrier cultures. A better understanding of how stress alters cell physiology may assist in reactor scaleup. The induction of CYPIA1 activity was dependent on the agitation level of the cultures, and the level of CYPIA1 induction was comparable to that obtained with exposure to approximately 0.1 nM TCDD (2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzo‐p‐dioxin). It has been well documented that hydrodynamic shear stress can cause alterations in the metabolism of phospholipid membrane‐bound arachidonic acid (AA) in adherent cells in a parallel plate system. The present study was carried out to determine if either AA or a metabolite of AA was involved in the induction of CYPIA1 activity in the microcarrier cultures of Hep G2 cells. Addition of exogenous AA followed by initiation of the stress resulted in an increase in the level of CYPIA1 activity. Pretreatment of the cultures with quinacrine, an inhibitor of phospholipase A2, reduced the stress‐induced CYPIA1 activity. Furthermore, addition of propranolol, an inhibitor of phosphatidic acid phosphohydrolase, resulted in an increase in the response in addition to sustaining the induced enzyme activity. Pretreatment with the cyclooxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin, or the lipoxygenase inhibitor, caffeic acid, had no effect on the response, suggesting that the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways were not involved in generating AA metabolites that alter CYPIA1 activity. The agent, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, blocks the monooxygenase pathway and blocks CYPIA1 activity increases. These observations suggest a possible mechanism where the stress on the cells induces phospholipase D, resulting in the formation of phosphatidic acid which then activates phospholipase A2, resulting in the release of AA. Further, these results are consistent with a mechanism in which the metabolism of AA, most likely through the monooxygenase pathway, results in a metabolite that by a yet unknown mechanism induced CYPIA1.
The improved pure pursuit algorithm for autonomous driving advanced system

The pure pursuit algorithm is one of the hottest research fields of autonomous driving advanced system as well as a major means for realizing intelligent operating of autonomous driving advanced system in future. This paper presents a thorough research on GPS automatic navigation technology of autonomous driving advanced system considering that working conditions and field conditions for the vehicle are complex and that there is a high requirement on the precision of the driving path of the vehicle. The advanced pure pursuit algorithm with 2-degree polynomial function in the vehicle velocity and the shortest distance between the GPS trajectory and current vehicle position was studied and analyzed. The proposed algorithm could calibrate the heading and steering angle of the vehicle and reduce lateral error when the vehicle tracking ideal path. Experimental results show that the algorithm is more accurate than the traditional algorithm by improving 54.54%.
Soft-Switched High Voltage Gain Boost-Integrated Flyback Converter Interfaced Single-Phase Grid-Tied Inverter for SPV Integration

A two-stage grid-tied efficient solar photovoltaic (SPV) system with zero voltage switching (ZVS) and zero current switching (ZCS) at the dc–dc converter stage and adaptive synchronization at the inverter stage is proposed. In the first stage, an improved high step-up boost-integrated flyback converter with quasi resonant voltage multiplier cell is proposed. ZVS turn-on of all mosfets and ZCS turn-off of all diodes of resonant voltage multiplier cell results in high efficient power conversion compared with the conventional boost-integrated flyback converters. Small-sized coupled inductor enhances magnetic utilization in this converter. Second stage consists of a single-phase H-bridge grid interfaced inverter with variable band hysteresis current control technique. Amplitude adaptive notch filter is used to extract fundamental unit voltage vector of grid voltage required for estimation of synchronized reference current for hysteresis controller. A 250 W laboratory prototype is developed and experimentally evaluated. Experimental results demonstrate efficient renewable energy conversion at dc–dc converter stage and quality power injection at dc–ac inverter stage of the proposed grid-tied SPV system under changing solar insulation levels.
Protein kinase A-dependent binding of a nuclear factor to the 21-base-pair repeat of the human T-cell leukemia virus type I long terminal repeat

The long terminal repeat (LTR) of the human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) contains an imperfect repeat of 21 nucleotides which governs the response to the virus trans-activator protein tax and to cyclic AMP. In a murine thymocyte cell line defective in the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A, the response of the HTLV-I LTR to cyclic AMP is abolished and the response to tax is substantially diminished. This report shows that a factor present in nuclear extracts of wild-type cells binds to the HTLV-I 21-nucleotide sequence and that this binding activity is missing from the extracts of protein kinase A-defective cells. Treatment of nuclear extracts of protein kinase A-defective cells with the bovine protein kinase A catalytic subunit restores the binding activity, whereas treatment of wild-type nuclear extracts with a protein phosphatase destroys the binding activity. The binding factor is referred to as protein kinase A-dependent factor (PKAF). These results indicate that in murine thymocytes the response of the HTLV-I LTR to cyclic AMP depends upon the binding of a phosphorylated protein to the 21-nucleotide repeat sequence and that the response to tax is partially dependent upon binding of the phosphorylated protein. The results suggest a model in which the phosphorylation of a transcription factor by protein kinase A regulates HTLV-I gene expression.
TEG‐1 CD2BP2 regulates stem cell proliferation and sex determination in the C. elegans germ line and physically interacts with the UAF‐1 U2AF65 splicing factor

Background: For a stem cell population to exist over an extended period, a balance must be maintained between self‐renewing (proliferating) and differentiating daughter cells. Within the Caenorhabditis elegans germ line, this balance is controlled by a genetic regulatory pathway, which includes the canonical Notch signaling pathway. Results: Genetic screens identified the gene teg‐1 as being involved in regulating the proliferation versus differentiation decision in the C. elegans germ line. Cloning of TEG‐1 revealed that it is a homolog of mammalian CD2BP2, which has been implicated in a number of cellular processes, including in U4/U6.U5 tri‐snRNP formation in the pre‐mRNA splicing reaction. The position of teg‐1 in the genetic pathway regulating the proliferation versus differentiation decision, its single mutant phenotype, and its enrichment in nuclei, all suggest TEG‐1 also functions as a splicing factor. TEG‐1, as well as its human homolog, CD2BP2, directly bind to UAF‐1 U2AF65, a component of the U2 auxiliary factor. Conclusions: TEG‐1 functions as a splicing factor and acts to regulate the proliferation versus meiosis decision. The interaction of TEG‐1 CD2BP2 with UAF‐1 U2AF65, combined with its previously described function in U4/U6.U5 tri‐snRNP, suggests that TEG‐1 CD2BP2 functions in two distinct locations in the splicing cascade. Developmental Dynamics 241:505–521, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effect of cryotherapy on the lumbar spine in elderly men with back pain

Abstract Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) is a procedure which is more and more often successfully applied in medicine. Used in physiotherapy programs improves the efficiency of physiotherapeutic exercises applied in different aliments. The aim of the research was to determine the influence of WBC treatment on the improvement of spine activity in elderly men. The evaluation was based on subjects suffering from chronic lower back pain. The research was conducted on 96 male in the age of 65–75 years suffering from chronic pain in the lumbar spine, lasting >3 months. All the subjects performed physical exercises at a gym. Half of the examined patients performed only physical exercises while the second half of the group participated in WBC before performing the same exercises. The research evaluated the mobility of lumbar spine at all movement planes and examined the values of active potentials of erector spinae in the lumbar part of the spine. The group of men who participated in WBC showed significantly lower values of active potentials of erector spinae muscles in the lumbar part of the spine and a significant increase in the range of the lumbar spine mobility, in comparison to the group which did not use WBC.
Male IPV Perpetrator’s Perspectives on Intervention and Change: A Systematic Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

Objective: To add to our understanding of change processes by analyzing perpetrators’ perspectives on intervention. Method: Fourteen databases were searched and 27 articles reporting relevant qualitative findings were identified. Analytic coding was applied across the findings and discussion sections of all 27 study reports to form an interpretive account of the data set. Studies were also grouped according to their perceived theoretical standpoints, and a summary of themes in each grouping is presented. Findings: Study participants were largely positive about their experiences in intervention; new learning such as conflict interruption techniques and new communication skills were commonly cited benefits. Perpetrators attend perpetrator intervention programs with a range of motivations, ranging from a determination to change who they are, to a determination to avoid a custodial sentence. The most common barriers to change, found in this analysis, were cognitive distortions, emotional dysregulation, gendered social constructions, and self-esteem issues. Conclusion: Further qualitative investigation, of rigor, with the intention-to-treat population of intimate partner violence perpetrators involved in perpetrator programs is needed. At this point, we would venture that qualitative research, with perpetrators, underlines the precept that formidable barriers to change exist in this population. The centrality of group work to perpetrator interventions should be reconsidered in light of the complexity of the change task and in light of the heterogeneity of this population.
Saving for retirement by the self-employed

Abstract When compared with wage earners, the self-employed are reported to have a lower take up rate of tax-favored retirement plans in the United States. Using panel data from federal income tax returns for the years 1999–2006, this paper explores the various factors that shape the observed pattern of contributions to such plans by the self-employed. Consistent with previous findings in the literature, contributions rise with income, tax rates, as well as savings in taxable accounts. More interestingly, the novel findings in this paper address the role that debt plays in shaping contributions. While housing and business-related debts are accorded similar tax treatment, the findings show that contributions decline with business debt whereas they rise with household debt.
Effects of the long-acting calcium channel blockers, amlodipine, manidipine and cilnidipine on steroid hormones and insulin resistance in hypertensive obese patients.

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate that calcium channel blockers can improve insulin resistance clinically, we investigated the effects of the calcium channel blockers, amlodipine, manidipine and cilnidipine on serum levels of steroid hormones and insulin. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Thirty hypertensive obese patients [15 men and 15 women; mean age 55.9 years, mean body mass index (BMI) 27.6] were divided into three groups and treated with either 5 mg of amlodipine, 20 mg of manidipine or 10 mg of cilnidipine. Blood pressure (BP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), HbA1c, fasting serum immunoreactive insulin (F-IRI), insulin resistance index [as assessed by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-R)], serum DHEA, serum DHEA-S, plasma ACTH, serum cortisol, plasma renin activity (PRA), and serum aldosterone, were measured before and after 1, 2, 3 and 6 months of treatment. RESULTS In all three groups, BP decreased significantly after 1 month and F-IRI and HOMA-R decreased significantly after 2-3 months. A concurrent rise in serum DHEA and DHEA-S levels was also observed, however, the differences were not significant. No changes in FPG, HbA1c, ACTH, cortisol, PRA or aldosterone levels were observed during treatment. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that amlodipine, manidipine and cilnidipine all improve insulin resistance and consequently increase serum levels of DHEA and DHEA-S.
Strategic agility-driven business model renewal: the case of an SME

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: to connect strategic agility and business model (BM) innovation, and to explore how capabilities underlying strategic agility fit the SME context. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative in approach, the paper develops a longitudinal, in-depth, single case study focussing on how BM renewal occurs in the dynamic and increasingly important sector of temporary work agencies. Findings The findings suggest a partial fit of the existing strategic agility framework for SMEs. Two of the proposed meta-capabilities (leadership unity and resource fluidity) seem inherent to SMEs because they apply easily to this context, although they need to be downscaled. One meta-capability (strategic sensitivity) is less natural and therefore more critical for an SME. An additional meta-capability (resourcefulness) arises as very important for SMEs to be able to overcome some of their size-caused limitations. Research limitations/implications The contribution is limited by using a single case study from a specific sector and should be considered as exploratory and theory-grounding research in the field of SMEs’ strategic agility and BM renewal. Originality/value The originality of this paper is that it looks at the SME context in an industry with intensive change and dynamism, which is ideal for illustrating the objective. The authors contribute a model of strategic agility for SMEs.
Home dampness and respiratory morbidity in children.

This study examined the relationship between measures of home dampness and respiratory illness and symptoms in a cohort of 4,625 eight- to 12-yr-old children living in six U.S. cities. Home dampness was characterized from questionnaire reports of mold or mildew inside the home, water damage to the home, and the occurrence of water on the basement floor. Symptoms of respiratory and other illness were collected by questionnaire. Pulmonary function was measured by spirometry. Signs of home dampness were reported in a large proportion of the homes. In five of the six cities, one or more of the dampness indicators were reported in more than 50% of the homes. The association between measures of home dampness and both respiratory symptoms and other non-chest illness was both strong and consistent. Odds ratios for molds varied from 1.27 to 2.12, and for dampness from 1.23 to 2.16 after adjustment for maternal smoking, age, gender, city of residence, and parental education. The relationship between home dampness and pulmonary function was weak, with an estimated mean reduction of 1.0% in FEF25-75 associated with dampness and 1.6% with molds. We conclude that dampness in the home is common in many areas of the United States and that home dampness is a strong predictor of symptoms of respiratory and other illness symptoms among 8- to 12-yr-old children.
Hierarchical random forest for senior action recognition in videos

Action recognition in videos is a hot research topic in computer vision because of the popularization of application such as human-machine interaction, intelligent monitoring. Recently, with the aging phenomenon of population becoming more and more serious, the analysis of senior actions is becoming more and more important. Random forest has been wildly used in action recognition because of its efficiency. In this paper, we propose the hierarchical random forest to improve the discrimination of traditional random forest and apply it in senior action recognition. Moreover, our approach can handle the unbalance data problem, which is very common in the senior action recognition task. We test our approach on two public datasets, one is the KTH dataset, another is the Senior home Activity Recognition dataset (UESTC-SAR). Experimental results show that the proposed approach can get a state-of-the-art performance on the two datasets.
Weight loss by multidisciplinary intervention improves endothelial and sexual function in obese fertile women.

INTRODUCTION Weight loss in sexually active women improves their quality of life. At present, no studies have investigated whether weight loss may affect female sexual function in severe obese women. AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different programs of weight loss on female sexual dysfunction complaints and on endothelial function in premenopausal obese females. METHODS Forty-four out of overall 80 obese fertile women (age 18-49 years; mean 36 years) were enrolled because of sexual complaints at Female Sexual Function Index-6 (FSFI-6 score ≤19). Patients were then allocated to different treatments of 8 weeks duration each: an intensive residential program with hypocaloric diet plus controlled physical exercise along with lifestyle modifications at a specialized clinic (Group A, N = 23) and a non-intensive outpatient clinic program consisting of hypocaloric diet and physical exercise at home (Group B, N = 21). Afterward, overall patients were allocated to an extended 8-week follow-up period consisting of outpatient clinic controlled diet plus physical exercise at home. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Primary end points were modifications of FSFI-6 scores and endothelial function as measured by reactive hyperemia (RHI) with EndoPat-2000. Secondary end points were modifications in body composition as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). RESULTS After 16 weeks, FSFI-6 score and the frequency of sexual activity were significantly higher in Group A compared with Group B (P < 0.01), and significant improvements in arousal, lubrication, and satisfaction sub-domain scores were also found (P < 0.01). Group A showed improvements in RHI (P < 0.01) and marked improvement in homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (P < 0.001), anthropometric parameters as weight (P < 0.01), body mass index (P < 0.01), fat mass (P < 0.0001), and percentage of fat mass (P < 0.005) compared with Group B. A relationship between peak insulin (P < 0.0001) and RHI (P < 0.001) vs. FSFI-6 scores was found, respectively. CONCLUSIONS A multidisciplinary approach to female obesity appears to be superior to conventional outpatient clinic to produce weight loss and to improve several aspects of sexual dysfunction in obese women. Such changes might be related to persistent improvements in endothelial function and in insulin resistance.
Anti‐activator QslA defines the quorum sensing threshold and response in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Quorum sensing (QS) in a bacterial population is activated when extracellular concentration of QS signal reaches a threshold, but how this threshold is determined remains largely unknown. In this study, we report the identification and characterization of a novel anti‐activator encoded by qslA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The null mutation of qslA elevated AHL‐dependent QS and PQS signalling, increased the expression of QS‐dependent genes, and enhanced the virulence factor production and pathogenicity. We further present evidence that modulation of QS by QslA is due to protein–protein interaction with LasR, which prevents LasR from binding to its target promoter. QslA also influences the threshold concentration of QS signal needed for QS activation; in the absence of qslA, QS is activated by nine times less N‐3‐oxo‐dodecanoyl‐homoserine lactone (3‐oxo‐C12‐HSL) than that in wild type. The findings from this study depict a new mechanism that governs the QS threshold in P. aeruginosa.
Surgical adjuvant therapy in colon carcinoma: A human tumor spheroid model for evaluating radiation sensitizing agents

HT‐29 human colon tumor cells growing as spheroids have been evaluated as a model system for measuring the response of human colon tumor cell to antineoplastic agents. HT‐29 cells have the capacity to form spheroids up to 1 mm or more in diameter when grown in spinner culture. The multicellular HT‐29 spheroids develop hypoxic centers reflecting the cellular conditions found in human cancer treatment, i.e., nutritionally deficient hypoxic cells that are felt to be a significant source of both radiation and chemotherapy clinical treatment failures. Spheroids of increasing size were radiated and then dispersed into single cells for colony survival assay. Compared with irradiated single cell suspensions, the spheroid cells demonstrated a significant increase in radioresistance. Growing spheroids developed a complex radiation survival curve which was variable with respect to size of the spheroid. The drug 5‐FU was studied to examine in a preliminary fashion its interaction with these resistant cell fractions. In direct cytotoxicity assay, 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) exhibited both cytotoxic and cytostatic effects when the drug was present at a concentration greater than 0.4 μg/ml. The interaction of 5‐FU with x‐rays in the HT‐29 spheroids was complex and dependent on the type of assay employed (spheroid size versus clonogenicity). The effect of allopurinol, an agent that protects cells from 5‐FU toxicity was also examined. Allopurinol at a concentration of 100 μg/ml was found to protect these human colonic carcinoma cells from the cytotoxic effects of 5‐FU under conditions resembling those found in vivo. Overall, this HT‐29 spheroid system appears to be an interesting model for studying a variety of drug/x‐ray interactions in vitro and may prove capable of answering specific questions of preclinical and clinical relevance.