Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recognition of B cells epitopes of the Klebsiella pneumoniae GroEL-like protein by HLA-B27 positive subjects.

The presence of antibodies against antigens of K. pneumoniae in HLA-B27 positive patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), has been well documented. We have previously reported that sera from HLA-B27 positive subjects react with the K. pneumoniae GroEL-like protein (HSP60Kp) and have higher titers than HLA-B27 negative individuals. We cloned the gene that codes for this protein, determined hydrophilic regions by computer analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence and found that residues 389-397, 360-368 and 282-290, were possible B cell epitopes. To test this prediction, and to determine if the HLA-B27 positive and negative AS patients recognize the same or different epitopes, we truncated the hsp60Kp gene, from the 3; terminal nucleotide, to obtain fragments having or not the predicted epitopes. Four polypeptides of 40, 37, 30 and 18 kDa were obtained and analysed, by ELISA and inhibition of ELISA, for their reactivity with IgG antibodies from three high responders HLA-B27 positive AS patients and three HLA-B27 negative subjects who recognized the rHSP60Kp. Sera from both HLA-B27 positive and negative subjects reacted equally well with rHSP60Kp or with the 40 and 37 kDa peptides, which do not have residues 389-397 and 360-368, respectively, but reactivity was lost with the 30 kDa peptide, which also lacks residues 282-290. Contrary to what we expected, antibodies from HLA-B27 negative and positive individuals recognized the same epitope of the HSP60Kp. Our results indicate that the important epitope for B cells could be the 282-290 region and that the contribution of the two other predicted regions is minimal. We also conclude that the differences in response to the HSP60Kp in HLA-B27 positive AS patients and HLA-B27 negative individuals is not qualitative, but only quantitative.
The contrast dependence of the cortical fMRI deficit in amblyopia; a selective loss at higher contrasts

Although there is general agreement that the fMRI cortical response is reduced in humans with amblyopia, the deficit is subtle and has little correlation with threshold‐based psychophysics. From a purely contrast sensitivity perspective, one would expect fMRI responses to be selectively reduced for stimuli of low contrasts. However, to date, all fMRI stimuli used in studies of amblyopia have been of high contrast. Furthermore, if the deficit is selective for low contrasts, one would expect it to reflect a selective M‐cell loss, because M‐cells have much higher contrast gain than P‐cells and make a larger contribution to the threshold detection of stimuli of low spatial and medium temporal frequencies. To test these two predictions, we compared % BOLD response between the eyes of normals and amblyopes for low‐ and high‐contrast stimuli using a phase‐encoded design. The results suggest that the fMRI deficit in amblyopia depends upon stimulus contrast and that it is greater at high contrasts. This is consistent with a selective P‐cell contrast deficit at a precortical or early cortical site. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Preparation for Birth into an O2-Rich Environment: the Antioxidant Enzymes in the Developing Rabbit Lung

Summary: To determine if some specific “preparation for birth” occurs in the developing lung to help assure its successful adaptation to a comparatively O2-rich world at birth, we measured the activities of the antioxidant enzymes in the developing lungs of rabbit fetuses from 10 d before parturition to several days after birth. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GP) activities showed similar maturational patterns with significant increases in activity, compared with earlier gestational levels, during the last 3-5 d before birth. During the final days in utero, SOD and CAT activities increased by ~110% and lung GP activity by ~200%. There were no parallel changes in lung O2 consumption demonstrable over this same prenatal period.
Effects of Total Dose Irradiation on the Gate-Voltage Dependence of the $\hbox{1}/f$ Noise of nMOS and pMOS Transistors

We have found that the room-temperature 1/<i>f</i>-noise gate-voltage and frequency dependences of pMOS transistors are affected significantly by moisture exposure and total dose irradiation. The voltage noise power spectral density <i>S</i> <sub>Vd</sub> is proportional to (<i>V</i> <sub>g</sub> - <i>V</i> <sub>t</sub>)<sup>-ß</sup>, where <i>Vt</i> is the threshold voltage, <i>V</i> <sub>g</sub> is the gate voltage, and ß is a measure of the gate-voltage dependence. For the pMOS devices, preirradiation ß ranges from 0.4 to 0.9, and the frequency exponent ¿ = -¿ln<i>S</i> <sub>Vd</sub>/¿ln<i>f</i> is greater than unity. Postirradiation, gate-voltage, and frequency dependences change significantly, with ß >> 1 and ¿ much closer to unity. For nMOS devices, preirradiation ß ¿ 1.6 and ¿ ¿ 1, with little change after irradiation. We attribute these observed changes in pMOS noise to changes in the trap density and energy distribution <i>D</i> <sub>t</sub>(<i>E</i> <sub>f</sub>) of these devices. Before irradiation, <i>D</i> <sub>t</sub>(<i>E</i> <sub>f</sub>) increases toward the valence band edge, but after irradiation, the distribution is typically more uniform. Moreover, for some moisture-exposed devices, <i>S</i> <sub>Vd</sub> ¿ ~ (<i>V</i> <sub>g</sub> - <i>V</i> <sub>t</sub>)<sup>-3</sup> after irradiation, indicating a <i>D</i> <sub>t</sub>(<i>E</i> <sub>f</sub>) that increases toward midgap. We conclude that irradiation and/or moisture exposure can greatly affect the defect energy distributions for these devices and that the observed nMOS and pMOS noise can be described by a simple trapping model with an energy-dependent trap distribution.
Supplemental Materials

Head depth -0.108 -0.618 0.383 -0.478 -0.449 -0.341 Lower jaw length -0.149 -0.157 0.112 0.098 0.206 0.455 Max body depth -0.351 -0.413 0.331 -0.283 -0.444 -0.299 Max fish width 0.668 0.011 -0.697 -0.361 0.034 -0.438 Min caudalpeduncle depth -0.426 -0.351 -0.384 -0.322 -0.408 -0.002 Min caudalpeduncle width -0.284 -0.184 -0.092 -0.295 -0.396 -0.422 Mouth width 0.176 -0.080 -0.246 -0.236 0.082 -0.075 PACA
Echocardiography in acute myocarditis associated with left ventricular thrombus formation and systemic embolization.

Myocarditis is a clinical diagnosis based on history, electrocardiographic changes, and, often, a rise in viral antibody titers.1 This syndrome may go clinically undetected because of an absence of prodromal viral symp· toms and because of subclinical cardiac dysfunction. However, acute myocarditis may occasionally produce signs and symptoms simulating acute myocardial infarction, 2 ~ 7 ie, severe substernal chest pain, electro· cardiographic Sf-T wave abnormalities, and left ventric· ular wall motion abnormalities as detected by two-dimensional echocardiography.2·3.11 Transient or rapidly resolving left ventricular wall motion abnormalities in patients with acute myocarditis has been documented. u.e We report on a patient with a clinical picture consistent with acute viral myocarditis complicated by transient left ventricular apical asynergy, left ventricular thrombus formation, and systemic embolization.
Induction of Capsule Growth in Cryptococcus neoformans by Mammalian Serum and CO2

ABSTRACT The pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans has a polysaccharide capsule that is essential for virulence in vivo. Capsule size is known to increase during animal infection, and this phenomenon was recently associated with virulence. Although various conditions have been implicated in promoting capsule growth, including CO2 concentration, osmolarity, and phenotypic switching, it is difficult to reproduce the capsule enlargement effect in the laboratory. In this study, we report that serum can induce capsule growth, and we describe the conditions that induce this effect, not only by serum but also by CO2. Capsule enlargement was dependent on the medium used, and this determined whether the strain responded to serum or CO2 efficiently. Serum was most effective in inducing capsule growth under nutrient-limited conditions. There was considerable variability between strains in their response to either serum or CO2, with some strains requiring both stimuli. Sera from several animal sources were each highly efficient in inducing capsule growth. The cyclic AMP (cAMP) pathway and Ras1 were both necessary for serum-induced capsule growth. The lack of induction in the ras1 mutant was not complemented by exogenous cAMP, indicating that these pathways act in parallel. However, both cAMP and Ras1 were dispensable for inducing a partial capsule growth by CO2, suggesting that multiple pathways participate in this process. The ability of serum to induce capsule growth suggests a mechanism for the capsular enlargement observed during animal infection.
Page query language generation for structural extraction

The information on the Web is usually fabricated to be understandable by human users rather than machines. It's not easy to automatically catalogue and extract the Web information solely with a software agent. Based on these observations, we present an approach that uses human guided operations to automatically generate a PQL query, a SQL like query language focusing on Web pages, to extract the interested information fragments on Web pages. The PQL query uses XPath expressions to locating the target HTML nodes. We develop a K-Medoid clustering algorithm to process PQL queries to generate the structural extractions. The extracted information is structured as a relational table (in CSV format) which can be manipulated smoothly with spreadsheet software or a relational DBMS system.
A Calibration-Free Fractional-N Ring PLL Using Hybrid Phase/Current-Mode Phase Interpolation Method

A hybrid phase/current-mode phase interpolator (HPC-PI) is presented to improve phase noise performance of ring oscillator based fractional-N PLLs. The proposed HPC-PI alleviates the bandwidth trade-off between VCO phase noise suppression and ΔΣ quantization noise suppression. By combining the phase detection and interpolation functions into XOR phase detector/interpolator (XOR PD-PI) block, accurate quantization error cancellation is achieved without using calibration. Use of a digital MDLL in front of the fractional-N PLL helps in alleviating the bandwidth limitation due to reference frequency and enables bandwidth extension even further. The extended bandwidth helps in suppressing the ring-VCO phase noise and lowering the in-band noise floor. Fabricated in 65 nm CMOS process, the prototype generates fractional frequencies from 4.25 to 4.75 GHz, with in-band phase noise floor of -104 dBc/Hz and 1.5 ps rms integrated jitter. The clock multiplier achieves power efficiency of 2.4 mW/GHz and FoM of -225.8 dB.
Stability and accuracy of adaptive tests of speech discrimination.

Five experiments were conducted with normal listeners to investigate the reliability (stability) and validity (accuracy) of adaptive tests for measuring the linear portion of CNC discrimination functions. Monosyllables (consonant‐vowel‐consonant form) included in Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 were employed as test stimuli. Constant‐level tests were used as criterion measures to judge the accuracy of best‐of‐five (100 words), best‐of‐three (50 words), doublet (50 words), and simple‐up‐and‐down (50 words) adaptive tests. All tests were conducted under monaural (earphone) listening conditions in quiet or against a background of either 60‐ or 80‐dB‐SPL white noise. The shorter doublet tests were found to be as stable and accurate as the longer best‐of‐five procedures when seeking levels required for approximately 30% and 70% CNC discrimination. Adaptive tests using 50 words appear to be highly reliable and valid for determining the location and slope of CNC articulation functions with normal listeners.
Quantitative Molecular Assay for Fingerprinting Microbial Communities of Wastewater and Estrogen-Degrading Consortia

ABSTRACT A quantitative fingerprinting method, called the real-time terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (real-time-t-RFLP) assay, was developed for simultaneous determination of microbial diversity and abundance within a complex community. The real-time-t-RFLP assay was developed by incorporating the quantitative feature of real-time PCR and the fingerprinting feature of t-RFLP analysis. The assay was validated by using a model microbial community containing three pure strains, an Escherichia coli strain (gram negative), a Pseudomonas fluorescens strain (gram negative), and a Bacillus thuringiensis strain (gram positive). Subsequently, the real-time-t-RFLP assay was applied to and proven to be useful for environmental samples; the richness and abundance of species in microbial communities (expressed as the number of 16S rRNA gene copies of each ribotype per milliliter) of wastewater and estrogen-degrading consortia (enriched with 17α-estradiol, 17β-estradiol, or estrone) were successfully characterized. The results of this study strongly suggested that the real-time-t-RFLP assay can be a powerful molecular tool for gaining insight into microbial communities in various engineered systems and natural habitats.
UWTOR-M-a conceptual design study of a modular stellarator power reactor

A preliminary design of a 5500 MWth modular stellarator power reactor, UWTOR-M, is presented. Discrete twisted coils are used in an l = 3 configuration with maintainability as a prime consideration. The natural steliarator divertor is used for impurity control in conjunction with innovative high performance divertor targets. A unique blanket design is proposed which minimizes the overall tritium inventory in the reactor. Finally, a scheme for maintaining the first wall/blanket and other reactor components is discussed.
Transforming real-valued sequences: fast Fourier versus fast Hartley transform algorithms

Five programs for efficient computation of DFT of real-valued data are analyzed with respect to their operation counts vis-a-vis run times on weak and powerful floating-point processors. The results help dispose of the claims of superiority of FHT over corresponding real-valued FFT. The Bruun (1978) algorithm turns out to be a "best" performer. >
Patient preference for psychological vs pharmacologic treatment of psychiatric disorders: a meta-analytic review.

OBJECTIVE Evidence-based practice involves the consideration of efficacy and effectiveness, clinical expertise, and patient preference in treatment selection. However, patient preference for psychiatric treatment has been understudied. The aim of this meta-analytic review was to provide an estimate of the proportion of patients preferring psychological treatment relative to medication for psychiatric disorders. DATA SOURCES A literature search was conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Collaboration library through August 2011 for studies written in English that assessed adult patient preferences for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The following search terms and subject headings were used in combination: patient preference, consumer preference, therapeutics, psychotherapy, drug therapy, mental disorders, depression, anxiety, insomnia, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance-related disorder, eating disorder, and personality disorder. In addition, the reference sections of identified articles were examined to locate any additional articles not captured by this search. STUDY SELECTION Studies that assessed preferred type of treatment and included at least 1 psychological treatment and 1 pharmacologic treatment were included. Of the 644 articles identified, 34 met criteria for inclusion. DATA EXTRACTION Authors extracted relevant data including the proportion of participants reporting preference for psychological or pharmacologic treatment. RESULTS The proportion of adult patients preferring psychological treatment was 0.75 (95% CI, 0.69-0.80), which was significantly higher than equivalent preference (ie, higher than 0.50; P < .001). Sensitivity analyses suggested that younger patients (P = .05) and women (P < .01) were significantly more likely to choose psychological treatment. A preference for psychological treatment was consistently evident in both treatment-seeking and unselected (ie, non-treatment-seeking) samples (P < .001 for both) but was somewhat stronger for unselected samples. CONCLUSIONS Aggregation of patient preferences across diverse settings yielded a significant 3-fold preference for psychological treatment. Given evidence for enhanced outcomes among those receiving their preferred psychiatric treatment and the trends for decreasing utilization of psychotherapy, strategies to maximize the linkage of patients to preferred care are needed.
Toward a New Organology: Instruments of Music and Science

The Renaissance genre of organological treatises inventoried the forms and functions of musical instruments. This article proposes an update and expansion of the organological tradition, examining the discourses and practices surrounding both musical and scientific instruments. Drawing on examples from many periods and genres, we aim to capture instruments’ diverse ways of life. To that end we propose and describe a comparative “ethics of instruments”: an analysis of instruments’ material configurations, social and institutional locations, degrees of freedom, and teleologies. This perspective makes it possible to trace the intersecting and at times divergent histories of science and music: their shared material practices, aesthetic commitments, and attitudes toward technology, as well as their impact on understandings of human agency and the order of nature.
Control of Cdc6 accumulation by Cdk1 and MAPK is essential for completion of oocyte meiotic divisions in Xenopus

ABSTRACT Vertebrate oocytes proceed through the first and the second meiotic division without an intervening S-phase to become haploid. Although DNA replication does not take place, unfertilized oocytes acquire the competence to replicate DNA one hour after the first meiotic division by accumulating an essential factor of the replicative machinery, Cdc6. Here, we show that the turnover of Cdc6 is precisely regulated in oocytes to avoid inhibition of Cdk1. At meiosis resumption, Cdc6 is expressed but cannot accumulate owing to a degradation mechanism that is activated through Cdk1. During transition from the first to the second meiotic division, Cdc6 is under the antagonistic regulation of B-type cyclins (which interact with and stabilize Cdc6) and the Mos–MAPK pathway (which negatively controls Cdc6 accumulation). Because overexpressing Cdc6 inhibits Cdk1 reactivation and drives oocytes into a replicative interphasic state, the fine-tuning of Cdc6 accumulation is essential to ensure two meiotic waves of Cdk1 activation and to avoid unscheduled DNA replication during meiotic maturation. Summary: During oocyte meiotic maturation, Cdc6 accumulation is tightly coordinated with entry into meiosis II to avoid the direct inhibition of Cdk1 activity and, thus, unscheduled DNA replication.
Melanophores: Smooth Muscle Cells in Disguise

Melanophores are specialized cells derived from the neural crest that contain membrane bound vesicles called melanosomes. Melanosomes are filled with melanin, a dark, nonfluorescent pigment that plays a principal role in physiological color adaptation of animals. Melanophores regulate melanosome trafficking on cytoskeletal filaments to generate a range of striking chromatic patterns. The mechanism of physiological color change by these melanophores encompasses both physical and biochemical aspects of melanosome dynamics. Melanophores aggregate or disperse their melanosomes when the host requires changing its color in response to the environmental cues (e.g., social interactions or camouflage). Interestingly, morphological, embryological and physiological evidence has revealed that melanophores of fish, amphibian and reptiles are functionally modified smooth muscle cells [1]. Moreover, during contraction of melanophore there is an aggregation of melanin granules which is to be considered the visible counterpart of an aggregation of colloidal particles that occur during smooth muscle contraction. The biochemical events underlying melanosome dispersion is analogous to those for smooth muscle relaxation: both processes result from increase in cAMP levels and require the presence of extracellular Ca2+ for their action.
Using Iterative Learning Control methods for 2-D systems

In this paper, we discuss the application of Iterative Learning Control (ILC) algorithm in two-dimensional problems. Especially, the Optimal ILC is considered. For this issue by using 1-D model of WAM (Wave Advanced Model), the 2-D model converts to 1-D model. To generate the control rule in every iteration, by using optimization methods, a cost function would be minimized to achieve the 1-D model of WAM, the convergence of this method also will be checked. Besides the application of Iterative methods in continuous 2-D differential equations and nonlinear 2-D systems is examined in the current article.
Heterozygous Gnal Mice Are a Novel Animal Model with Which to Study Dystonia Pathophysiology

Dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by sustained or intermittent muscle contractions and its pathophysiological mechanisms are still poorly understood. Dominant mutations of the GNAL gene are a cause of isolated dystonia (DYT25) in patients. Some mutations result in a complete loss of function of the encoded protein, Gαolf, an adenylyl-cyclase-stimulatory G-protein highly enriched in striatal projection neurons, where it mediates the actions of dopamine and adenosine. We used male and female heterozygous Gnal knock-out mice (Gnal+/−) to study how GNAL haplodeficiency is implicated in dystonia. In basal conditions, no overt dystonic movements or postures or change in locomotor activity were observed. However, Gnal haploinsufficiency altered self-grooming, motor coordination, and apparent motivation in operant conditioning, as well as spine morphology and phospho-CaMKIIβ in the striatum. After systemic administration of oxotremorine, an unselective cholinergic agonist, Gnal+/− mice developed more abnormal postures and movements than WT mice. These effects were not caused by seizures as indicated by EEG recordings. They were prevented by the M1-preferring muscarinic antagonists, telenzepine, pirenzepine, and trihexyphenidyl, which alleviate dystonic symptoms in patients. The motor defects were worsened by mecamylamine, a selective nicotinic antagonist. These oxotremorine-induced abnormalities in Gnal+/− mice were replicated by oxotremorine infusion into the striatum, but not into the cerebellum, indicating that defects in striatal neurons favor the appearance of dystonia-like movement alterations after oxotremorine. Untreated and oxotremorine-treated Gnal+/− mice provide a model of presymptomic and symptomatic stages of DYT25-associated dystonia, respectively, and clues about the mechanisms underlying dystonia pathogenesis. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Adult-onset dystonia DYT25 is caused by dominant loss-of-function mutations of GNAL, a gene encoding the stimulatory G-protein Gαolf, which is critical for activation of the cAMP pathway in the striatal projection neurons. Here, we demonstrate that Gnal-haplodeficient mice have a mild neurological phenotype and display vulnerability to developing dystonic movements after systemic or intrastriatal injection of the cholinergic agonist oxotremorine. Therefore, impairment of the cAMP pathway in association with an increased cholinergic tone creates alterations in striatal neuron functions that can promote the onset of dystonia. Our results also provide evidence that untreated and oxotremorine-treated Gnal-haplodeficient mice are powerful models with which to study presymptomic and symptomatic stages of DYT25-associated dystonia, respectively.