Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Candida albicans Tup1 Is Involved in Farnesol-Mediated Inhibition of Filamentous-Growth Induction

ABSTRACT Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus that can interconvert between yeast and filamentous forms. Its ability to regulate morphogenesis is strongly correlated with virulence. Tup1, a transcriptional repressor, and the signaling molecule farnesol are both capable of negatively regulating the yeast to filamentous conversion. Based on this overlap in function, we tested the hypothesis that the cellular response to farnesol involves, in part, the activation of Tup1. Tup1 functions with the DNA binding proteins Nrg1 and Rfg1 as a transcription regulator to repress the expression of hypha-specific genes. The tup1/tup1 and nrg1/nrg1 mutants, but not the rfg1/rfg1 mutant, failed to respond to farnesol. Treatment of C. albicans cells with farnesol caused a small but consistent increase in both TUP1 mRNA and protein levels. Importantly, this increase corresponds with the commitment point, beyond which added farnesol no longer blocks germ tube formation, and it correlates with a strong decrease in the expression of two Tup1-regulated hypha-specific genes, HWP1 and RBT1. Tup1 probably plays a direct role in the response to farnesol because farnesol suppresses the haploinsufficient phenotype of a TUP1/tup1 heterozygote. Farnesol did not affect EFG1 (a transcription regulator of filament development), NRG1, or RFG1 mRNA levels, demonstrating specific gene regulation in response to farnesol. Furthermore, the tup1/tup1 and nrg1/nrg1 mutants produced 17- and 19-fold more farnesol, respectively, than the parental strain. These levels of excess farnesol are sufficient to block filamentation in a wild-type strain. Our data are consistent with the role of Tup1 as a crucial component of the response to farnesol in C. albicans.
Classifying musical instruments using speech signal processing methods

Identification of musical instruments from the acoustic signal using speech signal processing methods is a challenging problem. Further, whether this identification can be carried out by a single musical note, like humans are able to do, is an interesting research issue that has several potential applications in the music industry. Attempts have been made earlier using the spectral and temporal features of the music acoustic signals. The process of identifying the musical instrument from monophonic audio recording basically involves three steps — pre-processing of music signal, extracting features from it and then classifying those. In this paper, we present an experiment-based comparative study of different features for classifying few musical instruments. The acoustic features, namely, the Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs), Spectral Centroids (SC), Zero-Crossing Rate (ZCR) and signal energy are derived from the music acoustic signal using different speech signal processing methods. A Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier is used with each feature for the relative comparisons. The classification results using different combinations of training by features from different music instrument and testing with another/same type of music instruments are compared. Our results indicate that the most significant feature for classifying Guitar, Violin and Drum is MFCC as it gives the better accurate results. Also, the feature which gives better accuracy results for the drum instrument is ZCR. Among the features used, after MFCC, ZCR proved to be the optimal feature for the classification of drum instrument.
Utilization of Laser-Ablation Based Analytical Methods for Obtaining Complete Chemical Information of Algae

Themain goal of this article is to find efficient methods for elemental and molecular analysis of living microorganisms (algae) under defined environmental conditions and cultivation processes. The overall knowledge of chemical composition is obtained utilizing laser-based techniques, LaserInduced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for acquiring information about elemental composition and Raman Spectroscopy for gaining molecular information, respectively. Algal cells were suspended in liquid media and characterized using their spectra. Results obtained employing LIBS and Raman Spectroscopy techniques will help to elucidate algae biology (nutrition dynamics depending on cultivation conditions) and to identify algal strains, which have the potential for applications in metal-ion absorption (bioremediation) and biofuel industry. Moreover, bioremediation can be readily combined with production of 3rd generation biofuels. In order to use algae for efficient fuel production, the optimal cultivation parameters have to be determinedleading to high production of oil in selected cellswithout significant inhibition of the photosynthetic activity and the culture growth rate, e.g. it is necessary to distinguish conditions for algal strain containing high amount of higher unsaturated fatty acids. Measurements employing LIBS and Raman Spectroscopy were utilized in order to give information about alga Trachydiscusminutus with emphasis on the amount of the lipid content inside the algal cell and the ability of algae to withdraw nutrients from its environment and bioremediation (elemental composition), respectively. This article can serve as the reference for further efforts in describing complete chemical composition of algal samples employing laserablation techniques. Keywords—Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, Algae, Algal strains, Bioremediation, Biofuels.
Indoor WLAN localization using group sparsity optimization technique

This paper proposes a novel approach for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) indoor fingerprinting localization using a novel interpretation and optimization solution. The user's location is introduced as a sparse vector which can be estimated in a single minimization problem. The coarse localization is embedded in the fine localization to prevent the cases where the user's position is searched in wrong subset of reference points (RPs). First, the RPs are clustered in layers using the similarity between the online measurement and RP fingerprints via an AP coverage vector. Then, the localization approach is performed via a joint minimization of convex least squares minimization of residuals, ℓ1-norm of the entire position vector, and weighted ℓ2-norm of groups of RPs. The method has been evaluated though Monte Carlo simulation runs and the results showed a great positioning accuracy.
Anonymous Communication in Multi Hop Wireless Networks

In this paper we present a protocol for unlinkable and anonymous communication in multi hop wireless networks. There exist solutions for unlinkable communication in the internet, such as Tor and Mix networks. These protocols need fixed infrastructure and they are prone to traffic analysis attacks, i.e. where an attacker tries to map communicating devices by performing statistical analysis. Wireless communication eases such kind of attacks because the attacker can listen to a communication while residing in communication range of a device. Our protocol offers unlinkability and receiver anonymity without requiring a fixed infrastructure and keeps the computational and message overhead acceptable.
Fabrication of movable microstructure integrated with Vorticella actuator

Biohybrid systems, formed by combining biological cells and artificial components has a potential to resolve the current technical limits of traditional microactuators. We demonstrate fabrication of microstructures, which can be coupled to Vorticella convallaria. Structures were fabricated by microfluidic in situ photolithography techniques, and movable components were developed. We evaluated viability of V. convallaria in a photocurable polymer solution or in a buffer after fabrication of structure. A device for trapping a cell was fabricated to combine V. convallaria and polymerized microstructures. Our developed method provides one strategy to integrate bioactuators with artificial structures in microsystems.
Consumption of Movie Experience: Cognitive and Affective Approaches

ABSTRACT This study examines the structural relationships among film quality, value, and satisfaction on the perspective of moviegoers. The experience economy concept is employed as the theoretical framework, where moviegoers’ cognitive and affective evaluations are projected in fulfilling their perceived value. Moviegoers’ perceived movie attributes and experiences are assessed to evaluate the moviegoers’ satisfactions through functional and emotional values. In particular, this article investigates how four dimensions of experience mediate the effect of movie attributes on perceived value and satisfaction. A total of 565 samples were analyzed with structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship of ‘quality—value—satisfaction. ’ The findings show that two movie attributes (core and peripheral) affect three dimensions of experience (entertainment, educational, and escapist), which in turn influence functional and emotional values, and moviegoers’ satisfaction. The results also confirm that emotional value is a more powerful predictor of moviegoers’ satisfaction than functional value.
Focal targeting by human β-defensin 2 disrupts localized virulence factor assembly sites in Enterococcus faecalis

Significance In Gram-positive bacteria, many virulence factors are assembled and attached to the growing cell wall by sortase enzymes, which are localized to one or two sites in the cell membrane. Mislocalization of sortase enzymes negatively impacts their function. We demonstrate that β-defensins target Enterococcus faecalis at discrete sites, resulting in the mislocalization of sortase and associated secretion enzymes. The multiple peptide resistance factor protein, which adds cationic residues to anionic lipids as a general cationic peptide resistance strategy, limits focal defensin targeting in E. faecalis. This work suggests that focal targeting by defensins is important for efficient bacterial killing, and that pathogens have evolved mechanisms to balance focal localization of secretion and sortase enzymes with modification of these localization sites to combat defensins. Virulence factor secretion and assembly occurs at spatially restricted foci in some Gram-positive bacteria. Given the essentiality of the general secretion pathway in bacteria and the contribution of virulence factors to disease progression, the foci that coordinate these processes are attractive antimicrobial targets. In this study, we show in Enterococcus faecalis that SecA and Sortase A, required for the attachment of virulence factors to the cell wall, localize to discrete domains near the septum or nascent septal site as the bacteria proceed through the cell cycle. We also demonstrate that cationic human β-defensins interact with E. faecalis at discrete septal foci, and this exposure disrupts sites of localized secretion and sorting. Modification of anionic lipids by multiple peptide resistance factor, a protein that confers antimicrobial peptide resistance by electrostatic repulsion, renders E. faecalis more resistant to killing by defensins and less susceptible to focal targeting by the cationic antimicrobial peptides. These data suggest a paradigm in which focal targeting by antimicrobial peptides is linked to their killing efficiency and to disruption of virulence factor assembly.
Identification of prohibitin as a Chikungunya virus receptor protein

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has recently re‐emerged causing millions of infections in countries around the Indian Ocean. While CHIKV has a broad host cell range and productively infects a number of different cell types, macrophages have been identified as a potential viral reservoir serving to increase the duration of symptoms. To date no CHIKV interacting protein has been characterized and this study sought to identify CHIKV binding proteins expressed on target cell membranes. Two‐dimensional virus overlay identified prohibitin (PHB) as a microglial cell expressed CHIKV binding protein. Co‐localization, co‐immunoprecipitation as well as antibody and siRNA mediated infection inhibition studies all confirmed a role for PHB in mediating internalization of CHIKV into microglial cells. PHB is the first identified CHIKV receptor protein, and this study is evidence that PHB may play a role in the internalization of multiple viruses. J. Med. Virol. 84:1757–1770, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Endovenous Laser Ablation (EVLA) in Patients With Varicose Great Saphenous Vein (GSV) and Incompetent Saphenofemoral Junction (SFJ): An Ambulatory Single Center Experience

Objectives: To evaluate treatment results for varicose great saphenous vein (GSV) using endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) in an ambulatory single center. Material and methods: We prospectively studied 77 limbs with varicose GSV in 74 patients who were treated using 980-nm EVL with a 600-mm laser fiber and the power settings of 10-25 Watts. The patients were followed using color Doppler ultrasound. Results: Continued closure of treated GSV was found in 98.3% of the legs evaluated at 3-week follow-up (n = 60). At 3- and 6-month intervals, 94.1% and 97% successful occlusion was achieved, respectively. The main complications of the procedure included prolonged leg pain (2 cases), hyperestheasia (one case) and lidocaine sensitivity (one case). Conclusion: EVLA treatment of the GSV is a safe and highly effective method accompanied with few complications in midterm follow-up. It is feasible in ambulatory settings and the patients return to their daily activities early after intervention.
Low latency timing synchronization scheme for IEEE 802.11a/n/ac systems

This paper addresses the problem of timing synchronization at the receiver of an IEEE 802.11a/n/ac communications system. In such systems, typically with multiple antennas at the transmitter, cyclic delay diversity (CDD) is implemented in the transmitted signal to provide diversity and hence, performance improvement in the error rates. However, the use of CDD creates pseudo-multipaths which degrade the performance of conventional timing synchronization algorithms, due to the increased delay spread of the channel. This paper proposes a method that achieves fine timing synchronization with low latency in two concurrent steps. The proposed scheme first achieves a coarse synchronization point so that important receiver operations can first take place. A fine timing synchronization algorithm operates concurrently to achieve a more accurate synchronization point and, to avoid incurring additional latency, post-processing is performed on the frequency domain samples of the preambles to compensate for the difference in synchronization points. The proposed scheme is shown to achieve excellent packet error rate performance with low latency requirements.
Regulation of sperm flagellar motility by calcium and cAMP‐dependent phosphorylation

There is substantial evidence that cAMP‐dependent phosphorylation is involved in the activation of motility of spermatozoa as they are released from storage in the male reproductive tract. This evidence includes observations that in vivo activation of motility can be inhibited by protein kinase inhibitors, can be reversed by protein phosphatase treatment of demembranated spermatozoa, and is associated with phosphorylation of sperm proteins, and observations that spermatozoa that have not been activated in vivo can be activated in vitro by cAMP‐dependent phosphorylation. Activation in vivo can often be triggered by conditions that increase intracellular pH, but the relevance of this to in vivo activation under natural conditions and the steps between pH increase and cAMP increase have not been fully established. The relationships between changes in the protein substrates for cAMP‐dependent phosphorylation and changes in axonemal function are still unknown.
Diabetes in Ontario: determination of prevalence and incidence using a validated administrative data algorithm.

OBJECTIVE Accurate information about the magnitude and distribution of diabetes can inform policy and support health care evaluation. We linked physician service claims (PSCs) and hospital discharge abstracts (HDAs) to determine diabetes prevalence and incidence. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A retrospective cohort was constructed using administrative data from the national HDA database, PSCs for Ontario (population 11 million), and registries carrying demographics and vital statistics. All HDAs and PSCs bearing a diagnosis of diabetes (ICD9-CM 250) were selected for 1991-1999. Two previously reported algorithms for identification of diabetes were applied as follows: "1-claim" (any HDA or PSC showing diabetes) and "2-claim" (one HDA or two PSCs within 2 years showing diabetes). Incident cases were defined as individuals who met the criteria for diabetes for the first time after at least 2 years of observation. For validation, diagnostic data abstracted from primary care charts (n=3,317) of 57 randomly selected physicians were linked to the administrative data cohort, and sensitivity and specificity were calculated. RESULTS -In 1998, 696,938 individuals met the 1-claim criteria and 528,280 met the 2-claim criteria. Sensitivity for diabetes was 90 and 86%; for the 1- and 2-claim algorithms, specificity was 92 and 97%, respectively, and positive predictive values were 61 and 80%, respectively. Using the 2-claim algorithm, the all-age prevalence increased from 3.2% in 1993 to 4.5% in 1998 (6.1% in adults). Incidence remained stable. CONCLUSIONS Administrative data can be used to establish population-based incidence and prevalence of diabetes. Diabetes prevalence is increasing in Ontario and is considerably higher than self-reported rates.
Partitioning and differentiated resource allocation in programmable networks

Programmable network architectures facilitate dynamically updatable functionality to enable selective and trusted third parties on-demand service deployment. Resource and security management of such architectures on shared infrastructure have proven as challenging tasks. This is due to the extent of functionality provided to users and the heterogenous nature of service resource requirements and resource availability. In this paper we present a new programmable network platform that enables safe sharing by providing each trusted user (e.g., an Internet service provider) with a secure, separate, and resource assured partition, representing a 'virtual router', to accommodate their services. To allocate router internal resources among these partitions and among competing services within a partition, this paper uses a new scalable and adaptive mechanism called control plane-quality of service (C-QoS).
DNA damage and external lesions in brown bullheads (Ameiurus nebulosus) from contaminated habitats

The Comet assay was used to compare levels of DNA damage in brown bullheads (Ameiurus nebulosus) collected from three known contaminated locations, the Cuyahoga River (OH, USA), Ashtabula River (OH, USA; both tributaries to Lake Erie, USA), and Ashumet Pond (Cape Cod, MA, USA), with brown bullheads collected from three paired reference sites, Old Woman Creek (OH, USA), Conneaut River (OH, USA; both tributaries to Lake Erie), and Great Herring Pond (mainland MA, USA), respectively. Blood was sampled from each fish, and the Comet assay was conducted on erythrocytes. The assay results demonstrate that fish from the three contaminated sites each suffered higher DNA damage compared with fish from their respective reference sites. The results also show that the genetic damage was associated with the occurrence of external lesions and deformities in fish. The Comet assay is sufficiently sensitive to detect exposure of natural fish populations to environmental levels of genotoxic contaminants.
Age- and Dementia-Associated Impairments in Divided Attention: Psychological Constructs, Animal Models, and Underlying Neuronal Mechanisms

Following a brief description of the psychological construct ‘divided attention’, impairments in divided attention and related executive functions are discussed as the major variable in the development and manifestation of age- and dementia-associated cognitive impairments. Neuropsychological and functional imaging studies in humans have indicated that dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal, cingulate, parietal and premotor cortical areas are involved in the mediation of dual task performance. Furthermore, reduced activity in these areas has been suggested to mediate age- and dementia-associated impairments in divided attention. Experimental studies in animals have provided strong support for the hypothesis that cholinergic projections terminating in all cortical areas and layers crucially mediate the performance in tasks that tax processing capacity and/or the allocation of processing resources to competing demands. This specification of the ‘cholinergic hypothesis’ is evaluated in light of recent critical accounts of the role of this system in the development of age- and dementia- related cognitive disorders. The converging animal experimental and human neuropathological, as well as neuropsychological, evidence indicates that decreases in the integrity of cortical cholinergic inputs represent a necessary, possibly even sufficient, neuronal process mediating the impairments in divided attention and the resulting, broad decline in cognitive functions.
Association of a Novel Preribosomal Complex in Trypanosoma brucei Determined by Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

ABSTRACT We have previously reported that the trypanosome-specific proteins P34 and P37 form a unique preribosomal complex with ribosomal protein L5 and 5S rRNA in the nucleoplasm. We hypothesize that this novel trimolecular complex is necessary for stabilizing 5S rRNA in Trypanosoma brucei and is essential for the survival of the parasite. In vitro quantitative analysis of the association between the proteins L5 and P34 is fundamental to our understanding of this novel complex and thus our ability to exploit its unique characteristics. Here we used in vitro fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to analyze the association between L5 and P34. First, we demonstrated that FRET can be used to confirm the association between L5 and P34. We then determined that the binding constant for L5 and P34 is 0.60 ± 0.03 μM, which is in the range of protein-protein binding constants for RNA binding proteins. In addition, we used FRET to identify the critical regions of L5 and P34 involved in the protein-protein association. We found that the N-terminal APK-rich domain and RNA recognition motif (RRM) of P34 and the L18 domain of L5 are important for the association of the two proteins with each other. These results provide us with the framework for the discovery of ways to disrupt this essential complex.