Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pathogenicity of Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O3 biotype 3 strains

It is known that Yersinia enterocolitica infection in Japan is caused mainly by serotype O3 biotype 4 strains. Recently, however, a number of serotype O3 strains which were classified biotype 3 and which ferment lactose and xylose, instead of sorbose, and give a negative Voges-Proskauer reaction have been isolated from both humans and animals. In this study, comparisons of four properties were made among isolates of Y. enterocolitica serotype O3 biotype 3 from humans, pigs, dogs, cats, and rats and the laboratory stock strains of Y. enterocolitica biotype 4. All strains were tested for the presence of plasmids, calcium-dependent growth at 37 degrees C, autoagglutination activity at 37 degrees C, and recovery of the organisms from the stools of intravenously challenged mice. Biotypes 3 and 4 were positive for these four properties. Plasmid digestion with restriction endonucleases showed the same digestion patterns in both biotypes. These results suggest that Y. enterocolitica serotype O3 biotype 3 strains are pathogenic, as are biotype 4 strains.
An Automated Tool for Managing Interactions in Virtual Communities-Using Social Network Analysis Approach

The Internet is a platform embedded with new interaction opportunities that represents a new facet of our society. Social scientists have recognized the richness concealed in the interactions of virtual communities and made endeavors to understand its relation with the physical world. More efforts are devoted to extracting the business value of virtual communities and finding viable business models. However, due to the lack of suitable software, analysis of virtual communities cannot be easily completed.
Interlocking Nailing of Complex Fractures of the Femur and Tibia

The interlocking nail widens the range of indications for medullary osteosynthesis of femoral and tibial shaft fractures. Stability is achieved by transverse threaded bolts in prefabricated holes in the nail, which anchor the implant directly to cortical bone, thereby controlling length, alignment, and rotation of the limb. Two hundred eighty-three femoral and 401 tibial fractures were treated with an interlocking nail and followed for an average of 20 months. Overall, 97% of the femurs and 94.3% of the tibias were judged to have an excellent or good result, based on both clinical and radiographic parameters. Delayed union or nonunion requiring bone grafts occurred in 2% of the femurs and 0.7% of the tibias following interlocking nailing. Deep infection developed in 2.4% of the femurs and 2.2% of the tibias. All of these patients eventually healed their fractures without evidence of chronic osteomyelitis. The main advantage of interlocking nails is that surgery can be performed using closed nailing techniques, allowing early protected weight-bearing and joint motion. The rates of nonunion and infection are very low, and there is little risk of refracture after implant removal.
Factors promoting survival of bacteria in chlorinated water supplies

Results of our experiments showed that the attachment of bacteria to surfaces provided the greatest increase in disinfection resistance. Attachment of unencapsulated Klebsiella pneumoniae grown in medium with high levels of nutrients to glass microscope slides afforded the microorganisms as much as a 150-fold increase in disinfection resistance. Other mechanisms which increased disinfection resistance included the age of the biofilm, bacterial encapsulation, and previous growth conditions (e.g., growth medium and growth temperature). These factors increased resistance to chlorine from 2- to 10-fold. The choice of disinfectant residual was shown to influence the type of resistance mechanism observed. Disinfection by free chlorine was affected by surfaces, age of the biofilm, encapsulation, and nutrient effects. Disinfection by monochloramine, however, was only affected by surfaces. Importantly, results showed that these resistance mechanisms were multiplicative (i.e., the resistance provided by one mechanism could be multiplied by the resistance provided by a second mechanism).
On route maintenance and recovery mechanism of RPL

Development of Low-power Low-rate wireless Networks (LLNs) based systems is prodigiously escalated, which helps realizing the notion of Internet of Things (IoT). Routing Protocol for Low-power and Lossy Networks (RPL) is the standard routing protocol for IPv6 LLNs. RPL has gotten tremendous appreciation due to its flexibility and adaptiveness to support dynamic application requirements in IoT. In this paper, we identify multiple issues in RPL route maintenance and recovery mechanism and investigate their drastic effects on the performance of RPL based on a simulation as well as an experimental study using Zolertia Z1 motes. In addition, the paper proposes an enhanced route maintenance and recovery mechanism to improve and rectify RPL operation. Performance analysis of the proposed scheme promise significantly lower reconnection time and high certainty in route recovery.
Quantification of hydroxyacetone and glycolaldehyde using chemical ionization mass spectrometry

Chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) enables online, rapid, in situ detection and quantification of hydroxyacetone and glycolaldehyde. Two different CIMS approaches are demonstrated employing the strengths of single quadrupole mass spectrometry and triple quadrupole (tandem) mass spectrometry. Both methods are generally capable of the measurement of hydroxyacetone, an analyte with known but minimal isobaric interferences. Tandem mass spectrometry provides direct separation of the isobaric compounds glycolaldehyde and acetic acid using distinct, collision-induced dissociation daughter ions. The single quadrupole CIMS measurement of glycolaldehyde was demonstrated during the ARCTAS-CARB (Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites - California Air Resources Board) 2008 campaign, while triple quadrupole CIMS measurements of glycolaldehyde and hydroxyacetone were demonstrated during the BEARPEX (Biosphere Effects on Aerosols and Photochemistry Experiment) 2009 campaign. Enhancement ratios of glycolaldehyde in ambient biomass-burning plumes are reported for the ARCTAS-CARB campaign. BEARPEX observations are compared to simple photochemical box model predictions of biogenic volatile organic compound oxidation at the site.
A performance comparison study of ECC and AES in commercial and research sensor nodes

In the last years, a number of research sensor nodes based on the combination of low-power microcontrollers and FPGAs have been proposed. In these platforms, the FPGAs serve as accelerators of complex algorithms, making it possible to process a vast amount of sensing data in real time. In medical applications that rely on sensors, both privacy and security are of utmost importance. However, the execution of cryptographic primitives on nodes solely based upon microcontrollers clocked at a low frequency can affect the overall power consumption of the platform. In this manuscript, we present the design of a cryptographic accelerator based on FPGA and aimed to be coupled to a microcontroller. It provides the most secure implementation of the IEEE 802.15. 4 security suite together with an Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) engine to perform key establishment. Furthermore, we provide a comparison on performance and energy consumption of cryptographic primitives in commercial nodes and in the proposed design. Our results suggest that the controlled execution of cryptographic algorithms on FPGAs clocked at a low frequency improves the performance and energy consumption of the state-of-the-art implementations based on the MICA and Tmote nodes. However, our results also reflect two inherent limitations of this type of design: the very nature of the bus logic can undermine the expected improvement on performance as well as the communication link between the microcontroller and the FPGA can make the platform vulnerable to physical attacks.
Presumed domestication? Evidence for wild rice cultivation and domestication in the fifth millennium BC of the Lower Yangtze region

Prompted by a recent article by Jiang and Liu in Antiquity (80, 2006), Dorian Fuller and his co-authors return to the question of rice cultivation and consider some of the difficulties involved in identifying the transition from wild to domesticated rice. Using data from Eastern China, they propose that, at least for the Lower Yangtze region, the advent of rice domestication around 4000 BC was preceded by a phase of pre-domestication cultivation that began around 5000 BC. This rice, together with other subsistence foods like nuts, acorns and waterchestnuts, was gathered by sedentary hunter-gatherer-foragers. The implications for sedentism and the spread of agriculture as a long term process are discussed.
Readiness of Government Organizations for Cloud-Computing Age: An Empirical Evidence from Jordan

The aim of this study is examining the readiness of the Jordanian government sector to adopt cloud-computing. The study empirically applied the TOE research framework that enables targeting IT managers and IT specialists in several Jordanian organization, where 132 respondents distributed on three sub-groups were targeted. The obtained data were analyzed using Partial Least Square because of the small sample size. The result indicated that top management support, organization capability and government policy reflect the organizational readiness of government organizations to adopt cloud-computing. The multigroup analysis results revealed that Although the size of organizations varies, they have similar drivers of cloud-computing adoption. The IT-related experience has significant negative effect on intention of adoption while cloud knowledge insignificant. The study demonstrated the importance of the pre-adoption step that decision-makers should be aware of organization readiness before taking the decision of adoption, otherwise the organization will fall in cloud-computing trap. The study yielded some practical evidence, for instance, government organizational readiness will help in adopting cloud-computing appropriately to uptake its advantages; IT skills and robust IT infrastructures are both essential pillars for government organization readiness; top management support positively influences the organizational readiness and this an evidence for responsibility of top managers about success of adoption new technology; supportive government policy is substantial issue to strength government organization readiness and persuade government agencies’ managers approve transforming process from old IT model into cloud-computing and allocate essential resources.
Detection of loss of heterozygosity in the p53 gene in renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer using the polymerase chain reaction

The human p53 gene, a putative tumor suppressor gene, has a polymorphism in amino acid residue 72. We recently developed a method of detecting codon 72 polymorphism in this gene by digestion of polymerase chain reaction–amplified DNA using an allele‐specific restriction endonuclease. This polymorphism allows the identification of loss of heterozygosity for the coding region of the p53 gene in limited tissue samples in a short time without using radioactive materials. We examined 33 patients with renal cell carcinoma and 29 with bladder cancer; heterozygosity in the p53 gene was lost in 60% (6 of 10 cases) and 73% (8 of 11 cases) of the renal and bladder tumors, respectively. Additionally, the assay's sensitivity could be improved by using DNA extracted from frozen sections of the tumors. Because the proportions of tumor cells and nontumor cells could be assessed by microscopic evaluation of the frozen sections, we were able to minimize contamination from nontumor cells, which occasionally causes false readings of retained heterozygosity. This simple and sensitive method for detecting loss of heterozygosity in the p53 gene makes it possible to rapidly screen a large number of tissue samples and has the potential to be a useful diagnostic tool for a wide variety of human neoplasms.
Measurement Tool for Assessing Research Information Management System Success

Research Information Management System (RIMS) has become necessary for any research affiliated institutions including “Research University” to improve research efficiency, management and overall performance to gain competitive advantages. Despite other challenges, there is still a lack of effective tools in research affiliated institutions for managing research information. The success or failure of RIMS implementation largely relies on the level of systems success and user acceptance. Therefore, the measurement of Information Systems success remains a top concern for researchers, practitioners, and managers. As such, prior studies of this research have extended DeLone and McLean success model into three dimensions (technological, organization and human). This paper presents a pilot study to validate the relevancy of items thus ensuring the reliability of the proposed measurement tool for RIMS success. As a result, this study proposes RIMS success model measurement tools. The findings of this study indicate that the survey instruments used in this study are reliable and feasible to be used for further related studies.
Expression Profiling of Protein Tyrosine Kinases and Their Ligand Activators in Leiomyoma Uteri

The aim of this study is to compare the expression patterns of tyrosine kinases and their ligand activators between matched myometrium and leiomyoma tissues. Total RNA extracted from 42 pairs of matched leiomyomal and adjacent myometrial tissues were hybridized to a set of 840 customized oligonucleotide microarrays to compare the expression profiles of 244 selected human genes including 90 tyrosine kinases and 103 ligands. Among the 244 genes surveyed, 38 were found to exhibit differential expression between pairs of myometrium and leiomyoma tissues. Clustering analysis of the expression ratios of these 38 genes from 42 pairs of samples led to the subdivision of fibroid samples into three groups, based in principle on the expression ratios of two peptide ligands, CYR61 and EFNA4. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR measurements of an additional 32 pairs of samples further confirmed the three subgroups. The altered expression of ligand activators between myometrium and leiomyoma suggest that tyrosine kinases regulated by CYR61 and EFNA4 may be exploited as therapeutic targets to develop non-surgical treatments of symptomatic leiomyomas.
CBP Is Required for Sterol-regulated and Sterol Regulatory Element-binding Protein-regulated Transcription*

Cells were transfected with luciferase reporter genes, under the control of promoters derived from either the farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) synthase, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) synthase, HMG-CoA reductase, or low density lipoprotein receptor genes. The increase in luciferase activity that occurred when cells were either incubated in sterol-depleted medium or cotransfected with a cDNA encoding sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1a was prevented by coexpression of wild-type E1A or a Gal4-CBP (1–451) fusion protein. The inhibitory effect of E1A was overcome by coexpression of CBP. The increase in reporter gene activity noted above was not affected when the cells were cotransfected with cDNAs that encoded either a mutant E1A that is unable to interact with the transcriptional activator CBP or Gal4-CBP fusion proteins encoding separate fragments of CBP, which span the remainder of the CBP molecule. A preformed SREBP-1a:[32P]DNA complex bound specifically to membrane-immobilized GST-CBP fusion proteins that contained amino-terminal portions of CBP. In order to investigate the role of CBP in the regulation of endogenous genes, we isolated stable transformants that express Gal4-CBP(1–451) in response to added doxycycline. Induction of endogenous FPP synthase and HMG-CoA synthase mRNAs, in response to cellular cholesterol depletion, was prevented when cells expressed Gal4-CBP(1–451). We conclude that when cells are incubated in the absence of sterols, the transcriptional activation of the HMG-CoA synthase, HMG-CoA reductase, FPP synthase, and low density lipoprotein receptor genes is dependent on a specific interaction between SREBP, which is bound to the promoter DNA, and the amino-terminal domain (amino acids 1–451) of CBP.
Additive Outlier Detection and Estimation for the Logarithmic Autoregressive Conditional Duration Model

This study investigates the influences of additive outliers on financial durations. An outlier test statistic and an outlier detection procedure are proposed to detect and estimate outlier effects for the logarithmic Autoregressive Conditional Duration (Log-ACD) model. The proposed test statistic has an exact sampling distribution and performs very well, in terms of size and power, in a series of Monte Carlo simulations. Furthermore, the test statistic is robust to several alternative distribution assumptions. An empirical application shows that parameter estimates without considering outliers tend to be biased.
Adição de termos semânticos a consultas OLAP

OLAP tools have been widely used for decision support analysis. In turn, ontologies has proven to be an effective and well accepted technology for recovering of semantic information. Thus, the integration of these technologies (OLAP and ontology) allows new types of queries that, individually, these technologies are not capable of performing. In this context, considering that related works still have not provided a solution to integrate OLAP Servers, the MultiDimensional eXpressions (MDX) language and ontologies, this paper proposes: i) a software architecture for OLAP and ontology integration; ii) a mapping between the metadata of a cube and the metadata of an ontology; iii) an extension of the MDX language to allow the use of semantic terms and iv) an algorithm to rewrite a MDX query with semantic terms in a query fully compliant with the standard syntax of this language. As proof of concept, we have developed a prototype and presented an application that implements our proposal and shows its feasibility. Resumo. Ferramentas OLAP são amplamente usadas para analises de suporte à decisão. Por sua vez, ontologias tem mostrado ser uma tecnologia bem aceita e efetiva para recuperação de informação semântica. Portanto, a integração destas tecnologias (OLAP e Ontologias) permite novos tipos de consultas que, individualmente, estas tecnologias não são capazes de executar. Neste contexto, considerando que os trabalhos relacionados ainda não forneceram uma solução para integrar servidores OLAP, a linguagem MultiDimensional eXpressions (MDX) e ontologias, este artigo propõe: i) uma arquitetura de software para integrar OLAP e ontologia; ii) um mapeamento entre os metadados de um cubo e os metadados de uma ontologia; iii) uma extensão da linguagem MDX para permitir o uso de termos semânticos e iv) um algoritmo para reescrever uma consulta MDX com termos semânticos em uma consulta MDX totalmente em conformidade com a sintaxe padrão desta linguagem. Como prova de conceito, foi desenvolvido um protótipo e apresentado uma aplicação que implementa as propostas deste trabalho, o que visa mostrar a sua viabilidade.
Loss of brain tau defines novel sporadic and familial tauopathies with frontotemporal dementia

Dementia lacking distinctive histopathology (DLDH) or frontotemporal lobe degeneration (FTLD) is the most common neuropathological diagnosis for sporadic frontotemporal dementias (FTDs). The hallmarks of DLDH are neuron loss and gliosis in the absence of any disease‐specific brain lesion. Similar brain pathology is also seen in a familial FTD pedigree known as hereditary dysphasic disinhibition dementia 2 (HDDD2). Abnormality in the function or isoform composition of the microtubule binding protein tau is a prominent feature in the brains of many patients with sporadic and hereditary FTDs. Therefore, we studied the tau protein in different brain regions from DLDH and HDDD2 patients. Our results indicate that a selective loss of all six tau isoforms, but not tau mRNA, occurs in these brains compared to normal control and Alzheimer's disease brains. Loss of tau protein was identified by Western blot analysis of protein extracts from DLDH and HDDD2 brains in regions both with and without neuronal degeneration. Functionally, this loss of tau protein may be equivalent to pathogenic mutations in the tau gene identified in familial FTD with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP‐17). Thus, DLDH and HDDD2 are novel tauopathies with a unique mechanism of pathogenesis. The presence of tau mRNA in these brains suggests that the level of tau protein may be controlled posttranscriptionally, at the level of either translation or mRNA stability. Ann Neurol 2001:49:165–175
ldpA Encodes an Iron-Sulfur Protein Involved in Light-Dependent Modulation of the Circadian Period in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcuselongatus PCC 7942

ABSTRACT We generated random transposon insertion mutants to identify genes involved in light input pathways to the circadian clock of the cyanobacterium Synechococcuselongatus PCC 7942. Two mutants, AMC408-M1 and AMC408-M2, were isolated that responded to a 5-h dark pulse differently from the wild-type strain. The two mutants carried independent transposon insertions in an open reading frame here named ldpA (for light-dependent period). Although the mutants were isolated by a phase shift screening protocol, the actual defect is a conditional alteration in the circadian period. The mutants retain the wild-type ability to phase shift the circadian gene expression (bioluminescent reporter) rhythm if the timing of administration of the dark pulse is corrected for a 1-h shortening of the circadian period in the mutant. Further analysis indicated that the conditional short-period mutant phenotype results from insensitivity to light gradients that normally modulate the circadian period in S. elongatus, lengthening the period at low light intensities. The ldpA gene encodes a polypeptide that predicts a 7Fe-8S cluster-binding motif expected to be involved in redox reactions. We suggest that the LdpA protein modulates the circadian clock as an indirect function of light intensity by sensing changes in cellular physiology.
Physiologic Evidence for a Dual A‐V Transmission System

A study of the transmission of early premature contractions between atria and ventricles and in the retrograde direction in the dog heart suggests the existence of two parallel A-V conduction pathways communicating with each other over one or more branches. The evidence is based on the excessive delay of very early premature responses in traversing the node, suggesting that a slowly conducting pathway recovers earlier than the normal “fast” pathway; on the echoing back to the chamber of origin of early premature responses; and on ventricular electrograms of “abnormal” configuration obtained during early premature responses. These observations and the hypothesis to which they lead provide a natural explanation for reciprocal rhythm and nodal paroxysmal tachycardia.