Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Altered phosphorylation at specific sites confers a mutant phenotype to SV40 wild-type large T antigen in a flat revertant of SV40-transformed cells.

The Rev2 cell line is a cellular revertant of the SV40 wild-type transformed rat cell line SV-52 [Bauer, M. , Guhl, E. , Graessmann, M. & Graessmann, A. (1987). J. Virol. , 61, 1821-1827]. To characterize the level of cellular interference with the SV40 large T antigen (large T)-induced transformation pathway in Rev2 cells, we analysed the biological and biochemical properties of large T expressed in Rev2 cells. We found that Rev2 cells encoded an authentic wild-type large T, with regard to its sequence and its transforming functions. No differences were found in the metabolic stability of large T, or in complex formation with the cellular p53 protein, or in p53 metabolic stabilization. In contrast to SV-52 cells, Rev2 cells showed no association of large T with the chromatin fraction of isolated nuclei. This difference correlated with a reduced affinity of the Rev2 large T to SV40 DNA in vitro. The T proteins from both cell lines were phosphorylated at the same multiple sites. However, in Rev2 cells the phosphorylation of large T at specific serine -residues was significantly reduced. Thus the revertant phenotype of Rev2 cells may be due to an altered phosphorylation state of its large T protein, leading to altered nuclear localization and reduced transforming activity. The alterations of Rev2 large T properties and phosphorylation were very similar to the changes observed with mutant large T in FR(tsA58)A cells, an SV40 tsA58 N-type transformant, when the cells had reverted to the normal phenotype at the non-permissive growth temperature. Thus altered phosphorylation might provide a common structural basis for the biological inactivation of the large T proteins in these cells.
Pilot Study of a Combination of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy and Cytokines to Induce HIV‐1 Remission

Summary: A pilot study of a combination of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and cytokines in early HIV‐1 infection has been undertaken to test the hypothesis that HIV‐1 remission can be reached with this strategy by flushing latently infected viral reservoirs. Ten previously antiretroviral naive patients have received a combination of zidovudine, lamivudine, didanosine, saquinavir, and ritonavir for 72 weeks. Between weeks 12 and 48, three courses of interleukin (IL)‐2 (7.5 millions of international units [MUI] twice a day for 5 consecutive days) and 2 courses of &ggr;‐interferon (IFN) (100 &mgr;g every other day during 2 weeks) were administered subcutaneously. All patients reached plasma HIV‐1 RNA levels < 20 copies/ml within 12 ± 4 weeks. Transient increases in plasma levels (<120 copies/ml) were observed during administration of IL‐2, but less frequently during &ggr;‐IFN administration. HIV‐1 RNA decreased in lymph node cells by ˜ 4 log, then remained stable after week 24. A mean drop of ‐0.8 log in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proviral DNA was observed during the trial. Isolation of potentially infectious HIV‐1 was successful in each case by coculture of CD4+ T cells taken at week 72. The 2 patients who stopped therapy at the end of the trial showed rebounding plasma HIV‐1 RNA levels within a few weeks. No additional mutations were selected in comparison with those present at baseline in 8 patients. In addition, 2 patients developed new mutations in the reverse transcriptase or protease gene and in 1 case, resistance selection was found in lymphoid tissue HIV‐1 RNA but not in latently infected cells. In all cases, a rapid increase in both naive and memory CD4+ T cells was observed, with a reduction in activation markers and preservation of the CD8+CD28+ subset. Consequently, an aggressive regimen of HAART and cytokines administered in early stage disease is associated with a positive effect in terms of proviral load reduction and immune reconstitution but is unable to induce HIV‐1 remission, allowing low levels of viral replication to persist in lymphoid reservoirs.
Mcp1 Encodes the Molybdenum Cofactor Carrier Protein in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Participates in Protection, Binding, and Storage Functions of the Cofactor*

The molybdenum cofactor (Moco) is essential for the activity of all molybdoenzymes except nitrogenase. The cDNA for the Moco carrier protein (MocoCP) of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has been cloned by reverse transcription PCR approaches with primers designed from microsequenced peptides of this protein. The C. reinhardtii MocoCP has been expressed inEscherichia coli. The recombinant protein has been purified to electrophoretic homogeneity and is found assembled into a homotetramer when Moco is not present under native conditions. Recombinant MocoCP has the same biochemical characteristics as MocoCP from C. reinhardtii, as it bound Moco from milk xanthine oxidase with high affinity, prevented Moco inactivation by oxygen, and transferred Moco efficiently to aponitrate reductase from theNeurospora crassa nit1 mutant. The genomic DNA sequence corresponding to the Chlamydomonas MocoCP gene,CrMcp1, also was isolated. This gene contained three introns in the coding region. The deduced amino acid sequence ofCrMcp1 did not show a significant identity to functionally known proteins in the GenBankTM data base, although a significant conservation was found with bacterial proteins of unknown function. The results suggest that proteins having a Moco binding function probably exist in other organisms.
A Sensitivity-Improved PFM LLC Resonant Full-Bridge DC–DC Converter With  LC Antiresonant Circuitry

An LLC resonant circuit-based full-bridge dc-dc converter with an LC antiresonant tank for improving the performance of pulse frequency modulation (PFM) is proposed in this paper. The proposed resonant dc-dc converter, named as LLC-LC converter, can extend a voltage regulation area below the unity gain with a smaller frequency variation of PFM by the effect of the antiresonant tank. This advantageous property contributes for protecting overcurrent in the case of the short-circuit load condition as well as the start-up interval in the designed band of switching frequency. The circuit topology and operating principle of the proposed converter is described, after which the design procedure of the operating frequency and circuit parameters is presented. The performances on the soft switching and the steady-state PFM characteristics of the LLC-LC converter are evaluated under the open-loop control in experiment of a 2.5-kW prototype, and its actual efficiency is compared with an LLC converter prototype. For revealing the effectiveness of the LLC-LC resonant circuitry, voltages and currents of the series and antiresonant tanks are analyzed, respectively, with state-plane trajectories based on calculation and experiment, whereby the power and energy of each resonant tank are demonstrated. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed converter is evaluated from the practical point of view.
In vitro activity of teichomycin compared with those of other antibiotics

The glycopeptide antibiotic teichomycin had in vitro activity comparable to that of vancomycin against most gram-positive species, and it inhibited methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. It was twofold more active against many S. aureus and S. epidermidis isolates than was vancomycin. Teichomycin had activity comparable to that of vancomycin against Listeria monocytogenes and Streptococcus faecalis. It was generally more active against streptococci than was vancomycin. There were no major differences between minimal inhibitory concentrations and minimal bactericidal concentrations of these drugs. Teichomycin acted synergistically with gentamicin against some bacteria.
What drives commodity prices in the long run

What drives commodity prices in the long run? We provide evidence on the dynamic effects of global demand shocks, commodity supply shocks, and inventory demand shocks on real commodity prices. In particular, we analyze a new data set of price and production levels for 14 agricultural, metal, and soft commodities from 1850 to 2012. We identify differences in the type of shock driving prices of the various types of commodities and relate these differences to commodity types which presumably reflect differences in long-run elasticities of supply and demand. Preliminary results show that demand shocks strongly dominate supply shocks.
Privacy-friendly cloud audits with Somewhat Homomorphic and Searchable Encryption

In this paper, we provide privacy enhancements for a software agent-based audit system for clouds. We also propose a general privacy enhancing cloud audit concept which, we do present based on a recently proposed framework. This framework introduces the use of audit agents for collecting digital evidence from different sources in cloud environments. Obviously, the elicitation and storage of such evidence leads to new privacy concerns of cloud customers, since it may reveal sensitive information about the utilization of cloud services. We remedy this by applying Somewhat Homomorphic Encryption (SHE) and Public-Key Searchable Encryption (PEKS) to the collection of digital evidence. By considering prominent audit event use cases we show that the amount of cleartext information provided to an evidence storing entity and subsequently to a third-party auditor can be shaped in a good balance taking into account both, i) the customers' privacy and ii) the fact that stored information may need to have probative value. We believe that the administrative domain responsible for an evidence storing database falls under the adversary model "honest-but-curious" and thus should perform query responses from the auditor with respect to a given cloud audit use case by purely performing operations on encrypted digital evidence data.
A Security Framework for Wireless Sensor Networks: Theory and Practice

Wireless sensor networks are often deployed in public or otherwise untrusted and even hostile environments, which prompts a number of security issues. Although security is a necessity in other types of networks, it is much more so in sensor networks due to the resource-constraint, susceptibility to physical capture, and wireless nature. In this work we emphasize two security issues: (1) secure communication infrastructure and (2) secure nodes scheduling algorithm. Due to resource constraints, specific strategies are often necessary to preserve the network's lifetime and its quality of service. For instance, to reduce communication costs nodes can go to sleep mode periodically (nodes scheduling). These strategies must be proven as secure, but protocols used to guarantee this security must be compatible with the resource preservation requirement. To achieve this goal, secure communications in such networks will be defined, together with the notions of secure scheduling. Finally, some of these security properties will be evaluated in concrete case studies.
Mianserin, a 5‐HT2 receptor antagonist, in the treatment of delirium: an open study

To determine the role of the serotonin system at the 5‐HT2 receptors on delirium in the aged, we assessed the effects of mianserin, a relatively selective 5‐HT2 receptor antagonist, in such patients. Twenty‐six delirious patients [four without dementia, nine with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 13 with ischemic vascular dementia (IVD)] were included in the open study. After the dose titration period, the mean dose of mianserin administrated was 31.2 mg in delirious patients without dementia, 25.0 mg in delirious patient with AD and 25.9 mg in delirious patients with IVD. The average total score of each patient group on a symptom rating scale was reduced significantly within 24 h (p < 0.05). A complete elimination of symptoms was noted in all four delirious patients without dementia. In the nine delirious patients with AD, marked improvement was noted in four patients (44.4%), moderate improvement in four (44.4%) and no improvement in one (11.1%). In the 13 delirious patients with IVD marked improvement was noted in seven (53.8%), moderate improvement in five (38.5%) and no improvement in one (7.7%). The rapidity of the improvement may be attributable to mianserin's antagonism at the 5‐HT2 receptors, and such serotonin antagonism at the 5‐HT2 receptors may be important in treating delirium. ‐
Estimation of radiated emissions of an automotive HV-inverter in a distributed system

EMC measurements according to CISPR 25 during a component's development process in the automotive industry are expensive and time-consuming. In order to avoid these disadvantages alternative measurement methods are desired. One of such pre-compliance methods for estimating radiated emissions is the transfer function method. With this method radiated emissions can be calculated based on disturbance current measurements on a component's harness. This is possible due to the correlation between disturbance currents and radiated field. In this contribution the transfer function method is applied to a distributed automotive system comprising an automotive high voltage inverter, line impedance stabilization networks and an electric machine emulation. In order to characterize the radiated emissions of such a system a combination of two transfer functions is used. The method of combined transfer functions will be introduced and applied to a simplified setup showing its applicability. In addition, an extended setup will be analyzed for meeting specifications of the automotive industry.
Decrease in creatine kinase messenger RNA expression in the hippocampus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVES Bipolar disorder (BPD) affects more than 2 million adults in the USA and ranks among the top 10 causes of worldwide disabilities. Despite its prevalence, very little is known about the etiology of BPD. Recent evidence suggests that cellular energy metabolism is disturbed in BPD. Mitochondrial function is altered, and levels of high-energy phosphates, such as phosphocreatine (PCr), are reduced in the brain. This evidence has led to the hypothesis that deficiencies in energy metabolism could account for some of the pathophysiology observed in BPD. To further explore this hypothesis, we examined levels of creatine kinase (CK) mRNA, the enzyme involved in synthesis and metabolism of PCr, in the hippocampus (HIP) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of control, BPD and schizophrenia subjects. METHODS Tissue was obtained from the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (HIP, DLPFC) and gene expression microarrays (HIP) were employed to compare the brain and mitochondrial 1 isoforms of CK. RESULTS Both CK isoforms were downregulated in BPD. Furthermore, mRNA transcripts for oligodendrocyte-specific proteins were downregulated in the DLPFC, whereas the mRNA for the neuron-specific protein microtubule-associated protein 2 was downregulated in the HIP. CONCLUSION Although some of the downregulation of CK might be explained by cell loss, a more general mechanism seems to be responsible. The downregulation of CK transcripts, if translated into protein levels, could explain the reduction of high-energy phosphates previously observed in BPD.
A Case-Control Study of the Genetic Variability in Reactive Oxygen Species—Metabolizing Enzymes in Melanoma Risk

Recent studies have shown that ultraviolet (UV)-induced chemiexcitation of melanin fragments leads to DNA damage; and chemiexcitation of melanin fragments requires reactive oxygen species (ROS), as ROS excite an electron in the melanin fragments. In addition, ROS also cause DNA damages on their own. We hypothesized that ROS producing and metabolizing enzymes were major contributors in UV-driven melanomas. In this case-control study of 349 participants, we genotyped 23 prioritized single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidases 1 and 4 (NOX1 and NOX4, respectively), CYBA, RAC1, superoxide dismutases (SOD1, SOD2, and SOD3) and catalase (CAT), and analyzed their associated melanoma risk. Five SNPs, namely rs1049255 (CYBA), rs4673 (CYBA), rs10951982 (RAC1), rs8031 (SOD2), and rs2536512 (SOD3), exhibited significant genotypic frequency differences between melanoma cases and healthy controls. In simple logistic regression, RAC1 rs10951982 (odds ratio (OR) 8.98, 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.08 to 16.44; p < 0.001) reached universal significance (p = 0.002) and the minor alleles were associated with increased risk of melanoma. In contrast, minor alleles in SOD2 rs8031 (OR 0.16, 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.39; p < 0.001) and SOD3 rs2536512 (OR 0.08, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.31; p = 0.001) were associated with reduced risk of melanoma. In multivariate logistic regression, RAC1 rs10951982 (OR 6.15, 95% CI: 2.98 to 13.41; p < 0.001) remained significantly associated with increased risk of melanoma. Our results highlighted the importance of RAC1, SOD2, and SOD3 variants in the risk of melanoma.
Perceptions of Challenges Facing Rural Communities: an Importance–Performance Analysis

Although several studies have focused on understanding attitudes held by local residents and/or other stakeholders toward the economic, environmental, and social/cultural impacts of tourism, very little research has examined the challenges and opportunities facing rural communities from the perspectives of multistakeholders. To fill this research void, this study uses the stakeholder theory as its foundation to examine challenges and opportunities facing the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area (AFHA) from the perspectives of both community leaders and residents using a modified, mean-centered importance–performance analysis (IPA). Results indicate that community leaders and residents are highly consistent in their perceived challenges facing the AFHA, with marketing, community leadership, and financial investment being identified by both groups as the most salient challenges that the AFHA needs to concentrate efforts on. Secondary priority identified by both groups relates to collaboration and partnership with tourism industry, the AFHA, and surrounding communities. The study also shows that the modified, mean-centered IPA is more effective, if judged by the iso-rating line, than either the data-centered approach or the scale-centered approach to identify priorities for improvement. Research implications and future research needs are also discussed
Comparison of RT‐PCR with other diagnostic assays for rapid detection of influenza viruses

To compare the effectiveness of reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR), shell vial culture and cytospin assay as laboratory techniques for rapid diagnosis of influenza infections, a retrospective study was carried out on 270 aliquots of oropharyngeal swabs collected from October 1993 to March 1996 and already characterized by standard isolation procedures, and a prospective study in which 65 clinical samples taken from patients with influenza‐like syndrome between October 1996 and March 1997 were tested. In the retrospective study, using conventional isolation as the gold standard, the sensitivity of RT‐PCR and cytospin assay for virus A was 100% (95% confidence interval (CI), 89.1–100) and for virus B it was 100% (95% CI, 56.1–100) compared with 77.5% (95% CI, 61.1–88.6) and 71.4% (95% CI, 30.3–94.9) for shell vial culture. The specificity of all the three assays was 100% (95% CI, 98.0–100) for virus A and 100% (95% CI, 98.2–100) for virus B. In the prospective study the sensitivity of RT‐PCR was greater than that of the other tests considered, both rapid and standard. It is suggested that RT‐PCR should be employed in combination with conventional culture techniques in routine diagnosis of influenza infections in order to obtain results more rapidly and to improve virus detection even in circumstances in which standard isolation could be problematic. J. Med. Virol. 56: 168–173, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Endpoints of Resuscitation

Hemodynamic optimization of surgical patients during and after surgery in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit is meant to improve outcomes. These outcomes have been measured by Length Of Stay (LOS), rate of infection, days on ventilator, etc. Unfortunately, the adaptation of modern technology to accomplish this has been slow in coming. Ever since Shoemaker described in 1988 using a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) to guide fluid and inotropic administration to deliver supranormal tissue oxygenation, many authors have written about different techniques to achieve this “hemodynamic optimization”. Since the PAC and CVC have both gone out of favor for utilization to monitor and improve hemodynamics, many clinicians have resorted using the easy to use static measurements of blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and urine output. In this paper, the authors will review why these static measurements are no longer adequate and review some of the newer technology that have been studied and proven useful. This review of newer technologies combined with laboratory measurements that have also proven to help guide the clinician, may provide the impetus to adopt new strategies in the operating rooms (OR) and SICU.
Statistical characterization of diffuse scattering in ultrasound images

The marginal statistics for the diffused ultrasound speckle echo has been postulated as exhibiting circularly symmetric Gaussian behavior similar to the laser speckle for monochromatic illumination under the assumption of a large number of unresolvable scatterers per resolution cell. This is known in the literature as the Rayleigh scattering condition. This paper presents a formal statistical test, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov nonparametric goodness of fit statistical test, to test the hypothesis that the unresolvable part (diffuse part) of the backscatter echo follows a Rayleigh scattering condition, and obtain numerical values for the scatterer concentration required for the Rayleigh condition to be valid. In addition, it presents a formal statistical test, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov nonparametric homogeneity statistical test, to compare two regions of interest with different scattering concentrations without prior knowledge of the nature of the scattering conditions (Rayleigh or non-Rayleigh scattering). Unlike all previous parametric testing methods that treat the A-scan or B-scan echo as a random sample, the authors' method presents formal tests based on the colored nature of the diffuse backscattered echo which is a more realistic model of the diffuse scattering component. The tests are demonstrated on simulations of RF scans with different scatterer concentrations per resolution cell as well as on phantom data which mimic tissue.
Using fuzzy-PI controller in active queue management

In this paper we propose using fuzzy logic to improve the performance of PI controller in the design of AQM (active queue management). With the introduction of integral factor in PI controller, the steady state error in proportional controller (such as RED) is eliminated. However, the response speed is slowed down. We design a fuzzy-PI (FPl) controller to solve this problem. FPI controller combines the advantages of fuzzy control while maintaining the simplicity and robustness of a conventional PI controller. The performance of FPI is verified and compared with Pl controller using ns-2 simulations. It is suggested that FPI is superior to Pl in response speed. Thus FPI is more robust in the presence of disturbance caused by the non-responsive UDP flows and the changing number of active flows.