Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling and Control of a Large-Stroke Electrothermal MEMS Mirror for Fourier Transform Microspectrometers

A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror with large vertical displacement has been developed for Fourier transform microspectrometers, but there exists a large tilting during the large-stroke scanning of the MEMS mirror, which greatly compromises the usable range. In this paper, a closed-loop control method has been established to minimize the tilting of the MEMS mirror. According to experimental results, the tilting motion of the mirror plate can be modeled as a fourth-order system. A feedback controller consisting of a phase-lag compensator, a low-pass filter and a notch filter utilized to stabilize the closed-loop tilt system. A gain scheduling approach is also used to compensate the bias-dependent loop gain and thereby provide more consistent tilting rejection over a wide scan range. Compared with the open-loop drive approach, the closed-loop system offers a stable scan operation with much faster dynamic response and improved overall robustness. The experiments show that the residual tilting is reduced to below ±0.0015° during the full range scan of the MEMS mirror. With this control method, the MEMS mirror achieved a stable scan range up to 356.4 μm, so the measured spectral resolution reached 28 nm at 532 nm in a microspectrometer. The mirror tilting can be reduced dramatically by the proposed active control scheme, and thereby, the usable vertical scan range is increased significantly.
Assessing Skeletal Muscle Glucose Metabolism With Positron Emission Tomography

Insulin has a marked effect to stimulate the transport and metabolism of glucose in skeletal muscle in healthy individuals, whereas an impaired response, termed insulin resistance, is a major risk factor for diabetes mellitus and other metabolic diseases. Studies of the molecular physiology of insulin action in skeletal muscle indicate that a principal loci of control resides within the proximal steps of glucose transport and phosphorylation. Deoxyglucose, the metabolism of which is limited to these proximal steps, is widely used for in vitro studies of insulin action on glucose transport. The technologies of PET imaging provide a unique opportunity to carry out similar studies in vivo in human skeletal muscle. In this instance, a short‐lived positron labeled tracer, [18F] FDG, can be given at sufficiently high specific activity to image not only glucose uptake, but by dynamic PET imaging, by monitoring the time course of [18F] FDG tissue activity, data can be generated to examine the kinetics of glucose transport and phosphorylation. The experimental procedures of this approach, including an overview of the mathematical modeling, are described in this review, along with some of the key findings of the initial applications of PET for the study of glucose metabolism in human skeletal muscle.
Fungal Genes in Context: Genome Architecture Reflects Regulatory Complexity and Function

Gene context determines gene expression, with local chromosomal environment most influential. Comparative genomic analysis is often limited in scope to conserved or divergent gene and protein families, and fungi are well suited to this approach with low functional redundancy and relatively streamlined genomes. We show here that one aspect of gene context, the amount of potential upstream regulatory sequence maintained through evolution, is highly predictive of both molecular function and biological process in diverse fungi. Orthologs with large upstream intergenic regions (UIRs) are strongly enriched in information processing functions, such as signal transduction and sequence-specific DNA binding, and, in the genus Aspergillus, include the majority of experimentally studied, high-level developmental and metabolic transcriptional regulators. Many uncharacterized genes are also present in this class and, by implication, may be of similar importance. Large intergenic regions also share two novel sequence characteristics, currently of unknown significance: they are enriched for plus-strand polypyrimidine tracts and an information-rich, putative regulatory motif that was present in the last common ancestor of the Pezizomycotina. Systematic consideration of gene UIR in comparative genomics, particularly for poorly characterized species, could help reveal organisms’ regulatory priorities.
Helicopters and injured kids: Improved survival with scene air medical transport in the pediatric trauma population

BACKGROUND Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) are frequently used to transport injured children, despite unclear evidence of benefit. The study objective was to evaluate the association of HEMS compared with ground emergency medical services (GEMS) transport with outcomes in a national sample of pediatric trauma patients. METHODS Patients 15 years or younger undergoing scene transport by HEMS or GEMS in the National Trauma Data Bank from 2007 to 2012 were included. Propensity score matching was used to match HEMS and GEMS patients for likelihood of HEMS transport based on demographics, prehospital physiology and time, injury severity, and geographic region. Absolute standardized differences of less than 0.1 indicated adequate covariate balance between groups after matching. The primary outcome was in-hospital survival, while the secondary outcome was discharge disposition in survivors. Conditional logistic regression determined the association between HEMS versus GEMS transport with outcomes while controlling for demographics, admission physiology, injury severity, nonaccidental trauma, and in-hospital complications not accounted for in the propensity score. Subgroup analysis was performed in patients with a transport time of greater than 15 minutes to capture patients with the potential for HEMS transport. RESULTS A total of 25,700 HEMS/GEMS pairs were matched from 166,594 patients. Groups were well matched, with all propensity score variables having absolute standardized differences of less than 0.1. In matched patients, HEMS was associated with a 72% increase in odds of survival compared with GEMS (adjusted odds ratio, 1.72; 95% confidence interval, 1.26–2.36; p < 0.01). Transport mode was not associated with discharge disposition (p = 0.47). Subgroup analysis included 17,657 HEMS/GEMS pairs. HEMS was again associated with a significant increase in odds of survival (adjusted odds ratio, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.24–2.65; p < 0.01), while transport mode was not associated with discharge disposition (p = 0.58). CONCLUSION Scene transport by HEMS was associated with improved odds of survival compared with GEMS in pediatric trauma patients. Further study is warranted to understand the underlying mechanisms and develop specific triage criteria for HEMS transport in this population. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic study, level III.
Facing the gap: exploring research on local knowledge of insect-provided services in agroecosystems

ABSTRACT Sustainable agroecosystems must be managed to support biodiversity conservation and food production, which occur at the interface of regional/national policy frameworks, and local knowledge and perspectives. This paper examines the current breadth of research examining farmer knowledge of beneficial insect activities that provide ecosystem services (or benefits) in agroecosystems. We identify patterns and gaps in the literature and opportunities for future research. We found 34 studies that explicitly focused on and documented local knowledge of how insect taxa provided ecosystem services in agroecosystems, the majority of which were immediately observable in farmers’ daily practice: pest control (n = 26), pollination (n = 4). We suggest that there is a need for greater investigation of local knowledge of the breadth of ecosystem services provided by insects and identify key research areas that are opportunities for investigation.
In vivo imaging of a stable paramagnetic probe by pulsed‐radiofrequency electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy

Imaging of free radicals by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy using time domain acquisition as in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has not been attempted because of the short spin‐spin relaxation times, typically under 1 μs, of most biologically relevant paramagnetic species. Recent advances in radiofrequency (RF) electronics have enabled the generation of pulses of the order of 10–50 ns. Such short pulses provide adequate spectral coverage for EPR studies at 300 MHz resonant frequency. Acquisition of free induction decays (FID) of paramagnetic species possessing inhomogenously broadened narrow lines after pulsed excitation is feasible with an appropriate digitizer/averager. This report describes the use of time‐domain RF EPR spectrometry and imaging for in vivo applications. FID responses were collected from a water‐soluble, narrow line width spin probe within phantom samples in solution and also when infused intravenously in an anesthetized mouse. Using static magnetic field gradients and back‐projection methods of image reconstruction, two‐dimensional images of the spin‐probe distribution were obtained in phantom samples as well as in a mouse. The resolution in the images was better than 0.7 mm and devoid of motional artifacts in the in vivo study. Results from this study suggest a potential use for pulsed RF EPR imaging (EPRI) for three‐dimensional spatial and spectral‐spatial imaging applications. In particular, pulsed EPRI may find use in in vivo studies to minimize motional artifacts from cardiac and lung motion that cause significant problems in frequency‐domain spectral acquisition, such as in continuous wave (cw) EPR techniques.
RSK-Mediated Phosphorylation in the C/EBPβ Leucine Zipper Regulates DNA Binding, Dimerization, and Growth Arrest Activity

ABSTRACT The bZIP transcription factor C/EBPβ is a target of Ras signaling that has been implicated in Ras-induced transformation and oncogene-induced senescence (OIS). To gain insights into Ras-C/EBPβ signaling, we investigated C/EBPβ activation by oncogenic Ras. We show that C/EBPβ DNA binding is autorepressed and becomes activated by the Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK-p90RSK cascade. Inducible phosphorylation by RSK on Ser273 in the leucine zipper was required for DNA binding. In addition, three other modifications (phosphorylation on Tyr109 [p-Tyr109], p-Ser111, and monomethylation of Arg114 [me-Arg114]) within an N-terminal autoinhibitory domain were important for Ras-induced C/EBPβ activation and cytostatic activity. Apart from its role in DNA binding, Ser273 phosphorylation also creates an interhelical g↔e′ salt bridge with Lys268 that increases attractive electrostatic interactions between paired leucine zippers and promotes homodimerization. Mutating Ser273 to Ala or Lys268 to Glu decreased C/EBPβ homodimer formation, whereas heterodimerization with C/EBPγ was relatively unaffected. The S273A substitution also reduced the antiproliferative activity of C/EBPβ in RasV12-expressing fibroblasts and decreased binding to target cell cycle genes, while a phosphomimetic substitution (S273D) maintained growth arrest function. Our findings identify four novel C/EBPβ-activating modifications, including RSK-mediated phosphorylation of a bifunctional residue in the leucine zipper that regulates DNA binding and homodimerization and thereby promotes cell cycle arrest.
Structure of the catalytic fragment of poly(AD-ribose) polymerase from chicken.

The crystal structures of the catalytic fragment of chicken poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase [NAD+ ADP-ribosyltransferase; NAD+:poly(adenosine-diphosphate-D-ribosyl)-acceptor ADP-D-ribosyltransferase, EC 2.4. 2.30] with and without a nicotinamide-analogue inhibitor have been elucidated. Because this enzyme is involved in the regulation of DNA repair, its inhibitors are of interest for cancer therapy. The inhibitor shows the nicotinamide site and also suggests the adenosine site. The enzyme is structurally related to bacterial ADP-ribosylating toxins but contains an additional alpha-helical domain that is suggested to relay the activation signal issued on binding to damaged DNA.
Parents Think Their Sons Are Brighter Than Their Daughters: Sex Differences in Parental Self-Estimations and Estimations of Their Children's Multiple Intelligences

Abstract In this study, 156 participants, predominantly White British adults (M age = 44.3 years) rated themselves on overall IQ and on H. Gardner's (1983) 7 intelligence subtypes. Parents (n = 120) also estimated the intelligence of their children. Men's self-estimates were significantly higher than women's (110.15 vs. 104.84). Participants thought their verbal, mathematical, and spatial intelligence scores were the best indicators of their own overall intelligence. Parents estimated that their sons had significantly higher IQs than their daughters (115.21 vs. 107.49). Self-estimates and estimates of children's multiple intelligences were higher for men and sons, significantly so for logical-mathematical and spatial intelligence. Parents rated 2nd-born daughters as having significantly higher verbal and musical intelligence than their male counterparts. Higher parental IQ self-estimates corresponded with higher IQ estimates for children. Results for 1st-born children were clearest and showed the most significant differences. The findings are interpreted in terms of sociocultural and familial influences and the possibility of actual sex differences in particular abilities.
New Quality‐of‐Life Inventory for Epilepsy Patients: Interim Results

Summary: The process for developing and evaluating a comprehensive, self‐report measure of quality of life in epilepsy (QOLIE) is described, and interim results for 64 patients are reported. A test battery of 98 quality‐of‐life items was constructed with use of the RAND 36‐Item Health Survey as a generic core and adding other quality‐of‐life items, the latter derived from a literature review and expert opinion on areas of importance to people with mild to moderate epilepsy. Seventeen scales tapping unique quality‐of‐life dimensions were identified from this QOLIE test battery. The battery was administered to 64 adults with mild to moderate epilepsy and their proxies (relative or close friend) on two separate visits 2–3 weeks apart. Patients also completed a neuropsychological test battery on the first visit. Interim analysis of these data demonstrated that 16 of 17 scales on the QOLIE test battery are sufficiently reliable for group comparison: Cronbach's alpha for the 16 scales ranged from 0.73 to 0.88; test‐retest reliability ranged from 0.56 to 0.88. Preliminary evaluation of validity confirmed hypothesized correlations between selected QOLIE scales and Profile of Mood State scales. Correlations between patient and proxy scores ranged from 0.29 to 0.69 (all statistically significant at p < 0.005). A more detailed, final analysis of data for over 300 patients currently enrolled in the study will be published later.
Detecting Mobile Malicious Webpages in Real Time

Mobile specific webpages differ significantly from their desktop counterparts in content, layout, and functionality. Accordingly, existing techniques to detect malicious websites are unlikely to work for such webpages. In this paper, we design and implement kAYO, a mechanism that distinguishes between malicious and benign mobile webpages. kAYO makes this determination based on static features of a webpage ranging from the number of iframes to the presence of known fraudulent phone numbers. First, we experimentally demonstrate the need for mobile specific techniques and then identify a range of new static features that highly correlate with mobile malicious webpages. We then apply kAYO to a dataset of over 350,000 known benign and malicious mobile webpages and demonstrate 90 percent accuracy in classification. Moreover, we discover, characterize, and report a number of webpages missed by Google Safe Browsing and VirusTotal, but detected by kAYO. Finally, we build a browser extension using kAYO to protect users from malicious mobile websites in real-time. In doing so, we provide the first static analysis technique to detect malicious mobile webpages.
One-year course and effects of insomnia in rural Chinese adolescents.

STUDY OBJECTIVES We aimed to explore the incidence and persistence of insomnia, the associated risk factors, and the potential bidirectional association of insomnia with depression, anxiety, and sleepiness in rural Chinese adolescents. DESIGN School-based prospective study. SETTING Five high schools in rural China. PARTICIPANTS There were 2,787 adolescents studied. INTERVENTIONS N/A. MEASURES AND RESULTS Insomnia was defined as having a score of equal to or higher than nine in the Insomnia Severity Index as validated in Chinese adolescents. Depression, anxiety, and sleepiness were determined by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), respectively. The incidence and persistence rates of insomnia were 16.0% and 41.0%, respectively. Multivariate analyses in logistic regression models revealed that new incidence of insomnia was significantly associated with age, living in a rural area, habitual daytime napping, high life events, anxiety, and depression at baseline (range adjusted odds ratio = 1.12-1.61), whereas the persistence of insomnia was positively associated with age, female sex, high life events, and depression at baseline (range adjusted odds ratio = 1.26-1.55) but negatively associated with living in a rural area (odds ratio = 0.59). Insomnia at baseline could predict new onsets of both depression (odds ratio = 1.45) and anxiety (odds ratio = 1.98) but not sleepiness at follow-up after adjustment for age, sex, and baseline symptoms. The results in cross-lagged analyses further supported these observations in the bidirectional associations of insomnia with depression, anxiety, and sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS Insomnia has considerable incidence and persistence rates in Chinese adolescents. We have identified several risk factors for the incidence and persistence of insomnia. There are bidirectional associations of insomnia with depression and anxiety but not sleepiness. CITATION Luo C; Zhang J; Pan J. One-year course and effects of insomnia in rural Chinese adolescents. SLEEP 2013;36(3):377-384.
Glycolipid‐Dependent Sorting of Melanosomal from Lysosomal Membrane Proteins by Lumenal Determinants

Melanosomes are lysosome‐related organelles that coexist with lysosomes in mammalian pigment cells. Melanosomal and lysosomal membrane proteins share similar sorting signals in their cytoplasmic tail, raising the question how they are segregated. We show that in control melanocytes, the melanosomal enzymes tyrosinase‐related protein 1 (Tyrp1) and tyrosinase follow an intracellular Golgi to melanosome pathway, whereas in the absence of glycosphingolipids, they are observed to pass over the cell surface. Unexpectedly, the lysosome‐associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP‐1) and 2 behaved exactly opposite: they were found to travel through the cell surface in control melanocytes but followed an intracellular pathway in the absence of glycosphingolipids. Chimeric proteins having the cytoplasmic tail of Tyrp1 or tyrosinase were transported like lysosomal proteins, whereas a LAMP‐1 construct containing the lumenal domain of Tyrp1 localized to melanosomes. In conclusion, the lumenal domain contains sorting information that guides Tyrp1 and probably tyrosinase to melanosomes by an intracellular route that excludes lysosomal proteins and requires glucosylceramide.
The tail domain of lamin B1 is more strongly modulated by divalent cations than lamin A

The nucleoskeleton contains mainly nuclear intermediate filaments made of lamin proteins. Lamins provide nuclear structure and also play a role in various nuclear processes including signal transduction, transcription regulation and chromatin organization. The disparate functions of lamins may be related to the intrinsic disorder of the tail domains, which allows for altered and promiscuous binding. Here, we show modulation of lamin tail domain structures in the presence of divalent cations. We utilize changes in fluorescence of tryptophan residues within the Ig-fold flanked by disordered regions to experimentally measure protein thermodynamics. Using spectroscopy experiments and molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the tail domain of lamin B1 shows enhanced association with both Ca2+ and Mg2+ compared to the tail domain of lamin A. Binding curves show a similar KD between protein and ion (250–300 μM) for both proteins with both ions. However, we observe a maximum binding of ions to lamin B1 tail domain which is 2–3 times greater than that for lamin A tail domain by both experiment and simulation. Using simulations, we show that divalent ion association alters the Ig-fold by pinning flanking regions. With cells in culture, we observe altered lamin B1 organization in the presence of excess Mg2+ more so than for lamin A. We suggest that the differential sensitivity to divalent cations contributes to the vastly different functionalities and binding of the 2 proteins.
A Study of the Relationship Between the Geographic Locations of the User and Participation in Twitter During Different Types of News Events

Twitter is one of the most active social networks in news sharing. People report local events sometimes faster than news agencies. During major events, such as earthquakes and presidential elections, people share tweets, retweets, images and links related to the event, creating an overwhelming number of posts. The amount of data generated by social media provides a shared resource for the discovery of information for individuals, organizations and governments, but the large stream of tweets makes tracking interesting posts a challenging task. Understanding user behavior during different contexts provides substantial insight to get the most out of the social media. The objective of this work is to investigate the relationship between user participation, news type and geographic locations of Twitter’s users. The results show that financial news tweets have distinct user behavior compared to tweets about political events and tweets about disasters. Tweets about financial events tend to have more original tweets and more links, than tweets about political events, which had larger numbers of retweets. The investigation of the relationship between the style of user’s participation and the type of news provides insight for social media management, specifically, for using information diffusion proactively, real time filtering, and location-aware news recommendation systems. We found that there are relationships between the country of the user, the type of news and user tweeting behavior for news related tweets. News type is strongly correlated to users’ behavior and was found to have a stronger relationship to users’ behavior than geographic location.