Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental confirmation of Kelvin's equilibria.

We experimentally corroborate the core analytical deductions of Thomson's 124-year-old theorem, vis-à-vis the stability of a ring of N vortices. Observations made in water vortices produced inside a cylinder via a revolving disk confirm that the regular N-gons are stable for N<or=6 and unstable for N>or=8. The N<or=6 equilibria are exceptionally resilient. When destroyed, they reemerge in their original form. We reason that the heptagonal system either survives in an exceedingly narrow band of disk speeds or is in theory critically stable. Contrary to the results with a rotating bottom reported by Jansson et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 174502 (2006)10.1103/PhysRevLett.96. 174502], we show the interfacial axial symmetry does not break spontaneously but through spectral development, the functional relationship amongst the polygon rotation and disk speed is surprisingly simple, and the pattern to disk frequency ratio depends on both Froude and wave numbers.
Magnetic Shielding Effectiveness of Enclosures in Near Field at Low Frequency for Automotive Applications

In this paper, a modeling methodology is presented in order to calculate the magnetic shielding effectiveness at low frequency in the near field of enclosures with a slot. The so-called hybrid approach combining analytical and numerical methods is developed and validated experimentally. The application concerns an enclosure with a slot for electric and hybrid vehicles. The developed technique allows finding the order of magnitude of radiated fields for electromagnetic compatibility design in a very short time.
Stability analysis of difference scheme for high power microwave atmosphere propagation model

In this paper, the stability of the one dimensional (1D) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) difference scheme for the high power microwave (HPM) atmosphere propagation model is analyzed. The derivation shows that the conventional Courant condition is still valid when the time step meets the constraint imposed by the collision frequency. Our conclusion confirms that the FDTD method is available in this case. This work provides a theoretical basis for the study of non-linear problems about HPM propagation in the atmosphere.
Unexpected occasional persistence of high levels of HHV‐6 DNA in sera: Detection of variants A and B

Previously it was thought that in the immunocompetent human herpesvirus‐6 [HHV‐6] DNA was present transiently in serum during early primary infection but not thereafter. In this study, HHV‐6 serum IgG avidity was detected by immunofluorescence and HHV‐6 variants A/B [HHV‐6A/B] serum DNA by semi‐quantitative PCR [titre—log10 copies/ml] in: (a) young children <3 years old from an encephalitis Survey, and a control Anonymised Serum Bank and (b) children/adults referred for diagnosis. The results showed that 11 out of 15 children [all <2 years] with primary infection proven by seroconversion had transient low levels of serum HHV‐6B DNA [mean titre 2.6]. However, 3.3% (6/184) of Survey Children had significantly higher levels [mean titre 5.3; 2 HHV‐6A; 4 HHV‐6B; P < 0.001]. Similarly high level serum DNA [mean titre 4.0; 4 HHV‐6A; 6 HHV‐6B] was found in 1.5% (10/653) of the Serum Bank Children. Moreover, seven young children <3 years old [four Survey Children and three referred for diagnosis] had high titre serum HHV‐6 DNA [mean 4.8] persisting i.e., in all available samples [median 186 days]. Three older children >3 years old and 4 adults [3 of whom were the mothers of 3 of the young children with persisting HHV‐6] also had persisting high titre viral DNA [mean 4.2; median 108 days]. Thus in contrast to acute primary infection, where only HHV‐6B DNA is found transiently, both HHV‐6A and B DNA persist in serum at high titre in occasional individuals of all ages. The significance of this newly described phenomenon in relation to diagnosis, clinical consequences and congenital infection are discussed. J. Med. Virol. 76:563–570, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Implications of metabotropic glutamate receptor structures for drug discovery in neurotherapeutics

Recent technological advances in the field of membrane protein structural biology have led to significantly improved success rates in the structure resolution of G protein-coupled receptors. Apart from gaining insight into the mechanics of receptor biology, these technical advances facilitate the application of structure-based drug discovery to G protein-coupled receptors. Structure-based drug discovery has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency and success rate of drug discovery campaigns against this important family of drug targets. Recently, structures of mGlu1 and mGlu5 transmembrane domains were reported in complex with negative allosteric modulators. Analysis of these structures reveals a fascinating insight into the historical difficulties associated with the drug discovery efforts for these receptors and provides an important novel template for structure-based drug discovery approaches to identify more diverse and better quality chemotypes.
Type III Pilus of Corynebacteria: Pilus Length Is Determined by the Level of Its Major Pilin Subunit

ABSTRACT Multiple pilus gene clusters have been identified in several gram-positive bacterial genomes sequenced to date, including the Actinomycetales, clostridia, streptococci, and corynebacteria. The genome of Corynebacterium diphtheriae contains three pilus gene clusters, two of which have been previously characterized. Here, we report the characterization of the third pilus encoded by the spaHIG cluster. By using electron microscopy and biochemical analysis, we demonstrate that SpaH forms the pilus shaft, while SpaI decorates the structure and SpaG is largely located at the pilus tip. The assembly of the SpaHIG pilus requires a specific sortase located within the spaHIG pilus gene cluster. Deletion of genes specific for the synthesis and polymerization of the other two pilus types does not affect the SpaHIG pilus. Moreover, SpaH but not SpaI or SpaG is essential for the formation of the filament. When expressed under the control of an inducible promoter, the amount of the SpaH pilin regulates pilus length; no pili are assembled from an SpaH precursor that has an alanine in place of the conserved lysine of the SpaH pilin motif. Thus, the spaHIG pilus gene cluster encodes a pilus structure that is independently assembled and antigenically distinct from other pili of C. diphtheriae. We incorporate these findings in a model of sortase-mediated pilus assembly that may be applicable to many gram-positive pathogens.
The feasibility of creating a checklist for the assessment of the methodological quality both of randomised and non-randomised studies of health care interventions.

OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility of creating a valid and reliable checklist with the following features: appropriate for assessing both randomised and non-randomised studies; provision of both an overall score for study quality and a profile of scores not only for the quality of reporting, internal validity (bias and confounding) and power, but also for external validity. DESIGN: A pilot version was first developed, based on epidemiological principles, reviews, and existing checklists for randomised studies. Face and content validity were assessed by three experienced reviewers and reliability was determined using two raters assessing 10 randomised and 10 non-randomised studies. Using different raters, the checklist was revised and tested for internal consistency (Kuder-Richardson 20), test-retest and inter-rater reliability (Spearman correlation coefficient and sign rank test; kappa statistics), criterion validity, and respondent burden. MAIN RESULTS: The performance of the checklist improved considerably after revision of a pilot version. The Quality Index had high internal consistency (KR-20: 0.89) as did the subscales apart from external validity (KR-20: 0.54). Test-retest (r 0.88) and inter-rater (r 0.75) reliability of the Quality Index were good. Reliability of the subscales varied from good (bias) to poor (external validity). The Quality Index correlated highly with an existing, established instrument for assessing randomised studies (r 0.90). There was little difference between its performance with non-randomised and with randomised studies. Raters took about 20 minutes to assess each paper (range 10 to 45 minutes). CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown that it is feasible to develop a checklist that can be used to assess the methodological quality not only of randomised controlled trials but also non-randomised studies. It has also shown that it is possible to produce a checklist that provides a profile of the paper, alerting reviewers to its particular methodological strengths and weaknesses. Further work is required to improve the checklist and the training of raters in the assessment of external validity.
The heteromorphology of cultured microvascular endothelial cells.

Endothelial cells alter morphology easily when culture conditions change. One has omitted to test carefully whether this heteromorphology represents constitutional differences which are maintained in culture. Cells were isolated from the microvascular tree of the bovine corpus luteum by mechanical disintegration, i.e. without collagenase treatment. From these cells, 5 phenotypes were purified which formed epithelial monolayers of stable morphology in long-term culture. Each phenotype showed criteria typical of endothelial cells. The criteria were incompletely present in phenotype 5. Differences between the phenotypes related to the structure of the cytoskeleton, the fibronectin matrix and to the expression of cell-cell adhesion molecules from the cadherin family and the NCAM (neuronal cell adhesion molecule) group. Mesothelial cells, pericytes, myocytes as well as luteal cells were considered for differential diagnosis. The present results point to a heterogeneous distribution pattern of endothelial cells within the microvascular tree of a single organ.
Steady corner detection for calibration in underwater environment

Meanshift algorithm has been widely used in the fields of image filtering, image segmentation and object tracking. This article tries using Meanshift algorithm in corner detection. For camera calibration in the underwater environment, the article proposed a corner detection method based on Harris corner detection and Meanshift algorithm. First, calculate the Harris corner and the dot product between the shift vector and gradient vector of the underwater chessboard image, and combine the two characteristics to generate the probability density of right-angle corner measure, then take the Harris corner as the initial value, use the Meanshift algorithm to calculate high-precision corner locations and identify the false corners to remove them. The results of experiments show that the algorithm can achieve sub-pixel precision, and is suitable for calibration of underwater camera.
Clinical evaluation of the effects of immobilization followed by remobilization and exercise on the metacarpophalangeal joint in horses.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate clinical effects of immobilization followed by remobilization and exercise on the metacarpophalangeal joint (MPJ) in horses. ANIMALS 5 healthy horses. PROCEDURE After lameness, radiographic, and force plate examinations to determine musculoskeletal health, 1 forelimb of each horse was immobilized in a fiberglass cast for 7 weeks, followed by cast removal and increasing amounts of exercise, beginning with hand-walking and ending with treadmill exercise. Lameness examination, arthrocentesis of both MPJ, single-emulsion radiographic examination, nuclear scintigraphic examination, ground-reaction force-plate analysis, and computed tomographic examination were done at various times during the study. RESULTS All horses were lame in the immobilized MPJ after cast removal; lameness improved slightly with exercise. Force plate analysis revealed a significant difference in peak forces between immobilized and contralateral limbs 2 weeks after cast removal. Range of motion of the immobilized MPJ was significantly decreased, and joint circumference was significantly increased, compared with baseline values, during the exercise period. Osteopenia was subjectively detected in the immobilized limbs. Significant increase in the uptake of radionucleotide within bones of the immobilized MPJ after cast removal and at the end of the study were detected. Loss of mineral opacity, increased vascular channels in the subchondral bone, and thickening within the soft tissues of the immobilized MPJ were detected. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicate that 8 weeks of enforced exercise after 7 weeks of joint immobilization did not restore joint function or values for various joint measurements determined prior to immobilization.
Assessment of Specificity of the Badcamp Agility test for Badminton Players

Abstract The Badcamp agility test was created to evaluate agility of badminton players. The Badcamp is a valid and reliable test, however, a doubt about the need for the use of this test exists as simpler tests could provide similar information about agility in badminton players. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the specificity of the Badcamp, comparing the performance of badminton players and athletes from other sports in the Badcamp and the shuttle run agility test (SRAT). Sixty-four young male and female athletes aged between 14 and 16 years participated in the study. They were divided into 4 groups of 16 according to their sport practices: badminton, tennis, team sport (basketball and volleyball), and track and field. We compared the groups in both tests, the Badcamp and SRAT. The results revealed that the group of badminton players was faster compared to all other groups in the Badcamp. However, in the SRAT there were no differences among groups composed of athletes from open skill sports (e.g., badminton, tennis, and team sports), and a considerable reduction of the difference between badminton players and track and field athletes. Thus, we concluded that the Badcamp test is a specific agility test for badminton players and should be considered in evaluating athletes of this sport modality.
Liposomal topotecan formulation with a low polyethylene glycol grafting density: pharmacokinetics and antitumour activity

Objectives PEGylated liposomes could evade recognition by the reticulo‐endothelial system and prolong the circulation time of vesicles, resulting in enhanced targeting efficiency and antitumour effect. Typically, vesicles are modified with distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DSPE)‐polyethylene glycol (PEG) at a high PEG grafting density. However, long circulation time and slow drug release rate might induce severe hand‐foot syndrome in clinical practice. In this study, a liposomal topotecan formulation with a low PEG grafting density was prepared and its pharmacokinetics, acute toxicity and antitumour effect were investigated.
A 0.5-V 8-bit 10-Ms/s Pipelined ADC in 90-nm CMOS

This paper presents a pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC) operating from a 0.5-V supply voltage. The ADC uses true low-voltage design techniques that do not require any on-chip supply or clock voltage boosting. The switch OFF leakage in the sampling circuit is suppressed using a cascaded sampling technique. A front-end signal-path sample-and-hold amplifier (SHA) is avoided by using a coarse auxiliary sample and hold (S/H) for the sub-ADC and by synchronizing the sub-ADC and pipeline-stage sampling circuit. A 0.5-V operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) is presented that provides inter-stage amplification with an 8-bit performance for the pipelined ADC operating at 10 Ms/s. The chip was fabricated on a standard 90 nm CMOS technology and measures 1.2 mm times 1.2 mm. The prototype chip has eight identical stages and stage scaling was not used. It consumes 2.4 mW for 10-Ms/s operation. Measured peak SNDR is 48.1 dB and peak SFDR is 57.2 dB for a full-scale sinusoidal input. Maximal integral nonlinearity and differential nonlinearity are 1.19 and 0.55 LSB, respectively.
Bombyx mori Nucleopolyhedrovirus Encodes a DNA-Binding Protein Capable of Destabilizing Duplex DNA

ABSTRACT A DNA-binding protein (designated DBP) with an apparent molecular mass of 38 kDa was purified to homogeneity from BmN cells (derived fromBombyx mori) infected with the B. morinucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV). Six peptides obtained after digestion of the isolated protein with Achromobacter protease I were partially or completely sequenced. The determined amino acid sequences indicated that DBP was encoded by an open reading frame (ORF16) located at nucleotides (nt) 16189 to 17139 in the BmNPV genome (GenBank accession no. L33180 ). This ORF (designated dbp) is a homolog of Autographa californica multicapsid NPV ORF25, whose product has not been identified. BmNPV DBP is predicted to contain 317 amino acids (calculated molecular mass of 36.7 kDa) and to have an isoelectric point of 7.8. DBP showed a tendency to multimerization in the course of purification and was found to bind preferentially to single-stranded DNA. When bound to oligonucleotides, DBP protected them from hydrolysis by phage T4 DNA polymerase-associated 3′→5′ exonuclease. The sizes of the protected fragments indicated that a binding site size for DBP is about 30 nt per protein monomer. DBP, but not BmNPV LEF-3, was capable of unwinding partial DNA duplexes in an in vitro system. This helix-destabilizing ability is consistent with the prediction that DBP functions as a single-stranded DNA binding protein in virus replication.
Genetic Polymorphisms of Adhesion Molecules and Kidney Transplant Survival

Background. Adhesion molecules play a key role in the recruitment of leukocytes to sites of inflammation. Genetic polymorphisms of adhesion molecules may alter their expression or function and may thereby influence the process of leukocyte infiltration in the transplanted organ. It has also been suggested that polymorphic adhesion molecules may act as minor histocompatibility antigens. Methods. In two randomly selected cohorts (954 and 1002 kidney transplants), the effect of L-selectin/CD62L (codon 206 and 213), platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1/CD31; codon 125, 563, and 670), and activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM/CD166; codon 258) single nucleotide polymorphisms on 5-yr allograft survival was investigated. DNA samples and clinical data were provided by the Collaborative Transplant Study. Recipients and donors were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primer. A multivariate analysis was performed using a Cox regression model. Results. Incompatibility for L-selectin at codon 213 was significantly associated with better graft survival in the first cohort, but the effect could not be replicated in the second cohort. Polymorphisms of PECAM-1 and ALCAM had no impact on graft outcome. Conclusions. This is the first comprehensive and large-scale study on the relevance of L-selectin, PECAM-1, and ALCAM genetic polymorphisms in kidney transplantation, showing no significant associations of recipient or donor genotypes with allograft survival. Because the effect of L-selectin mismatch was not reproducible, a putative role of adhesion molecules as minor histocompatibility antigens cannot be confirmed. Our results demonstrate the importance of testing large sample sizes and of performing confirmation studies to validate genetic associations.
Identification of a cyclin-cdk2 recognition motif present in substrates and p21-like cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors

Understanding how cyclin-cdk complexes recognize their substrates is a central problem in cell cycle biology. We identified an E2F1-derived eight-residue peptide which blocked the binding of cyclin A and E-cdk2 complexes to E2F1 and p21. Short peptides spanning similar sequences in p107, p130, and p21-like cdk inhibitors likewise bound to cyclin A-cdk2 and cyclin E-cdk2. In addition, these peptides promoted formation of stable cyclin A-cdk2 complexes in vitro but inhibited the phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein by cyclin A- but not cyclin B-associated kinases. Mutation of the cyclin-cdk2 binding motifs in p107 and E2F1 likewise prevented their phosphorylation by cyclin A-associated kinases in vitro. The cdk inhibitor p21 was found to contain two functional copies of this recognition motif, as determined by in vitro kinase binding/inhibition assays and in vivo growth suppression assays. Thus, these studies have identified a cyclin A- and E-cdk2 substrate recognition motif. Furthermore, these data suggest that p21-like cdk inhibitors function, at least in part, by blocking the interaction of substrates with cyclin-cdk2 complexes.
Myb-binding Protein 1a (Mybbp1a) Regulates Levels and Processing of Pre-ribosomal RNA*

Background: rRNA gene transcription and processing have to be coordinated, as they are intimately linked. Results: Mybbp1a regulates RNA Pol I transcription and pre-rRNA processing. Conclusion: Mybbp1a coordinates both processes. Significance: Mybbp1a was shown to be an important regulator of cellular proliferation, related to RNA Pol II genes. We link its function now as well to regulating RNA Pol I genes and to control ribosome biogenesis. Ribosomal RNA gene transcription, co-transcriptional processing, and ribosome biogenesis are highly coordinated processes that are tightly regulated during cell growth. In this study we discovered that Mybbp1a is associated with both the RNA polymerase I complex and the ribosome biogenesis machinery. Using a reporter assay that uncouples transcription and RNA processing, we show that Mybbp1a represses rRNA gene transcription. In addition, overexpression of the protein reduces RNA polymerase I loading on endogenous rRNA genes as revealed by chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments. Accordingly, depletion of Mybbp1a results in an accumulation of the rRNA precursor in vivo but surprisingly also causes growth arrest of the cells. This effect can be explained by the observation that the modulation of Mybbp1a protein levels results in defects in pre-rRNA processing within the cell. Therefore, the protein may play a dual role in the rRNA metabolism, potentially linking and coordinating ribosomal DNA transcription and pre-rRNA processing to allow for the efficient synthesis of ribosomes.
New Service Ventures – Struggling for Survival

While the tertiary sector of the economy is, in most countries, the dominating one, the entrepreneurial activity of this sector accounts for about 83% of the total entrepreneurial activity (KfW, 2011). Facing this fact little has been said about the peculiarities and challenges new service ventures have to face in general, i.e. beyond the particular issues of certain service industries. This paper intends to fill this gap. It is argued that there are in fact general peculiarities of service ventures that make a difference to other modes of venturing. More, due to the very nature of services, ventures of this realm face particular problems of achieving a state of sustaining establishment in the target market. To address these challenges in more detail, we introduce the ‘liabilities of serviceness’ as another category of liabilities young firms typically face beside the well-known liabilities of newness, adolescence, and smallness (King, 2006). As a consequence, the drop-out rate in many service industries is very high. Accordingly, we consider the struggling for survival of new service ventures an appropriate sub-title of this chapter. To better understand this process and to focus our analysis we raise the guiding question which factors particularly make a difference at the cross-road of survival and failure.