Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Uptake of Choline and Its Conversion to Glycine Betaine by Bacteria in Estuarine Waters

ABSTRACT The uptake and degradation of nanomolar levels of [methyl-14C]choline in estuarine water samples and in seawater filtrate cultures composed mainly of natural free-living bacteria was studied. Uptake of [14C]choline exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetics, withKt + Sn values of 1.7 to 2.9 nM in filtrate cultures and 1.7 to 4.1 nM in estuarine-water samples. Vmax values ranged from 0.5 to 3.3 nM · h−1. The uptake system for choline in natural microbial assemblages therefore displays very high affinity and appears able to scavenge this compound at the concentrations expected in seawater. Uptake of choline was inhibited by some natural structural analogs and p-chloromercuribenzoate, indicating that the transporter may be multifunctional and may involve a thiol binding site. When 11 nM [14C]choline was added to water samples, a significant fraction (>50%) of the methyl carbon was respired to CO2 in incubations lasting 10 to 53 h. Cells taking up [14C]choline produced [14C]glycine betaine ([14C]GBT), and up to 80% of the radioactivity retained by cells was in the form of GBT, a well-known osmolyte. Alteration of the salinity in filtrate cultures affected the relative proportion of [14C]choline degraded or converted to [14C]GBT, without substantially affecting the total metabolism of choline. Increasing the salinity from 14 to 25 or 35 ppt caused more [14C]GBT to be produced from choline but less 14CO2 to be produced than in the controls. Lowering the salinity to 7 ppt decreased [14C]GBT production and increased14CO2 production slightly. Intracellular accumulations of [14C]GBT in the salt-stressed cultures were osmotically significant (34 mM). Choline may be used as an energy substrate by estuarine bacteria and may also serve as a precursor of the osmoprotectant GBT, particularly as bacteria are mixed into higher-salinity waters.
Life Course Challenges Faced by Siblings of Individuals with Schizophrenia May Increase Risk for Depressive Symptoms.

BACKGROUND Research suggests siblings of individuals with schizophrenia are at a heightened risk for depressive symptomatology. Research has not yet examined whether the strains of growing up with a brother or sister with schizophrenia contribute to this risk. This study examined whether early life course burdens associated with an emerging mental illness, and current objective and subjective caregiver burden predicted depressive symptoms in siblings of individuals with schizophrenia. METHOD Forty-one siblings of individuals with schizophrenia were recruited from a large study of schizophrenia neurobiology to complete a self-administered questionnaire and a neuropsychological test battery. RESULTS Early life course burdens and current objective and subjective burdens explained incremental variance in depressive symptoms of siblings of individuals with schizophrenia after accounting for gender and global neurocognitive function. Higher levels of depressive symptoms among siblings were associated with perceptions of being stigmatized by the community (β=.37, p<.01), and perceiving that the brother or sister's emerging illness negatively impacted the sibling's social life during childhood and adolescence (β=.39, p<.01). Taking on adult responsibilities while the sibling was growing up was found to be protective against depressive symptoms in adulthood (β= -.36, p<.01). CONCLUSIONS Early life course burdens associated with having a sibling with schizophrenia and current subjective burden provide insight into psychosocial factors that may contribute to the risk for depression in this sibling group. Mental health service providers and psychoeducation programs would benefit by considering these factors when developing family-based interventions.
Productive infection and transduction by bacteriophage P1 in the species Salmonella bongori

Abstract Background Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is the most important mechanism in the evolution of new genetic capabilities in bacteria, including specific degradative pathways, virulence factors, and resistance to antibiotics. Among the processes involved in HGT, transduction is noteworthy. This is a mechanism for gene transmission mediated by a bacteriophage that functions both as a reservoir and as a vector of exogenous genes, which remain protected from environmental effects in the bacteriophage's capsid. Within this context, this investigation aimed to evaluate the ability of the generalized transducing bacteriophage P1 to productively infect and transduce in the bacterial species Salmonella bongori. Results We could establish that a derivative of bacteriophage P1, P1Cm, infects strains of S. bongori with frequencies of lysogenization in the order of ~ 10−2 lysogens/UFP. Through thermal induction, infective viral progeny was obtained, and we could show that P1Cm readily formed plaques on S. bongori lawns, a phenomenon thus far not reported for other members of the genus Salmonella. Finally, we showed P1Cm-mediated transduction of the model plasmid RP4 at frequencies of ~ 10−7 transductants/donor. Conclusion Therefore, bacteriophage P1 can be used as a tool for the genetic manipulation in the species S. bongori. How to cite: Riquelme NA, Leon MF, Santander JA, et al. Productive infection and transduction by bacteriophage P1 in the species Salmonella bongori. Electron J Biotechnol 2019;41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt. 2019.04. 011.
Winning Digital Citizens: a Model and Instrument

Citizens may not always be right, but governments are recognizing their right to exercise more control over their public service experience. As government agencies increasingly explore the use of digital capabilities to empower citizens and increase their engagement, Gov2.0 has emerged as an enabler and an enhancer of citizen engagement. Government agencies that adjust their engagement models to include one or more of these tools stand to gain engaged digital citizens who are more empowered with positive engagement experiences. However, little research has been done on citizen empowerment to realize public value via citizen participation and satisfaction. Our understanding about the drivers that encourage citizen to participate via Gov2.0 is limited due to the lack of rigorous research that covers issues beyond the e-government field. Therefore, this paper discusses a transdisciplinary model that identifies the relevant empowerment dimensions that affect citizen participation and satisfaction. This paper extends prior literature by evaluating citizen empowerment as a precedent of citizen participation and satisfaction, which in turn is expected to enhance public value. Further, it proposes a validated research instrument that can be employed in citizen’s survey. It can also be used as an evaluation tool to identify, measure, and manage citizen participation via Gov2.0. Implications of the study suggest a need to consider citizen empowerment in understanding citizen participation and satisfaction.
Détection d'intrusions : de l'utilisation de signatures statistiques

Resume. Garantir la securite des serveurs web devient un enjeu majeur pour les entreprises ou les organisations et il devient de plus en plus difficile de detecter parmi les differentes requetes celles qui correspondent a un comportement normal de celles qui correspondent a un comportement malveillant. Meme s’il existe des Systemes de Detection d’Intrusions (SDI), ces derniers ne sont malheureusement pas ou plus adaptees aux nouvelles attaques. Motives par ce constat, les chercheurs de la communaute fouille de donnees s’interessent de plus en plus a la detection de fraudes dans les reseaux. Dans cet article nous proposons une nouvelle approche de detection de fraudes basee sur un parametrage automatique du comportement des requetes normales et de la distribution de valeurs d’attributs. Les connaissances extraites representees sous la forme de signatures statistiques peuvent alors etre utilisees pour rechercher efficacement des comportements malveillants dans le flot de requetes. Enfin, de maniere a prendre en compte les nouveaux services et minimiser les fausses alarmes, nous maintenons de maniere incrementale les signatures. L’approche proposee a ete experimentee sur des jeux de donnees reelles et a montre une precision de plus de 99.98% pour la prediction de requetes valides et un taux de faux positifs de moins de 9.88%.
Sommes-nous les premiers lecteurs de l'Encyclopédie ?

Les historiens du livre ne cessent de le rappeler : les temoignages directs d'experiences de lecture sous l'Ancien Regime sont rares (Chartier, 1990). C'est encore plus vrai des lectures de dictionnaires et d'encyclopedies a l'âge classique : comment les lecteurs du XVIIIe siecle, pour ne prendre qu'un exemple, lisaient-ils l'Encyclopedie de Diderot et D'Alembert ? A part les travaux de Jacques Proust et de Francoise Jouffroy-Gauja et Jean Haechler, presque tout reste a faire en ce domaine. Au moment ou l'Encyclopedie est disponible sur divers supports numeriques — base de donnees sur le Web, cederom, devederom — et ou ces supports deviennent l'objet de travaux critiques — Recherches sur Diderot et sur l'Encyclopedie, 31-32, avril 2002; Morrissey et Roger, 2001; Stewart, 2002 —, il y a peut-etre lieu de reflechir sur de nouvelles bases a des questions sans cesse evoquees par la critique. Trois exemples : le travail sur une edition numerique change-t-il quoi que ce soit a la reflexion sur le pretendu «systeme» des renvois de l'Encyclopedie ? que penser du rapport entre articles et planches maintenant que leur consultation croisee est facilitee ? que faire des «rubriques» qui apparaissent a la suite de l'intitule des articles ? A partir de ces trois exemples, il s'agira de se demander si nous ne sommes pas, grâce au numerique, les premiers lecteurs de l'Encyclopedie.
Formaliser les rôles et les territoires par les systèmes multi-agents institutionnels

Les institutions et les normes ont ete traites de differentes facons : par la modelisation des dynamiques sociales du point de vue de l'anthropologie du droit avec une multiplicite d'interpretations legales des acteurs, des objets et des actions, en philosophie sur le role des definitions dans les institutions a travers les normes constitutives, et dans le domaine des systemes multi-agents pour specifier les interactions entre agents a travers une multiplicite de roles. Nous proposons dans ce papier une synthese permettant de traiter conjointement la multiplicite des interpretations, des normes constitutives et des structures de roles. Nous proposons egalement une specification de systemes multi-agents institutionnels spatialises, montrant sa capacite a rendre compte syntaxiquement et semantiquement de cette synthese. En particulier, nous montrons comment cette multiplicite interpretative structure l'espace en autant de territoires. (Resume d'auteur)
Genetics of insect vectors of disease.

ginning as a basis for more detaile.d conside.rati~ns ~ith specific types of compounds. SpecIal attentIon IS gIven to the interactions of organophosphates with cholinesterase and the ion permeability of insect nerve, areas of special interest to the author and of general importance. The author has sifted the literature into firm and tentative findings, fact, and opinion. Metabolic pathways are mentioned for representatives of each class of compounds, with no attempt at completeness.
Acute Toxic Effects of Club Drugs

Abstract This article summarizes the short-term physiological toxicity and the adverse behavioral effects of four substances (GHB, ketamine, MDMA, and Rohypnol®) that have been used at late-night dance clubs. The two primary data sources were case studies of human fatalities and experimental studies with laboratory animals. A safety ratio was calculated for each substance based on its estimated lethal dose and its customary recreational dose. GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) appears to be the most physiologically toxic; Rohypnol® (flunitrazepam) appears to be the least physiologically toxic. The single most risk-producing behavior of club drug users is combining psychoactive substances, usually involving alcohol. Hazardous drug-use sequelae such as accidents, aggressive behavior, and addiction were not factored into the safety ratio estimates.
PEPr: Post-Edit Propagation Using Phrase-based Statistical Machine Translation

Translators who work by post-editing machine translation output often find themselves repeatedly correcting the same errors. We propose a method for Post-edit Propagation (PEPr), which learns posteditor corrections and applies them on-thefly to further MT output. Our proposal is based on a phrase-based SMT system, used in an automatic post-editing (APE) setting with online learning. Simulated experiments on a variety of data sets show that for documents with high levels of internal repetition, the proposed mechanism could substantially reduce the post-editing effort.
Bulk inversion in FinFETs and implied insights on effective gate width

Relative values of on-state current in undoped-body double-gate (DG) and triple-gate (TG) FinFETs are examined via three-dimensional numerical device simulations. The simulation results reveal significant bulk inversion in the fin bodies, which limits the benefit of the third (top) gate in the TG FinFET and which negates the utility of the commonly defined effective gate width (W/sub eff/=2h/sub Si/+w/sub Si/). Even the concept of W/sub eff/ for the TG FinFET is invalidated, but the proper W/sub eff/ for the DG FinFET is defined. Physical insights attained from the simulations further solidify our notion, based previously on gate layout-area inefficiency, that the third gate is neither desirable nor beneficial.
RESOCIALIZATION THROUGH A NOVEL GROUP THERAPY APPROACH : A PILOT STUDY 2 Person to Contact

Set within a fragmented community, The Family: People Helping People (Family) project is a group therapy model that aims to facilitate cultural resocialization through personal transformation. The Family models a nuclear family, and employs a novel, open discussion approach to address various psychosocial issues within the context of the Bahamian society. A pilot study investigated changes in disenfranchised individuals who participated in The Family over a six-month period, and revealed some significant changes in emotional and behavioral trends after treatment. Statistical analysis of the pilot study showed significant decreases in feelings of depression, suicidality, anger and vengefulness, and increases in significant feelings of self-esteem and intimacy with others. Negative behaviors, such as illegal activity and participation in abusive relationships, decreased, while the quality of family relationships and benevolence increased. Gratitude and forgiveness were recurring themes expressed by participants in the study, suggesting their key role in resocialization. This Family group therapy model may be applicable to different populations, and may be a useful tool in fostering community resocialization.
Cortical and subcortical correlates of functional electrical stimulation of wrist extensor and flexor muscles revealed by fMRI

The main scope of this study was to test the feasibility and reliability of FES in a MR‐environment. Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is used in the rehabilitation therapy of patients after stroke or spinal cord injury to improve their motor abilities. Its principle lies in applying repeated electrical stimulation to the relevant nerves or muscles for eliciting either isometric or concentric contractions of the treated muscles. In this study we report cerebral activation patterns in healthy subjects undergoing fMRI during FES stimulation. We stimulated the wrist extensor and flexor muscles in an alternating pattern while BOLD‐fMRI was recorded. We used both block and event‐related designs to demonstrate their feasibility for recording FES activation in the same cortical and subcortical areas. Six out of fifteen subjects repeated the experiment three times within the same session to control intraindividual variance. In both block and event‐related design, the analysis revealed an activation pattern comprising the contralateral primary motor cortex, primary somatosensory cortex and premotor cortex; the ipsilateral cerebellum; bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex, the supplementary motor area and anterior cingulate cortex. Within the same subjects we observed a consistent replication of the activation pattern shown in overlapping regions centered on the peak of activation. Similar time course within these regions were demonstrated in the event‐related design. Thus, both techniques demonstrate reliable activation of the sensorimotor network and eventually can be used for assessing plastic changes associated with FES rehabilitation treatment. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Tactile Behaviors with the Vision-Based Tactile Sensor FingerVision

This paper introduces a vision-based tactile sensor FingerVision, and explores its usefulness in tactile behaviors. FingerVision consists of a transparent elastic skin marked with dots, and a camera that is easy to fabricate, low cost, and physically robust. Unlike other vision-based tactile sensors, the complete transparency of the FingerVision skin provides multimodal sensation. The modalities sensed by FingerVision include distributions of force and slip, and object information such as distance, location, pose, size, shape, and texture. The slip detection is very sensitive since it is obtained by computer vision directly applied to the output from the FingerVision camera. It provides high-resolution slip detection, which does not depend on the contact force, i.e., it can sense slip of a lightweight object that generates negligible contact force. The tactile behaviors explored in this paper include manipulations that utilize this feature. For example, we demonstrate that grasp adaptation with FingerVision can grasp origami, and other deformable and fragile objects such as vegetables, fruits, and raw eggs.
Heavy metal pollution in soils from abandoned Taizhou Chemical Industry Zone in Zhejiang province

Heavy metal (HM) pollution in soils from an abandoned Taizhou Chemical Industry Zone (TCIZ) was investigated. By analysing soils, including sediments, collected from the study zone, the main pollutants were quantitatively identified and their spatial distribution patterns were clearly displayed. Eleven types of HM pollutants were obtained and the results indicated a significant correlation in most of the elements of the soil and sediment. A pollution index Pi was employed to classify the degree of contamination and characterize the main pollutant, which was controlled with the evaluation standard value instead of background one. As was characterized to be one of the main pollutants with the mean concentrations at the pollution source, in the surrounding area, and in the sediment of 603, 20.4, and 22.5 mg/kg, respectively. Our study suggested that the contaminated area of TCIZ may necessitate remediation before it can be considered for reuse. Pollution index method could be a useful tool for assessing soils quality to provide comparable criteria.
Protective Function of Novel Fungal Immunomodulatory Proteins Fip-lti1 and Fip-lti2 from Lentinus tigrinus in Concanavalin A-Induced Liver Oxidative Injury

Fungal immunomodulatory proteins (FIPs) are a class of small proteins that have been extensively studied for their immunomodulatory activities. In this study, two novel FIPs from Lentinus tigrinus were identified and named Fip-lti1 and Fip-lti2. The bioactive characteristics of Fip-lti1 and Fip-lti2 were compared to a well-known FIP (LZ-8 from Ganoderma lucidum) to investigate the effect of Fip-lti1 and Fip-lti2 expression on concanavalin A- (Con A-) induced liver oxidative injury. Both Fip-lti1 and Fip-lti2 protected the livers from Con A-induced necrosis, as evidenced by decreased serum aminotransferase levels (AST, ALT) and relieved liver histology. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) and oxidative stress (SOD, MDA) were shown to be reduced by expressing Fip-lti1 and Fip-lti2. In addition, the hepatoprotective effect of Fip-lti1, Fip-lti2, and LZ-8 correlated with ameliorating the imbalance of Th1/Th2 (IFN-γ/IL-4). The observed liver protection of Fip-lti1 and Fip-lti2 was mechanistically explored. Treatments with Fip-lti1 and Fip-lti2 regulated GATA3/T-bet expression, activated the decreased Nrf-2/HO-1 pathway, and countered the upregulated NLRP3/ASC/NF-κBp65 signaling in Con A-stimulated liver injury. Nrf2 activation was shown to be involved in the mechanisms underlying the protection of Fip-lti by RNA interference. In conclusion, we identified two new fungal proteins (Fip-lti1 and Fip-lti2) that can protect the liver from Con A-induced liver oxidative injury through the Nrf2/NF-κB/NLRP3/IL-1β pathway.
Universal /spl mu/-power log-domain biquad based on bulk-driven MOSFET

A universal continuous-time CMOS biquad filter using novel CMOS bulk driven log-domain integrators is presented. The proposed biquad is simulated by using CMOSP 0.18-/spl mu/m technology parameters offered by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) with a 1.8 V power supply, 10 KHz pole-frequency f/sub o/ unity pole-quality factor Q and bias current of 3.0 nA. The total power dissipation is 20 nW/pole. Also, the sensitivity performances of the filter with respect to device mismatches are simulated in CMOSP 0.18-/spl mu/m SPECTRE using the Monte Carlo analysis.
Match between Cue and Memory Valence during Autobiographical Memory Recall in Depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with deficits in recalling specific autobiographical memories. The current study goal was to assess whether emotionally valenced cue words led to memories of similar emotional valence and whether this pattern differed between 12 unmedicated MDD and 14 healthy control participants. Both groups recalled autobiographical memories in response to positive, negative, and neutral cue words. Positive and neutral cues prompted recall of positive memories less often in the MDD group than in the controls. MDD participants recalled fewer specific and more categorical memories than controls; however, the proportion of specific memories didn't differ across memory valences. The MDD group had fewer specific memories in response to positive and neutral cues than the controls. These results suggest that the MDD participants may process positive stimuli differently than healthy controls and that their recall of specific autobiographical memories is impaired, regardless of the affective valence of those memories.
Optimal Approximation Algorithms for Reoptimization of Constraint Satisfaction Problems

The purpose of reoptimization using approximation methods—application of knowledge about the solution of the initial instance I, provided to achieve a better quality of approximation (approximation ratio) of an algorithm for determining optimal or close to it solutions of some “minor” changes of instance I. To solve the problem Ins-Max-EkCSP-P (reoptimization of Max-EkCSP-P with the addition of one constraint) with approximation resistant predicate P exists a polynomial threshold (optimal)     q P  -approximation algorithm, where           1 2 2 1 k P 1 2 2 q P d P q P     