Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Priming plus Papillomavirus E6 DNA Vaccination: Effects on Papilloma Formation and Regression in the Cottontail Rabbit Papillomavirus-Rabbit Model

ABSTRACT A cottontail rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV) E6 DNA vaccine that induces significant protection against CRPV challenge was used in a superior vaccination regimen in which the cutaneous sites of vaccination were primed with an expression vector encoding granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a cytokine that induces differentiation and local recruitment of professional antigen-presenting cells. This treatment induced a massive influx of major histocompatibility complex class II-positive cells. In a vaccination-challenge experiment, rabbit groups were treated by E6 DNA vaccination, GM-CSF DNA inoculation, or a combination of both treatments. After two immunizations, rabbits were challenged with CRPV at low, moderate, and high stringencies and monitored for papilloma formation. As expected, all clinical outcomes were monotonically related to the stringency of the viral challenge. The results demonstrate that GM-CSF priming greatly augmented the effects of CRPV E6 vaccination. First, challenge sites in control rabbits (at the moderate challenge stringency) had a 0% probability of remaining disease free, versus a 50% probability in E6-vaccinated rabbits, and whereas GM-CSF alone had no effect, the interaction between GM-CSF priming and E6 vaccination increased disease-free survival to 67%. Second, the incubation period before papilloma onset was lengthened by E6 DNA vaccination alone or to some extent by GM-CSF DNA inoculation alone, and the combination of treatments induced additive effects. Third, the rate of papilloma growth was reduced by E6 vaccination and, to a lesser extent, by GM-CSF treatment. In addition, the interaction between the E6 and GM-CSF treatments was synergistic and yielded more than a 99% reduction in papilloma volume. Finally, regression occurred among the papillomas that formed in rabbits treated with the E6 vaccine and/or with GM-CSF, with the highest regression frequency occurring in rabbits that received the combination treatment.
Academic Writing and Grammatical Accuracy: The Role of Corrective Feedback

Las investigaciones sobre el efecto de proporcionar retroalimentacion correctiva sobre escritura en L2 a menudo han producido resultados contradictorios. Este estudio se desarrolla bajo una linea de investigacion que busca indagar sobre el papel que juega la retroalimentacion correctiva en el proceso de escritura. Asi mismo, se realiza un gran aporte a la linea de investigacion al analizar los diferentes tipos de retroalimentacion existentes en un contexto de escritura academica de ingles como lengua extranjera. La poblacion objetivo del estudio fueron cuarenta y cinco estudiantes de posgrado matriculados en un curso de escritura academica el cual tenia una duracion de doce semanas (24 sesiones). Estos estudiantes durante el curso recibieron los siguientes tipos de retroalimentacion: retroalimentacion directa, reunion docente – estudiante y sin retroalimentacion correctiva. El estudio revelo importantes hallazgos en cuanto a los efectos de recibir retroalimentacion de forma inmediata o tardia permitiendo mejorar la precision de los trabajos de los estudiantes. Con esto se sugiere que las mejoras en la precision de la escritura podrian atribuirse al tipo de retroalimentacion proporcionada
Motor Skill Acquisition and Retention after Somatosensory Electrical Stimulation in Healthy Humans

Somatosensory electrical stimulation (SES) can increase motor performance, presumably through a modulation of neuronal excitability. Because the effects of SES can outlast the period of stimulation, we examined the possibility that SES can also enhance the retention of motor performance, motor memory consolidation, after 24 h (Day 2) and 7 days (Day 7), that such effects would be scaled by SES duration, and that such effects were mediated by changes in aspects of corticospinal excitability, short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), and intracortical facilitation (ICF). Healthy young adults (n = 40) received either 20 (SES-20), 40 (SES-40), or 60 min (SES-60) of real SES, or sham SES (SES-0). The results showed SES-20 increased visuomotor performance on Day 2 (15%) and Day 7 (17%) and SES-60 increased visuomotor performance on Day 7 (11%; all p < 0.05) compared with SES-0. Specific responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) increased immediately after SES (p < 0.05) but not on Days 2 and 7. In addition, changes in behavioral and neurophysiological parameters did not correlate, suggesting that paths and structures other than the ones TMS can assay must be (also) involved in the increases in visuomotor performance after SES. As examined in the present study, low-intensity peripheral electrical nerve stimulation did not have acute effects on healthy adults' visuomotor performance but SES had delayed effects in the form of enhanced motor memory consolidation that were not scaled by the duration of SES.
Phosphorylation of SOS3-LIKE CALCIUM BINDING PROTEIN8 by SOS2 Protein Kinase Stabilizes Their Protein Complex and Regulates Salt Tolerance in Arabidopsis[W]

The Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) pathway plays an important role in the regulation of Na+/K+ ion homeostasis and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Previously, we reported that the calcium binding proteins SOS3 and SOS3-LIKE CALCIUM BINDING PROTEIN8 (SCaBP8) nonredundantly activate the protein kinase SOS2. Here, we show that SOS2 phosphorylates SCaBP8 at its C terminus but does not phosphorylate SOS3. In vitro, SOS2 phosphorylation of SCaBP8 was enhanced by the bimolecular interaction of SOS2 and SCaBP8 and did not require calcium ions. In vivo, this phosphorylation was induced by salt stress, occurred at the membrane, stabilized the SCaBP8-SOS2 interaction, and enhanced plasma membrane Na+/H+ exchange activity. When a Ser at position 237 in the SCaBP8 protein (the SOS2 phosphorylation target) was mutated to Ala, SCaBP8 was no longer phosphorylated by SOS2 and the mutant protein could not fully rescue the salt-sensitive phenotype of the scabp8 mutant. By contrast, when Ser-237 was mutated to Asp to mimic the charge of a phosphorylated Ser residue, the mutant protein rescued the scabp8 salt sensitivity. These data demonstrate that calcium sensor phosphorylation is a critical component of SOS pathway regulation of salt tolerance in Arabidopsis.
An Analysis of Gay/Lesbian Instructor Identity in the Classroom

In this project I explore the connection between cultural and personal identity in the college classroom. Respondent interviews were conducted using open-ended questions, which began with a broad picture of the role the instructor played in the classroom and then focused more specifically on the issue of sexual orientation and the choices to disclose or not disclose orientation in the classroom. Thematic analysis was used to examine the interviews, upon the completion of the interviews being transcribed. RQ1: Do gay and lesbian instructors disclose their sexual orientation in the classroom? From this question, four themes emerged. These themes were disclosure not relevant, out of the classroom disclosure, students just know, and disclosure in the classroom. RQ2: What reasons do gay and lesbian instructors give for disclosing their sexual orientation in the classroom? Two themes, fears of disclosure and holding back, transpired from this question. RQ3: How do gay and lesbian instructors foster diversity in the classroom related to sexual orientation? Four themes were exposed from the question, and these themes were paradox of diversity, passing, mentoring, and identity not sexuality.
Decreasing Hospitalization and In-hospital Mortality Related to Cholangitis in the United States

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine trends in hospitalization rates and in-hospital mortality of cholangitis and also determine predictive factors of in-hospital mortality. Methods: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample database was utilized for inpatient data analysis from 1988 to 2006. Patients with primary cholangitis International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) discharge diagnosis were included. Age-adjusted procedure rates for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with biliary stent placement and sphincterotomy were also analyzed. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate trends, and linear Poisson multivariate regression model was used to control for variations in age, sex, time of diagnosis, and ethnicity. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine predictive factors of in-hospital mortality. Results: The age-adjusted hospitalization rate of cholangitis decreased 24.8% from 2.34 per 100,000 in 1988 to 1.76 per 100,000 in 2006 (P<0.01). The age-adjusted in-hospital mortality of cholangitis increased 9.2% from 165.0 to 181.6 per 100,000 from 1988 to 1998 (P<0.01), and then declined 73% to 48.9 per 100,000 in 2006 (P<0.01). The age-adjusted procedure rates for ERCP with biliary stenting increased from 0.55 to 15.23 per 100,000 from 1988 to 2006 (P<0.01), as did the age-adjusted rates for ERCP with sphincterotomy from 1.06 to 35.64 per 100,000 (P<0.01). Conclusions: The hospitalization rate of cholangitis has been declining over the past 2 decades. The overall trend in mortality peaked in 1998 and has shown a subsequent decline that may in part be related to increased utilization of endoscopic biliary decompression.
Information and knowing when to forget it

In this paper we propose several novel approaches for incorporating forgetting mechanisms into sequential prediction based machine learning algorithms. The broad premise of our work, supported and motivated in part by recent findings stemming from neurology research on the development of human brains, is that knowledge acquisition and forgetting are complementary processes, and that learning can (perhaps unintuitively) benefit from the latter too. We demonstrate that if forgetting is implemented in a purposeful and date driven manner, there are a number of benefits which can be gained from discarding information. The framework we introduce is a general one and can be used with any baseline predictor of choice. Hence in this sense it is best described as a meta-algorithm. The method we described was developed through a series of steps which increase the adaptability of the model, while being data driven. We first discussed a weakly adaptive forgetting process which we termed passive forgetting. A fully adaptive framework, which we termed active forgetting was developed by enveloping a passive forgetting process with a monitoring, self-aware module which detects contextual changes and makes a statistically informed choice when the model parameters should be abruptly rather than gradually updated. The effectiveness of the proposed meta-framework was demonstrated on two real world data sets concerned with challenges of major practical importance: those of predicting currency exchange rates and daily temperatures. On both tasks our approach was shown to be highly effective, reducing prediction errors by nearly 40%.
Numerical-linguistic knowledge discovery using granular neural networks

In this paper, a granular-neural-network-based Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDDM) method based on granular computing, neural computing, fuzzy computing, linguistic computing and pattern recognition is presented. The major issues include (1) how to use neural networks to discover granular knowledge from numerical-linguistic databases, and (2) how to use discovered granular knowledge to predict missing data. A Granular Neural Network (GNN) is designed to deal with numerical-linguistic data fusion and granular knowledge discovery in numerical-linguistic databases. From a data granulation point of view, the GNN can process granular data in a database. From a data fusion point of view, the GNN makes decisions based on different kinds of granular data. From a KDDM point of view, the GNN is able to learn internal granular relations between numerical-linguistic inputs and outputs, and predict new relations in a database.
Black, Single, Working Mothers in Poverty: Preferences for Employment, Well-being, and Perceptions of Preschool-Age Children

Poor, single, black mothers have been largely excluded from research on the impact of maternal employment. This study examined the relationship between employment preferences and well-being in a sample of 111 black, single, employed mothers with a threeor four-year-old child and low income. Two competing views of multiple role occupancy were explored, using data from structured interviews in which mothers completed a questionnaire about role strain, life satisfaction, depression, and perceptions of children. Findings revealed that mothers whose employment status was consistent with their preference were lower in role strain and higher in overall life satisfaction. Having no education beyond high school and a male child predicted significantly higher strain, greater depressive symptomatology, and the least favorable perceptions of children. Overall, results suggest that parenting boys may be especially stressful for black single mothers balancing work and family roles in poverty, particularly when low education is also a factor. Implications for policy are considered in light of the Family Support Act of 1988.
Control of ad-hoc formations for autonomous airport snow shoveling

In this paper, we present a framework that applies multiple groups of autonomous snowploughs for efficiently removing the snow from airfields. The proposed approach includes formation stabilization into variable shapes depending on the width of runways. The paper is focused on trajectory planning and control during splitting and coupling of formations for cleaning smaller auxiliary roads surrounding main runways. We propose a general method using a receding horizon control for iterative formation assignment. The algorithm is adapted for the kinematics of car-like robots and can be utilized in arbitrary static and dynamic airport assemblage. The proposed approach has been verified by simulations and by hardware experiments.
Toxicokinetics of Dimethylacetamide (DMAc) in Rat Isolated Perfused Liver

Dimethylacetamide (DMAc) is a skin-penetrating solvent able to induce hepatic damage after chronic exposure. Previous research has indicated that metabolism may be saturated at its present TLV/TWA (10 ppm). Biological monitoring of monomethylacetamide (MMAc), the primary metabolite of DMAc, might therefore underestimate exposure to DMAC and related health hazards. We used the recirculating perfusion technique in isolated rat liver to evaluate DMAC metabolism. Medium concentrations starting at about 30, 50, 100 and 275 μM, respectively, were tested. Perfusate samples were taken regularly and analysed for DMAc; pharmacokinetic parameters (extraction ratio and clearance) were calculated for each perfusion. Inlet DMAc concentrations were calculated and concentration groups divided in 16, 36, 70, 160, 225 μM. The extraction ratio of the 16 μm group differed significantly from the other concentration groups tested. DMAc metabolism was saturated at a DMAc concentration of 36 μM. Extraction ratios were unaffected when cimetidine, an inhibitor of cytochrome P450 activity, was added to the perfusion medium or when cimetidine-pretreated animals were used. DMAc clearance was 2.20 ml min-1 at a medium concentration of about 36 μM. Extrapolation of the observed (rat) liver clearance to man showed that airborne concentrations of 18 ppm would, under the presumptions used, lead to saturated metabolism of DMAc; however, saturation at even lower concentrations could not be excluded.
Lip gestures in English sibilants: articulatory - acoustic relationship

The supraglottal differences between alveolar and postalveolar English sibilants, beside the place of articulation, involve the length of the constriction (shorter for alveolars) [1, 2, 3], the width of constriction (narrower for alveolars)[2, 4], the presence or absence of a sublingual cavity (absence for alveolars) [1, 2], the depth of tongue groove (deeper for postalveolars) [2], and also lip shape (protruded for postalveolars) [1, 2, 3]. This paper is concerned with articulatory data on lip protrusion and lip opening area (‘rounding’) of sibilants uttered by an American speaker, and the related acoustic data. Articulatory-acoustic mapping indicates that only protrusion may be playing a role in lowering the frequencies of postalveolars. An estimation based on a quarter-wave length resonance predicts the difference in the tube length between alveolars and postalveolars being twice the difference measured in articulatory data. Some configurations are suggested for further acoustic modeling, in order to better examine the potential contribution of sublingual cavity, in particular, and the effect of its coupling with lips.
Controller Design for a Skid-Steered Robot and Mapping for Surveillance Applications

Skid-steered robots, with their robust structure and manoeuvrability, are generally used as outdoor mobile robots. Both kinematic and dynamic modelling of these robots is difficult due to sliding and rolling inherent in general curvilinear motion. In order to improve motion and pose estimation, this paper proposes a kinematic and dynamic model for skid-steered mobile robots. A PID controller, tuned using Genetic Algorithm, based on the dynamic model is then proposed for accurate control of the skid-steered robot. The dynamic model developed enables motion planning for general planar motion. The coefficient of rolling resistance, the coefficient of friction, and the shear deformation modulus, all of which have terrain-dependent values are accommodated in this model. Surveillance bots are of great importance in protecting and saving human life. In this context, mobile and multi-functional robots which map their surroundings are adopted as a means to reduce environmental restructuring and the number of devices used to cover a given area. Skid-steered robots are robust and, therefore, are ideal for surveillance applications.
Involvement of the carboxyl-terminal domain of tubulin in the regulation of its assembly.

Limited proteolysis of phosphocellulose-purified tubulin with subtilisin resulted in cleavage of both alpha and beta tubulin subunits, with the formation of two major fragments (S alpha, and S beta, 48 kDa) and a small peptide (4 kDa) containing the carboxyl-terminal region of tubulin. Interestingly, tubulin cleaved under the present conditions showed an increased ability to assemble into large polymers in the absence of MAPs and under conditions that do not promote assembly of undigested tubulin--i.e., low magnesium concentrations and the absence of taxol and polyalcohols. The critical concentrations for the subtilisin-cleaved tubulin assembly was similar to that of MAPs-promoted tubulin assembly. Assembly product from subtilisin-cleaved tubulin consisted mainly of protofilament bundles, hooked polymer, and open tubules, structures showing equatorial and longitudinal spacings of 50 and 40 A, respectively. The existence of junctions between polymer walls indicates that the carboxyl-terminal removal facilitates polymer-polymer interactions. These results, together with previous studies on the involvement of the carboxyl-terminal domain of tubulin in its interaction with MAP-2, suggest a regulatory role for this domain in tubulin assembly. Thus, in general terms the tubulin molecule can be analyzed as a protein containing two essential domains with functional significance, one domain playing a major role in self-association and the other (the carboxyl-terminal moiety) playing a regulatory role in modulating the interactions responsible for self-association.
An Exploratory Analysis of Time Lapses in Serving Arrest Warrants

The seizure of persons through the authority of an arrest warrant issued by a magistrate is the only method of arrest specifically enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, yet scant research exists on the processing and serving of arrest warrants. This study investigated the correlates of how long it took a sample of arrest warrants to be served by law enforcement officials. Using focal concerns and disproportionate police contact underpinnings, the findings revealed the characteristics predictive of rapid service of warrants in this jurisdiction were weakly associated with the focal concerns perspective and generally unrelated to the disproportionate contact perspective. The findings highlight the need for more detailed study of, and the development of, better theoretical foundations for this issue.
Simple, Fast and Accurate Implementation of the Diffusion Approximation Algorithm for Stochastic Ion Channels with Multiple States

Background The phenomena that emerge from the interaction of the stochastic opening and closing of ion channels (channel noise) with the non-linear neural dynamics are essential to our understanding of the operation of the nervous system. The effects that channel noise can have on neural dynamics are generally studied using numerical simulations of stochastic models. Algorithms based on discrete Markov Chains (MC) seem to be the most reliable and trustworthy, but even optimized algorithms come with a non-negligible computational cost. Diffusion Approximation (DA) methods use Stochastic Differential Equations (SDE) to approximate the behavior of a number of MCs, considerably speeding up simulation times. However, model comparisons have suggested that DA methods did not lead to the same results as in MC modeling in terms of channel noise statistics and effects on excitability. Recently, it was shown that the difference arose because MCs were modeled with coupled gating particles, while the DA was modeled using uncoupled gating particles. Implementations of DA with coupled particles, in the context of a specific kinetic scheme, yielded similar results to MC. However, it remained unclear how to generalize these implementations to different kinetic schemes, or whether they were faster than MC algorithms. Additionally, a steady state approximation was used for the stochastic terms, which, as we show here, can introduce significant inaccuracies. Main Contributions We derived the SDE explicitly for any given ion channel kinetic scheme. The resulting generic equations were surprisingly simple and interpretable – allowing an easy, transparent and efficient DA implementation, avoiding unnecessary approximations. The algorithm was tested in a voltage clamp simulation and in two different current clamp simulations, yielding the same results as MC modeling. Also, the simulation efficiency of this DA method demonstrated considerable superiority over MC methods, except when short time steps or low channel numbers were used.
Landmarks detection on 3D face scans using local histogram descriptors

In this work, we exploit 3D Constrained Local Model (CLM) for facial landmark detection. Our approach integrates the geometric information of 3D face scans. The fast increase demand of 3D data invite to develop 3D image processing methods for many applications and especially for automatic landmark detection. The new step in this paper is the introduction of mesh histogram of gradients (meshHOG) as local descriptors around every landmark location. The proposed work is evaluated on the publicly available Bosphorus database. A comparison with the other descriptors mesh LBP and mesh SIFT are also depicted.