Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The utrophin A 5 0-UTR drives cap-independent translation exclusively in skeletal muscles of transgenic mice and interacts with eEF 1 A 2

Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine and Center for Neuromuscular Disease, Faculty of Medicine and Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1H 8M5, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1H 8L6 and Apoptosis Research Centre, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1H 8L1
Kunjin virus replicons: an RNA-based, non-cytopathic viral vector system for protein production, vaccine and gene therapy applications

The application of viral vectors for gene expression and delivery is rapidly evolving, with several entering clinical trials. However, a number of issues, including safety, gene expression levels, cell selectivity and antivector immunity, are driving the search for new vector systems. A number of replicon-based vectors derived from positive-strand RNA viruses have recently been developed, and this paper reviews the current knowledge on the first flavivirus replicon system, which is based on the Australian flavivirus Kunjin (KUN). Like most replicon systems, KUN replicons can be delivered as DNA, RNA or virus-like particles, they replicate their RNA in the cytoplasm and direct prolonged high-level gene expression. However, unlike most alphavirus replicon systems, KUN replicons are non-cytopathic, with transfected cells able to divide, allowing the establishment of cell lines stably expressing replicon RNA and heterologous genes. As vaccine vectors KUN replicons can induce potent, long-lived, protective, immunogen-specific CD8+ T cell immunity, a feature potentially related to extended production of antigen and double-stranded RNA-induced ‘danger signals’. The identification of KUN replicon mutants that induce increased levels of IFN-α/β has also spawned investigation of KUN replicons for use in cancer gene therapy. The unique characteristics of KUN replicons may thus make them suitable for specific protein production, vaccine and gene therapy applications.
Properties of a transient K+ current in chemoreceptor cells of rabbit carotid body.

1. Adult rabbit carotid body chemoreceptor cells, enzymatically dispersed and short‐term cultured, exhibit an inactivating outward K+ current that is reversibly inhibited by low PO2. In the present work we have characterized the biophysical and pharmacological properties of this current using the whole‐cell voltage clamp recording technique. 2. Inactivating current was recorded after blockage of Ca2+ currents with extracellular Co2+, Cd2+, or after complete washing out of Ca2+ channels. 3. The threshold of activation of this inactivating current was about ‐40 mV. Current activated very quickly (mean rise time 4.8 +/‐ 0.42 ms at +60 mV) but inactivated more slowly. Inactivation was well fitted by two exponentials with time constants of 79.7 +/‐ 6.6 and 824 +/‐ 42.8 ms (at +40 mV). The inactivation process showed a little voltage dependence. 4. The steady‐state inactivation was well fitted by a Boltzman function. Inactivation was fully removed at potentials negative to ‐80 mV and was complete at voltages near ‐10 mV; 50% inactivation occurred at ‐41 mV. 5. Recovery from inactivation had several components and was voltage dependent. Initial recovery was fast, but full recovery, even at ‐100 mV, required more than 30 s. 6. Inactivating current was selectively blocked by 4‐aminopyridine (4‐AP), in a dose‐dependent manner (IC50, 0.2 mM). The duration of chemoreceptor cells action potentials was augmented by 1 mM 4‐AP from 2.3 +/‐ 0.36 to 7.0 +/‐ 0.25 ms at 0 mV. Tetraethylamonium (TEA), at concentrations above 5 mM, blocked inactivating and non‐inactivating components of the whole K+ current. 7. Inactivating current was modulated by cyclic AMP (cAMP). Bath application of 2 mM dibutyryl cAMP reduced peak amplitude by 18.7 +/‐ 2.9% (at +30 mV) and slowed down the rise time of the current. The effect was not voltage dependent. Forskolin (10‐20 microM) also affected inactivating current, by accelerating the inactivation process. In the same preparations neither dibutyryl cAMP nor forskolin affected Ca2+ currents. 8. It is concluded that modulation of K+ channels by cAMP might play a physiological role potentiating the low PO2 inhibition of K+ channels.
Effect of a Combination of Clevudine and Emtricitabine with Adenovirus-Mediated Delivery of Gamma Interferon in the Woodchuck Model of Hepatitis B Virus Infection

ABSTRACT Our aim was to evaluate the antiviral effect of a combination of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, emtricitabine (FTC) and clevudine (L-FMAU), with the addition of an adenovirus-driven delivery of recombinant gamma interferon (IFN-γ) in the woodchuck model of hepatitis B virus infection. Six woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV)-infected woodchucks received L-FMAU (10 mg/kg) plus FTC (30 mg/kg) intraperitoneally for 8 weeks; six other animals received in addition an intravenous injection of a recombinant adenovirus vector expressing woodchuck IFN-γ (Ad-IFN) at weeks 4 and 8. In the control group, two animals received Ad-IFN alone, two received adenovirus vector expressing the green fluorescent protein reporter gene, and one remained untreated. In less than 2 weeks, all woodchucks that received L-FMAU plus FTC showed a rapid and marked inhibition of viral replication, with a 4-log10 drop in serum WHV DNA. In two animals, viremia remained suppressed for several months after the end of treatment. Similarly, a dramatic decrease in intrahepatic replicative intermediates of viral DNA was observed in the L-FMAU/FTC-treated groups. The additional administration of Ad-IFN led to increased inflammation in the liver but did not enhance the antiviral effect of the L-FMAU/FTC combination. In conclusion, therapies combining L-FMAU and FTC in WHV-infected woodchucks resulted in a potent and sustained antihepadnaviral effect both in the liver and in the blood circulation. However, no extra benefit of adding IFN-γ gene transduction to the L-FMAU/FTC combination could be detected.
Clinical comparison of the resin-containing BACTEC 26 Plus and the Isolator 10 blood culturing systems

The new resin-containing BACTEC 26 Plus blood culturing system (Becton Dickinson Diagnostic Instrument Systems, Towson, Md.) was compared with the Isolator 10 system (Wampole Laboratories, Cranbury, N.J.). Blood samples were drawn by syringe, and equal 10-ml volumes were evaluated in each blood culture system by the recommended methods. Both systems were incubated aerobically with 5% CO2. Of 11,506 acceptable study specimens, 1,788 aerobic isolates were recovered. Overall, recoveries was similar for the two systems, with 626 bacteria or fungi recovered in the BACTEC 26 Plus system only, 499 recovered in the Isolator system only, and 663 recovered in both systems. Of 345 gram-negative rods, 62 grew in the BACTEC system only and 109 grew in the Isolator system only (P less than 0.001). Thirty-three of these Isolator-only gram-negative organisms were Acinetobacter spp. Of 209 yeasts, 38 grew in BACTEC only and 81 grew in Isolator only (P less than 0.001). Of 200 streptococci and enterococci, 98 were recovered in BACTEC only and 26 grew in Isolator only (P less than 0.001). Two hundred twenty-eight independent episodes of gram-negative rod bacteremia occurred. Isolator was the first system positive in 59 of 197 episodes, compared with 45 of 197 for BACTEC when Acinetobacter episodes were excluded. Times to detection were similar for the two systems. High colony counts correlated with repeat positive blood cultures. Isolator and BACTEC had similar overall recoveries, with individual merits and deficiencies for both systems. The additional quantitative information derived from Isolator had utility in our institution.
A Uniplanar Triple-Band Dipole Antenna Using Complementary Capacitively Loaded Loop

A uniplanar compact metamaterial-inspired triple-band dipole antenna is designed and proposed for wireless local area network (WLAN) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) applications. By introducing two pairs of complementary capacitively loaded loop (CCLL) slots into a uniplanar bow-tie antenna, two notched bands can be generated to form a triple-band operation. The antenna is directly fed by a 50- Ω microstrip line and a microstrip-to-coplanar-stripline (CPS) transition as a wideband balun. Antenna parameters, including voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR), radiation patterns, and gain, are obtained by numerical simulations and experimental measurements. The results show that the proposed antenna can provide triple-band operation at 2.21-2.77, 3.33-3.95, and 5.04-6 GHz with the VSWR less than 2 to achieve 2.4/5.2/5.8-GHz WLAN and 2.5/3.5/5.5-GHz WiMAX applications.
Is reliability a new science? A paper from the panel session held at the 10th International Conference on Mathematical Methods in Reliability

The Tenth International Conference on Mathematical Methods in Reliability, MMR 2017, held in Grenoble, France, during July 3-7, entailed a panel discussion entitled “Is Reliability a New Science? ” with Mark Brown, Regina Liu, William Meeker, Sheldon Ross, and Nozer Singpurwalla as panelists. Bill Meeker also doubled as a chair and as a moderator of the panel. The panel discussion was spawned by the recent appearance of a book by Professor Paolo Rocchi, Docent Emeritus of IBM, titled “Reliability is a New Science: Gnedenko was Right”, published by Springer in 2017. The panel discussion was well attended and enthusiastically received, and could serve as a forerunner to other such panel discussions at future MMR conferences. This paper presents some elements from the lively debate generated by this discussion.
MOSS-5: A Fast Method of Approximating Counts of 5-Node Graphlets in Large Graphs

Counting 3-, 4-, and 5-node graphlets in graphs is important for graph mining applications such as discovering abnormal/evolution patterns in social and biology networks. In addition, it is recently widely used for computing similarities between graphs and graph classification applications such as protein function prediction and malware detection. However, it is challenging to compute these graphlet counts for a large graph or a large set of graphs due to the combinatorial nature of the problem. Despite recent efforts in counting 3-node and 4-node graphlets, little attention has been paid to characterizing 5-node graphlets. In this paper, we develop a computationally efficient sampling method to estimate 5-node graphlet counts. We not only provide a fast sampling method and unbiased estimators of graphlet counts, but also derive simple yet exact formulas for the variances of the estimators which are of great value in practice—the variances can be used to bound the estimates’ errors and determine the smallest necessary sampling budget for a desired accuracy. We conduct experiments on a variety of real-world datasets, and the results show that our method is several orders of magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art methods with the same accuracy.
Association of CYP 1 A 1 gene polymorphism with recurrent pregnancy loss in the South Indian population

BACKGROUND: We investigated the relationship between idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) and genetic polymorphisms in phase I and phase II detoxification genes which include CYP1A1, CYP2D6, GSTM1, GSTP1 and GSTT1. METHOD: A case–control study comprised 160 females with RPL and 63 healthy controls with a successful reproductive history. RESULTS: The CYP1A1 variant allele was present at frequencies of 0.61 and 0.44 in cases and controls, respectively (odds ratio 5 1.93; P 5 0.023, 95% confidence interval 1.10–3.38). The CYP2D6 variant allele was present at a frequency of 0.17 in females with RPL, while in the control population the frequency was 0.16. The GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes were present at frequencies of 0.39 and 0.26 in RPL cases, whereas in controls the frequencies were 0.37 and 0.17, respectively. The mutant GSTP1 frequencies in case and control women were 0.38 and 0.40, respectively. We report a significant association of the CYP1A1*2A allele with RPL which is confirmed by logistic regression analysis. No association was observed for the other polymorphisms or in their combinations studied. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests the occurrence of the CYP1A1*2A allele as a probable risk factor in idiopathic recurrent miscarriages.
An 8 b 700 MS/s 1 b/Cycle SAR ADC Using a Delay-Shift Technique

An 8 b 700 MS/s 1 b/cycle asynchronous successive approximation register (SAR) analog to digital converter (ADC) which skips comparator metastability is presented. A delay-shift technique is proposed to shift the delay of comparator to generate a 1.5 b redundancy range and to accelerate comparison speed. This reduces the settling requirement and compensates for the dynamic offset by redundancy. The prototype ADC in 40 nm CMOS technology achieves an SNDR of 43.9 dB at Nyquist rate and consumes 5 mW with a 1.2 V supply. This results in an FoM of 56 fJ/conversion-step. Due to no extra calibration circuit, the core circuit occupies an area of only 0.006 mm2.
Implementation of Metalworking Mode in Mixed Reality Modeling System Using ToolDevice

ToolDevice is a set of interaction devices developed to help users in spatial work such as layout designing and three-dimensional (3D) modeling. ToolDevice consists of three components: TweezersDevice, Knife/HammerDevice, and BrushDevice, which use metaphors of real-life hand tools to help users recognize each device’s unique functions. For TweezersDevice and Knife/HammerDevice, we have developed a mixed reality (MR) 3D modeling system that imitates real-life woodworking. In the system, TweezersDevice is used to pick up and move, while Knife/HammerDevice is used to cut and join virtual objects represented as wood materials. Unfortunately, the system lacks a common function for manipulating the shape of virtual objects. In this paper, we propose a novel way for manipulating the shape of virtual objects using ToolDevice. We also present the results of an informal user study conducted to verify the intuitiveness of our proposed method. Finally, we discuss the problems users reported in the study and future work.
The Impact of Public Grants on Firm-Level Productivity: Findings from the Czech Food Industry

Studying the effects of public entrepreneurship and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) policies on productivity (i.e., technological efficiency) is important, because the investment policies primarily aim to reduce allocation inefficiencies, enable usage of economies of scale, promote new production methods and technological development. We reviewed the recently published studies, and we show that they often lack fundamental information, such as a sample description and numbers of supported and non-supported firms. Keeping in mind the importance of transparent and rigorous empirical evaluations, we evaluated the effects of investment support from the European Regional and Development Fund (ERDF) on the productivity of the firms operating in the Czech food processing industry two years after the end of the programme. Methodologically, we apply the propensity score matching approach (PSM) combined with a difference in differences approach (DID) based on the firm-level data accounting for 157 firms (i.e., 77.3% of all beneficiaries within the industry) and a control sample of 1224 firms that have not been supported by the intervention. We use three measures of productivity—production efficiency, labour productivity and total factor productivity (TFP). The obtained findings showed that investment subsidy had a positive impact on labour productivity of supported firms. However, the effects on TFP were negative. The impact on production efficiency indicator was proven to be inconclusive. It follows from the results that the productivity of subsidised firms did not improve through an internal increase in efficiency (efficiency of the use of inputs), which indicates no significant technological change. The subsidy decision-making processes should be more careful and transparent to ensure allocating resources only to the projects with growth potential.
Development of a Fully Automated Struvite Reactor to Recover Phosphorus from Source Separated Urine Collected at Urine Diversion Toilets in eThekwini

In the present study we attempted to develop a reactor system to recover phosphorous by struvite precipitation which can be installed anywhere in the field without access to a laboratory. A reactor was developed which can run fully automated and recover up to 94 % of total phosphorus (total P). Turbidity and conductivity signals were investigated as automation proxies for magnesium dosage, thus making phosphate measurements to determine exact magnesium dosage unnecessary. We found that turbidity and conductivity signals show the endpoint through signal change while dosing continuously. But conductivity is highly influenced by the dosing parameters (molarity and pump speed), whereas turbidity is affected by particle size distribution issues. We investigated an algorithm based on first data sets using the turbidity signal, but it was not able to detect the precipitation endpoint in real time. A step-wise dosing approach has also been tested and might lead to the goal of full automation.
Resistance against Herbicide Isoxaben and Cellulose Deficiency Caused by Distinct Mutations in Same Cellulose Synthase Isoform CESA61

Isoxaben is a pre-emergence herbicide that inhibits cellulose biosynthesis in higher plants. Two loci identified by isoxaben-resistant mutants (ixr1-1,ixr1-2, and ixr2-1) in Arabidopsis have been reported previously. IXR1 was recently shown to encode the cellulose synthase catalytic subunit CESA3 (W.-R. Scheible, R. Eshed, T. Richmond, D. Delmer, and C. Somerville [2001] Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98: 10079–10084). Here, we report on the cloning of IXR2, and show that it encodes another cellulose synthase isoform, CESA6. ixr2-1 carries a mutation substituting an amino acid close to the C terminus of CESA6 that is highly conserved among CESA family members. Transformation of wild-type plants with the mutated gene and not with the wild-type gene conferred increased resistance against the herbicide. The simplest interpretation for the existence of these two isoxaben-resistant loci is that CESA3 and CESA6 have redundant functions. However, loss of functionprocuste1 alleles of CESA6 were previously shown to have a strong growth defect and reduced cellulose content in roots and dark-grown hypocotyls. This indicates that in these mutants, the presence of CESA3 does not compensate for the absence of CESA6 in roots and dark-grown hypocotyls, which argues against redundant functions for CESA3 and CESA6. Together, these observations are compatible with a model in which CESA6 and CESA3 are active as a protein complex.
Effectiveness and safety of ALA-IPL in treating actinic keratoses and photodamage.

BACKGROUND Photorejuvenation involves the use of a light source or laser in reversing the signs of aging. The Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) has demonstrated effectiveness in treating signs of photodamage. Photodynamic therapy is a relatively new and promising treatment for actinic keratoses. OBJECTIVE To determine the effectiveness of ALA-IPL in treating actinic keratoses as well as reversing the signs of aging. METHODS A retrospective trial of 17 patients treated with ALA-IPL. Patients were evaluated for improvement of telangiectasias, blotchy pigment, fine wrinkles, coarseness of skin and number of actinic keratoses. All side effects were recorded. RESULTS 68% of actinic keratoses resolved after one treatment. There was a 55% improvement in telangiectasias, a 48% improvement in pigmentary irregularities and a 25% improvement in coarseness of skin texture. There was minimal change in fine wrinkle appearance. Side effects were minimal including mild erythema and edema for 3-5 days on average. No infections were noted. CONCLUSIONS ALA-IPL treatment is effective in treating both actinic keratoses and signs of photodamage. In this study, we achieved significant improvement after just one treatment. ALA-IPL is a safe, effective way to treat both actinic keratoses and photodamage with little down time.
Ortho-Rectification and Slope Correction of SAR Data Using DEM and Its Accuracy Evaluation

This paper proposes an accurate ortho-rectification and slope correction method for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images using a digital elevation model (DEM). Since SAR observation is performed in the squint condition, the image is distorted both geometrically and radiometrically (e.g., through foreshortening, range and azimuth shift, layover, radiometric modulation associated with slope, and shadowing). Furthermore, the pixel height cannot be retrieved directly even when orbital data are accurate. The proposed method calculates the geometric and radiometric distortion components from a comparative process between the DEM-based Simulated SAR Image (DSSI) and the SAR slant range image. When applied to Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array Type L-band SAR (PALSAR) data, the geometric accuracy of the ortho-rectified SAR image at the off-nadir angle of 34.3° was high, with a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 11.9 m when evaluated against Ground Control Points (GCPs) deployed globally. The slope correction effectively reduced the radiometric variation caused by the terrain height variation. The proposed method can be applied to a range of SAR data to support a diversity of applications.
Aalborg Universitet Assessing Learning Outcomes and Engineering PBL Project

All over the world, higher education, in particular engineering education, is changing in response to rapid changes of society and its new challenges. Many attempts have been made to define new types of relevant knowledge, competences and skills. One of the initiatives is the TUNING-AHELO framework, which is a conceptual framework of expected/desired learning outcomes in higher education introduced by the OECD. Engineering is one subject area in a feasibility study of whether it will be possible to test learning outcomes globally. The Problem and Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach is a widespread learning methodology in engineering education. At Aalborg University, Denmark, the PBL methodology is organized into projects in which students work collaboratively in small groups during an entire semester to solve ill-structured problems and submit project reports to document the learning achieved. According to research on the Aalborg PBL model for engineering education, students achieve several types of knowledge, skills and competences in this learning environment and it is claimed that students acquire interdisciplinary and complex knowledge due to the more open learning approach. The studies have been based on data from employers, faculty and students; however, the purpose of this article is to develop a methodology for the content analysis of project reports. The research question is if the TUNINGAHELO framework can be used as a framework for the analysis of PBL reports and if students will achieve the knowledge and competences that are defined in the TUNING-AHELO framework in a PBL curriculum. The methodology applied in this study has its point of departure in the TUNING-AHELO framework and adjusts this to the content analysis of project reports. Three randomly selected project reports are analysed and, for this purpose, content analysis grids were built based on the TUNING-AHELO conceptual framework and applied to the students’ final project reports. The study concludes that the TUNING-AHELO framework can establish a relevant framework for the content analysis, and the analysis of the three reports shows that the students actually achieve the learning outcomes that are explicitly formulated. The analysis also shows that the students learn more than captured by the TUNING-AHELO framework in terms of interdisciplinary and complex knowledge.