Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Peroxide-Sensing Transcriptional Regulators in Bacteria

ABSTRACT The ability to maintain intracellular concentrations of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) within safe limits is essential for all aerobic life forms. In bacteria, as well as other organisms, ROS are produced during the normal course of aerobic metabolism, necessitating the constitutive expression of ROS scavenging systems. However, bacteria can also experience transient high-level exposure to ROS derived either from external sources, such as the host defense response, or as a secondary effect of other seemingly unrelated environmental stresses. Consequently, transcriptional regulators have evolved to sense the levels of ROS and coordinate the appropriate oxidative stress response. Three well-studied examples of these are the peroxide responsive regulators OxyR, PerR, and OhrR. OxyR and PerR are sensors of primarily H2O2, while OhrR senses organic peroxide (ROOH) and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). OxyR and OhrR sense oxidants by means of the reversible oxidation of specific cysteine residues. In contrast, PerR senses H2O2 via the Fe-catalyzed oxidation of histidine residues. These transcription regulators also influence complex biological phenomena, such as biofilm formation, the evasion of host immune responses, and antibiotic resistance via the direct regulation of specific proteins.
Inter-Professional Working: The Wisdom of Integrated Working and The Disaster of Blurred Boundaries

This article explains the differences between 'integrated working' and 'blurring the boundaries'. Although often used interchangeably, these terms actually represent the best and worst possible outcomes involved when professional boundaries are crossed. The authors use a health-care example, but they tackle the issues raised as generic concerns for effective inter-professional working in all sectors. The article shows that, rather than blurring boundaries, the establishment of clear boundaries is essential for successful inter-professional working. Clearly defined boundaries establish an exploratory space in which team members can tap into and use team skills, thus harnessing the diversity of the team.
Ensuring Time-Series Consistency in Estimates of Income and Wealth

In the past decade, researchers have made substantial improvements to survey questions that allow them to obtain more accurate information from survey respondents about income and wealth. However, changing survey questions - even for the better - can create problems. For example, if we ask a respondent about his wealth holdings in 1992 and ask him again in 1994 but use a different and improved set of questions, we cannot be sure that changes in his wealth are real because part of the observed change can be due to the fact that we simply got better information the second time we asked. Thus, the cost of improved questions can be inconsistency in the data over time. We refer to this problem as time-series inconsistency. In this paper, we describe work that addresses this problem in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) using data on income from financial assets. We describe a method of computation that allows us to resolve times series inconsistencies.
Antioxidative Activity of Colostrum and Human Milk: Effects of Pasteurization and Storage

Objectives: Milk banks collect, pasteurize, and freeze/store human milk. The processing may alter redox properties of milk, but the effects have not been fully examined. Methods: We collected 10 mature milk and 10 colostrum samples and applied a battery of biochemical assays and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to inspect changes that milk undergoes with pasteurization and 30 days storage at −20°C. Results: Pasteurization and storage of raw milk did not affect total nonenzymatic antioxidative capacity, but specific components and features were altered. Urate radical and ascorbyl radical emerge as products of exposure of milk to hydroxyl radical-generating system. Processing shifted the load of antioxidative activity from ascorbate to urate and lowered the capacity of milk to diminish hydroxyl radical. Pasteurization caused a significant drop in the activity of 2 major antioxidative enzymes—superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, whereas freezing/storage of raw milk affected only superoxide dismutase. Colostrum showed drastically higher total nonenzymatic antioxidative capacity, hydroxyl radical scavenging ability, and glutathione reductase activity compared with mature milk. Conclusions: Pasteurization and storage affect nonenzymatic and enzymatic antioxidative agents in human milk. It appears that nonenzymatic antioxidative systems in colostrum and milk are different. The effects of processing may be partially compensated by fortification/spiking with ascorbate before use.
Experimental Investigation of Symmetry-Breaking in Ferroresonant Circuit

This study focuses on the impact of circuit parameters on the breaking of steady-state symmetry in a ferroresonant circuit. Symmetry-breaking occurs owing to pitchfork bifurcation and results in the ambiguousness of steady-state solution through two possible waveform types. The two types are distinguished in this study by positive and negative peak values of capacitor voltage. Circuit parameters analyzed in detail are source voltage RMS value U1 and initial values of capacitor voltage and coil remanent flux. There is symmetry of occurrence in the two types of waveform, which is expected because of the odd symmetry of characteristics of all passive circuit elements. It is shown that the property of symmetry could be experimentally demonstrated and through simulation using a mathematical model of the experimental ferroresonant circuit. In addition, measurements have been carried out with two further coils to investigate the impact of the nominal voltage and type of core material on the initiation of the two types of waveforms.
Formation of the appropriability regime: Strategic and practical considerations

Summary Facilitated by improved networks and communication, knowledge spills over to competitors more easily than before, thus creating an appropriability problem. Consequently, protection of intangibles calls for new approaches. Companies have various means of protection at their disposal, but creating barriers against imitation also has another side to it; transfer of knowledge in situations requiring knowledge sharing may be unintentionally obstructed. The aim of this study is to increase understanding of how firms can balance knowledge protection and sharing so as to benefit most from their knowledge assets. Thus, knowledge protection is approached through an examination of the appropriability regime of a firm, and its formation among 299 firms.
Innate Lymphoid Cells Are the Predominant Source of IL-17A during the Early Pathogenesis of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

RATIONALE IL-17A is purported to help drive early pathogenesis in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) by enhancing neutrophil recruitment. Although IL-17A is the archetypal cytokine of T-helper 17 cells, it is produced by a number of lymphocytes, the source during ARDS being unknown. OBJECTIVES To identify the cellular source and the role of IL-17A in the early phase of lung injury. METHODS Lung injury was induced in wild-type (C57BL/6) and IL-17 knockout (KO) mice with aerosolized LPS (100 μg) or Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Detailed phenotyping of the cells expressing RORγt, the transcriptional regulator of IL-17 production, in the mouse lung at 24 hours was performed by flow cytometry. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS A 100-fold reduction in neutrophil infiltration was observed in the lungs of the IL-17A KO compared with wild-type mice. The majority of RORγt(+) cells in the mouse lung were the recently identified group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s). Detailed characterization revealed these pulmonary ILC3s (pILC3s) to be discrete from those described in the gut. The critical role of these cells was verified by inducing injury in recombinase-activating gene 2 KO mice, which lack T cells but retain innate lymphoid cells. No amelioration of pathology was observed in the recombinase-activating gene 2 KO mice. CONCLUSIONS IL-17 is rapidly produced during lung injury and significantly contributes to early immunopathogenesis. This is orchestrated largely by a distinct population of pILC3s. Modulation of the activity of pILC3s may potentiate early control of the inflammatory dysregulation seen in ARDS, opening up new therapeutic targets.
AMER1 regulates the distribution of the tumor suppressor APC between microtubules and the plasma membrane

APC is a multifunctional tumor suppressor protein that negatively controls Wnt signaling, but also regulates cell adhesion and migration by interacting with the plasma membrane and the microtubule cytoskeleton. Although the molecular basis for the microtubule association of APC is well understood, molecular mechanisms that underlie its plasma membrane localization have remained elusive. We show here that APC is recruited to the plasma membrane by binding to APC membrane recruitment 1 (AMER1), a novel membrane-associated protein that interacts with the ARM repeat domain of APC. The N-terminus of AMER1 contains two distinct phosphatidylinositol(4,5)-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2]-binding domains, which mediate its localization to the plasma membrane. Overexpression of AMER1 increases APC levels and redirects APC from microtubule ends to the plasma membrane of epithelial cells. Conversely, siRNA-mediated knockdown of AMER1 reduces the overall levels of APC, promotes its association with microtubule ends in cellular protrusions and disturbs intercellular junctions. These data indicate that AMER1 controls the subcellular distribution of APC between membrane- and microtubule-associated pools, and might thereby regulate APC-dependent cellular morphogenesis, cell migration and cell-cell adhesion.
Sub-threshold custom standard cell library validation

Through silicon measurements of test chips designed based on two standard cell libraries in 40 nm, this paper shows that by proper current distribution balancing between NMOS and PMOS network, standard cells can be improved in terms of speed, power efficiency and variation resilience in sub-threshold region. Compared to the commercial library cells, combinational cells have 2× better speed at sub-threshold region and up to 60% less leakage power from sub-threshold to super-threshold region without any area penalty. Our Flipflops have 1.3× better propagation delay, and 40 mV lower first failure voltage. The simulation results of an in-house hardware accelerator further proves that based on sub-threshold custom cell library, the accelerator can achieve 2× faster speed, 46% less variation and 20% energy savings at 0.3 V.
Game theory applied on step-priced micro grid

In this paper, a micro grid price mechanism is discussed and optimised. Operators can increase the consumers's profile under step-price environment. With a novel low-carbon strategy designed in this paper, consumers make ones own decision whether to buy or sell energy with what price. By using this strategy, energy distribution can be optimised and the utilization of clean power will increase. A simulation is conducted to prove the robustness and effectiveness of the strategy.
What's in a 'China' Name? A Test of Investor Attention Hypothesis

We study whether firm name affects investor attention and thereby firm valuation. Some Chinese firms listed on U.S. stock exchanges have the word “China” or “Chinese” included in their company names (“China-name stocks”), whereas others do not (“non-China-name stocks”). During the China stock market boom in 2007, we find that China-name stocks significantly outperform non-China-name stocks. This is not due to differences in firm characteristics, risk, or liquidity. The “China-name effect” is largely consistent with the investor attention hypothesis that the price pressure caused by increased investor attention on China-name stocks during the boom period drives up China-name stocks more than non-China-name stocks.
Priority ranking of industrial loads and application of Demand Side Management technique

This paper presents the design of a Demand Side Management (DSM) priority ranking. It utilizes sequential ordering and set theory. The priority ranking is formulated in conjunction with three DSM objectives: load shifting, valley filling and peak clipping; aiming at improving the system overall load factor and reducing the customer bill. The priority ranking utilizes parameters representing the individual load and the system overall load profiles. These parameters include energy consumption, peak demand and its associated time of occurrence as well as both load factor and coincident demands with the system overall peak demand. Three applications of load shifting, peak clipping and energy conservation program have been studied and evaluated. These will be done by describing the problem, then presenting the proposed DSM programs. The mathematical formulations representing the objective function and the related constraints compatible with activity circumferences were given. Finally, the impact of implementing such programs was highlighted. These applications were applied for weaving & textiles and ceramica cleopatra group. Three DSM programs were introduced: peak clipping, load shifting and energy conservation techniques.
Relationships of DTI findings with neurocognitive dysfunction in children with Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether there were diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) changes in the brain among children with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) and investigate the correlation between the fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and neurocognitive functions. METHODS 35 children with Type 1 DM and 21 age-matched healthy control subjects were included. Neurocognitive functions of subjects with Type 1 DM were evaluated. In both groups, FA and ADC values were calculated in 20 different locations. The association between neurocognitive function tests and FA and ADC values was investigated. RESULTS Subjects with diabetes had significant changes in FA and ADC values in widespread brain regions compared with the healthy control group. ADC values in the caudate nucleus were negatively associated with verbal point. Increased ADC values in the genu of the corpus callosum were positively associated with Stroop test. There was a negative correlation between the ADC values of the parietal white matter and the judgment of line orientation test. FA values of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus were positively correlated with performance point. However, a negative correlation was noted between FA values of mid-brain and intelligence quotient level as well as another negative correlation between FA values of the posterior crus of the internal capsule and thalamus with verbal point. CONCLUSION Subjects with diabetes demonstrated significant changes in FA and ADC values in widespread brain regions, and such changes could be early features of injury to myelinated fibres or axonal degeneration. Our findings suggest that brain damage may have begun at the cellular level in the initial stage of Type 1 diabetes and neurocognitive impairments may be inevitable. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE DTI can demonstrate ADC and FA changes which are well correlated with neurocognitive dysfunction in the brains of children with Type 1 DM. This may help us in guiding preventive measures in early period of the disease before deterioration of neurocognitive functions.
The role of the Classification Societies in the era of globalization: a case study

Although in the great majority of States, the inspection and certification of vessels are provided as public services, the Classification Societies continue being an essential element in maritime traffic, since the official inspections and certifications generally do not take into consideration certain structural aspects or details of vessels. The starting point is an analysis of the role of the Classification Societies on the global and local scale; a case study in a medium-size port of the European Union, the Port of the Bay of Cadiz, is presented. For the case study, an analysis has been made of 507 vessels between the years 2002 and 2008. From the statistical results, it is concluded that there tends to be a direct relationship between the age of the vessel and its classification by a particular type of Society, both with respect to the profiles of risk and to whether the society is a member of the International Association of Classification Societies. The same occurs with respect to the number of days a vessel is detained as a consequence of the Port State Control (PSC) inspections. Similar relationships between Classification Societies and vessels are observed with respect to the flags States, based on featuring in the Black List of the MoU, and with the subclassification of risks.
Mutation frequencies for glycogen storage disease Ia in the Ashkenazi Jewish population

Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSDIa) is a severe autosomal recessive disorder caused by deficiency of the enzyme D‐glucose‐6‐phosphatase (G6Pase). While numerous mutations have been found in cosmopolitan European populations, Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) patients appear to primarily carry the R83C mutation, but possibly also the Q347X mutation found generally in Caucasians. To determine the frequency for both these mutations in the AJ population, we tested 20,719 AJ subjects for the R83C mutation and 4,290 subjects for the Q347X mutation. We also evaluated the mutation status of 30 AJ GSDIa affected subjects. From the carrier screening, we found 290 subjects with R83C, for a carrier frequency for this mutation of 1.4%. This carrier frequency translates into a predicted disease prevalence of 1 in 20,000, five times higher than for the general Caucasian population, confirming a founder effect and elevated frequency of GSDIa in the AJ population. We observed no carriers of the Q347X mutation. Among the 30 GSDIa affected AJ subjects, all were homozygous for R83C. These results indicate that R83C is the only prevalent mutation for GSDIa in the Ashkenazi population. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Biosynthesis of riboflavin: cloning, sequencing, mapping, and expression of the gene coding for GTP cyclohydrolase II in Escherichia coli

GTP cyclohydrolase II catalyzes the first committed step in the biosynthesis of riboflavin. The gene coding for this enzyme in Escherichia coli has been cloned by marker rescue. Sequencing indicated an open reading frame of 588 bp coding for a 21.8-kDa peptide of 196 amino acids. The gene was mapped to a position at 28.2 min on the E. coli chromosome and is identical with ribA. GTP cyclohydrolase II was overexpressed in a recombinant strain carrying a plasmid with the cloned gene. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity from the recombinant strain. The N-terminal sequence determined by Edman degradation was identical to the predicted sequence. The sequence is homologous to the 3' part of the central open reading frame in the riboflavin operon of Bacillus subtilis.
Resident physician mentoring program in ophthalmology: the Tennessee experience.

OBJECTIVE To establish a mentoring program to provide resident physicians in ophthalmology with career guidance in practice management and to identify new and creative ways to involve future eye physicians in the legislative and political process. METHODS A multicenter prospective study was conducted of the mentorship experiences of 24 (88.9%) of 27 resident physicians in Tennessee during the 2000-2001 academic year. Participants were assigned into 1 of 3 groups: an active mentorship group, a passive mentorship group, and a no mentorship group. The active mentorship group participated in preceptorship activities with "mentor" community-based eye physicians and scheduled meetings with state legislators and regulators. The active mentorship and passive mentorship groups attended a 1-day practice management seminar, but the no mentorship group received no formal mentorship during the 4-month study period. A survey instrument was given to all participants before and after the 4-month study period. RESULTS Following completion of the mentorship program, the active mentorship group had favorable changes in perceptions and attitudes toward medical organizations (P<.03) when compared with baseline prementorship responses. Compared with the no mentorship group, the active mentorship group also reported an increased willingness to make political campaign donations (P<.05) and expressed an increased desire for the Tennessee Academy of Ophthalmology to offer practice management programs (P<.02). CONCLUSION A short 4-month mentorship program can elicit favorable changes in residents' perceptions and attitudes toward medical professional organizations. Additional opportunities may lie with a lengthier and more intensive mentoring program.
Changing Chinese employment relations since WTO accession

– This paper examines the challenges facing China's employment relations after its WTO accession and consequently, the implications for further reform. , – Theoretical questions are considered in relation to the debate on globalization vs the nation‐state over political, economic and social issues. By examining the challenges from both internal and external sources, the paper investigates the impact on the employment relations system at both macro‐ and micro‐levels. , – The major finding of this paper is that the current system of employment relations system in China is in the process of transformation towards a “hybrid” model combining authoritarianism and neo‐corporatism. , – This paper provides the most recent analysis on the impact of WTO accession on the changing pattern of employment relations in China. It helps people who are interested in transitional economy in general and in China in particular to have a better understanding about the transformation of employment relations system under the influence of different forces.
Semantic Similarity between Queries in QA System using a Domain-specific Taxonomy

Semantic similarity has been extensively studied in the past decades and has become a rapidly growing field of research. Sentence or short text similarity measures play an important role in text-based applications, such as text mining, information retrieval and question answering systems. In this paper we consider the problem of semantic similarity between queries in a question answering system with the purpose of query recommendation. Our approach is based on an existing domain-specific taxonomy. We define innovative three-layered semantic similarity measures between queries using existing similarity measures between ontology concepts combined with various set-based distance measures. We then analyse and evaluate our approach against human intuition using a data set of 90 questions. Further on, we argue that these measures are taxonomy-dependent and are influenced by various factors: taxonomy structure, keyword mappings, keyword weights, query-keyword mappings and the chosen concept similarity measure.