Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stomatin-domain protein interactions with acid-sensing ion channels modulate nociceptor mechanosensitivity

• Gene deletion studies revealed that membrane proteins stomatin and STOML3, as well as the acid‐sensing ion channels ASIC2 and ASIC3, regulate mechanosensory transduction. • Both stomatin and STOML3 interact with ASIC proteins and we asked if deletion of two interacting proteins has a more than additive effect on the mechanosensitivity of cutaneous sensory afferents. • A detailed electrophysiological comparison of sensory afferent phenotypes observed in asic3−/−:stomatin−/−, asic3−/−:stoml3−/− and asic2−/−:stomatin−/− mutant mice compared to their respective single gene mutants revealed especially strong effects on the mechanosensitivity of thinly myelinated mechanonociceptors in double mutants. • Deletion of the asic3 gene or pharmacological blockade of this channel decreased adaptation rates specifically in rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors, an effect not exacerbated by deletion of stomatin‐domain genes. • This study reveals that loss of stomatin–ASIC interactions can have profound effects on mechanosensitivity in specific subsets of skin afferents; interfering with such interactions could have potential for treating mechanical pain.
Optimal design of vialess open-stub EBG structure for power-bus noise reduction

To overcome the intra EMC problems in wireless communications, electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures can be used to effectively reduce power-bus noise. We previously proposed a vialess open-stub EBG structure. However, it still has the intrinsic disadvantage of a narrow stopband because it uses the open-stub's resonance. Thus, this paper aims to optimize the structural parameters of the vialess open-stub EBG structure to sufficiently suppress power-bus noise in a wider stopband. The structural parameters to determine the noise-reduction performance of the vialess open-stub EBG structure are the branch width Wb, the stub width Ws, and the unit-cell length a. Rectangular power buses were designed as test vehicles through the analytical approach and used to evaluate the stopband expansion and the noise suppression in the stopband in a full-wave simulation. The transmission characteristics showed that, after wb, Ws, and a are optimized, the stopband is expanded from 0.61 GHz (2.23-2.84 GHz) to 1.56 GHz (2.20-3.76 GHz). In addition, an optimized structure was made that reduced the amount of noise by approximately 10 dB.
Evaluating Nicotine Levels Selection and Patterns of Electronic Cigarette Use in a Group of “Vapers” Who Had Achieved Complete Substitution of Smoking

Background Electronic cigarettes (ECs) are alternative-to-smoking nicotine delivery devices; consumers (commonly called vapers) use them in order to reduce or completely substitute smoking. The European Commission has released a proposal for a new Tobacco Product Directive that might reduce availability of nicotine-containing products, including ECs. In this study, the EC use patterns in subjects who have completely substituted smoking with EC use were examined by personal interviews. The study focused on nicotine levels used in order to achieve smoking cessation, reported benefits, associated side effects, and estimation of EC dependence compared with smoking. Methods Participants were 111 subjects who had completely substituted smoking with EC use for at least 1 month. Smoking abstinence was validated by measuring blood carboxyhemoglobin levels. Nicotine levels at initiation of EC use, at time of smoking cessation, and at time of interview were recorded. Dependence potential was assessed by asking the first question of the Fagerström Test for Cigarette Dependence (time until smoking the first cigarette and until first use of EC in the morning) and questions about perceived past dependence on tobacco cigarettes and present dependence on EC. Results Forty-two percent of participants reported quitting smoking during the first month of EC use. Liquids with nicotine concentration >15 mg/mL were used by 74% of users at initiation of EC use, while 16.2% had to increase the initial nicotine levels in order to achieve complete smoking abstinence. Seventy-two participants (64.9%) reported that from the time of smoking cessation to the time of the interview (8 months median duration of EC use) they reduced the nicotine concentration they were consuming; however, only 12% of the total sample was using ≤5 mg/mL nicotine concentration at the time of the interview. Side effects were mild and temporary. The vast majority of participants reported better exercise capacity and improved olfactory and gustatory senses. Perceived EC dependenct was significantly lower compared to smoking. Conclusions Nicotine levels appear to play an important role in achieving and maintaining smoking cessation in the group of motivated subjects studied. High nicotine-containing liquids were used while few mild and temporary side effects were reported. Proposals about regulation should consider the pragmatic use patterns of ECs, especially in consumers who have completely substituted smoking.
A Robustness Simulation Method of Project Schedule based on the Monte Carlo Method

Since there are obvious uncertainties in task duration, the uncertainty will be passed step by step due to the precedence relationships among tasks. Therefore, one should pay attention to the robustness of project plan when schedul- ing the project. In this paper, the project plan robustness is evaluated as the probability of completing the project in the planning duration, the Monte Carlo method is used to simulate the practical implementation of the project plan consider- ing the characteristics of task duration distribution, and thus a complete estimation approach for project plans is presented. This approach can help project managers to determine the project duration risk and identify the key tasks that influence the project plan robustness seriously at the beginning of project planning.
Finding differentially expressed genes for pattern generation

MOTIVATION It is important to consider finding differentially expressed genes in a dataset of microarray experiments for pattern generation. RESULTS We developed two methods which are mainly based on the q-values approach; the first is a direct extension of the q-values approach, while the second uses two approaches: q-values and maximum-likelihood. We present two algorithms for the second method, one for error minimization and the other for confidence bounding. Also, we show how the method called Patterns from Gene Expression (PaGE) (Grant et al., 2000) can benefit from q-values. Finally, we conducted some experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods; experimental results on a selected dataset (BRCA1 vs BRCA2 tumor types) are provided. CONTACT alhajj@cpsc.ucalgary. ca.
Protein P7 of the Cystovirus φ6 Is Located at the Three-Fold Axis of the Unexpanded Procapsid

The objective of this study was to determine the location of protein P7, the RNA packaging factor, in the procapsid of the φ6 cystovirus. A comparison of cryo-electron microscopy high-resolution single particle reconstructions of the φ6 complete unexpanded procapsid, the protein P2-minus procapsid (P2 is the RNA directed RNA-polymerase), and the P7-minus procapsid, show that prior to RNA packaging the P7 protein is located near the three-fold axis of symmetry. Difference maps highlight the precise position of P7 and demonstrate that in P7-minus particles the P2 proteins are less localized with reduced densities at the three-fold axes. We propose that P7 performs the mechanical function of stabilizing P2 on the inner protein P1 shell which ensures that entering viral single-stranded RNA is replicated.
Microtubule-dependent path to the cell cortex for cytoplasmic dynein in mitotic spindle orientation

During animal development, microtubules (MTs) play a major role in directing cellular and subcellular patterning, impacting cell polarization and subcellular organization, thereby affecting cell fate determination and tissue architecture. In particular, when progenitor cells divide asymmetrically along an anterior-posterior or apical-basal axis, MTs must coordinate the position of the mitotic spindle with the site of cell division to ensure normal distribution of cell fate determinants and equal sequestration of genetic material into the two daughter cells. Emerging data from diverse model systems have led to the prevailing view that, during mitotic spindle positioning, polarity cues at the cell cortex signal for the recruitment of NuMA and the minus-end directed MT motor cytoplasmic dynein.1 The NuMA/dynein complex is believed to connect, in turn, to the mitotic spindle via astral MTs, thus aligning and tethering the spindle, but how this connection is achieved faithfully is unclear. Do astral MTs need to search for and then capture cortical NuMA/dynein? How does dynein capture the astral MTs emanating from the correct spindle pole? Recently, using the classical model of asymmetric cell division—budding yeast S. cerevisiae—we successfully demonstrated that astral MTs assume an active role in cortical dynein targeting, in that astral MTs utilize their distal plus ends to deliver dynein to the daughter cell cortex, the site where dynein activity is needed to perform its spindle alignment function. This observation introduced the novel idea that, during mitotic spindle orientation processes, polarity cues at the cell cortex may actually signal to prime the cortical receptors for MT-dependent dynein delivery. This model is consistent with the observation that dynein/dynactin accumulate prominently at the astral MT plus ends during metaphase in a wide range of cultured mammalian cells.
Feature Structures and Nonmonotonicity

Unification-based grammar formalisms use feature structures to represent linguistic knowledge. The only operation defined on feature structures, unification, is information-combining and monotonic. Several authors have proposed nonmonotonic extensions of this formalism, as for a linguistically adequate description of certain natural language phenomena some kind of default reasoning seems essential. We argue that the effect of these proposals can be captured by means of one general, nonmonotonic, operation on feature structures, called default unification. We provide a formal semantics of the operation and demonstrate how some of the phenomena used to motivate nonmonotonic extensions of unification-based formalisms can be handled.
Synthetic approach to the generation of antibody diversity

The in vitro antibody discovery technologies revolutionized the generation of target-specific antibodies that traditionally relied on the humoral response of immunized animals. An antibody library, a large collection of diverse, pre-constructed antibodies, can be rapidly screened using in vitro display technologies such as phage display. One of the keys to successful in vitro antibody discovery is the quality of the library diversity. Antibody diversity can be obtained either from natural B-cell sources or by the synthetic methods that combinatorially generate random nucleotide sequences. While the functionality of a natural antibody library depends largely upon the library size, various other factors can affect the quality of a synthetic antibody library, making the design and construction of synthetic antibody libraries complicated and challenging. In this review, we present various library designs and diversification methods for synthetic antibody library. From simple degenerate oligonucleotide synthesis to trinucleotide synthesis to physicochemically optimized library design, the synthetic approach is evolving beyond the simple emulation of natural antibodies, into a highly sophisticated method that is capable of producing high quality antibodies suitable for therapeutic, diagnostic, and other demanding applications. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(9): 489-494]
Neural crest and cardiovascular patterning.

Ablation of the cardiac neural crest has provided a powerful model of cardiovascular dysmorphogenesis because removal or manipulation of neural crest cells can be done before migration in sites distant from central cardiovascular development in chick embryos. Because the heart begins to function so early in its own morphogenetic history, the cardiovascular system is exquisitely sensitive to the embryonic environment, and virtually any manipulation of the embryo has cardiovascular consequences. Thus, although neural crest manipulation is not devoid of experimental artifact, it has resulted in significant advances in our understanding of certain of the factors involved in normal heart development in a way that direct manipulation of heart development does not. We have now identified two major roles for the neural crest in cardiovascular patterning. These are (1) participation in the patterning of the pharyngeal arches and their derivatives, including the aortic arch arteries, which will become the great arteries of the thorax, and (2) migration of a discrete population of neural crest cells into the cardiac outflow tract and participation in formation of the outflow septum. With the advent of genetically based animal models of cardiovascular dysmorphogenesis, some of which are neural crest related, it becomes important to understand what we know definitively from the ablation model along with the questions that remain. This review will focus on the roles of the neural crest in cardiovascular patterning as seen in the ablation model. An important part of the emerging neural crest–ablation phenotype is an early change in the functional competency of the developing myocardium. We believe that the neural crest–ablation phenotype provides a prototype for comparison with newer models of neural crest–related cardiovascular dysmorphogenesis and that the changes in myocardial functional development provide a means of understanding the early mortality associated with neural crest–type cardiac dysmorphogenesis. The four-chambered heart …
Extended benefit from sequential administration of docetaxel after standard fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide regimen for node-positive breast cancer: the 8-year follow-up results of the UNICANCER-PACS01 trial.

PURPOSE The initial report from the Programme Action Concertée Sein (PACS) PACS01 trial demonstrated a benefit at 5 years for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates with the sequential administration of docetaxel after FEC100 (fluorouracil 500 mg/m(2), epirubicin 100 mg/m(2), and cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m(2)) for patients with node-positive, operable breast cancer. We evaluate here the impact of this regimen at 8 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between June 1997 and March 2000, a total of 1,999 patients (age <65) with localized, resectable, non-pretreated, unilateral breast cancer were randomly assigned to receive either standard FEC100 for 6 cycles or 3 cycles of FEC100 followed by 3 cycles of 100 mg/m(2) docetaxel (FEC-D), both given every 21 days. Radiotherapy was mandatory after conservative surgery and tamoxifen was given for 5 years to hormone receptor (HR)-positive patients. Five-year DFS was the trial's main endpoint. Updated 8-year survival data are presented. RESULTS With a median follow-up of 92.8 months, 639 patients experienced at least one event. A total number of 383 deaths were registered. Eight-year DFS rates were 65.8% with FEC alone and 70.2% with FEC-D. OS rates at 8 years were 78% with FEC alone and 83.2% with FEC-D. Cox regression analysis adjusted for age and number of positive nodes showed a 15% reduction in the relative risk of relapse and a 25% reduction in the relative risk of death in favor of FEC-D. Significant relative risk reductions were observed in the HR-positive, HER2-positive, and Ki67 ≥20% subpopulations. CONCLUSION Benefits for DFS and OS rates with the sequential FEC-D regimen are fully confirmed at 8 years.
The Big Five personality factors and psychological well-being following stroke: a systematic review

Abstract Purpose: To identify and appraise studies investigating the relationship between the Big Five personality factors and psychological well-being following stroke and evidence for personality change. Methods: Systematic searches of six databases (PsychINFO, CINAHL, Ovid Medline, Cochrane, PubMed, and Web of Science) were conducted from inception to June 2017. Studies involving adult stroke samples that employed a validated measure of at least one of the Big Five personality factors were included. Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility and methodological quality of studies. Results: Eleven studies were identified that assessed associations between personality and psychological well-being after stroke (nine studies) or post-stroke personality change (two studies). A consistent finding was that higher neuroticism was significantly related to poorer psychological well-being. The evidence for the other Big Five factors was mixed. In terms of personality change, two cross-sectional studies reported high rates of elevated neuroticism (38–48%) and low extraversion (33–40%) relative to normative data. Different questionnaires and approaches to measuring personality (i.e., self vs. informant ratings, premorbid personality vs. current personality) complicated comparisons between studies. Conclusions: People high on neuroticism are at increased risk of poor psychological well-being after stroke. Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to address the limited research on post-stroke personality change. Implications for rehabilitation High neuroticism is associated with poorer psychological well-being after stroke. Assessing personality characteristics early after stroke may help to identify those at risk of poor psychological outcomes.
Substance Abuse Counselors with and without a Personal History of Chemical Dependency

Abstract The author reviews existing research on differences between substance abuse counselors that do and do not have a personal history of chemical addiction. Following extensive database searches, 16 studies were found that addressed the issue of differences based on counselor recovery status. Conclusions are made based on the literature review and the author calls for a shift in research agendas to begin exploring differences in the counseling process of recovering and non-recovering substance abuse counselors.
A line drawing method of the 3D models based on partial sharpening

This paper aims to propose an automatic line drawing method of the 3D models that is used for the archaeological drawing field. This method begins with partial sharpening of the triangular mesh model according to the characteristics of local curvature. Then the line drawings of the triangular mesh model would be achieved by extracting features of the model and generating the contour lines. After experiments, it testifies that this method can not only draw more details, but also obtain preferable drawing effects of triangular mesh model with rich noises, and the results are accurate. Undoubtedly, this method has practical significance for archaeologists to reduce the workload and improve the efficiency of archaeological drawings.
A Newly Emerging HIV-1 Recombinant Lineage (CRF58_01B) Disseminating among People Who Inject Drugs in Malaysia

The HIV epidemic is primarily characterised by the circulation of HIV-1 group M (main) comprising of 11 subtypes and sub-subtypes (A1, A2, B–D, F1, F2, G, H, J, and K) and to date 55 circulating recombinant forms (CRFs). In Southeast Asia, active inter-subtype recombination involving three main circulating genotypes—subtype B (including subtype B′, the Thai variant of subtype B), CRF01_AE, and CRF33_01B—have contributed to the emergence of novel unique recombinant forms. In the present study, we conducted the molecular epidemiological surveillance of HIV-1 gag-RT genes among 258 people who inject drugs (PWIDs) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between 2009 and 2011 whereby a novel CRF candidate was recently identified. The near full-length genome sequences obtained from six epidemiologically unlinked individuals showed identical mosaic structures consisting of subtype B′ and CRF01_AE, with six unique recombination breakpoints in the gag-RT, pol, and env regions. Among the high-risk population of PWIDs in Malaysia, which was predominantly infected by CRF33_01B (>70%), CRF58_01B circulated at a low but significant prevalence (2.3%, 6/258). Interestingly, the CRF58_01B shared two unique recombination breakpoints with other established CRFs in the region: CRF33_01B, CRF48_01B, and CRF53_01B in the gag gene, and CRF15_01B (from Thailand) in the env gene. Extended Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling analysis showed that CRF58_01B and other recently discovered CRFs were most likely to have originated in Malaysia, and that the recent spread of recombinant lineages in the country had little influence from neighbouring countries. The isolation, genetic characterization, and evolutionary features of CRF58_01B among PWIDs in Malaysia signify the increasingly complex HIV-1 diversity in Southeast Asia that may hold an implication on disease treatment, control, and prevention.
exical and syntactic representations in the brain : An fMRI investigation with ulti-voxel pattern analyses

Work in theoretical linguistics and psycholinguistics suggests that human linguistic knowledge forms a continuum between individual lexical items and abstract syntactic representations, with most linguistic representations falling between the two extremes and taking the form of lexical items stored together with the syntactic/semantic contexts in which they frequently occur. Neuroimaging evidence further suggests that no brain region is selectively sensitive to only lexical information or only syntactic information. Instead, all the key brain regions that support high-level linguistic processing have been implicated in both lexical and syntactic processing, suggesting that our linguistic knowledge is plausibly represented in a distributed fashion in these brain regions. Given this distributed nature of linguistic representations, multi-voxel pattern analyses (MVPAs) can help uncover important functional properties of the language system. In the current study we use MVPAs to ask two questions: (1) Do language brain regions differ in how robustly they represent lexical vs. syntactic information? and (2) Do any of the language bran regions distinguish between “pure” lexical information (lists of words) and “pure” abstract syntactic information (jabberwocky sentences) in the pattern of activity? We show that lexical information is represented more robustly than syntactic information across many language regions (with no language region showing the opposite pattern), as evidenced by a better discrimination between conditions that differ along the lexical dimension (sentences vs. jabberwocky, and word lists vs. nonword lists) than between conditions that differ along the syntactic dimension (sentences vs. word lists, and jabberwocky vs. nonword lists). This result suggests that lexical information may play a more critical role than syntax in the representation of linguistic meaning. We also show that several language regions reliably discriminate between “pure” lexical information and “pure” abstract syntactic information in their patterns of neural activity.
Fiscal Mapping Autism Spectrum Disorder Funds: A Case Study of Ohio

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have complex needs requiring regular service utilization. Policymakers, administrators, and community leaders are looking for ways to finance ASD services and systems. Understanding the fiscal resources that support ASD services is essential. This article uses fiscal mapping to explore ASD funding streams in Ohio. Fiscal mapping steps are overviewed to assist ASD stakeholders in identifying and examining ASD-related funding. Implications are drawn related to how fiscal mapping could be used to identify and leverage funding for ASD services. The resulting information is critical to utilizing existing resources, advocating for resources, and leveraging available funds.