Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cyclic AMP and cell division in Escherichia coli

We examined several aspects of cell division regulation in Escherichia coli which have been thought to be controlled by cyclic AMP (cAMP) and its receptor protein (CAP). Mutants lacking adenyl cyclase (cya) or CAP (crp) were rod shaped, not spherical, during exponential growth in LB broth or glucose-Casamino Acids medium, and lateral wall elongation was normal; in broth, stationary-phase cells became ovoid. Cell mass was smaller for the mutants than for the wild type, but it remained appropriate for their slower growth rate and thus probably does not reflect early (uncontrolled) septation. The slow growth did not seem to reflect a gross metabolic disorder, since the mutants gave a normal yield on limiting glucose; surprisingly, however, the cya mutant (unlike crp) was unable to grow anaerobically on glucose, suggesting a role for cAMP (but not for CAP) in the expression of some fermentation enzyme. Both cya and crp mutants are known to be resistant to mecillinam, an antibiotic which inhibits penicillin-binding protein 2 (involved in lateral wall elongation) and also affects septation. This resistance does not reflect a lack of PBP2. Furthermore, it was not simply the result of slow growth and small cell mass, since small wild-type cells growing in acetate remained sensitive. The cAMP-CAP complex may regulate the synthesis of some link between PBP2 and the septation apparatus. The ftsZ gene, coding for a cell division protein, was expressed at a higher level in the absence of cAMP, as measured with an ftsZ::lacZ fusion, but the amount of protein per cell, shown by others to be invariable over a 10-fold range of cell mass, was independent of cAMP, suggesting that ftsZ expression is not regulated by the cAMP-CAP complex.
Sortilin Facilitates Signaling of Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor and Related Helical Type 1 Cytokines Targeting the gp130/Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Receptor β Heterodimer

ABSTRACT Sortilin is a member of the Vps10p domain family of neuropeptide and neurotrophin binding neuronal receptors. The family members interact with and partly share a variety of ligands and partake in intracellular sorting and protein transport as well as in transmembrane signal transduction. Thus, sortilin mediates the transport of both neurotensin and nerve growth factor and interacts with their respective receptors to facilitate ligand-induced signaling. Here we report that ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), and related ligands targeting the established CNTF receptor α, binds to sortilin with high affinity. We find that sortilin may have at least two functions: one is to provide rapid endocytosis and the removal of CNTF, something which is not provided by CNTF receptor α, and the other is to facilitate CNTF signaling through the gp130/leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) receptor β heterodimeric complex. Interestingly, the latter function is independent of both the CNTF receptor α and ligand binding to sortilin but appears to implicate a direct interaction with LIF receptor β. Thus, sortilin facilitates the signaling of all helical type 1 cytokines, which engage the gp130/LIF receptor β complex.
An Overlapping Unification Algorithm and its Hardware Implementation

Multithreaded deterministic replay has important applications in cyclic debugging, fault tolerance, intrusion analysis and more. Memory race recording is a key technology for multithreaded deterministic replay. This dissertation proposes a new race recording algorithm and describes a novel implementation of a race recorder based on multiprocessor cache coherence mechanisms. As a result of the new algorithm and the novel implementation, the new race recorder is significantly more efficient and less expensive than existing memory race recorders. Notably, the recorder simultaneously achieves several desired features: • Long recording by reducing the recorder log size to around one byte per thousand instructions. • Always-on recording by reducing the runtime overhead to less than 2%. • Inexpensive recording by reducing the timestamp memory size (which is different from the log size) to approximately 24 kilobytes per processor. • Broad applicability by supporting programs with data races and by supporting multiprocessor systems with both the Sequential Consistency and the Total Store Order (TSO) memory consistency models. Our improvements stem from several ideas: (1) a method of creating artificial dependencies that allows reduction and compression in the log, yet still allows parallel replay; (2) a method of approximating timestamps that ii allows significant reduction in the chip area cost; (3) a method of hardware coherence piggybacking that enables race recording with extremely low runtime overhead, yet still supports race recording with programs with data races; (4) a method of order-value-hybrid recording that supports race recording on multiprocessor systems with the TSO memory consistency model. We evaluate the recorder with full-system simulation of a Chip MultiProcessing (CMP) system and commercial workloads. Our results support that the recorder can be always-on and the log size is around one byte per kilo instructions (55 to 180 KB per (2 gigahertz) processor per second). This dissertation contributes to the race recording literature with three results. First, we show that a recorder can create artificial dependencies that imply other dependencies and enable a compact log. We develop a heuristic algorithm that creates these dependencies without creating replay deadlocks. This is a significant contribution, because this log reduction problem has been researched extensively and the best existing reduction method is optimal (if the recorder does not create artificial dependencies). Second, we show that a recorder needs to store only a small subset of the timestamps to achieve the most benefits of storing all timestamps for all memory blocks. This is again significant, because this optimization reduces the chip area cost of our hardware recorder and is applicable to software recorders. Finally, we demonstrate that a hardware race recorder can be implemented with little additional hardware and extremely low
Declustering of an earthquake catalog based on ergodicity using parallel Grey Wolf Optimization

The declustering of an earthquake catalog identify the background events (seismic events generated by regular earth movements), which leads to an unbiased estimation of seismic activities in a region. The ergodicity of a seismic region represents the ensemble average of events in time and space. The ergodicity of a seismic catalog is represented by a Thirumalai-Mountain (TM) metric. If the inverse TM metric becomes linear with time then the catalog is assumed to be declustered (it contains only the background events). But the original catalog normally contains backgrounds as well as seismically triggered events (Foreshocks and Aftershocks). The objective here is to optimally remove the triggered events from the catalog with an optimization algorithm so that the remaining catalog contains only the backgrounds. Here a parallel Grey Wolf Optimization (P-GWO) is introduced to perform the optimization task. Compared to the original GWO here the new updated positions of wolves are computed in parallel which reduces the computational complexity of the algorithm keeping the same accuracy level. The analysis is carried out on Southern California catalog and the results obtained are superior to that achieved by Cho et al. using PSO in 2010. Comparative results also demonstrate better performance over three benchmark statistical de-clustering methods by Gardner-Knopoff, Uhrhammer and Reseanberg.
HIV‐associated brain pathology in the United Kingdom: an epidemiological study

Objectives:To examine the epidemiology of HIV-associated neuropathology in the United Kingdom and to investigate whether the prevalence of different forms of HIV-associated brain pathology varies with exposure category. Design:The study was a cross-sectional survey; data was analysed from the Medical Research Council National AIDS Neuropathology database. Setting:Information was gathered from throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Subjects:Individuals who died from AIDS in the United Kingdom and had a postmortem examination. The database comprised 7% of all AIDS deaths in the United Kingdom between 1982 and 1993. Main outcome:Neuropathological diagnoses based on internationally accepted neuropathological terminology of AIDS-related brain lesions. Results:HIV encephalitis was the most prevalent pathological diagnosis, occurring in 25.3% [95% confidence interval (CI), 21.0–29.6] of the study sample. Statistically significant independent associations for the occurrence of HIV encephalitis were found for injecting drug use (odds ratio, 6.86; 95% CI, 2.91–16.17), and age less than 30 years at death (odds ratio, 3.58; 95% CI, 1.99-6.44). Vascular lesions were significantly higher among blood product recipients, 95% of whom were haemophiliacs. Conclusions:This was the first epidemiological investigation of HIV-associated brain pathology in the United Kingdom. HIV encephalitis appeared to occur more frequently in injecting drug users and those who died younger. Whereas the findings must be interpreted cautiously, one hypothesis was that differences in the route of transmission may have affected the manifestation of HIV-associated brain damage.
The Relationship between Economic Growth and Financial Sector Development in Indonesia

What is the relationship between the finance sector development and economic growth? This paper is intended to analyze a fewer number of important financial factors using econometric analysis on some selected indicators of Indonesian financial sector during the period 1988 - 2013. This paper then tries to check whether the identified financial factors development cause economic growth or economic growth causes financial factors development. The Granger – Causality test shows that no financial factor significantly causes economic growth; rather economic growth causes the financial sector development during the period. In general, the financial sector of Indonesia is being unstably deepened with response to the demand of economic growth since 1988.
High granular multi-level-security model for improved usability

Working with existing multi-level-security (MLS) models reduces the usability especially when users try to transfer information to persons with different security categories. A main reason for the problems occurring with the information exchanging is that the existing MLS models assign a specific security level to documents. The assigned security level equals the highest security level of the textual content within the document. Based on the commonly used Bell LaPadula model, an extended model with an increased granularity is introduced. It is shown that users can access to parts of documents with higher security levels without causing a security compromise. This enables information exchange and it leads to an increased usability of the MLS model.
Using Imported Intermediate Goods: Selection and Technology Effects

Producers that use imported intermediate goods tend to be much larger and more productive than others. Some of this is due to a selection effect: the most productive producers self‐select into importing because only they can overcome the fixed costs of developing trade relationships with foreign input suppliers. Some of this is due to a technology effect: any given producer would have higher variable profits from operating the technology using imported intermediate goods. To account for the roles of these theoretical mechanisms, we develop a simple model of a competitive small open economy in which heterogeneous firms endogenously decide whether to use imported intermediate goods. The technology that uses imported intermediate goods is superior but requires a higher fixed cost of operating. The calibrated model captures the large performance advantage of importers and quantifies the selection and technology effects.
Testing the theories of law making in a parliamentary democracy : a roll call analysis of the Italian Chamber of Deputies

The theoretical efforts in the rational choice approach to explain the law making in United States Congress has been increasingly matched by attempts to test comparatively the explicative power of the different theories (Krehbiel et al 2005, Cox & McCubbins 2005). No similar effort has been made by the scholars studying the parliamentary democracies. In this paper we try to start filling this gap. Using roll calls of the 10, 13 and 14 Italian legislatures we try to test via cut points distribution the explicative power in a parliamentary system of some of the law making theories. We aim to evaluate their explicative strength according to the dynamics of the party system, the type of government and the nature of the bill’s promoter.
Predicted tissue accumulation of netilmicin in patients

The two-compartment pharmacokinetics of netilmicin were investigated in 11 patients with stable renal function who were being treated for gram-negative infections. The initial dosage of netilmicin ranged from 2.5 to 5.0 mg/kg per day, with subsequent changes made on the basis of serum concentrations. Venous blood samples were obtained every 2 to 4 days during therapy and daily for an average of 10 days after the final dose. Serum concentrations were measured by both microbiological assay and radioimmunoassay. Peak and trough netilmicin concentrations were significantly greater (P less than 0.01) at the end of therapy than at the first dose, even though renal function was stable throughout treatment in all patients. After the final dose, serum concentrations declined in a biphasic manner, with a first-phase half-life of 5.4 h and a terminal half-life of 198 h. The total body clearance averaged 31 ml/min. An average of 99 mg of netilmicin (approximately 5% of the total dose) was predicted to be in the tissue compartment at the end of therapy. A comparison of these pharmacokinetic parameters with those obtained in a previously reported but similar study with gentamicin showed no significant differences between the two aminoglycosides with respect to peak and trough concentrations (initially or at the end of therapy), volumes of distribution, total body clearance, or amount of drug in the tissue compartment at the end of therapy. The terminal half-life of netilmicin was significantly greater than that of gentamicin, whereas the rate constant of netilmicin for tissue influx (k12) was significantly less.
Two asset-barrier option under stochastic volatility

ABSTRACT Financial products which depend on hitting times for two underlying assets have become very popular in the last decade. Three common examples are double-digital barrier options, two-asset barrier spread options and double lookback options. Analytical expressions for the joint distribution of the endpoints and the maximum and/or minimum values of two assets are essential in order to obtain quasi-closed form solutions for the price of these derivatives. Earlier authors derived quasi-closed form pricing expressions in the context of constant volatility and correlation. More recently solutions were provided in the presence of a common stochastic volatility factor but with restricted correlations due to the use of a method of images. In this article, we generalize this finding by allowing any value for the correlation. In this context, we derive closed-form expressions for some two-asset barrier options.
Resilient University Leaders in Contemporary Dynamic Environment: A Preventive Model for Derailed Presidencies

-----The environment in which institutions of higher learning are doing their businesses is getting dynamic and has obtained more consideration in the tertiary education and its resilient future research. Worldwide trends in tertiary education, as well as the changing external environment, put many challenges for the university leaders. To meet the demands of an increasingly dynamic and complex environment many university leaders have begun searching for ways to be resilient and receptive to these changes in order to stay competitive. This study offers university leaders a way to face external changes and disruptions in line to make their institutions perform better internationally. It investigated the role of self-efficacy and learning orientation on the performance of university leaders. It also proposed and tested the moderating effect of dynamic environment on the above-mentioned relationships. The research used the quantitative method and a population comprised 242 usable questionnaires that were collected from the leaders of public higher education institutions of Pakistan. The proposed structural equation model was evaluated with Partial Least Squares (PLS) techniques. Results showed support for the theoretical model that was considered. The findings suggest that self-efficacy and learning orientation is linked with performance in such a way that it nullified the moderating effect of dynamic environment. This investigation has importance for both savants and specialists in improving university leadership with a revolutionary approach; also this research helped to provide a conceptual anatomy to trigger future investigations and theory on strengthening university
Network security-overcome password hacking through graphical password authentication

A graphical password is an authentication system that works by having the user select from images, in a specific order, presented in a graphical user interface(GUI). The most common computer authentication method is to use alphanumerical usernames and passwords. This method has been shown to have significant drawbacks. For example, user tends to pick a passwords that can be easily guessed. On the other hand, if a password is hard to guess, then it is often hard to remember. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive survey of the existing graphical password techniques and proposed a new technique. We discuss the strengths and limitations of each method and point out the future research directions in this area. And also major design and implementation issues are clearly explained. The main advantage of this method is it is difficult to hack. For example, If there are 100 images on each of the 8 pages in a 8-image password, there are 100^8 or 10 quadrillion (10,000,000,000,000,000), possible combinations that could form the graphical password. If the system has the built-in delay of only 0.1 second following the selection of each image until the selection of the next page, it would take millions of years to break into the system by hitting it with random image sequences. Therefore hacking by random combination is impossible.
Computational Efficient Two-Dimension DOA Estimation for Incoherently Distributed Noncircular Sources With Automatic Pairing

In this paper, the problem of two-dimensional (2-D) direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation for incoherently distributed (ID) noncircular sources is addressed. A low-complexity estimator with automatic pairing in the three-parallel uniform linear arrays (ULAs) is proposed. First, the signal non-circularity is applied to establish an extended generalized array manifold (GAM) model based on one-order Taylor series approximation. Resorting to such model, the generalized rotational invariance relationships are identified among the extended GAM matrices of the three ULAs. Thereafter, a modified propagator method is utilized to estimate the central elevation and azimuth DOAs. Without any spectrum searching, estimation or eigenvalue decomposition of the sample covariance matrix, the proposed approach is capable of considerably reducing the calculation cost in comparison with the existing methods. In addition, it can automatically pair the estimated central azimuth and central elevation DOAs. We also derive the Cramer-Rao lower bound regarding the 2-D DOA estimation of the ID noncircular source and conduct the computational complexity analysis. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves better estimation performance than the existing methods. Furthermore, it can be applied in the multi-source scenario where different sources may have different angular distribution shapes.
Constitutive Activation of Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinase 2 by Synergistic Point Mutations*

Constitutively active mutant forms of signaling enzymes provide insight into mechanisms of activation as well as useful molecular tools for probing downstream targets. In this study, point mutations in ERK2 at conserved residues L73P and S151D were identified that individually led to 8–12-fold increased specific activity and in combination reached 50-fold, indicating synergistic interactions between these residues. Examination by mass spectrometry, phosphatase sensitivity, and Western blotting revealed that the mutations enhanced ERK2 activity by facilitating intramolecular autophosphorylation predominantly at Tyr-185 and to a lesser extent at Thr-183 and that phosphorylation at both sites is required for activation. A set of short molecular dynamics simulations were carried out using different random seeds to sample locally accessible configurations. Simulations of the active mutant showed potential hydrogen bonding interactions between the phosphoryl acceptor and catalytic nucleophile, which could account for enhanced intramolecular autophosphorylation. In intact cells, the ERK2 mutants were functionally active in phosphorylating Elk-1 and RSK1 and activating the c-fos promoter. This activity was only partially reduced upon treatment of cells with the MKK1/2 inhibitor, U0126, indicating that in vivo the mechanism of ERK2 activation occurs substantially through autophosphorylation and partially through phosphorylation by MKK1/2.
Antigenotoxic effects of p53 on spontaneous and ultraviolet light B–induced deletions in the epidermis of gpt delta transgenic mice

Tumor development in the skin may be a multistep process where multiple genetic alterations occur successively. The p53 gene is involved in genome stability and thus is referred to as “the guardian of the genome. ” To better understand the antigenotoxic effects of p53 in ultraviolet light B (UVB)‐induced mutagenesis, mutations were measured in the epidermis of UVB‐irradiated p53+/+ and p53−/− gpt delta mice. In the mouse model, point mutations and deletions are separately identified by the gpt and Spi− assays, respectively. The mice were exposed to UVB at single doses of 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 kJ/m2. The mutant frequencies (MFs) were determined 4 weeks after the irradiation. All doses of UVB irradiation enhanced gpt MFs by about 10 times than that of unirradiated mice. There were no significant differences in gpt MFs and the mutation spectra between p53+/+ and p53−/− mice. The predominant mutations induced by UVB irradiation were G:C to A:T transitions at dipyrimidines. In contrast, in unirradiated p53−/− mice, the frequencies of Spi− large deletions of more than 1 kb and complex‐type deletions with rearrangements were significantly higher than those of the Spi− large deletions in p53+/+ counterparts. The specific Spi− mutation frequency of more than 1 kb deletions and complex types increased in a dose‐dependent manner in the p53+/+ mice. However, no increase of such large deletions was observed in irradiated p53−/− mice. These results suggest that the antigenotoxic effects of p53 may be specific to deletions and complex‐type mutations induced by double‐strand breaks in DNA. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. , 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.