Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two tyrosinase nonapeptides recognized on HLA‐A2 melanomas by autologous cytolytic T lymphocytes

A number of cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) clones derived from several melanoma patients have been found to recognize a majority of melanomas from HLA‐A2 patients. We have reported previously that two such CTL clones recognize a product of the tyrosinase gene that is presented by HLA‐A2. Here we show that one of these CTL clones recognizes a peptide encoded by the first nine amino acids of the putative signal sequence of tyrosinase. The other CTL clone recognizes a different tyrosinase peptide corresponding to amino acids 368–376. Both peptides contain consensus motifs of HLA‐A2 binding peptides.
Parallel lighting and reflectance estimation based on inverse rendering

Photometric registration is one of the more challenging problems related to augmented reality (AR) because the simultaneous estimations of both lighting and reflectance are especially difficult problems due to large number of parameters and ill-posed problems. As a result, most currently utilized lighting and reflectance estimation methods employ light probes such as mirror spheres, omnidirectional cameras, or require preliminary scanning of the target object. However, these light probe types are not fully suitable for AR systems. In this paper, we introduce an in-situ lighting and reflectance estimation method that does not require specific light probes and/or preliminary scanning. Our method uses images taken from multiple viewpoints while data accumulation and lighting and reflectance estimations run in the background of the primary AR system. Asa result, our method requires little manipulations for image collection. We tested our method in simulated environment and simple real environments.
Effect of parity on milk yield , composition , somatic cell count , renneting parameters and bacteria counts of Comisana ewes

Twenty-four Comisana ewes, with no history of mastitis, were included in this study, with eight ewes each in parities 1, 2 and 3. Groups were separately penned on straw litter and ewes were individually checked for yield, composition, renneting properties and bacteriological characteristics of milk from January, when separated from their lambs (50 3 days after lambing), to May. Samples with more than 3.5 10 somatic cells/ml were cultured for mastitis related pathogens. Milk yield was not signi®cantly affected by parity. The P3 ewes had signi®cantly higher milk protein, casein and fat contents compared to the P1 and P2 ewes. The P3 ewes also had improved renneting ability of milk as compared to the P1 ewes. Quality of milk decreased with lower lactations. The milk of P1 ewes had signi®cantly greater amounts of mesophilic bacteria than the P2 and P3 ewes, as well as higher concentrations of psychrotrophs and total coliforms in their milk with respect to the P3 ewes. Somatic cell counts in milk and the prevalence of subclinical mastitis were not changed by parity, although mastitis infection set in progressively earlier as the number of lactations decreased. These results suggest that ewes in ®rst or second lactation have a less favourable milk secretion status in relation to mastitis than ewes with a higher number of lactations. Milk yield and quality of younger ewes may be improved by offering feed rations that take into account this reduced capacity to mobilise body reserves. Also, most scrupulous control of sanitation of housing, equipment and personnel is necessary. # 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
A quantitative study of the optimal control model for an electric power generating system

The importance of electric power in today's world cannot be overemphasized for it is the key energy source for industrial, commercial and domestic activities. Its availability in the right quantity is essential to advancement of civilization. In fact, a direct relationship can be shown to exist between (electric) power availability and per capital of a nation. The economy of a nation is easily identified with the amount of electricity it supplies. The advanced economy of the world generates a lot electric power and hence they witness rapid economical and industrial development. Third-world countries often witness epileptic or unstable supply of electric power. It is common knowledge that to have constant and stable electricity supply, a country needs to invest in its power generation. In the light of this, an optimal control model is proposed herein for the electric power generating system. In the model, the power generated and the capital investment describe the state of the system while the generator capacity is chosen as the control. The goal is to minimize the cost of generation and maximize the generator output without violating operating limits on the equipment. In this study, we consider the minimization of the total operating cost incurred in the process of generating the required quantity of electric power as our specific objective. A quantitative treatment of the optimal control model of the electric power generating system is then undertaken using real-life data. The result of the analysis indicate that the model gave an actual representation of the system under consideration.
Expression levels of mRNA for insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2, IGF receptors and IGF binding proteins in in vivo and in vitro grown bovine follicles

Summary This study investigated mRNA levels for insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) IGF1 (IGF-I) and IGF2 (IGF-II), IGF receptors (IGF1R and IGF2R), and binding proteins (IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2. IGFBP-3, IGFBP-4, IGFBP-5 and IGFBP-6) in bovine follicles of 0.2, 0.5 or 1.0 mm in diameter. mRNA expression levels in in vitro cultured follicles that reached approximately 0.5 mm were compared with that of in vivo grown follicles. IGF1R and IGF2R expression levels in 0.5 mm in vivo follicles were higher than in 1.0 or 0.2 mm follicles, respectively. IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2. IGFBP-3, IGFBP-4, IGFBP-5 and IGFBP-6 showed variable expression in the follicular size classes analyzed. In vitro grown follicles had significantly reduced expression levels for IGF1, IGF1R, IGFBP-3, IGFBP-5 and IGFBP-6 mRNA when compared with 0.2 mm follicles, but, when compared with in vivo grown follicles (0.5 mm), only IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2, IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-6 showed a reduction in their expression. In conclusion, IGFs, their receptors and IGFBPs showed variable expression of mRNA levels in the follicular size classes analyzed.
UVB irradiation as a tool to assess ROS‐induced damage in human spermatozoa

One of the consequences of oxygen metabolism is the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which in a situation of imbalance with antioxidants can damage several biomolecules, compromise cell function and even lead to cellular death. The particularities of the sperm cell make it particularly vulnerable to ROS attack compromising its functionality, mirrored in terms of fertility outcome and making the study of the origin of sperm ROS, as well as the alterations they cause very important. In the present work, we used UVB irradiation, an easy experimental approach known as a potent inducer of ROS formation, to better understand the origin of ROS damage without any confounding effects that usually exist in disease models in which ROS are reported to play a role. To address these issues we evaluated sperm mitochondrial ROS production using the Mitosox Red Probe, mitochondrial membrane potential using the JC‐1 probe, lipid peroxidation through BODIPY probe and vitality using PI. We observed that UVB irradiation leads to an increase in sperm mitochondrial ROS production and lipid peroxidation that occur previously to an observable mitochondrial dysfunction. We concluded that sperm UVB irradiation appears to be a good and easily manipulated in vitro model system to study mitochondria‐induced oxidative stress in spermatozoa and its consequences, which may be relevant in terms of dissecting the action pathways of many other pathologies, drugs and contaminants, including endocrine disruptors.
Designated Target Enhancement and Segmentation in Multi-spectral MR Images

The main objective of this study was to develop a new technique for MR Image segmentation that not only addresses the shortcomings of existing segmentation methods, but also preserves the advantages they offer, thus leading to high accuracy while segmenting the designated target from the MR image. The proposed method consists of two parts, first part is to enhance the contrast between the target and the background, and second part is to segment the target from images. In order to obtain accurate quantitative analysis and to confirm that the proposed method delivers excellent results for real MR images, experimental data were assigned into two groups: computer simulation and actual Breast MRIs. Finally, we compare the experimental results with those of several existing renowned image segmentation algorithms to confirm the advantages and contributions of the proposed method.
The Arabidopsis NHL 3 Gene Encodes a Plasma Membrane Protein and Its Overexpression Correlates with Increased Resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv . tomato DC 30001

The Arabidopsis genome contains a family of NDR1/HIN1-like (NHL) genes that show homology to the nonrace-specific disease resistance (NDR1) and the tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) harpin-induced (HIN1) genes. NHL3 is a pathogen-responsive member of this NHL gene family that is potentially involved in defense. In independent transgenic NHL3-overexpressing plant lines, a clear correlation between increased resistance to virulent Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 and enhanced NHL3 transcript levels was seen. These transgenic plants did not show enhanced pathogenesis-related gene expression or reactive oxygen species accumulation. Biochemical and localization experiments were performed to assist elucidation of how NHL3 may confer enhanced disease resistance. Gene constructs expressing amino-terminal c-myc-tagged or carboxylterminal hemagglutinin epitope (HA)-tagged NHL3 demonstrated membrane localization in transiently transformed tobacco leaves. Stable Arabidopsis transformants containing the NHL3-HA construct corroborated the findings observed in tobacco. The detected immunoreactive proteins were 10 kD larger than the calculated size and could be partially accounted for by the glycosylation state. However, the expected size was not attained with deglycosylation, suggesting possibly additional posttranslational modification. Detergent treatment, but not chemicals used to strip membrane-associated proteins, could displace the immunoreactive signal from microsomal fractions, showing that NHL3 is tightly membrane associated. Furthermore, immunofluorescence and immunogold labeling, coupled with two-phase partitioning techniques, revealed plasma membrane localization of NHL3-HA. This subcellular localization of NHL3 positions it at an initial contact site to pathogens and may be important in facilitating interception of pathogen-derived signals.
An Enhancer Element in the EphA2 (Eck) Gene Sufficient for Rhombomere-specific Expression Is Activated by HOXA1 and HOXB1 Homeobox Proteins*

In the hindbrain of the mouse embryo, there is often coincident rhombomere-restricted expression of Eph receptor tyrosine kinases and Hox homeobox genes, raising the possibility of regulatory interactions. In this paper, we have identified cis-acting regulatory sequences of the EphA2(Eck) gene, which direct node and hindbrain-specific expression in transgenic embryos. An 8-kilobase region of mouse genomic DNA element was sufficient to drive rhombomere 4 (r4)-specific expression while conferring patchy expression in the node. Further analysis localized the rhombomere-specific enhancer to a 0.9-kilobase sequence. This element contains multiple Hox-Pbx consensus binding sites that bind to both HOXA1/Pbx1 and HOXB1/Pbx1 proteins in vitro. Co-expression of either HOXA1 or HOXB1 with Pbx1 transactivated EphA2 enhancer-dependent reporter gene expression. These results, together with observations of reduced EphA2 expression in hoxa1 andhoxb1 double mutant mice, suggest that expression ofEphA2 gene in rhombomere 4 is directly regulated by Hoxa1 and Hoxb1 homeobox transcription factors.
Patterns of changes in arterial PO2 during one-lung ventilation: a comparison between patients with severe pulmonary emphysema and patients with preserved lung function.

OBJECTIVES One-lung ventilation (OLV) during thoracoscopic surgery is associated with a significant decline in arterial PO(2) in patients with severe pulmonary emphysema and patients with preserved lung function. The authors hypothesized that patterns of arterial PO(2) changes are different in these 2 patient groups. DESIGN Prospective nonrandomized study. SETTING University hospital. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-five patients undergoing thoracoscopic interventions: 16 with severe pulmonary emphysema and 9 patients without emphysema. INTERVENTIONS Continuous arterial blood gas measurement (PaO(2), PaCO(2), pHa) during OLV of the left lung in left lateral position using the Paratrend 7 blood gas monitoring system (PT7; Pfizer Hospital Products Group, High Wycombe, UK). MAIN RESULTS The decrease of PaO(2) was delayed in patients with severe emphysema. Steady state (defined as DeltaPaO(2) <7.5 mmHg/min) was reached after 18 +/- 4 minutes compared with 11 +/- 3 minutes (mean +/- standard deviation) in patients with normal lung function (p = 0.0002). PaO(2) values at steady state were comparable (p = 0.49); the pattern of changes in PaO(2) for the first 15 minutes of left-sided OLV was significantly different between the groups (p = 0.0004). The difference of predicted versus measured PaO(2) at steady state was -48 +/- 160 mmHg for patients with emphysema and -51 +/- 60 mmHg for patients with normal lung function (p = 0.019). CONCLUSION During OLV, oxygenation is better preserved for a longer period of time in patients with severe pulmonary emphysema as compared with patients with normal lung function. In contrast to patients without emphysema, prediction of oxygenation during OLV for the individual patient with emphysema is unreliable because of large interindividual differences.
Identification of Endosomal Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Signaling Targets by Functional Organelle Proteomics *S

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) signal transduction is organized by scaffold and adaptor proteins, which have specific subcellular distribution. On a way from the plasma membrane to the lysosome EGFRs are still in their active state and can signal from distinct subcellular locations. To identify organelle-specific targets of EGF receptor signaling on endosomes a combination of subcellular fractionation, two-dimensional DIGE, fluorescence labeling of phosphoproteins, and MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry was applied. All together 23 EGF-regulated (phospho)proteins were identified as being differentially associated with endosomal fractions by functional organelle proteomics; among them were proteins known to be involved in endosomal trafficking and cytoskeleton rearrangement (Alix, myosin-9, myosin regulatory light chain, Trap1, moesin, cytokeratin 8, septins 2 and 11, and CapZβ). Interestingly R-Ras, a small GTPase of the Ras family that regulates cell survival and integrin activity, was associated with endosomes in a ligand-dependent manner. EGF-dependent association of R-Ras with late endosomes was confirmed by confocal laser scanning immunofluorescence microscopy and Western blotting of endosomal fractions. EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib was used to confirm EGF-dependent regulation of all identified proteins. EGF-dependent association of signaling molecules, such as R-Ras, with late endosomes suggests signaling specification through intracellular organelles.
Robust feature extraction and control design for autonomous grasping and mobile manipulation

This paper presents a novel design of visual servo control of a mobile manipulator for autonomous grasping of a target object. In this design, scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm is adopted to search and recognize the object to grasp. Random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm is used to remove outliers and find the refined homography matrix between database and current image. Robust feature matching provides reliable feature points to the image-based visual servo control loop. Experimental results show that the mobile manipulator can find and grasp a target object autonomously using the proposed method.
Effect of age and body weight of Greater Rhea (Rhea americana) females on egg number, size and composition

1. A study was conducted to evaluate how body weight and age of each female are related to the number and physical and chemical characteristics of the eggs produced throughout a breeding season in a captive-bred population of Greater Rheas (Rhea americana). 2. Reproductive performance of 15 females of three age classes (5 individuals per class) was monitored; female body weight was recorded before laying-onset. All the eggs laid were collected and identified, and different morphometric variables, percentage of components and fatty acid composition were determined. 3. The earlier the female started egg-laying, the longer the laying period and the greater the overall number of eggs produced. The onset of egg-laying in turn seemed to be related to the attainment of a high body weight. 4. Except for length, the values of the morphometric variables of the egg and unsaturated fatty acids (palmitoleic, oleic and linoleic) increased with female age. 5. High body weight was associated with low palmitic and palmitoleic fatty acids and high linoleic, linolenic and total unsaturated fatty acids. 6. Live weight and age of females can determine several physical and chemical characteristics of eggs.
Document categorization algorithm based on kernel NPE

To efficiently tackle document classification problem, a novel document classification algorithm based on kernel neighborhood preserving embedding (KNPE) is proposed in this paper. The discriminant features are first extracted by the KNPE algorithm, then SVM is used to classify the documents into semantically different classes. Experimental results on real document databases have demonstrated the better performance of the proposed algorithm.
Radio-Free Mutual Authentication for Cognitive Radio Network

Cognitive radio (CR) technology has been offered to improve efficiency in bandwidth use and the quality of service (QoS) of heterogeneous wireless networks with varied types of radio systems. As the CR network system grows, network security has been raised as an area of concern. The topic has yet to be fully considered and no suitable authentication methods have been identified. In this paper, we propose a radio-free mutual authentication protocol for the CR network. The protocol, named EAP-CRP, adopts the location information of a mobile terminal as a shared secret for authentication. EAP-CRP has been designed to satisfy the requirements of wireless network security, confidentiality, integrity and availability, and is realized as a lightweight and quick-responding mutual authentication protocol.
Properties of the Ubiquitin-Pex5p Thiol Ester Conjugate*

Pex5p, the peroxisomal protein cycling receptor, binds newly synthesized peroxisomal matrix proteins in the cytosol and promotes their translocation across the organelle membrane. During its transient passage through the membrane, Pex5p is monoubiquitinated at a conserved cysteine residue, a requisite for its subsequent ATP-dependent export back into the cytosol. Here we describe the properties of the soluble and membrane-bound monoubiquitinated Pex5p species (Ub-Pex5p). Our data suggest that 1) Ub-Pex5p is deubiquitinated by a combination of context-dependent enzymatic and nonenzymatic mechanisms; 2) soluble Ub-Pex5p retains the capacity to interact with the peroxisomal import machinery in a cargo-dependent manner; and 3) substitution of the conserved cysteine residue of Pex5p by a lysine results in a quite functional protein both in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, we show that MG132, a proteasome inhibitor, blocks the import of a peroxisomal reporter protein in vivo.
Domestic Dog Origin of Canine Distemper Virus in Free-ranging Wolves in Portugal as Revealed by Hemagglutinin Gene Characterization

Serologic evidence for canine distemper virus (CDV) has been described in grey wolves but, to our knowledge, virus strains circulating in wolves have not been characterized genetically. The emergence of CDV in several non-dog hosts has been associated with amino acid substitutions at sites 530 and 549 of the hemagglutinin (H) protein. We sequenced the H gene of wild-type canine distemper virus obtained from two free-ranging Iberian wolves (Canis lupus signatus) and from one domestic dog (Canis familiaris). More differences were found between the two wolf sequences than between one of the wolves (wolf 75) and the dog. The latter two had a very high nucleotide similarity resulting in identical H gene amino acid sequences. Possible explanations include geographic and especially temporal proximity of the CDV obtained from wolf 75 and the domestic dog, taken in 2007–2008, as opposed to that from wolf 3 taken more distantly in 1998. Analysis of the deduced amino acids of the viral hemagglutinin revealed a glycine (G) and a tyrosine (Y) at amino acid positions 530 and 549, respectively, of the partial signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM)-receptor binding region which is typically found in viral strains obtained from domestic dogs. This suggests that the CDV found in these wolves resulted from transmission events from local domestic dogs rather than from wildlife species.
Contraction Regulation of Akt in Rat Skeletal Muscle*

The protein serine/threonine kinase Akt/protein kinase B has been recognized as a critical signaling mediator for multiple cell systems. The function of Akt in skeletal muscle is not well understood, and whether contractile activity stimulates Akt activity has been controversial. In the current study, contraction in situ, induced via sciatic nerve stimulation, significantly increased Akt Ser473 phosphorylation in multiple muscle types including the extensor digitorum longus (13-fold over basal), plantaris (5.8-fold), red gastrocnemius (4.7-fold), white gastrocnemius (3.3-fold), and soleus (1.6-fold). In addition to increasing phosphorylation, contraction in situsignificantly increased the activity of all three Akt isoforms (Akt1 > Akt2 > Akt3) with maximal activation occurring at 2.5 min and returning to base line with 15 min of contraction. Akt phosphorylation and activity were also increased when isolated muscles were contracted in vitro in the absence of systemic factors, although to a much lesser extent. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors wortmannin and LY294002 fully inhibited contraction-stimulated Akt phosphorylation and activity but did not diminish contraction-stimulated glycogen synthase kinase-3 phosphorylation and glycogen synthase activity. These results demonstrate that contraction increases Akt phosphorylation and activity in skeletal muscle and that this stimulation is rapid, transient, muscle fiber type-specific, and wortmannin- and LY294002-inhibitable. Akt signaling is not necessary for the regulation of glycogen synthase activity in contracting skeletal muscle.