Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tuberous Sclerosis Tumor Suppressor Complex-like Complexes Act as GTPase-activating Proteins for Ral GTPases*

The small GTPases RalA and RalB are multifunctional proteins regulating a variety of cellular processes. Like other GTPases, the activity of Ral is regulated by the opposing effects of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). Although several RalGEFs have been identified and characterized, the molecular identity of RalGAP remains unknown. Here, we report the first molecular identification of RalGAPs, which we have named RalGAP1 and RalGAP2. They are large heterodimeric complexes, each consisting of a catalytic α1 or α2 subunit and a common β subunit. These RalGAP complexes share structural and catalytic similarities with the tuberous sclerosis tumor suppressor complex, which acts as a GAP for Rheb. In vitro GTPase assays revealed that recombinant RalGAP1 accelerates the GTP hydrolysis rate of RalA by 280,000-fold. Heterodimerization was required for this GAP activity. In PC12 cells, knockdown of the β subunit led to sustained Ral activation upon epidermal growth factor stimulation, indicating that the RalGAPs identified here are critical for efficient termination of Ral activation induced by extracellular stimuli. Our identification of RalGAPs will enable further understanding of Ral signaling in many biological and pathological processes.
Send Orders of Reprints at Reprints@benthamscience.net Evaluation of Blood Pressure Control Using a New Arterial Stiffness Parameter, Cardio-ankle Vascular Index (cavi)

Arterial stiffness has been known to be a surrogate marker of arteriosclerosis, and also of vascular function. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) had been the most popular index and was known to be a predictor of cardiovascular events. But, it depends on blood pressure at measuring time. To overcome this problem, cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is developed. CAVI is derived from stiffness parameter by Hayashi, and the equation of Bramwell-Hill, and is independent from blood pressure at a measuring time. Then, CAVI might reflect the proper change of arterial wall by antihypertensive agents. CAVI shows high value with aging and in many arteriosclerotic diseases and is also high in persons with main coronary risk factors. Furthermore, CAVI is decreased by an administration of 1 blocker, doxazosin for 2-4 hours, Those results suggested that CAVI reflected the arterial stiffness composed of organic components and of smooth muscle cell contracture. Angiotensin II receptor blocker, olmesartan decreased CAVI much more than that of calcium channel antagonist, amlodipine, even though the rates of decreased blood pressure were almost same. CAVI might differentiate the blood pressure-lowering agents from the point of the effects on proper arterial stiffness. This paper reviewed the principle and rationale of CAVI, and the possibilities of clinical applications, especially in the studies of hypertension.
Psychogenic Seizures in Old Age: A Case Report

Psychogenic seizures are unusual after age 60 years, A 73‐year‐old woman had onset of psychogenic seizures at age 69 years. Five to six attacks occurred each month, usually at night, characterized by an initial subjective sensation and headache followed by generalized stiffening and shaking. Continuous EEG‐closed circuit television (EEG‐CCTV) monitoring clearly showed these episodes to be nonepileptic. Discontinuation of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) did not increase the frequency or severity of attacks. Epileptiform discharges were not recorded during the awake, drowsy, or sleeping states. Psychiatric evaluation identified significant turmoil in the patient's life and a history of childhood sexual and physical abuse. Psychogenic seizures may begin in old age and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intractable seizures in the elderly. Predominantly nocturnal occurrence should not exclude the diagnosis.
Measuring Patient Adherence to Malaria Treatment: A Comparison of Results from Self-Report and a Customised Electronic Monitoring Device

Background Self-report is the most common and feasible method for assessing patient adherence to medication, but can be prone to recall bias and social desirability bias. Most studies assessing adherence to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) have relied on self-report. In this study, we use a novel customised electronic monitoring device—termed smart blister packs—to examine the validity of self-reported adherence to artemether-lumefantrine (AL) in southern Tanzania. Methods Smart blister packs were designed to look identical to locally available AL blister packs and to record the date and time each tablet was removed from packaging. Patients obtaining AL at randomly selected health facilities and drug stores were followed up at home three days later and interviewed about each dose of AL taken. Blister packs were requested for pill count and extraction of smart blister pack data. Results Data on adherence from both self-report verified by pill count and smart blister packs were available for 696 of 1,204 patients. There was no difference between methods in the proportion of patients assessed to have completed treatment (64% and 67%, respectively). However, the percentage taking the correct number of pills for each dose at the correct times (timely completion) was higher by self-report than smart blister packs (37% vs. 24%; p<0.0001). By smart blister packs, 64% of patients completing treatment did not take the correct number of pills per dose or did not take each dose at the correct time interval. Conclusion Smart blister packs resulted in lower estimates of timely completion of AL and may be less prone to recall and social desirability bias. They may be useful when data on patterns of adherence are desirable to evaluate treatment outcomes. Improved methods of collecting self-reported data are needed to minimise bias and maximise comparability between studies.
Flavobacterium spartansii sp. nov., a pathogen of fishes, and emended descriptions of Flavobacterium aquidurense and Flavobacterium araucananum.

Two strains (T16(T) and S12) of a Gram-reaction-negative, rod-shaped, yellow-pigmented bacterium were recovered from kidneys of feral spawning adult Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and the gills of captive-reared Chinook salmon fingerlings suffering a mortality episode, respectively. Polyphasic characterization revealed that these strains possessed gliding motility, contained a flexirubin-type pigment, proteolysed multiple substrates (i.e. gelatin, casein and elastin), and had a mean DNA G+C content of 35.6 mol%. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene demonstrated that strains T16(T) and S12 were nearly identical to one another (>99% similarity) and were placed within the genus Flavobacterium, with Flavobacterium aquidurense CCUG 59847(T) (98.3%), Flavobaterium araucananum CCUG 61031(T) (98.2%) and Flavobacterium frigidimaris (AB183888, 98.1%) being their closest relatives. Subsequent phylogenetic analyses using neighbour-joining, maximum-parsimony and Bayesian methodologies demonstrated that strains T16(T) and S12 formed a well-supported clade within the genus Flavobacterium that was distinct from other Flavobacterium species. The major fatty acid constituents of strains T16(T) and S12 were iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω6c and/or C16 : 1ω7c, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, and iso-C15 : 0 3-OH according to fatty acid methyl ester analysis. The mean level of DNA-DNA relatedness between strain T16(T) and F. aquidurense CCUG 59847(T) and F. araucananum CCUG 61031(T) was 23 and 29%, respectively. Thus, the data accumulated in this study support the suggestion that strains T16(T) and S12 represent a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium spartansii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is T16(T) ( = LMG 27337(T) = ATCC BAA-2541(T)). Emended descriptions of F. aquidurense and F. araucananum are also proposed.
Extraversion and adjustment as predictors of perceived quality of life in long-term residential care

The present study examined the relationship between quality of life and extraversion, adjustment, and time spent in residential care.12 participants from a nursing home in cork city were given a questionnaire on quality of life, adjustment, extraversion, and a short demographic questionnaire about their attitudes towards their experiences in the residential care home. Statistical analysis found no significant relationship between the variables, although thematic analyses appeared to support the limited previous research into factors such as autonomy, ethos of care, and activities that are considered important for quality of life
Regulatory mechanisms for absenteeism in the health sector: a systematic review of strategies and their implementation

Background A systematic review was undertaken to identify regulatory mechanisms aimed at mitigating health care worker absenteeism, to describe where and how they have been implemented as well as their possible effects. The goal was to propose potential policy options for managing the problem of absenteeism among human resources for health in low- and middle-income countries. Mechanisms described in this review are at the local workplace and broader national policy level. Methods A comprehensive online search was conducted on EMBASE, CINAHL, PubMed, Google Scholar, Google, and Social Science Citation Index using MEDLINE search terms. Retrieved studies were uploaded onto reference manager and screened by two independent reviewers. Only publications in English were included. Data were extracted and synthesized according to the objectives of the review. Results Twenty six of the 4,975 published articles retrieved were included. All were from high-income countries and covered all cadres of health workers. The regulatory mechanisms and possible effects include 1) organizational-level mechanisms being reported as effective in curbing absenteeism in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); 2) prohibition of private sector activities in LMICs offering benefits but presenting a challenge for the government to monitor the health workforce; 3) contractual changes from temporary to fixed posts having been associated with no reduction in absenteeism and not being appropriate for LMICs; 4) multifaceted work interventions being implemented in most settings; 5) the possibility of using financial and incentive regulatory mechanisms in LMICs; 6) health intervention mechanisms reducing absenteeism when integrated with exercise programs; and 7) attendance by legislation during emergencies being criticized for violating human rights in the United States and not being effective in curbing absenteeism. Conclusion Most countries have applied multiple strategies to mitigate health care worker absenteeism. The success of these interventions is heavily influenced by the context within which they are applied.
Dynamic Resource Selection in Cloud Service Broker

Cloud Service Broker federates multiple Cloud Service Providers into a single entity to customers. The benefits that can be enjoyed by Cloud Service Consumer are flexibility, ease of use, and reduced cost. However, because of the unique properties and configurations of each cloud provider, sometime it's not easy to migrate between one cloud provider to another. Furthermore, the advantage of using broker should be obtained by consumers in any life cycle of consumer's software not only during the deployment of the software. This paper outlines the main idea and design of the dynamic resource selection in BASMATI Cloud Federation.
A library of high level control operators

Numerous high-level control operators, with various properties, exist in the literature. To understand or compare them is difficult since their definitions use quite different theoretical frameworks; moreover, to our knowledge, no implementation offers them all. This paper tries to explain control operators by the often simple stack manipulation they perform. We therefore present what we think these operators are, in an executable framework derived from abstract continuations. This library is published in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. For instance, we do not claim our implementation to be faithful nor we attempt to formally derive these implementations from their original definitions. The goal is to give a flavor of what control operators are, from an implementation point of view. Last but worth to say, all errors are mine.
What Teachers Wish Administrators Knew About Co-Teaching in High Schools

This article presents the results of individual and focus group interviews with the co-teaching partner teachers comprised of general and special educators. In particular, the analysis reveals the teachers’ perceptions regarding what principals need to know and understand to support co-teaching in their schools. The co-teaching teams identified the following factors as important for the success of co-teaching in a high school classroom: teacher training, administrator training, compatibility, planning time, student schedules, natural proportions, respect and value for the teaching assignment, administrative support, and professional development. The teams also identified student and teacher benefits from participating in a co-taught classroom. research from co-teaching experience in a high setting. This article presents the results of individual and focus group interviews with the co-teaching partner
Infrared Point-Source Variability between the Spitzer and Midcourse Space Experiment Surveys of the Galactic Midplane

We present a list of 552 sources with suspected variability, based on a comparison of mid-infrared photometry from the GLIMPSE I and Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) surveys, which were carried out nearly a decade apart. We were careful to address issues such as the difference in resolution and sensitivity between the two surveys, as well as the differences in the spectral responses of the instruments. We selected only sources where the IRAC 8.0 μm and MSX 8.28 μm fluxes differ by more than a factor of 2, in order to minimize contamination from sources where the difference in fluxes at 8 μm is due to a strong 10 μm silicate feature. We present a subset of 40 sources for which additional evidence suggests variability, using 2MASS and MIPSGAL data. Based on a comparison with the variability flags in the IRAS and MSX point-source catalogs we estimate that at least a quarter of the 552 sources and at least half of the 40 sources in the subset are truly variable. In addition, we tentatively confirm the variability of one source using multiepoch IRAS LRS spectra. We suggest that most of the sources in our list are likely to be asymptotic giant branch stars.
Modeling of Elevated Temperatures Impact on Single Event Transient in Advanced CMOS Logics Beyond the 65-nm Technological Node

This work presents the modeling of the impact of elevated temperatures on the SET occurrence and their characteristics in an IBM 65-nm Bulk CMOS technology. The calculations are performed by the combined MUSCA SEP3 platform and Cadence simulations. Comparisons between predictions and experimental data of the impact of temperature on the SET cross section(s) and the SET pulse-width are consistent. A different behavior between n-MOS and p-MOS transistors are exhibited at elevated temperatures. A basic radiation mitigation technique is presented and evaluated with the aim to reduce the SET occurrence and characteristics. The die-shrink to 28-nm is also investigated with the goal to investigate the impact of the technology scale on the charge sharing phenomena at elevated temperatures. The interest of this work is to propose a modeling of the behavior of CMOS devices at high temperatures with the aim to help designers to anticipate the soft error sensitivity taking into account the technological scale.
Critical discourse analysis from the perspective of ecologism

Now more than ever, critical discourse analysis is urgently called upon to deconstruct the discourses of arrogant power and division which are largely secret for most citizens and which baldly contradict the discourses of populist solidarity propagated in an official democracy. This paper focuses on deconstructing two legal discourses, the craftily named “Patriot Acts,” designed to polarize the citizenry into “patriots” supporting the current US administration and its wars, versus “terrorists” who oppose them, and to use “homeland security” as a cloak to legitimize a maximum of secrecy for the government and its agents, and a minimum for the citizens.
The lavatory-typed health monitoring system with linear system identification scheme for home healthcare

The system proposed in this paper has been designed to acquire and transmit vital signals from lavatory-attached acquisition device in ubiquitous healthcare environment. We focused on the system to be unconstraint and non-invasive by introducing automatic measurement procedures. ECG, SpO2, NIBP, impedance and weight were measured and recorded. Detected bio-signals were evaluated and became available to the patients to check the results immediately so that the data could be sent to doctors simultaneously. For the quantitative assessment of individual user's health condition by using signals from our system, we propose to apply linear parametric system identification method which provides a means to investigate cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms.
Fast Splice Site Classification Using Support Vector Machines in Imbalanced Datasets

Splice sites prediction is an important objective of genome sequencing. In last years, careful attention has been paid in order to the improve the performance of the algorithms used, but the study of most feasible methods to improve the performance in large and imbalanced data-sets is still of immense importance. This paper presents a novel SVMs classification method which works with gene data, the proposed method reduces significantly the training time and obtain a high accuracy on huge and imbalanced data-sets. Experimental results show that the accuracy obtained by the proposed algorithm is slightly better (98.9%) in comparison with other SVMs implementations such as SMO (98.6%), LibSVM (98.6%), and Simple SVM (98.2%). Furthermore the proposed approach can be used in large and imbalanced data-sets obtaining high classification accuracy.
Trophic Effect of Norepinephrine on the Rat Portal Vein in Organ Culture

Rat portal veins were maintained in organ culture to study the development of charac-teristic denervation changes and a possible trophic effect of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (NE). Vessels maintained in organ culture for 2 days showed supersensitivity to NE and Ba2+, a more rapid rate of relaxation from a Ba2+contracture, and partial depolarization of the myovascular cells. All of these changes except the quicker relaxation from Ba2+contracture could be prevented by incubating the preparations in a NE-containing medium. This evidence suggests that functional changes in vascular muscle cells are caused by the removal of a trophic influence of NE, but can be prevented by NE replacement. However, the failure of NE in the culture media to prevent the increased rate of relaxation from Ba2+contracture found after 2 days in organ culture suggests that NE is not the only trophic influence acting on the portal vein. In addition, incubation of veins in a NE-containing medium produced a marked subsensitivity to the contractile effects of NE, but not Ba2+, and thus possible desensitization of noradrenergic receptors. The data thus support a trophic role for NE in the rat portal vein. Circ Res 47: 770-775, 1980
Bayesian Belief Updating of Spatiotemporal Seizure Dynamics

Epileptic seizure activity shows complicated dynamics in both space and time. To understand the evolution and propagation of seizures spatially extended sets of data need to be analysed. We have previously described an efficient filtering scheme using variational Laplace that can be used in the Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) framework [Friston, 2003] to estimate the temporal dynamics of seizures recorded using either invasive or non-invasive electrical recordings (EEG/ECoG). Spatiotemporal dynamics are modelled using a partial differential equation -- in contrast to the ordinary differential equation used in our previous work on temporal estimation of seizure dynamics [Cooray, 2016]. We provide the requisite theoretical background for the method and test the ensuing scheme on simulated seizure activity data and empirical invasive ECoG data. The method provides a framework to assimilate the spatial and temporal dynamics of seizure activity, an aspect of great physiological and clinical importance.
Integration of high resolution aerial images and airborne LIDAR data for forest delineation

Forest boundary is one of the important parameters in Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI). It is mainly delineated by aerial photo interpretation according to the defined “Forest/Non-forest decision” rules at each sample plot. However, it is not suitable for local assessment of forest stands with such kind of coarse grid sampling design. This paper presents an approach intending to delineate forest boundary automatically by integrating use of aerial images and airborne LIDAR. Empirical tests show that the proposed method offers an automatic process of forest boundary detection for various aerial images in a promising way. However, it’s a challenge task to describe NFI forest /non-forest definition with automatic computer-based method and current study provides an encouraging basic for further development and testing.
Mining for novel tumor suppressor genes using a shortest path approach

Cancer, being among the most serious diseases, causes many deaths every year. Many investigators have devoted themselves to designing effective treatments for this disease. Cancer always involves abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. In contrast, tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) act as guardians to prevent a disordered cell cycle and genomic instability in normal cells. Studies on TSGs can assist in the design of effective treatments against cancer. In this study, we propose a computational method to discover potential TSGs. Based on the known TSGs, a number of candidate genes were selected by applying the shortest path approach in a weighted graph that was constructed using protein–protein interaction network. The analysis of selected genes shows that some of them are new TSGs recently reported in the literature, while others may be novel TSGs.
Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase 1 Increases Lipolysis, UCP1 Protein Expression and Mitochondrial Activity in Brown Adipocytes

The discovery of active brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans and the fact that it is reduced in obese and diabetic patients have put a spotlight on this tissue as a key player in obesity-induced metabolic disorders. BAT regulates energy expenditure through thermogenesis; therefore, harnessing its thermogenic fat-burning power is an attractive therapeutic approach. We aimed to enhance BAT thermogenesis by increasing its fatty acid oxidation (FAO) rate. Thus, we expressed carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1AM (CPT1AM), a permanently active mutant form of CPT1A (the rate-limiting enzyme in FAO), in a rat brown adipocyte (rBA) cell line through adenoviral infection. We found that CPT1AM-expressing rBA have increased FAO, lipolysis, UCP1 protein levels and mitochondrial activity. Additionally, enhanced FAO reduced the palmitate-induced increase in triglyceride content and the expression of obese and inflammatory markers. Thus, CPT1AM-expressing rBA had enhanced fat-burning capacity and improved lipid-induced derangements. This indicates that CPT1AM-mediated increase in brown adipocytes FAO may be a new approach to the treatment of obesity-induced disorders.