Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brd 4-Independent Transcriptional Repression Function of the Papillomavirus E 2 Proteins

The papillomavirus E2 protein is a critical viral regulatory protein with transcription, DNA replication, and genome maintenance functions. We have previously identified the cellular bromodomain protein Brd4 as a major E2-interacting protein and established that it participates in tethering bovine papillomavirus type 1 E2 and viral genomes to host cell mitotic chromosomes. We have also shown that Brd4 mediates E2-dependent transcriptional activation, which is strongly inhibited by the disruption of E2/Brd4 binding as well as by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) knockdown of Brd4 expression levels. Since several mutants harboring single amino acid substitutions within the E2 transactivation domain that are defective for both transcriptional transactivation and Brd4 binding are also defective for transcriptional repression, we examined the role of Brd4 in E2 repression of the human papillomavirus E6/E7 promoter. Surprisingly, in a variety of in vivo assays, including transcription reporter assays, HeLa cell proliferation and colony reduction assays, and Northern blot analyses, neither blocking of the binding of E2 to Brd4 nor shRNA knockdown of Brd4 affected the E2 repression function. Our study provides evidence for a Brd4-independent mechanism of E2-mediated repression and suggests that different cellular factors must be involved in E2-mediated transcriptional activation and repression functions.
Distributed Consensus Control for Second-Order Agents with Fixed Topology and Time-Delay

In this paper, distributed consensus control is investigated for networks of agents with double integrator dynamics. Two kinds of networks are analyzed, i.e., directed networks with fixed topology and undirected networks with fixed topology and time-delay. For each of the networks, a sufficient and necessary condition is given to guarantee the consensus. It is proved that the largest tolerable time-delay is only related to the largest eigenvalue of the graph Laplacian. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the obtained results.
The relationship between pollen count levels and prevalence of Japanese cedar pollinosis in Northeast Japan.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of Japanese cedar (JC) pollinosis in Japanese children is increasing. However, few studies have reported the relationship between pollen count levels and the prevalence of pollinosis. To evaluate the relationship between JC pollen count levels and the prevalence of pollinosis in children, we investigated the sensitization and development of symptoms for JC pollen in two areas of Akita in northeast Japan with contrasting levels of exposure to JC pollen. METHODS The study population consisted of 339 elementary school students (10-11 years of age) from the coastal and mountainous areas of Akita in 2005-2006. A questionnaire about symptoms of allergic rhinitis was filled out by the students' parents. A blood sample was taken to determine specific IgE antibodies against five common aeroallergens. RESULTS The mean pollen count in the mountainous areas was two times higher than that in the coastal areas in 1996-2006. The prevalence rates of nasal allergy symptoms and sensitization for mites were almost the same in both areas. On the other hand, the rates of nasal allergy symptoms and sensitization for JC pollen were significantly higher in the mountainous areas than in the coastal areas. The rate of the development of symptoms among children sensitized for JC pollen was almost the same in both areas. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that pollen count levels may correlate with the rate of sensitization for JC pollinosis, but may not affect the rate of onset among sensitized children in northeast Japan.
An authoring and learning kit for digital electronics

A multimedia component kit for digital electronics authoring and learning is presented. It is based on a sophisticated structuring mechanism and a flexible link management scheme. Components available on the Internet facilitate sharing and reuse of educational software during the authoring process, make possible the support of all phases of the learning process, and allow students to achieve their desired depth of understanding. Emphasis is put on the implementation of a great number of components based on simulation and animation that provide a high level of interactivity and allow some presentation difficulties inherent in the subject to be overcome. An analysis of the impact of using the kit for authoring and learning is currently being performed.
Redescription of Microsporidium takedai (Awakura, 1974) as Kabatana takedai (Awakura, 1974) comb. n.

Ultrastructural study of the microsporidian Microsporidium takedai from the muscles of masu salmon Oncorhynchus masou proved that this species can be assigned to the genus Kabatana Lom, Dyková and Tonguthai, 2000. The parasites develop within disintegrated sarcoplasm without any delimiting boundary or cyst. Cylindrical multinucleate meronts proliferate by serial constrictions into uninucleate stages which repeat the process. Eventually, the uninucleate stages transform into uninucleate sporonts, which divide once to produce sporoblasts, thus functioning as sporoblast mother cells. Spores, with a subterminally located anchoring disc and 3 to 4 turns of the polar tube coil, average 3.3 by 1.9 microm in size. The exospore is divided into small fields; the endospore frequently makes small invaginations into the spore inside. Phylogenetic analysis using SSU rDNA sequence consistently placed Kabatana takedai in a group consisting of Microgemma sp. , Spraguea lophii and Glugea americanus. The K. takedai could easily be separated from the other species in the same group by 2 inserts in the SSU rDNA sequence.
Noninvasive assessment of age-related arterial changes using the carotid stress-strain relationship in vivo: A pilot study

The feasibility of noninvasively measuring regional carotid artery stiffness by way of the stress-strain relationship was recently demonstrated in young normal adults in vivo. In this paper, similar methods were used to assess the stress-strain curve and derive the Young's moduli in young and older subjects to evaluate the sensitivity of this approach in assessing age-related wall changes. Two types of recordings were performed on the common carotid arteries of 3 young (23-24 years) and 2 older (37 and 43 years) subjects: (a) RF signals acquired at 505-642 Hz, and (b) the pulse pressure signal using applanation tonometry. Subsequently, (a) arterial strain was calculated from the diameter waveform obtained using the radial displacements estimated by a 1D cross-correlation technique on the RF signals, and (b) arterial stress was estimated using the pressure (tonometry) signal, the diameter, and the wall thickness measured on the B-mode. The strain and stress signals were combined to produce the stress-strain curve. Using bilinear curve fitting, the Young's modulus of the elastin-collagen fibers (E2), as well as the moduli for elastin (E1) and collagen (E3), separately, were estimated, under the assumption of a linear elastic two-parallel spring model. E1 and E2 were significantly larger in the older subjects, indicating stiffer tissues probably due to reduced elastin, which is in agreement with the related literature. No differences in E3 were noted between young and older subjects. The method holds promise for characterizing age-related arterial changes and can provide useful insight into the complex phenomena involved in arterial biomechanics.
Mobile-based asthma action plans for adolescents

Abstract Purpose: To examine feasibility and utilization of a mobile asthma action plan (AAP) among adolescents. Methods: Adolescents (aged 12–17 years) with persistent asthma had their personalized AAP downloaded to a smartphone application. Teens were prompted by the mobile application to record either daily symptoms or peak flow measurements and to record medications. Once data were entered, the application provided immediate feedback based on the teen’s AAP instructions. Asthma Control Test (ACT®) and child asthma self-efficacy scores were examined pre- and post-intervention. Results: Adolescents utilized the mobile AAP a median 4.3 days/week. Participant satisfaction was high with 93% stating that they were better able to control asthma by utilizing the mobile AAP. For participants with uncontrolled asthma at baseline, median (interquartile range) ACT scores improved significantly from 16 (5) to 18 (8) [p = 0.03]. Median asthma attack prevention self-efficacy scores improved from 34 (3.5) to 36 (5.3) [p = 0.04]. Conclusions: Results suggest that personalized mobile-based AAPs are a feasible method to communicate AAP instructions to teens.
Analysis of mutant allele fractions in driver genes in colorectal cancer – biological and clinical insights

Sequencing of tumors is now routine and guides personalized cancer therapy. Mutant allele fractions (MAFs, or the ‘mutation dose’) of a driver gene may reveal the genomic structure of tumors and influence response to targeted therapies. We performed a comprehensive analysis of MAFs of driver alterations in unpaired primary and metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) at our institution from 2010 to 2015 and studied their potential clinical relevance. Of 763 CRC samples, 622 had detailed annotation on overall survival in the metastatic setting (OSmet) and 89 received targeted agents matched to KRAS (MEK inhibitors), BRAF (BRAF inhibitors), or PIK3CA mutations (PI3K pathway inhibitors). MAFs of each variant were normalized for tumor purity in the sample (adjMAFs). We found lower adjMAFs for BRAFV600E and PIK3CA than for KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF non‐V600 variants. TP53 and BRAFV600E adjMAFs were higher in metastases as compared to primary tumors, and high KRAS adjMAFs were found in CRC metastases of patients with KRAS wild‐type primary tumors previously exposed to EGFR antibodies. Patients with RAS‐ or BRAFV600E‐mutated tumors, irrespective of adjMAFs, had worse OSmet. There was no significant association between adjMAFs and time to progression on targeted therapies matched to KRAS, BRAF, or PIK3CA mutations, potentially related to the limited antitumor activity of the employed drugs (overall response rate of 4.5%). In conclusion, the lower BRAFV600E and PIK3CA adjMAFs in subsets of primary CRC tumors indicate subclonality of these driver genes. Differences in adjMAFs between metastases and primary tumors suggest that approved therapies may result in selection of BRAFV600E‐ and KRAS‐resistant clones and an increase in genomic heterogeneity with acquired TP53 alterations. Despite significant differences in prognosis according to mutations in driver oncogenes, adjMAFs levels did not impact on survival and did not help predict benefit with matched targeted agents in the metastatic setting.
Linearized Hamiltonian of the LIBOR market model: analytical and empirical results

ABSTRACT The linearized Hamiltonian model is proposed to extend the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) Market Model (LMM). Firstly, we studied the Hamiltonian of LMM in the framework of quantum finance, and the nontrivial upper triangle form of LIBOR drift is derived. The linearized Hamiltonian is derived to improve the explanatory capability of the model for market data. Our approach uses one more parameter to explain the initial condition and the model can be used to calibrate LIBORs with extremely high accuracy. Furthermore, the market time index is required for applying the model to multi-LIBOR, and the results imply that the LIBOR future time lattice becomes shorter as one goes from near future to distant future.
Low-power and low-area CMOS quadrature RC oscillator with capacitive coupling

A quadrature oscillator based on two RC oscillators with capacitive coupling is proposed and analyzed. The capacitive coupling has the advantages of being noiseless and not increasing the power dissipation. Simulation results show that the oscillation frequency increases proportionally to the coupling capacitances, which is the opposite of what happens in capacitive coupled LC oscillators. Measurements on a 130 nm CMOS circuit prototype validate the theory of the coupling mechanism. The phase-noise is −115 dBc/Hz @ 10 MHz offset, and the FoM is −155.3 dBc/Hz, which is comparable to the best state-of-the art RC oscillators, yet the dissipated power is about four times less.
Determinants of Management Earnings Forecasts: The Case of Global Shipping IPOs

Companies that go public on global stock markets are not obliged to disclose earnings forecasts in their prospectuses. We use this fact to examine the shipping sector, where most firms issue earnings forecasts during the IPO process, and provide unique, international-level evidence. We find overall pessimistic forecasts of ship owners, primarily because of the maritime sector’s uncertain and volatile environment. High ship owner participation after going public is associated with less accurate earnings forecasts. The evidence further indicates that financial leverage, a listing in an emerging stock market, and global market conditions are the main factors responsible for inaccurate earnings forecasts.
Depletion of Kupffer cells modulates ethanol‐induced hepatocyte DNA synthesis in C57Bl/6 mice

Kupffer cells (KCs) are important in hepatic homeostasis and responses to xenobiotics. KCs are activated on interaction with endotoxin, releasing cytokines, and reactive oxygen species normally associated with increased gene expression, cellular growth, or hepatic injury. Ethanol‐induced endotoxemia is one means of KC activation. We propose that KC depletion attenuates the effect of EtOH‐induced endotoxemia to impact the hepatic growth response. Hepatic DNA synthesis was examined in KC competent (KC+) or KC‐depleted (KC−) C57BL/6 mice fed EtOH‐containing diet in the presence or absence of polyphenol‐60 antioxidant. KC depletion was assessed by F4/80 antigen, and DNA synthesis was assessed by 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine incorporation. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) messenger RNA released was quantified by RT‐PCR/electrophoresis. ERK1/2 phosphorylation was evaluated by Western blotting, and Nrf2 and CYP2E1protein were also assayed. Apoptosis and hepatic injury were examined by the Tunnel assay and hepatic transaminases in serum, respectively. Hepatic transaminases in serum (AST and ALT) were within normal range. Over 90% of KC was depleted by clodronate treatment. KC depletion decreased TNF‐α mRNA release, ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and hepatocyte DNA synthesis. KC depletion is associated with increased numbers of apoptotic cells bodies in KC− mice. Antioxidant treatment decreased DNA synthesis, Nrf2, and CYP2E1 protein expression in EtOH‐consuming mice. Our data indicate that upon ethanol exposure, KC participates in hepatic DNA synthesis and growth responses. Collectively, these observations suggest that KC depletion attenuates the downstream effect of ethanol‐induced endotoxemia by reduced cytokine and reactive oxygen species production with its concomitant effect on MAPK‐signaling pathway on hepatocyte DNA synthesis. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 29: 867–875, 2014
The Transiently Generated Nonphotochemical Quenching of Excitation Energy in Arabidopsis Leaves Is Modulated by Zeaxanthin1

Upon the transition of dark-adapted plants to low light, the energy-dependent quenching (qE) of excitation energy is only transiently induced due to the only transient generation of the transthylakoid pH gradient. We investigated the transient qE (qETR) in different Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutants. In dark-adapted plants, qETR was absent in the npq4 mutant (deficient in the PsbS protein) and the pgr1 mutant (restricted in lumen acidification). In comparison with wild-type plants, qETR was reduced in the zeaxanthin (Zx)-deficient npq1 mutant and increased in the Zx-accumulating npq2 mutant. After preillumination of plants (to allow the synthesis of large amounts of Zx), the formation and relaxation of qETR was accelerated in all plants (except for npq4) in comparison with the respective dark-adapted plants. The extent of qETR, however, was unchanged in npq1 and npq4, decreased in npq2, but increased in wild-type and pgr1 plants. Even in presence of high levels of Zx, qETR in pgr1 mutants was still lower than that in wild-type plants. In the presence of the uncoupler nigericin, qETR was completely abolished in all genotypes. Thus, the transient qETR shows essentially the same characteristics as the steady-state qE; it is strictly dependent on the PsbS protein and a low lumen pH, but the extent of qETR is largely modulated by Zx. These results indicate that qETR does not represent a different quenching mechanism in comparison with the steady-state qE, but simply reflects the response of qE to the dynamics of the lumen pH during light activation of photosynthesis.
Characterizing User Behaviors in Mobile Personal Livecast

Mobile personal livecast (MPL) services are emerging and have received great attention recently. Unlike traditional livecast services with commercial content providers (e.g., live TV), the live contents in MPL are crowdsourced from and consumed among geo-distributed individuals. Although there exist typical social relationships in MPL (i.e., follower-followee), different from conventional social networking services like Twitter and Facebook, which have much of a tolerance for interaction delay, the interactions in MPL must be in real-time. These unique characteristics intrigue us to investigate how the relationships (e.g., social links and geo-locations) between viewers and broadcasters influence the user behaviors, which has yet to be explored in depth. In this paper, we carry out extensive measurements of Inke, one of the most popular MPL providers, with a large-scale dataset containing 11M users. Our key findings are as follows. First, compared with traditional livecast services, the user interests shift much more frequently and the average viewing duration is considerably shorter in MPL. Second, the existence of social relationships significantly strengthens viewer stickiness---followers dedicating longer viewing time (contributing 81% of the total viewing time) and being 2x more patient when suffering poor network connectivity than non-followers. Third, most of the broadcasts in MPL are geographically local-popular (the majority of the views come from the same region of the broadcaster). Based on these critical observations, we provide insights that can enhance the MPL system design from the perspectives of efficient resource allocation and envision a future MPL framework that collaboratively utilizes the cloud and edge computing resources to improve efficiency and scalability for Inke-like services.
Validation of the Use of Middlebrook 7H10 Agar, BACTEC MGIT 960, and BACTEC 460 12B Media for Testing the Susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to Levofloxacin

ABSTRACT Levofloxacin, the active l-isomer of the quinolone ofloxacin, is now widely accepted for treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Because the drug is now widely used, we sought to establish susceptibility test conditions for Mycobacterium tuberculosis against levofloxacin by the traditional reference method, agar proportion (AP), the commonly used BACTEC 460 radiometric system, and the newer BACTEC MGIT 960 method. To determine the stability of levofloxacin in the two newer test systems (BACTEC 460 and BACTEC MGIT 960), media containing subinhibitory levels of levofloxacin were prepared and stored at 4 and 37°C for 14 days. The stored media were inoculated with H37Rv, and the drug activity was compared to freshly prepared media. Results show that levofloxacin is stable over the course of testing. Next, optimum levofloxacin test concentrations were determined for AP, BACTEC 460, and BACTEC MGIT 960 methods. MICs were determined for 32 pan-susceptible isolates of M. tuberculosis obtained from presumably untreated patients and 14 quinolone-resistant isolates. The levofloxacin-resistant strains either were isolated from patients who remained culture-positive despite treatment with a quinolone agent (six strains) or contained known mutations in gyrA (eight strains). Levofloxacin MICs resulted in a bimodal pattern with values for resistant strains consistently higher than those for pan-susceptible strains. Results show that levofloxacin concentrations of 2 μg/ml (BACTEC 460 and BACTEC MGIT 960) and 1 μg/ml (AP) inhibited the growth of all pan-susceptible strains while permitting the growth of all levofloxacin-resistant strains. Confirmatory tests with a subset of pan-susceptible and levofloxacin-resistant isolates validated the selected test concentrations.
A parameter extraction algorithm for an IGBT behavioral model

We propose a new extraction algorithm for the parameters of an insulated gate bipolar transistor dynamic behavioral model. The algorithm relies on the availability of experimental data from the manufacturers and uses Matlab optimization toolbox to extract the parameters automatically. The theoretical predictions of the algorithm are compared with both the experimental and the simulation data that use alternative extraction methods and are found to be in excellent agreement.
Prevalence and risk factors for thermotolerant species of Campylobacter in poultry meat at retail in Europe

ABSTRACT The thermotolerant species Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, Campylobacter lari and Campylobacter upsaliensis are the causative agents of the human illness called campylobacteriosis. This infection represents a threat for the health of consumers in Europe. It is well known that poultry meat is an important food vehicle of Campylobacter infection. As emerged from the reported scientific literature published between 2006 and 2016, poultry meat sold at retail level in Europe represents an important source of the pathogen. The contamination level of poultry meat sold at retail can vary depending on pre‐ and post‐harvest factors. Among the pre‐harvest measures, strict biosecurity practices must be guaranteed; moreover, among post‐harvest control measures scalding, chilling and removal of faecal residues can reduce the contamination level of Campylobacter. An additional issue is represented by increasing proportion of Campylobacter isolates resistant to tetracyclines, ciprofloxacin, and nalidixic acid, thus feeding a serious concern on the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment for human campylobacteriosis in a near future.
Impact of Allowing Sunday Alcohol Sales in Georgia on Employment and Hours

This paper uses differential timing across counties of the removal of restrictions on Sunday alcohol sales in the state of Georgia to determine whether the change had an impact on employment and hours in the beer, wine, and liquor retail sales industry. A triple-difference (DDD) analysis finds significant relative increases in average weekly hours in the treated industry. There is no significant relative employment increase. The DDD hours result is stronger when we limit the counties removing restrictions to those that border states with significantly higher alcohol excise taxes.
Power Flow Control of a Single Distributed Generation Unit

This research addresses power flow control problem of a grid-connected inverter in distributed generation applications. A real and reactive power control solution is proposed on the basis of an existing voltage control strategy developed for island operations. The power control solution takes advantage of a newly designed system parameter identification method and a nonlinear feedforward algorithm, both of which are based on Newton-Raphson iteration method and implemented in real time. The proposed power control solution also performs grid-line current conditioning and yields harmonic free grid-line current. A phase locked loop based algorithm is developed as a part of the solution to handle possible harmonic distorted grid-line voltage and maintain harmonic free line current. The effectiveness of the proposed techniques is demonstrated by both simulation and experimental results.