Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Receptor-binding Site as Revealed by the Crystal Structure of CfaE, the Colonization Factor Antigen I Fimbrial Adhesin of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli*

CfaE is the minor, tip-localized adhesive subunit of colonization factor antigen I fimbriae (CFA/I) of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and is thought to be essential for the attachment of enterotoxigenic E. coli to the human small intestine early in diarrhea pathogenesis. The crystal structure of an in cis donor strand complemented CfaE was determined, providing the first atomic view of a fimbrial subunit assembled by the alternate chaperone pathway. The in cis donor strand complemented variant of CfaE structure consists of an N-terminal adhesin domain and a C-terminal pilin domain of similar size, each featuring a variable immunoglobulin-like fold. Extensive interactions exist between the two domains and appear to rigidify the molecule. The upper surface of the adhesin domain distal to the pilin domain reveals a depression consisting of conserved residues including Arg181, previously shown to be necessary for erythrocyte adhesion. Mutational analysis revealed a cluster of conserved, positively charged residues that are required for CFA/I-mediated hemagglutination, implicating this as the receptor-binding pocket. Mutations in a few subclass-specific residues that surround the cluster displayed differential effects on the two red cell species used in hemagglutination, suggesting that these residues play a role in host or cell specificity. The C-terminal donor strand derived from the major subunit CfaB is folded as a β-strand and fits into a hydrophobic groove in the pilin domain to complete the immunoglobulin fold. The location of this well ordered donor strand suggests the positioning and orientation of the subjacent major fimbrial subunit CfaB in the native assembly of CFA/I fimbriae.
COST OF INSURANCE: A NOTE ON PUT VALUATION UNDER A CONSTRAINT

En el acuerdo de un prestamo puede existir la garantia gubernamental para los bancos, El que exista una garantia crea un costo para el asegurado. La elevacion de este costo se ha llevado a cabo con la teoria de valuacion de opciones (Merton (1977)). En este articulo hemos agregado una particion mas especifica de los pasivos del banco y una restriccion. La existencia de la particion y la restriccion nos permite deducir una posible modificacion del costo de aseguramiento. Esto se hace en Karatzas y Shreve (1998) V Karatzas y Kou (1996).
Characterization of Oesophagostomum asperum and O. columbianum by internal transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal DNA

Abstract In the present study, the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of Oesophagostomum asperum and O. columbianum were amplified and sequenced. The ITS-1, 5.8S and ITS-2 rDNA sequences of O. asperum were 374 bp, 153 bp and 259 bp in length, respectively, and the corresponding sequences of O. columbianum were 259, 153 and 218 bp in length, respectively. Sequence differences in the ITS-1 and ITS-2 rDNA between the two Oesophagostomum species were 9.5–10.2% and 12.7–13.9%, respectively. Sequence differences in the ITS-1 and ITS-2 rDNA among members of the genus Oesophagostomum were 2.5–11.6% and 6.8–22.3%, respectively. Based on genetic markers in the ITS rDNA, an effective polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach was developed to differentiate O. columbianum from O. asperum with a sensitivity of 0.2 ng/μl DNA. Since accurate characterization of parasites at different taxonomic levels is essential for population genetic studies and control of parasitosis, the present findings have important implications for studying epidemiology, taxonomy and population biology, as well as for the control of oesophagostomiasis.
Abca7 Null Mice Retain Normal Macrophage Phosphatidylcholine and Cholesterol Efflux Activity despite Alterations in Adipose Mass and Serum Cholesterol Levels*

Mutations in the A class of ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABCA) are causally implicated in three human diseases: Tangier disease (ABCA1), Stargadt's macular degeneration (ABCA4), and neonatal respiratory failure (ABCA3). Both ABCA1 and ABCA4 have been shown to transport lipids across cellular membranes, and ABCA3 may play a similar role in transporting pulmonary surfactant. Although the functions of the other 10 ABCA class transporters identified in the human genome remain obscure, ABCA7-transfected cells have been shown to efflux lipids in response to stimulation by apolipoprotein A-I. In an effort to elucidate the physiologic role of ABCA7, we generated mice lacking this transporter (Abca7-/- mice). Homozygous null mice were produced from intercrosses of heterozygous null mice at the expected Mendelian frequency and developed normally without any obvious phenotypic abnormalities. Cholesterol and phospholipid efflux stimulated by apolipoprotein A-I from macrophages isolated from wild type and Abca7-/- mice did not differ, suggesting that these activities may not be central to the physiological role of the transporter in vivo. Abca7-/- females, but not males, had significantly less visceral fat and lower total serum and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels than wild type, gender-matched littermates. ABCA7 expression was detected in hippocampal and cortical neurons by in situ hybridization and in brain and white adipose tissue by Western blotting. Induction of adipocyte differentiation from 3T3 fibroblasts in culture led to a marked increase in ABCA7 expression. These studies suggest that ABCA7 plays a novel role in lipid and fat metabolism that Abca7-/- mice can be used to elucidate.
Smart Geo-Spatial Analytical Tool for Urban Development and Management

Urbanization and especially suburbanization are increasing challenges to urban planner around the world. These processes occur at faster pace than regulatory bodies can manage and the use of smart geo-spatial tools and techniques has become a must if we want to have any chance for a rational planning process. In this paper, a part of a broader question "can a 3D geo-spatial tool support urban planners in obtaining a greater understanding of a given urban problem and manage urban development efficiently? " is explored. A 3D information rich model (3D-IRM) of case area (Kannadasan Nagar, Chennai) is generated using ArcGIS and ArcScene with the information such as, land-use, road width, permissible floor space index (FSI), height of the building, setbacks, building use etc. 3D-IRM is then classified based on local zoning regulation to check for the development code compliance three-dimensionally. Upon strict adherence with local codes of development and zoning regulation, the buildings of the case area can be classified under three types, ordinary buildings (OB-77%), special buildings (SB-20%) and multi-storied buildings (MSB-3%), whereas the primary survey carried out shows the actual development as OB-75%, SB-4% and MSB-21%. More than 20,000m2 of built-up area is added under MSB typology which has gone unnoticed by the development authority. With growing technological advancement, urban planners and decision makers must be equipped with smart proactive decision support tool so as to enable desired development. Results suggest that smart advanced geo-spatial tool such as 3D GIS can help urban planner in enhancing the decision making processes and the implementation of zoning regulations.
Strain Variations in Single Amino Acids of the 86-Kilodalton Human Cytomegalovirus Major Immediate-Early Protein (IE2) Affect Its Functional and Biochemical Properties: Implications of Dynamic Protein Conformation

ABSTRACT The 86-kDa major immediate-early protein, IEP86 (IE2, IE2579aa, or ppUL122a), from the Towne and AD169 strains of human cytomegalovirus show four amino acid variations, namely, R68Q, K455E, T541A, and seven consecutive serines beginning at position 258 in Towne and eight serines in AD169. A commonly utilized IEP86 cDNA expression clone (herein called the original cDNA) (E. Baracchini, E. Glezer, K. Fish, R. M. Stenberg, J. A. Nelson, and P. Ghazal, Virology 188:518-529, 1992) shows the Towne R68 and seven serines but contains the AD169 E455 and A541 plus two amino acid mutations, M242I and A463T. In transcriptional activation analyses using several promoters, the IEP86 produced by the original cDNA was 40 to 60% less active than wild-type (WT) Towne IEP86, whereas AD169 IEP86 was two to three times more active than WT Towne IEP86. To determine which amino acid variations or mutations accounted for the differences in transcriptional activation, they were individually tested in the WT Towne IEP86 background. K455E, M242I, and the eighth serine had little effect on transcriptional activation or sumoylation when inserted into the Towne background. T541A significantly increased transcriptional activation on all promoters tested and showed increased sumoylation; T541A is the primary reason that WT AD169 IEP86 has increased activity over WT Towne IEP86. The increased sumoylation seen with T541A was quantitatively reduced to WT Towne levels when the K455E alteration was present, suggesting that K455 may be a sumoylation site or that E455 may cause alterations in the IEP86 structure which affect overall sumoylation. A463T was very deleterious to transcriptional activation and caused reduced sumoylation. The A436T mutation in the original cDNA is partially compensated by the presence of the T541A variation. Phosphopeptide mapping suggests that a threonine at 463 or 541 does not introduce a phosphorylation site. However, the A463T mutation does affect phosphorylation at a distant site, suggesting that it alters the conformation of the protein. Promoter-specific effects were noted with some of the amino acid variations, particularly T541A. Structural modeling is presented which suggests how A463T and T541A alter the functional structure of WT Towne IEP86. A hydrophobic core containing A463 is predicted to be responsible for the functional integrity of the carboxy-terminal region of IEP86 between amino acids 344 and 579.
On the mathematical modeling of memristors

Since the fourth fundamental element (Memristor) became a reality by HP labs, and due to its huge potential, its mathematical models became a necessity. In this paper, we provide a simple mathematical model of Memristors characterized by linear dopant drift for sinusoidal input voltage, showing a high matching with the nonlinear SPICE simulations. The frequency response of the Memristor's resistance and its bounding conditions are derived. The fundamentals of the pinched i-v hysteresis, such as the critical resistances, the hysteresis power and the maximum operating current, are derived for the first time.
How Differences in Cash Transfer Sizes Affect Work Allocation Decisions: Evidence from Cross‐Country Comparisons in SSA

Over the past decade, several African governments have launched Cash Transfer (CT) programmes as part of their social protection systems, with the aim of reducing poverty. Such programmes can also have significant productive impacts. We use data from four major CT programmes implemented in sub‐Saharan Africa to estimate their impacts on labour supply and demand and how effects change in relation to transfer size. We find evidence of labour reallocation between farm and off‐farm work and limited evidence of monotonicity of the labour supply–transfer size relationship.
Firm-specific characteristics, corporate governance and voluntary disclosure in annual reports of listed companies in Bangladesh

The aim of the study is to examine the factors influences voluntary disclosures of information in the annual reports of listed companies in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) over the period of 2007 to 2011. A sample of 106 non-financial companies listed on DSE was selected by judgemental sampling. The results of the disclosure index indicate that four highest disclosure scorer listed companies in DSE are from the industrial categories of 'Fuel and Power' and 'Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals' and four lowest disclosure scorer listed companies in DSE are from the industrial category of 'Food and Allied'. Secondly, the results indicate that the total assets, the percentage of female directors, board leadership structure of a firm are positively associated with the level of voluntary disclosure. The result also indicates that the percentage of equity owned by the insiders of a firm is negatively associated with the level of voluntary disclosures.
Effects of a short-term pre-season training programme on the body composition and anaerobic performance of professional rugby union players

Abstract Pre-season rugby training develops the physical requisites for competition and consists of a high volume of resistance training and anaerobic and aerobic conditioning. However, the effects of a rugby union pre-season in professional athletes are currently unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of a 4-week pre-season on 33 professional rugby union players. Bench press and box squat increased moderately (13.6 kg, 90% confidence limits ±2.9 kg and 17.6 ± 8.0 kg, respectively) over the training phase. Small decreases in bench throw (70.6 ± 53.5 W), jump squat (280.1 ± 232.4 W), and fat mass (1.4 ± 0.4 kg) were observed. In addition, small increases were seen in fat-free mass (2.0 ± 0.6 kg) and flexed upper-arm girth (0.6 ± 0.2 cm), while moderate increases were observed in mid-thigh girth (1.9 ± 0.5 cm) and perception of fatigue (0.6 ± 0.4 units). Increases in strength and body composition were observed in elite rugby union players after 4 weeks of intensive pre-season training, but this may have been the result of a return to fitness levels prior to the off-season. Decreases in power may reflect high training volumes and increases in perceived of fatigue.
Time trends in systemic adjuvant treatment for node-negative breast cancer.

PURPOSE We conducted a population-based study in Quebec, Canada, to assess longitudinal changes in systemic adjuvant therapy for node-negative breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS A stratified random sample was selected among women with newly diagnosed node-negative breast cancer in 1988, 1991, and 1993. Information on the patient, her tumor, source of care, and treatment was abstracted from medical charts. Patients were classified as being at minimal, moderate, or high risk of recurrence on the basis of criteria proposed at the 4th International Conference on Adjuvant Therapy of Primary Breast Cancer (St. Gallen, Switzerland, 1992), and systemic adjuvant treatment received was dichotomized as being consistent or not consistent with consensus recommendations. RESULTS Overall, 1,578 cases of invasive breast carcinoma were reviewed. The proportion of patients who were given hormonal or cytotoxic treatment increased from 51.7% to 73.1% from 1988 to 1993. Virtually all women at minimal risk were treated in 1991 and 1993 according to the consensus statement. The proportions of women so treated were 75.0% and 65.4% in the moderate- and high-risk categories, respectively, in 1991. In 1993, these proportions were 71.4% and 67.0%, respectively. Omission of chemotherapy, especially in high-risk women with estrogen receptor-negative tumors who were 50 to 69 years of age, was the most frequent inconsistency with guidelines. CONCLUSION Systemic adjuvant therapy for node-negative breast cancer has gained acceptance. Better understanding of the decision-making process, of the perception of the risks and benefits involved, and of the impact of alternative strategies for the dissemination of consensus recommendations are needed to promote the use of chemotherapy in specific categories of women who are at high risk of recurrence.
A large study of androgen receptor germline variants and their relation to sex hormone levels and prostate cancer risk. Results from the National Cancer Institute Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium.

BACKGROUND Androgens are key regulators of prostate gland maintenance and prostate cancer growth, and androgen deprivation therapy has been the mainstay of treatment for advanced prostate cancer for many years. A long-standing hypothesis has been that inherited variation in the androgen receptor (AR) gene plays a role in prostate cancer initiation. However, studies to date have been inconclusive and often suffered from small sample sizes. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS We investigated the association of AR sequence variants with circulating sex hormone levels and prostate cancer risk in 6058 prostate cancer cases and 6725 controls of Caucasian origin within the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium. We genotyped a highly polymorphic CAG microsatellite in exon 1 and six haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms and tested each genetic variant for association with prostate cancer risk and with sex steroid levels. RESULTS We observed no association between AR genetic variants and prostate cancer risk. However, there was a strong association between longer CAG repeats and higher levels of testosterone (P = 4.73 x 10(-5)) and estradiol (P = 0.0002), although the amount of variance explained was small (0.4 and 0.7%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS This study is the largest to date investigating AR sequence variants, sex steroid levels, and prostate cancer risk. Although we observed no association between AR sequence variants and prostate cancer risk, our results support earlier findings of a relation between the number of CAG repeats and circulating levels of testosterone and estradiol.
Flow‐mediated dilation in the inactive limb following acute hypoxic exercise

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effect of acute aerobic exercise performed under hypoxic conditions on flow‐mediated dilation (FMD) in the inactive limb. Seven males participated in the study. The subjects performed two submaximal leg cycling on a semirecumbent ergometer at the same relative intensity (60% peak oxygen uptake) in normoxia [inspired oxygen fraction (FIO2) = 0·21] and hypoxia (FIO2 = 0·12–0·13) for 30 min. The brachial artery diameter and blood velocity during exercise were measured via ultrasound, and the antegrade and retrograde shear rates were calculated. Before and 5, 30 and 60 min after exercise, brachial artery FMD was measured in normoxia. FMD was estimated as the percentage increase in peak diameter from the baseline diameter at prior occlusion (%FMD) and as the controlling changes in baseline diameter (the corrected‐%FMD). No difference in antegrade shear rate during exercise was detected between the normoxic and hypoxic conditions, whereas the retrograde shear rate was larger during hypoxic exercise. The %FMD decreased significantly at 5 min after exercise in both normoxia and hypoxia, and it returned to pre‐exercise levels within 60 min of recovery. Significant decreases in FMD at 5 min after exercise had disappeared when the baseline diameter was controlled using an analysis of covariance (the corrected‐%FMD). No significant differences were observed between the normoxic and hypoxic trials in the %FMD and corrected‐%FMD following exercise. These results suggest that hypoxia has no impact on endothelial function in the inactive limb following acute aerobic exercise.
Mesenchymal stromal cells producing TNFα lack inhibitory effect against A375 experimental lung metastases.

Cell-based anticancer therapy using mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) engineered to express therapeutic genes has a potential to target the cancer cells in vivo. Metastatic dissemination of melanoma remains a serious problem in the treatment. In our previous work we used MSCs overexpressing gene for tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα; MSCs/TNFα), and we achieved inhibition of melanoma xenograft growth when engineered MCSs/TNFα were coinjected with tumor cells subcutaneously. The TNFα as a pleiotropic cytokine induces apoptosis of tumor cells, creates "tumor resistant" microenvironment, enhances immune response and can have tumor destructive capacity in selected tumor types, especially in tumors of mesodermal origin.In this study we investigated the possibility of intravenously administered MCSs/TNFα to inhibit metastatic spread of A375 melanoma cells in the lungs. We confirmed elevated expression of TNFα transgene in the lung tissue 20 days after MCSs/TNFα intravenous infusion. We also documented that constitutive expression of TNFα transgene is able to neutralize the supportive effect of MSCs on melanoma cells growth. Metastatic spread of A375 melanoma cells in the lung was inhibited approximately to 50% after MCSs/TNFα i.v. administration in comparison to control group with parental MSCs supporting tumor growth. In conclusion, engineered MCSs/TNFα administered intravenously did not demonstrate significant antitumor effect against experimental melanoma lung metastases in this model settings.
Robust downlink beamforming and power splitting design in multiuser MISO SWIPT system

In this paper, we consider robust transmit strategy for a multiuser MISO broadcast system with simultaneous wireless information and power transmission (SWIPT), under the assumption of imperfect channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT), where each user is equipped with a power splitter and can harvest power and decode information at the same time. To optimally design the robust transmit beamforming (BF) and power splitting (PS), our design objective is to minimize the total transmit power of the base station (BS) subject to individual energy harvesting (EH) constraint and signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR) constraint at each user. The original problem is non-convex and can be optimally solved by reformulating it into a two-stage problem. First, by fixing the PS factors of each receive antenna, we derive the equivalent conditions of SINR constraint and EH constraint, and then convert the original problem into a relaxed semidefinite programming (SDP) problem by applying the semidefinite relaxation (SDR) technique, which can be solved efficiently by standard interior-point algorithm. Second, the optimal PS factors design problem are solved by a one/M-dimension search over the minimum target of the transmit power. Interestingly, we have shown that the SDR is tight. Simulation results have shown to validate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
The impact of evidence on physicians’ inpatient treatment decisions

AbstractOBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown that most medical inpatients receive treatment supported by strong evidence (evidence-based treatment), but they have not assessed whether and how physicians actually use evidence when making their treatment decisions. We investigated whether physicians would change inpatient treatment if presented with the results of a literature search. DESIGN: Before-after study. SETTING: Large public teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Random sample of 146 inpatients cared for by 33 internal medicine attending physicians. INTERVENTIONS: After physicians committed to a specific diagnosis and treatment plan, investigators performed standardized literature searches and provided the search results to the attending physicians. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary study outcome was the number of patients whose attending physicians would change treatment due to the literature searches. These changes were evaluated by blinded peer review. A secondary outcome was the proportion of patients who received evidence-based treatment before and after the literature searches. Attending physicians changed treatment for 23 (18%) of 130 eligible patients (95% confidence interval, 12% to 24%) as a result of the literature searches. Overall, 86% of patients (112 of 130) received evidence-based treatments before the searches and 87% (113 of 130) after the searches. Changes were not related to whether patients were receiving evidence-based treatment before the search (P=.6). Panels of peer reviewers judged the quality of patient care as improved or maintained for 18 (78%) of the 23 patients with treatment changes. CONCLUSIONS: Searching the literature could improve the treatment of many medical inpatients, including those already receiving evidence-based treatment.