Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Probiotics Have Clinical, Microbiologic, and Immunologic Efficacy in Acute Infectious Diarrhea

Background: Acute infectious diarrhea is a major cause of childhood morbidity and economic burden for families. We evaluate the clinical, microbiologic, and immunologic effects of probiotics in acute infectious diarrhea. Methods: Children (n = 304) aged 3 months to 6 years hospitalized for acute diarrhea were randomized to receive Bio-three (a mixture of Bacillus mesentericus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Clostridium butyricum) or placebo orally 3 times daily for 7 days. Fecal samples were homogenized for bacterial culture and blood cells were isolated for cell culture and cytokine analysis. This study is registered (NCT00463190). Results: The mean duration of diarrhea after start of therapy was 60.1 hours in the probiotics group versus 86.3 hours in the placebo group (P = 0.003). Hospital stay was shorter in the probiotics group than in the placebo group (P = 0.009). Counts of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus species were elevated in stool culture of the probiotics (Bio-three) group. IL-10 was increased in the serum and supernatants of cell culture in the probiotics group, and tumor necrosis factor-&agr; values were down-regulated. Interferon-&ggr; and IL-12 were mildly elevated in the probiotics group, compared with the placebo group. Conclusions: This probiotics mixture reduced the severity of diarrhea and length of hospital stay in children with acute diarrhea. In addition to restoring beneficial intestinal flora, probiotics may enhance host protective immunity such as down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and up-regulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Upregulates Microglial Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 and -3 Expression and Secretion via NF-κB– and Activator Protein-1–Dependent Monocyte Networks

Inflammatory tissue destruction is central to pathology in CNS tuberculosis (TB). We hypothesized that microglial-derived matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have a key role in driving such damage. Analysis of all of the MMPs demonstrated that conditioned medium from Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected human monocytes (CoMTb) stimulated greater MMP-1, -3, and -9 gene expression in human microglial cells than direct infection. In patients with CNS TB, MMP-1/-3 immunoreactivity was demonstrated in the center of brain granulomas. Concurrently, CoMTb decreased expression of the inhibitors, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2, -3, and -4. MMP-1/-3 secretion was significantly inhibited by dexamethasone, which reduces mortality in CNS TB. Surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization time-of-flight analysis of CoMTb showed that TNF-α and IL-1β are necessary but not sufficient for upregulating MMP-1 secretion and act synergistically to drive MMP-3 secretion. Chemical inhibition and promoter-reporter analyses showed that NF-κB and AP-1 c-Jun/FosB heterodimers regulate CoMTb-induced MMP-1/-3 secretion. Furthermore, NF-κB p65 and AP-1 c-Jun subunits were upregulated in biopsy granulomas from patients with cerebral TB. In summary, functionally unopposed, network-dependent microglial MMP-1/-3 gene expression and secretion regulated by NF-κB and AP-1 subunits were demonstrated in vitro and, for the first time, in CNS TB patients. Dexamethasone suppression of MMP-1/-3 gene expression provides a novel mechanism explaining the benefit of steroid therapy in these patients.
Relating indoor and outdoor performance of bifacial modules

Although flash tests under standard test conditions yields lower power due to transmittance of the back sheet, bifacial modules are expected to outperform their monofacial equivalents in terms of yearly energy output in the field. Different transparent rear side materials have been compared. We compare flash tests for these bifacial modules at various incidence angles with and without a light scattering panel behind the modules. The results of an outdoor study comparing modules with transparent back sheet and modules with state-of-the-art AR coating on the front glass will be presented.
Design of an artificial intelligent system to generate 2D map of unknown environment

Knowledge-based systems are advanced systems for representing complex problems that use artificial intelligence. They incorporate a database of expert knowledge designed to facilitate the knowledge retrieval in response to specific queries, along with learning. In this paper we present a knowledge based system designed to develop a semi-autonomous vehicle (Robot car) that can detect obstacle, generate a map of unknown environment and find path from generated map. The vehicle is equipped with several sensors to sense whether there is obstacle or not. It continuously sends information collected by sensors to controller via wireless communication module. The controller analyzes information from sensor, formulates corresponding plans, makes appropriate decision and sends instructions to the car. The car actuator drives the car to the direction according to the controller acknowledgement. Thus it can find obstacle free path. The vehicle is tested with varying destination places in indoor and outdoor environments containing stationary as well as moving obstacles and is found to perform automatic action and generate a map of the unknown place with the help of AI.
Identification and BAC construction of Han, the first characterized HCMV clinical strain in China

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the leading infectious cause of birth defects, and may lead to severe or lethal diseases in immunocompromised individuals. Several HCMV strains have been identified and widely applied in research, but no isolate from China has been characterized. In the present study, we isolated, characterized and sequenced the first Chinese HCMV clinical strain Han, and constructed the novel and functional HCMV infectious clone Han‐BAC‐2311. HCMV Han was isolated from the urine sample of a Chinese infant with multiple developmental disorders. It expresses HCMV specific proteins and contains a representative HCMV genome with minor differences compared to other strains. By homologous recombination using mini‐F derived BAC vector pUS‐F6, the infectious clone Han‐BAC‐2311 was constructed containing representative viral genes across the HCMV genome. The insertion site and orientation of BAC sequence were confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion and Southern blotting. The reconstituted recombinant virus HanBAC‐2311 expresses typical viral proteins with the same pattern as that of wild‐type Han, and also displayed a similar growth kinetics to wild‐type Han. The identification of the first clinical HCMV strain in China and the construction of its infectious clone will greatly facilitate the pathogenesis studies and vaccine development in China. J. Med. Virol. 88:859–870, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Expression and activity of methionine cycle genes are altered following folate and vitamin E deficiency under oxidative challenge: Modulation by apolipoprotein E-deficiency

Abstract Folate deficiency increases neuronal oxidative damage and potentiates the deleterious effects of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) deficiency. Mice lacking ApoE (ApoE − / − mice) upregulate the expression and activity of another enzyme, glutathione synthase (GS), when deprived of folate, in an apparent attempt to compensate for increased oxidative damage. Herein, we examined the influence of ApoE and folate deficiency on expression and activity of several enzymes of the methionine cycle. Expression and activity of methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase was increased in the order ApoE+/+
Flood Risk Acceptability and Economic Value of Evacuation

The economic value of evacuation and its relationship with flood risk acceptability in Japan were studied by applying the contingent valuation method (CVM). Flood risk acceptability here refers to the extent to which people accept the occurrence of floods, in terms of scale and frequency. The economic value of evacuation refers to people's willingness to pay (WTP) for avoiding evacuation inconvenience because of its inconvenience and the potential for certain losses as a result of evacuation. Our main finding was that over half of the people (56%) who actually evacuated in a real flood situation reported inconvenience. The greatest inconveniences were the shortages of information and food. Evacuation inconvenience can be regarded as an important factor causing the low rate of evacuation in Japan. The WTP for avoiding current inconvenience was approximately half of the estimated economic value of evacuation, implying that the current budget for evacuation is too small and should be increased to improve the conditions of evacuation sites. The economic value of evacuation can be taken into consideration in the risk assessment process in order to evaluate the efficiency of risk reduction measures. Flood risk acceptability and home ownership are two major statistically significantly determinants of the WTP. Considering that those who accept flood risk have a lower WTP for flood risk control (ex ante measures) than those who reject it, it is reasonable to think that there may be a tradeoff between the public WTPs for ex ante or ex post measures.
Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Bicyclic Nucleosides as Inhibitors of M. tuberculosis Thymidylate Kinase

Herein we describe the synthesis and conformational analysis of a series of bicyclic thymidine derivatives and their evaluation as inhibitors of thymidine monophosphate kinase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TMPKmt), based on previously discovered bicyclic sugar nucleosides. With a Ki value of 2.3 μm, 1‐[3‐aminomethyl‐3,5‐dideoxy‐2‐O,6‐N‐(thiocarbonyl)‐β‐D‐ribofuranosyl]thymine emerged as the most potent TMPK inhibitor of this series. Moreover, this promising compound displays inhibitory potency against Mycobacteria cultures with an IC99 value of 100 μg mL−1, thus promoting TMPKmt for the first time as a validated target for further inhibitory design. Attempts to rationalise the observed structure–activity relationship (SAR) involving molecular modelling and conformational analysis are described.
Dynamic Pricing under Operational Frictions

This dissertation investigates the tactical dynamic pricing decisions in industries where sellers sell multiple types of capacity-constrained products/services to their customers. Motivated by operational frictions posed by business considerations, I develop dynamic pricing heuristics that have both provably good revenue performance and nice features which can address these operational frictions. The first essay studies how to do effective dynamic pricing without too many price changes. In practice, many sellers have concerns about dynamic pricing due to the computational complexity of frequent re-optimizations, the negative perception of excessive price adjustments, and the lack of flexibility caused by existing business constraints. To address these concerns, I develop a pricing heuristic which is computationally easy to implement and only needs to adjust a small number of prices and do so infrequently to guarantee a strong revenue performance. In addition, when not all products are equally admissible to price adjustment, my heuristic can replace the price adjustment of some products by their similar products and maintain an equivalent revenue performance. These features allow the sellers to achieve most of the benefit of dynamic pricing with much fewer price changes and provide extra flexibility to manage prices. While the first essay assumes that the sellers know the underlying demand function, this information is sometimes unavailable to the sellers in practice. The second and the third essays study how to jointly learn the demand and dynamically price the products to minimize revenue loss compared to a standard revenue upper bound in the literature. The second essay addresses the parametric case where the seller knows the functional form of the demand but not the parameters; the third essay addresses the nonparametric case where the seller does not even know the functional form of the demand. There is a considerable gap between the revenue loss lower bound under any pricing policy and the performance bound of the best known heuristic in the literature. To close the gap, in my second essay, I propose a heuristic that exactly match the lower bound for the parametric case, and show that under a demand separation condition, a much sharper revenue loss bound can be obtained; in my third essay, I propose a heuristic whose performance is arbitrarily close to the lower bound for the nonparametric case. All the proposed heuristics are computationally very efficient and can be used as a baseline for developing more sophisticated heuristics for large-scale problems.
Full 3D-OSEM reconstruction with compressed response of the system

Small animal PET scanners require high spatial resolution (<1 mm) and good sensitivity. To obtain high resolution images, iterative reconstruction methods, like OSEM, applied to image reconstruction in three-dimensional (3D) positron emission tomography (PET), have superior performance over analytical reconstruction algorithms like FBP. However, the high computational cost of iterative methods remains a serious drawback to their development and clinical routine use. The increase in performance of current computers should make iterative image reconstruction fast enough to attain clinical viability. However, dealing with the large number of probability coefficients for the response of the system in high-resolution PET scanners becomes a difficult task that prevents the algorithms from reaching peak performance. Taking into account all possible axial, in-plane and other symmetries, we have reduced the storage needs what allows us to store the whole response of the system in dynamic memory of ordinary industry standard computers, so that the reconstruction algorithm can achieve near peak performance
A CMOS-Compatible WORM Memory for Low-Cost Non-Volatile Memory Applications

A Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) memory using a CMOS-compatible Antifuse (AF) element for low-cost nonvolatile memory is presented. The AF device is formed on an NMOS with PLDD implants (MOS-channel AF) to enhance hot-carrier effects. The AF is programmed by applying a high voltage across the channel until breakdown such that it becomes resistor. The devices were fabricated in standard TSMC 0. 18μm process without any process modification. The channel breakdown was observed between 4.5V to 5V. The programmed resistance is in the kΩ range at milliampere range of programming current. A 128-bit WORM architecture is presented based on an IO-select transistor and the AF memory cell. The architecture was designed and simulated in Cadence to verify the functionality of the device when formed in an array.
Exploring the ADHD Diagnosis in Ghana : between disrespect and lack of institutionalization

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Intellectual Property Rights: Protection of Plant Materials

Presents the plenary papers and proceedings of a workshop which addressed such topics as goals of inventors, owners, and users; implications of non-U.S. protection, procedures, and practices for U.S. innovators; the status of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection; science-based identification of plant genetic materials; and national legislative issues.
Dual Targeting of the Chemokine Receptors CXCR4 and ACKR3 with Novel Engineered Chemokines*

Background: Chemokine receptors CXCR4 and ACKR3 are deregulated in many diseases. Results: Potent modulators of CXCR4 and ACKR3 were engineered by phage display of the chemokine CXCL12. Conclusion: Requirements for high affinity receptor binding and activation are suggested from experimental data and molecular modeling. Significance: These chemokine variants represent useful reagents, and the phage display strategy will facilitate further optimization of CXCR4 and ACKR3 modulators. The chemokine CXCL12 and its G protein-coupled receptors CXCR4 and ACKR3 are implicated in cancer and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders and are targets of numerous antagonist discovery efforts. Here, we describe a series of novel, high affinity CXCL12-based modulators of CXCR4 and ACKR3 generated by selection of N-terminal CXCL12 phage libraries on live cells expressing the receptors. Twelve of 13 characterized CXCL12 variants are full CXCR4 antagonists, and four have Kd values <5 nm. The new variants also showed high affinity for ACKR3. The variant with the highest affinity for CXCR4, LGGG-CXCL12, showed efficacy in a murine model for multiple sclerosis, demonstrating translational potential. Molecular modeling was used to elucidate the structural basis of binding and antagonism of selected variants and to guide future designs. Together, this work represents an important step toward the development of therapeutics targeting CXCR4 and ACKR3.
Skeletal muscles of ambulant children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: validation of multicenter study of evaluation with MR imaging and MR spectroscopy.

PURPOSE To validate a multicenter protocol that examines lower extremity skeletal muscles of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) by using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and MR spectroscopy in terms of reproducibility of these measurements within and across centers. MATERIALS AND METHODS This HIPAA-compliant study was approved by the institutional review boards of all participating centers, and informed consent was obtained from each participant or a guardian. Standardized procedures with MR operator training and quality assurance assessments were implemented, and data were acquired at three centers by using different 3-T MR imaging instruments. Measures of maximal cross-sectional area (CSAmax), transverse relaxation time constant (T2), and lipid fraction were compared among centers in two-compartment coaxial phantoms and in two unaffected adult subjects who visited each center. Also, repeat MR measures were acquired twice on separate days in 30 boys with DMD (10 per center) and 10 unaffected boys. Coefficients of variation (CVs) were computed to examine the repeated-measure variabilities within and across centers. RESULTS CSAmax, T2 from MR imaging and MR spectroscopy, and lipid fraction were consistent across centers in the phantom (CV, <3%) and in the adult subjects who traveled to each site (CV, 2%-7%). High day-to-day reproducibility in MR measures was observed in boys with DMD (CSAmax, CV = 3.7% [25th percentile, 1.3%; 75th percentile, 5.1%]; contractile area, CV = 4.2% [25th percentile, 0.8%; 75th percentile, 4.9%]; MR imaging T2, CV = 3.1% [25th percentile, 1.2%; 75th percentile, 4.7%]; MR spectroscopy T2, CV = 3.9% [25th percentile, 1.5%; 75th percentile, 5.1%]; and lipid fraction, CV = 4.7% [25th percentile, 1.0%; 75th percentile, 5.3%]). CONCLUSION The MR protocol implemented in this multicenter study achieved highly reproducible measures of lower extremity muscles across centers and from day to day in ambulatory boys with DMD.
Hydrogen peroxide induces Src family tyrosine kinase‐dependent activation of Xenopus eggs

Fertilization is accompanied by a rapid and transient calcium release in eggs, which is required for the onset of zygotic developmental program or ‘egg activation’. Recently, it was found that Src family tyrosine kinase (SFK)‐dependent phospholipase C (PLC) activity is necessary for the calcium transience in fertilized Xenopus eggs. The present study demonstrates that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) stimulates protein‐tyrosine phosphorylation in Xenopus eggs, which occurs primarily in the egg cortex of the animal hemisphere as revealed by indirect immunofluorescence study. Egg SFK was found to be upregulated by H2O2 while the SFK‐specific inhibitor PP1 effectively blocked H2O2‐induced tyrosine phosphorylation. As in fertilized eggs, PLCγ, but not Shc, was tyrosine‐phosphorylated in H2O2‐treated eggs. H2O2 also caused inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate (IP3) production and sustained calcium release. After limited application of H2O2, elevated SFK activity and tyrosine phosphorylation were quickly reversed. Under such conditions, eggs showed cortical contraction and dephosphorylation of p42 MAP kinase, both of which are indicative of egg activation. These egg activation events, as well as H2O2‐induced IP3 production and calcium release, were sensitive to PP1 and PLC inhibitor U‐73122. Together, the present study demonstrated that H2O2 can mimic, at least in part, early events of Xenopus egg activation that require an SFK‐dependent PLC pathway.
Self-aligned metal source/drain InxGa1−xAs n-MOSFETs using Ni-InGaAs alloy

We have found that a Ni-InGaAs alloy is promising material for the self-aligned metal source/drain (S/D) of InGaAs MOSFETs. The Ni-InGaAs alloy has a low sheet resistance of around 25 Ω/square and a low Schottky barrier height (SBH) for n-InGaAs. We also introduce the SBH engineering by modulating the In content in InxGa1−xAs. The value of SBH is reduced with increasing the In content with maintaining the low sheet resistance for different In contents. We propose a novel fabrication process of self-aligned metal S/D MOSFETs using Ni-InGaAs, and demonstrate the successful operation of the metal S/D InxGa1−xAs MOSFETs, for the first time. The MOSFETs have realized RSD lower by 1/5 than that in PN junction devices and the high peak mobility of 2000 and 1810 cm2/Vs in the In content of 0.7 and 0.8, respectively.
Nck enables directional cell migration through the coordination of polarized membrane protrusion with adhesion dynamics

Summary Directional migration requires the coordination of cytoskeletal changes essential for cell polarization and adhesion turnover. Extracellular signals that alter tyrosine phosphorylation drive directional migration by inducing reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. It is recognized that Nck is an important link between tyrosine phosphorylation and actin dynamics; however, the role of Nck in cytoskeletal remodeling during directional migration and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely undetermined. In this study, a combination of molecular genetics and quantitative live cell microscopy was used to show that Nck is essential in the establishment of front–back polarity and directional migration of endothelial cells. Time-lapse differential interference contrast and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy showed that Nck couples the formation of polarized membrane protrusions with their stabilization through the assembly and maturation of cell–substratum adhesions. Measurements by atomic force microscopy showed that Nck also modulates integrin &agr;5&bgr;1-fibronectin adhesion force and cell stiffness. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer imaging revealed that Nck depletion results in delocalized and increased activity of Cdc42 and Rac. By contrast, the activity of RhoA and myosin II phosphorylation were reduced by Nck knockdown. Thus, this study identifies Nck as a key coordinator of cytoskeletal changes that enable cell polarization and directional migration, which are crucial processes in development and disease.