Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human hepatitis delta antigen is a nuclear phosphoprotein with RNA-binding activity

The genetic origin, structure, and biochemical properties of the delta antigen (HDAg) of a human hepatitis delta virus (HDV) were investigated. A cDNA fragment containing the open reading frame encoding the HDAg was transcribed into RNA and used for in vitro translation in rabbit reticulocyte lysates. The HDAg open reading frame was also inserted into an expression vector containing a simian virus 40 T-antigen promoter and expressed into COS 7 cells. In both systems, a protein species of 26 kilodaltons was synthesized from this open reading frame and could be specifically immunoprecipitated with antisera obtained from patients with delta hepatitis. A similar protein was also synthesized from antigenomic-sense monomeric HDV RNA in both systems, although the efficiency of translation was lower than that of the isolated open reading frame. This protein was found to be phosphorylated at the serine residues. Immunoperoxidase studies with anti-HDV sera demonstrated that the HDAg was expressed mainly in the nuclei of the transfected COS 7 cells. Moreover, the HDAg was shown to bind the genomic RNA of HDV. These studies indicate that HDAg is encoded by the antigenomic-sense RNA of HDV and is a nuclear phosphoprotein associated with an RNA-binding activity.
A Simple Model of DIGBL Effect for Polysilicon Films and Polysilicon Thin-Film Transistors

Based on charge conservation assumption, analytical models of the drain-induced grain barrier lowering effect are developed for polysilicon films by 1-D Poisson's equation and for polysilicon thin-film transistors (poly-Si TFTs) by quasi-2-D Poisson's equation. It is shown that the voltage drop at the lower barrier side is less than that at the higher barrier side for both poly-Si films and poly-Si TFTs when applying a lateral bias across the grain-boundary barrier.
Managed Realignment for Flood Risk Reductions: What are the Drivers of Public Willingness to Pay?

Offering several advantages over traditional “hold the line” flood defences, including the supply of ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and habitat provision, managed realignment is increasingly being used as a flood defence option. This paper seeks to add to the growing literature on public perceptions of the benefits of managed realignment by examining local resident’s knowledge of estuarine management issues and identifying their willingness to pay (WTP) towards a new managed realignment scheme on the Tay Estuary, Scotland. Results showed that the majority of respondents were not aware of flood risk issues on the estuary or of different flood defence options. Furthermore a “miss-match” between flood risk perceptions was highlighted with respondents stating they were not at risk from flooding when in fact they lived in a flood risk zone. Household mean WTP for a specific managed realignment scheme was calculated as £43 per annum. Significant drivers of WTP included respondents perceived flood risk and worries about the state of existing flood defences. There was also significant spatial heterogeneity with those living closest to the scheme being WTP the most. Prior knowledge of flood risk issues and managed realignment was found not to significantly affect WTP.
["Rules vs. Discretion" after Twenty-Five Years]: Comment

Blinder, A. S. (1997). Distinguished lecture on economics in government: What central bankers could learn from academics-and vice versa. Journal of Economic Perspectives 11(Spring):3-19. Cho, I. -K. , and A. Matsui. (1995). Induction and the Ramsey policy. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 19 (July-September):1113-1140. Clarida, R. , J. Gali, and M. Gertler. (1999). The science of monetary policy: A new Keynesian perspective. Journal of Economic Literature 37(December):1661-1707. Herrendorf, B. , and B. Lockwood. (1997). Rogoff's "conservative" central banker restored. Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking 29(November, Part 1):476-495. Ireland, P. N. (1997). "Sustainable monetary policies. " Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 22(November):87-108. (2000). Expectations, credibility, and time-consistent monetary policy. Macroeconomic Dynamics 4(December):448-466. Kydland, F. E. , and E. C. Prescott. (1977). Rules rather than discretion: The inconsistency of optimal plans. Journal of Political Economy 85(June):473-491. McCallum, B. T. (1995). Two fallacies concerning central-bank independence. American Economic Review 85(May):207-211. Rogoff, K. (1985). The optimal degree of commitment toan intermediate monetary target. Quarterly Journal of Economics 100(November):1169-1189. Svensson, L. E. 0. (1997). Optimal inflation targets, "conservative" central banks, and linear inflation contracts. American Economic Review 87(March):98-114. Taylor, J. B. (1982). Establishing credibility: A rational expectations viewpoint. American Economic Review 72(May):81-85. Walsh, C. E. (1995). Optimal contracts for central bankers. American Economic Review 85(March):150-167. SVENSSON
Extracorporeal Versus Conventional Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation After Ventricular Fibrillation Cardiac Arrest in Rats: A Feasibility Trial*

Objectives:Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation with cardiopulmonary bypass potentially provides cerebral reperfusion, cardiovascular support, and temperature control for resuscitation from cardiac arrest. We hypothesized that extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation is feasible after ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest in rats and improves outcome versus conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Design:Prospective randomized study. Setting:University laboratory. Subjects:Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Interventions:Rats (intubated, instrumented with arterial and venous catheters and cardiopulmonary bypass cannulae) were randomized to conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation with/without therapeutic hypothermia, or sham groups. After 6 minutes of ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest, resuscitation was performed with drugs (epinephrine, sodium bicarbonate, and heparin), ventilation, either cardiopulmonary resuscitation or extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and defibrillation. Temperature was maintained at 37.0°C or 33.0°C for 12 hours after restoration of spontaneous circulation. Neurologic deficit scores, overall performance category, histological damage scores (viable neuron counts in CA1 hippocampus at 14 days; % of sham), and microglia proliferation and activation (Iba-1 immunohistochemistry) were assessed. Measurements and Main Results:Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation induced hypothermia more rapidly than surface cooling (p < 0.05), although heart rate was lowest in the extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation hypothermia group (p < 0.05). Survival, neurologic deficit scores, overall performance category, and surviving neurons in CA1 did not differ between groups. Hypothermia significantly reduced neuronal damage in subiculum and thalamus and increased the microglial response in CA1 at 14 days (all p < 0.05). There was no benefit from extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation versus cardiopulmonary resuscitation on damage in any brain region and no synergistic benefit from extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation with hypothermia. Conclusions:In a rat model of 6-minute ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation or extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation leads to survival with intact neurologic outcomes. Twelve hours of mild hypothermia attenuated neuronal death in subiculum and thalamus but not CA1 and, surprisingly, increased the microglial response. Resuscitation from ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest and rigorous temperature control with extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a rat model is feasible, regionally neuroprotective, and alters neuroinflammation versus standard resuscitation. The use of experimental extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be explored using longer insult durations.
Client-centred self-care intervention after stroke: A feasibility study

Abstract Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of client-centred, self-care intervention (CCSCI) on (i) activities of daily living (ADL) and life satisfaction in persons with stroke, (ii) caregiver burden, use of informal care and home-help services, and (iii) the feasibility of the study design. Design: Randomized controlled trial, a pilot study of an intervention group (IG) receiving CCSCI or a control group (CG) receiving ordinary training. Subjects: Forty persons with stroke (IG n = 19, CG n = 21) were included: non-demented, able to follow instructions, dependent regarding self-care and referred for rehabilitation, and their significant others (IG n = 8, CG n = 8). Method: Data were collected at baseline and three months later using established instruments regarding ADL, life satisfaction, caregiver burden, and use of health services from medical records, the county register, and by interviews. Results: There were no differences in ADL, life satisfaction, caregiver burden, or use of services at three months. Both groups improved significantly and clinically important improvements were achieved by 86% in IG and 63% in CG. Conclusion: The CCSCI appears promising for the recapturing of self-care after stroke and a large randomized controlled trial is warranted, in which the present design and methods with some modification will be feasible.
Modified alginate and gelatin cross-linked hydrogels for soft tissue adhesive

Abstract Soft tissue adhesives made from natural hydrogel are attractive in clinical applications due to their excellent properties, such as high water content, good biocompatibility, low immune, good biodegradability. Hydrogels derived from natural polysaccharides and proteins are ideal components for soft tissue adhesive since they resemble the extracellular matrices of the tissue composed of various sugar and amino acids-based macromolecules. In this paper, a series of novel tissue adhesives mixed by aldehyde sodium alginate (ASA) with amino gelatin (AG) were developed and characterized. The effect of aldehyde content in ASA and amino group content in AG on the properties of ASA/AG cross-linked hydrogel was measured. The results showed the gelling time, swelling behavior and the bonding strength of the hydrogel can be tuned by varying the content of aldehyde groups in ASA and the content of amino groups in AG. The gelation time could be controlled within 4–18 min. When the aldehyde content of ASA is 75.24% and the amino content of AG is 0.61 mmol/g, the hydrogel almost has the adhesive strength equal to the commercially available adhesive ﬁbrin glue. So, this tunable ASA/AG hydrogels in this study could be a promising candidate as soft tissue adhesive and have a wide range of biomedical applications.
Robust H∞ control for nonlinear systems with uncertainties and impulsive effects described by T-S fuzzy model

The robust H∞ control problem for nonlinear systems with uncertainties and impulsive effects is considered. Based on the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model and the parallel distributed compensation (PDC) technique, some sufficient conditions for robust H∞ stability are proposed and are expressed in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Numerical example shows the control algorithm is feasible for practical application.
Power allocation for cooperative-based jamming in wireless networks with secrecy constraints

This paper deals with the use of jamming transmission for physical layer security in wireless networks with power constraints. An approach that incorporates a dirty-paper coding (DPC) design with the jamming process under a total power constraint is investigated. The proposed scheme enables both the source and the jammer nodes to create intentional interference on the eavesdropper node and significantly improves the achievable secure rate of the system. A power allocation (PA) policy that defines how the available power is distributed between the source and the jammer node as well as between the superimposed terms of the DPC design is investigated. We show that the PA policy has an important impact on the secrecy performance of the jamming process and determines how the interference should be transmitted between the two independent jamming channels.
Social Role Specialization Promotes Cooperation between Parents

Biparental care of offspring is a widespread social behavior, and various ecological, life-history, and demographic factors have been proposed to explain its evolution and maintenance. Raising offspring generally requires several types of care (e.g., feeding, brooding, and defense), and males and females often specialize in providing different types of care. However, theoretical models of care often assume that care is a single variable and hence that a unit of care by the mother is interchangeable with a unit of care by the father. We hypothesize that the ability of one parent to provide all types of care may be limited by nonadditive costs or by sex-based asymmetries in the costs of particular care types. Using an individual-based simulation, we show that synergistic costs of investing in two tasks or negligible sex-based cost asymmetries select for task specialization and biparental care. Biparental care persists despite intense sexual selection and sex-biased mortality, suggesting that previous models make overly restrictive predictions of the conditions under which cooperation can be maintained. Our model provides a mechanistic underpinning for published models that show that the synergistic benefits of individuals cooperating can stabilize cooperation, both in the context of parental care and in other social scenarios.
Prolonged absence of myostatin reduces sarcopenia

Sarcopenia is a progressive age‐related loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. Parabiotic experiments show that circulating factors positively influence the proliferation and regenerative capacity of satellite cells in aged mice. In addition, we believe that negative regulators of muscle mass also serve to balance the signals that influence satellite cell activation and regeneration capacity with ageing. Myostatin, a negative regulator of pre‐ and postnatal myogenesis, inhibits satellite cell activation and muscle regeneration postnatally. To investigate the role of myostatin during age‐related sarcopenia, we examined muscle mass and regeneration in young and old myostatin‐null mice. Young myostatin‐null muscle fibers were characterized by massive hypertrophy and hyperplasia and an increase in type IIB fibers, resulting in a more glycolytic muscle. With ageing, wild‐type muscle became increasingly oxidative and fiber atrophy was prominent. In contrast no fiber type switching was observed and atrophy was minimal in aged myostatin‐null muscle. The effect of ageing on satellite cell numbers appeared minimal, however, satellite cell activation declined significantly in both wild‐type and myostatin‐null muscles. In young mice, lack of myostatin resulted in increased satellite cell number and activation compared to wild‐type, suggesting a greater propensity to undergo myogenesis, a difference maintained in the aged mice. In addition, muscle regeneration of myostatin‐null muscle following notexin injury was accelerated and fiber hypertrophy and type were recovered with regeneration, unlike in wild‐type muscle. In conclusion, a lack of myostatin appears to reduce age‐related sarcopenia and loss of muscle regenerative capacity. J. Cell. Physiol. 209: 866–873, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Early postnatal maturation of GABAA‐mediated inhibition in the brainstem respiratory rhythm‐generating network of the mouse

It is well established that GABAA‐mediated postsynaptic potentials are excitatory in many brain regions during embryonic and early postnatal life. The pre‐Bötzinger complex (PBC) in the brainstem is an essential component of the respiratory rhythm‐generating network, where GABAA‐mediated inhibition plays a critical role in generating a stable respiratory rhythm in adult animals. In the present study, using the perforated patch technique, we investigated the maturation of GABAA receptor‐mediated effects on rhythmically active PBC neurons and on the motor output in slice preparations from P0–15 neonatal mice. The reversal potential of GABAA receptor‐mediated current (EGABA‐A) switched from depolarizing to hyperpolarizing within the first postnatal week. EGABA‐A was −13.7 ± 9.8 mV at P0, then it changed to −44.8 ± 7.0 mV at P2 and −71.5 ± 6.8 mV at P4. Perfusion of bicarbonate‐free saline has no detectable influence on EGABA‐A, indicating that a lack of Cl– extrusion during P0–3 is mainly responsible for early GABAA‐ergic excitation. At the network level, blockade of GABAA receptors with bicuculline did not significantly change the frequency of rhythmic bursts recorded from hypoglossal nerve roots before P3, whereas it increased the coefficient of variation. After P3, bicuculline increased burst frequency with little effect on the coefficient of variation. Thus, chloride‐mediated inhibition, which appears in PBC neurons after P3, coincides with the appearance of GABAA‐mediated modulation of the respiratory rhythm. GABAA receptor‐activated inhibition may therefore be necessary for frequency modulation in the respiratory network beginning on the fourth postnatal day in the mouse brainstem.
Evaluating Innovative In-ear Pulse Oximetry for Unobtrusive Cardiovascular Homecare Monitoring during Sleep

In this paper, we present a novel pulseoximetric sensor which can be worn in the ear channel. In previous work, we could demonstrate that measurement of heart rate (HR), arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) and respiratory related information can be performed with reliable accuracy. Since these results were obtained under laboratory conditions, we now studied the feasibility of a clinical appliance of the sensor system for cardiovascular monitoring during sleep which may allow diagnosis of sleep apnea in future. Therefore, we performed human trials in a sleep laboratory with patients with a clinical suspicion of sleep apnea. The evaluation focus on heart rate and oxygen saturation. Results was compared with standard polysomnography (PSG) measurements and demonstrate that nocturnal long-term measurement of oxygen saturation and heart rate is possible with sufficient accuracy.
Mutation to phenylalanine of tyrosine 371 in tyrosine hydroxylase increases the affinity for phenylalanine.

The aromatic amino acid hydroxylases tyrosine and phenylalanine hydroxylase both contain non-heme iron, utilize oxygen and tetrahydrobiopterin, and are tetramers of identical subunits. The catalytic domains of these enzymes are homologous, and recent X-ray crystallographic analyses show the active sites of the two enzymes are very similar. The hydroxyl oxygens of tyrosine 371 in tyrosine hydroxylase and of tyrosine 325 of phenylalanine hydroxylase are 5 and 4.5 A, respectively, away from the active site iron in the enzymes. To determine whether this residue has a role in the catalytic mechanism as previously suggested [Erlandsen, H. , et al. (1997) Nat. Struct. Biol. 4, 995-1000], tyrosine 371 of tyrosine hydroxylase was altered to phenylalanine by site-directed mutagenesis. The Y371F protein was fully active in tyrosine hydroxylation, eliminating an essential mechanistic role for this residue. There was no change in the product distribution seen with phenylalanine or 4-methylphenylalanine as a substrate, suggesting that the reactivity of the hydroxylating intermediate was unaffected. However, the KM value for phenylalanine was decreased 10-fold in the mutant protein. These results are interpreted as an indication of greater conformational flexibility in the active site of the mutant protein.
Cloning, characterization and expression of a calnexin homologue from the pathogenic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

We report the cloning of a Paracoccidioides brasiliensis cDNA, here named PbCnx, encoding the homologue of the endoplasmic reticulum molecular chaperone calnexin. Calnexin specifically recognizes monoglucosylated glycoproteins in the endoplasmic reticulum, thus being an essential component of the complex that interacts with the folded state of nascent secreted glycoproteins. The PbCnx open reading frame was found in a 1701 base pair (bp) fragment that encodes a 567 amino acid protein with an estimated mass of 62 680 Da. Northern and Southern blot hybridizations showed that PbCnx is encoded by a single, or a low number of, gene copies. PbCnx contains the hallmark KPEDWD motifs that are found in all members of the calnexin/calreticulin family proteins. A cDNA‐encoding PbCnx was overexpressed as recombinant protein in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant PbCnx was recognized by 6 out of 10 sera from PCM patients, a result that rules out its possible consideration for further use in diagnosis. Using confocal microscopy with anti‐PbCnx mouse serum against yeast forms, a cytoplasmic staining pattern was observed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impaired NFAT Transcriptional Activity in Antigen-Stimulated CD8 T Cells Linked to Defective Phosphorylation of NFAT Transactivation Domain1

NFAT transcription factors play critical roles in CD4 T cell activation and differentiation. Their function in CD8 T cell is, however, unknown. We show in this study that, in contrast to CD4 T cells, Ag-stimulated CD8 T cells do not demonstrate NFAT transcriptional activity despite normal regulation of NFAT nuclear shuttling. Further analysis of the signaling defect shows that phosphorylation of the 53SSPS56 motif of the NFAT transactivation domain is essential for NFAT-mediated transcription in primary T cells. Although Ag stimulation induces in CD4 T cells extensive phosphorylation of this motif, it does so only minimally in CD8 T cells. Although Ag stimulation triggers only modest activation of the p38 MAPK in CD8 T cells as opposed to CD4 T cells, p38 MAPK is not the upstream kinase that directly or indirectly phosphorylates the NFAT 53SSPS56 motif. These findings reveal an unsuspected difference between CD4 and CD8 T cells in the TCR downstream signaling pathway. Therefore, whereas in CD4 T cells TCR/CD28 engagement activates a yet unknown kinase that can phosphorylate the NFAT 53SSPS56 motif, this pathway is only minimally triggered in CD8 T cells, thus limiting NFAT transcriptional activity.
Full Feedforward of the Output Voltage to Improve Efficiency for Envelope-Tracking Power Supply Using Switch-Linear Hybrid Configuration

A synchronous rectification buck converter in parallel with a Class AB linear amplifier is presented in this paper to construct an envelope-tracking (ET) power supply. To eliminate the influences of the output voltage on the linear amplifier output current, a full feedforward of the output-voltage scheme with two feedforward terms is proposed in this paper, which can counteract all the two load admittances of the linear amplifier, respectively, consequently decreasing the linear amplifier output current substantially. An ET power supply prototype with 100-kHz sine-wave tracking, 5-15 V output voltage, and 75-W-peak output power is fabricated and tested in the lab. The experimental results are well in agreement with the theoretical analyses, and the system efficiency is improved significantly.