Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Attenuated hepatitis A virus: genetic determinants of adaptation to growth in MRC-5 cells

A live candidate hepatitis A virus vaccine, developed from the HM-175 strain and adapted to growth in primary African green monkey kidney (AGMK) cells, was adapted to growth in MRC-5 cells. The nucleotide sequence of the MRC-5 cell-adapted virus was determined and compared with the known sequence of the AGMK cell-adapted virus. Thirteen unique mutations, which occurred during passage in MRC-5 cells, were identified. Four of the unique mutations were located in a cluster in the 5' noncoding region (NC), and three of the remaining nine mutations encoded amino acid changes. Infectious chimeric cDNAs were constructed from infectious cDNA clones of the AGMK cell-adapted and wild-type HM-175 viruses and PCR-amplified cDNA segments of the MRC-5 cell-adapted virus. The viruses encoded by these plasmids were recovered after transfection of cultured cells with in vitro transcripts, and their growth phenotypes in fetal rhesus kidney 4 (FRhK-4) and MRC-5 cells were determined. The important growth-enhancing mutations could be divided into three sets. Two of these were located in the 5' NC region, and the third was located in the 2C nonstructural gene. The mutations in the 5' NC region that developed during passage in MRC-5 cells were indispensable for efficient growth in MRC-5 cells, but a combination of the two groups in the 5' NC region and one in the 2C gene were required to increase growth dramatically in MRC-5 cells.
A Comparison of Reactive Oxygen Species Generation by Rat Peritoneal Macrophages and Mast Cells Using the Highly Sensitive Real-Time Chemiluminescent Probe Pholasin: Inhibition of Antigen-Induced Mast Cell Degranulation by Macrophage-Derived Hydrogen Peroxide1

Mast cells and macrophages live in close proximity in vivo and reciprocally regulate one another’s function in various ways. Although activated macrophages possess a powerful reactive oxygen species (ROS) generating system, there is conflicting evidence regarding whether mast cells can produce ROS. We used the highly sensitive real-time chemiluminescent probe Pholasin to examine ROS release by peritoneal macrophages and mast cells isolated from OVA-sensitized rats. Macrophages stimulated with PMA (0.8 μM) or ionomycin (1 μM), but not OVA (1 μg/ml), released high-level ROS, levels of which peaked after 3–7 min and declined to baseline levels within 1 h. Superoxide was identified as the major ROS species induced by PMA but not by ionomycin. In contrast, purified mast cells stimulated with PMA released low-level ROS, which was entirely due to the contaminating (2%) macrophages, and did not release any detectable ROS in response to ionomycin or OVA at concentrations that induced degranulation. Stimulation of mixed cell populations with PMA to induce macrophage ROS release led to 50% inhibition of serotonin release from mast cells stimulated 5 min later with OVA. The PMA-induced inhibitory factor was identified as hydrogen peroxide. In conclusion, activated rat peritoneal macrophages but not mast cells produce ROS, and macrophage-derived hydrogen peroxide inhibits mast cell degranulation. The latter could be an important mechanism whereby phagocytic cells regulate mast cell activation and promote resolution of IgE-mediated inflammation.
Black Male Student Success in Higher Education

The national study included 219 Black male undergraduates who had earned cumulative grade point averages above 3.0, established lengthy records of leadership and active engagement in multiple student organizations, developed meaningful relationships with campus administrators and faculty outside the classroom, participated in enriching educational experiences (for example, study abroad programs, internships, service learning, and summer research programs), and earned numerous merit-based scholarships and honors in recognition of their college achievements. Tremendous diversity is represented in the sample, as evidenced by these participant demographics and family characteristics:
Species identification and genetic differentiation of European cavity-nesting wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Pompilidae, Crabronidae) inferred from DNA barcoding data

Abstract Solitary trap-nesting wasps are prospective bioindicators of anthropogenic pressures on natural ecosystems and one of the surrogate taxa for biodiversity assessments. The implementation of these studies is taxonomy-based and relies on accurate identification of species. The identification of larval stages of cavity-nesting Hymenoptera, collected using trap-nests, is complicated or impossible before the post-hibernation hatching of adults. DNA barcoding may allow the identification of the trap-nesting Hymenoptera species immediately after collection of the trap-nests, using larvae or dead specimens as sources of DNA. Using the standard barcoding sequence, we identified 33 wasp species from the families Vespidae, Pompilidae and Crabronidae, inhabiting trap-nests in Europe. Within-species and between-species genetic distances were estimated to evaluate the differences of intraspecific and interspecific genetic diversity. Genetic distances between related species indicated an obvious “barcoding gap”. Neighbour-joining analysis revealed that groups corresponding to taxa of genus level are cohesive as well. COI barcode approach was confirmed as a valuable tool for taxonomy-based biodiversity studies of the trap-nesting Hymenoptera.
Parallelization of test for assessing pseudorandom number generators using CUDA technology

In general, the tests for assessing the quality of the pseudorandom number generators (PRNG) are very time consuming. The paper is devoted to the problem of PRNGs assessment tests acceleration. Our approach based on the using resources of graphics cards and technology nVIDIA CUDA. This paper gives examples of parallelization of several tests from A Statistical Test Suite for Random and Pseudorandom Number Generators for cryptographic applications of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The results of the experiments show that the approach can significantly reduce the time of PRNGs testing.
A Comparision of Multiclass Support Vector Machine Algorithms

Support vector machines (SVMS) were originally designed for binary classifications. For multi-classifications, they are usually converted into binary ones, and up to date, several methods have been proposed to decompose and reconstruct multi-class classification problems. In this paper, we compare the performance of these algorithms. They are applied to eight UCI data sets and the ten-folder method is adopted in our experiments. The results show that the one-against-one scheme is not always better than one-against-all scheme and one-against-all perform just as well as one-against-one approaches
Real-Time Obstacle Detection for an Autonomous Wheelchair Using Stereoscopic Cameras

This paper is concerned with the development of a real-time obstacle avoidance system for an autonomous wheelchair using stereoscopic cameras by severely disabled people. Based on the left and right images captured from stereoscopic cameras mounted on the wheelchair, the optimal disparity is computed using the Sum of Absolute Differences (SAD) correlation method. From this disparity, a 3D depth map is constructed based on a geometric projection algorithm. A 2D map converted from this 3D map can then be employed to provide an effective obstacle avoidance strategy for this wheelchair. Experiment results obtained in a practical environment show the effectiveness of this real-time implementation.
Differing Patterns of Circulating Regulatory T Cells and Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells in Metastatic Melanoma Patients Receiving Anti-CTLA4 Antibody and Interferon-&agr; or TLR-9 Agonist and GM-CSF With Peptide Vaccination

Changes in the biomarkers of host suppressor immune response were evaluated in patients with melanoma enrolled in 2 trials. Two similar cohorts of patients participating in the 2 studies were evaluated. The first (IFN/treme) tested interferon (IFN)-&agr;2b and tremelimumab in metastatic melanoma and reported a response rate of 24%, 6.4 months median progression-free survival, and 21 months median overall survival. The second [toll-like receptor 9 (TLR)/GM] tested vaccination with MART-1, gp100, tyrosinase given with TLR-9 agonist and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and reported 9% response rate, median progression-free survival of 1.9 months, and median overall survival of 13.4 months. We monitored circulating T regulatory cells (T-reg) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) utilizing multicolor flow cytometry. In “IFN/treme,” changes in circulating T-reg and MDSC were compared between baseline, day 29 (end of IFN-&agr; induction) and day 85 (1 course). The CD4+CD25hi+CD39+ T-reg percentage was increased most at day 85 (P=0.018) and less significantly at day 29 (P=0.09). There was a decrease in the percentage of MDSC populations taken in aggregate, which was most significant for monocytic MDSC (HLA-DR+ low/CD14+) at day 29 (P<0.0001) and day 85 (P=0.001). In “TLR-9/GM,” changes in T-reg and MDSC were compared between baseline and day 50 (4 vaccinations) and day 90 (8 vaccinations). There were no significant changes in T-reg or MDSC, except for a trend towards decreased (HLA-DR+ low/CD14+) MDSC at day 50 (P=0.07). Therefore, IFN/treme significantly downregulated MDSC suggesting a role on the significant clinical activity observed in this trial. T-reg findings suggest that IFN/treme induced clinically significant antitumor responses by inhibiting CTLA4 suppressive effects on T effectors, and less so by affecting T-reg.
Truth-in-Advertising Laws and Pharmaceutical Promotion

Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs (DTCA) is heavily regulated. Nelson (1974) provides an informal argument that improved regulation of advertising increases its credibility and therefore the incentives to advertise. He concludes that tighter regulation will stimulate advertising of true claims and that "moderately enforced" regulation will encourage false advertising. We show formally how Nelson's intuition applies to DTCA, even though a "learned intermediary" - the physician - stands between the consumer and the drug company.
The Abolitionist’s Dilemma: Establishing the Standards for the Evolving Standards of Decency

[Excerpt] “For those who believe that the death penalty should be declared unconstitutional and that the U.S. Supreme Court is the institution that should make that declaration, these are interesting times. On one hand, the Rehnquist Court, which had previously not been a reliable friend of criminal defendants, in 2002, ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded defendants, and in 2005 it came to the same conclusion as to defendants who committed a capital crime before his or her eighteenth birthday. On the other hand, close scrutiny of these opinions evidences that the Court all but casts aside methodology to reach the apparently desired outcome. The Court’s rulings that neither juveniles nor mentally retarded defendants could be executed were welcome pronouncements to death penalty abolitionists—that is, those who advocate for and work toward the legal prohibition of capital punishment. However, that is not the end of the story. ”
Stage-specific expression of Gadd45 induced by X-irradiation in rat spermatogenesis

Purpose : Gadd45 is involved in the response to DNA damage in somatic cells. The effect of X-irradiation and chemical treatments on expression of Gadd45 and two other 53-regulated genes, p21 and cyclin-G, was studied in rat testis. Materials and methods : The reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on testis extracts of control, X-irradiated (6Gy), etoposide (10 mg kg -1) and adriamycin (5mg kg -1) -treated rats. For stage-specific analysis, seminiferous tubules were isolated and segments representing the 14 epithelial stages were obtained. Results : In whole testis extracts, increases in Gadd45, p21 and cyclin-G expression were detectable after irradiation, but not after etoposide or adriamycin treatments. Analysis of fractions consisting of defined epithelial stages showed a high expression of Gadd45 in stages VII-XII and of p21 in stages VII-VIII. Irradiation significantly increased the level of Gadd45 mRNA in stages VI-VIII and of p21 mRNA in stages VI-I. Although no overall increase could be observed in whole testis samples of the etoposide-treated rat, stage-specific analysis revealed an induction of p21 expression in stages XIII-I. Gadd45 and cyclin-G mRNA were localized to spermatocytes and round spermatids known to express p21. Conclusions : Although X-irradiation, etoposide and adriamycinare known spermatogenic mutagens and activators of apoptosis, only X-rays induce slightly Gadd45 expression in testis. This small induction was very stage specific.
Mark Horowitz and His Impact on Computer Architecture: His Work in Energy Efficiency and Parallel Multiprocessing

In the early 1990s, computer architecture research, both academic and industrial, was flush with "big" problems worthy of attack. Designers were translating workloads from minicomputers to the microprocessor, and so many classic performance problems were still paramount: systems designers were pushing on instruction-level parallelism using reorder buffers and speculation, multilevel branch prediction, and of course multiscalar machines. They were also working to tear down the memory wall, leveraging inclusion as a key cache design concept, and extending caches to hold both eject and inject data.
Detection of Listeria monocytogenes in cheese with the magnetic immuno-polymerase chain reaction assay

A new detection system, the magnetic immuno-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay (MIPA) has been developed to detect Listeria monocytogenes in food. This method separates Listeria cells from PCR-inhibitory factors present in enrichment broths containing food samples by using magnetic beads coated with specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). The separated bacteria were lysed, and the supernatant containing the bacterial DNA was subjected to the PCR. Detection of L. monocytogenes in three naturally contaminated cheese samples with two different MAbs and PCR primers specific for the gene encoding the delayed-hypersensitivity factor showed that with MAb 55 all three samples were positive whereas with MAb A two samples were positive. A further improvement of the method was obtained by using a PCR step based on the listeriolysin O gene. A MIPA employing MAb 55 and the listeriolysin O gene primer set detected L. monocytogenes after 24 h of culture in Listeria Enrichment Broth samples from Port Salut artificially contaminated with 40 CFU/25 g. We could detect 1 CFU of L. monocytogenes per g of cheese after a second enrichment for 24 h in Fraser broth. The analysis time including both enrichments is approximately 55 h.
What Makes You Go Faster?: The Effect of Reward on Speeded Action under Risk

Evaluating the potential reward and risk associated with a choice of action plays an important role in everyday decision making. However, the details behind how reward and risk affect the decisions for actions remain unclear. The present study investigates the influence of reward and risk on a decision to make a speeded motor response. One hundred and ten college students performed a Speed-Rewarded Go-NoGo task during which they were rewarded proportionally based on the speed and accuracy of their response. On each trial, the magnitude of potential reward and the probability of a forthcoming Go signal (Go-probability) were presented prior to the Go or NoGo signal. Personality traits, such as risk taking and impulsive tendencies, were measured to determine their contribution in explaining individual differences in task performance. The results showed that larger amount of rewards can motivate people to respond faster, and this effect was modulated by the assessed risk, suggesting that decisions for actions are based on a systematic trade-off between rewards and risks. Moreover, when the assessed risk was high, individuals with greater risk taking and impulsive tendencies did not adequately adjust their behavior across different reward levels. These findings shed light on the mechanistic understanding of the effect of reward and risk on decisions for a speeded action.
Treatment Patterns in Patients with Chronic-Phase Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia in Routine Clinical Practice: the SIMPLICITY Italian Population

Background and Objectives While tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have transformed CP-CML management, limited data exist on their use in clinical practice. Methods SIMPLICITY (NCT01244750) is an observational study in CP-CML patients, exploring first-line (1L) TKI use and management patterns in the US and Europe. Over half of the patients recruited in Europe are from Italy (n=266). This is an analysis of the Italian cohort and a comparison with the rest of the European SIMPLICITY population. Baseline demographic, factors influencing the choice of first-line TKI, response monitoring patterns and predictors of monitoring, and treatment interruptions, discontinuations and switching by index TKIs are presented for the Italian cohort in the first year of treatment and compared with that for the overall European SIMPLICITY cohort. Results Italian patients received 1L imatinib (IM; retrospective [(n=31]; prospective [n=106]), dasatinib (DAS; n=56) or nilotinib (NIL; n=73). Documented cytogenetic response monitoring by 12 months was lower than expected, but almost all patients had documented molecular response monitoring. Fewer patients discontinued first-line TKI by 12 months in Italy compared with the rest of the European SIMPLICITY population (p=0.003). Of those with ≥12 months follow-up since the start of 1L TKI, only 7.1% (n=19) of Italian patients switched to a second-line TKI, a third less than in the rest of the European SIMPLICITY population. Of interest, intolerance as opposed to resistance, was the main reason for switching. Conclusions This analysis provides valuable insights into management and treatment patterns in Italian patients with CML within routine clinical practice.
UAV Planning to Optimize Efficiency of Image Stitching in Disaster Monitoring Using Smart-Eye Platform

A Smart-Eye platform is a technology that detects disasters (e.g., forest fire, flood) and responds them quickly. In the Smart-Eye, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is used to monitor the disasters in real time, where the UAV is equipped with a camera and multiple sensors, since it can go into hazards (i.e., unsafe areas to humans) cost-effectively. However, since the UAV has flight time of 10~25 minutes in general, it requires to optimize its pa-rameters for image stitching. In this paper, UAV planning is studied to increases the efficiency of image stitching, in terms of an altitude, a camera angle of view, and a velocity.
Biomechanical Analysis of Experimental Spinal Cord Injury and Functional Loss

Spinal cord injury was studied using a drop-weight technique In a rat model. A constant weight of 10 g was dropped from 2.5, 5.0 and 17.5 cm heights. The trauma delivered was quantified by biomechanical parameters of weight drop height, maximum force, and impulse, while the functional deficit produced by injury was quantified in terms of the maximum inclined plane score, hindlimb motor score, and combined behavioral score. Highly significant (P=0.0001) relationships were found within the biomechanical parameters of trauma as well as between the trauma and the functional parameters at 4 weeks after injury. The impulse was found to be the best predictor of the functional loss (r=0.79, P=0.0001).
Inhibition of Human Cytomegalovirus Proteinase by Salcomine Derivatives

Salcomine, N,N'-bis(salicylidene)ethylene diaminocobalt (II), and its derivatives were evaluated for their ability to inhibit selectively human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) proteinase activity. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of salcomine was 1.4 μM for HCMV proteinase, but >200 μM for three other serine proteinases (trypsin, >250 μM; chymotrypsin, 206 μM; and elastase, >250 μM). Two salcomine derivatives also inhibited HCMV proteinase with IC50 values under 2 μM. Studies of the structure–activity relationship of salcomine-related compounds showed that the phenyl moiety and the spacer moiety (distance betweenthe two amines) were instrumental in the inhibition of HCMV proteinase. Moreover, salcomine inhibited the growth of laboratory strain AD169 and three clinical isolates at a 50% effective concentration (EC50) range of 1.92–2.89 μM. These results show that salcomine derivatives are potent and selective inhibitors of HCMV proteinase and HCMV replication in cell culture. Salcomine derivatives appear to be worth pursuing as candidate drugs for the chemotherapy of HCMV infection.
A clinical evaluation of anorganic bovine bone graft plus 10% collagen with or without a barrier in the treatment of class II furcation defects.

UNLABELLED The use of bone replacement grafts with barrier membranes in class II furcation defects are aimed at improving the outcome of the regenerative technique. In this regard, however, there is a paucity of studies comparing the results obtained with bone grafts alone or in combination with barrier membranes. The aim of this study was to clinically compare an anorganic bovine bone graft plus 10% collagen (BO) with or without a bioresorbable collagen barrier (BG) in human mandibular molar class II furcation defects. METHODS AND MATERIALS Twenty mandibular class II furcation defects (ten patients with bilateral defects) were treated either with BO (group I) or a combination of BO/BG (group II). Each defect was randomly assigned to either group I or group II. The soft tissue and hard tissue measurements including vertical probing depth (VPD), horizontal probing depth (HPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), gingival recession (GR), vertical depth of furcation defect (VDF), and horizontal depth of furcation defect (HDF) were recorded at baseline and six months after surgery. RESULTS Both treatment procedures resulted in statistically significant reduction in VPD and HPD, gain in CAL, and reduction in VDF and HDF. There was a statistically significant difference between group I and group II in all soft and hard tissue parameters with the exception of VPD reduction and gingival recession. CONCLUSION The findings of this study suggest superior clinical results with BO/BG treatment when compared to BO treatment in mandibular class II furcation defects.