Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Single amino acid changes in the DNA polymerase confer foscarnet resistance and slow-growth phenotype, while mutations in the UL97-encoded phosphotransferase confer ganciclovir resistance in three double-resistant human cytomegalovirus strains recovered from patients with AIDS

Three human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) strains (VR4760, VR4955, and VR5120) showing double resistance to ganciclovir (GCV) and foscarnet (PFA) were isolated from three patients with AIDS who underwent multiple sequential courses of therapy with GCV and PFA (A. Sarasini, F. Baldanti, M. Furione, E. Percivalle, R. Brerra, M. Barbi, and G. Gerna, J. Med. Virol., 47:237-244, 1995). We previously demonstrated that the three strains were genetically unrelated and that each of them was present as a single viral population in vivo. Thus, in each of the three cases, a single viral strain was resistant to both GCV and PFA. In the present paper, we report the characterization of the molecular bases of the double resistance and demonstrate that the PFA resistance is associated with a slower replication of HCMV strains in cell cultures. Sequencing of the UL97 and UL54 genes, GCV anabolism assays, and marker transfer experiments showed that GCV resistance was due to single amino acid changes in the UL97 gene product (VR4760, Met-460 --> Ile; VR4955, Ala-594 --> Val; VR5120, Leu595 --> Ser), while single amino acid changes in domain II of the DNA polymerase (VR4760 and VR5120, Val-715 --> Met; VR4955, Thr-700 --> Ala) were responsible for both the PFA resistance and the slow-growth phenotype. Thus, in these three cases, double resistance to GCV and PFA was not due to a single mutation conferring cross-resistance or to the presence of a mixture of strains with different drug susceptibilities. The HCMV DNA polymerase recombinant strains carrying the mutations conferring PFA resistance were sensitive to GCV and (S)-1-(3-hydroxy-2-phosphonylmethoxypropyl)cytosine (HPMPC). In addition, the same UL54 mutations were responsible for the slow growth of the clinical isolates, since the recombinant strains showed a marked delay in immediate-early antigen plaque formation and a reduction of infectious virus yield compared with AD169, from which they were derived. These results may have some important implications for the successful isolation, propagation, and characterization of PFA-resistant strains from clinical samples containing mixed viral populations.
Exploitation of stem cell homing for gene delivery

Stem cells have been the focus of numerous investigations to treat diseases as far ranging as diabetes, chronic heart failure and multiple sclerosis over the past decade. The process of stem-cell-based repair of acute injury involves homing and engrafting of the stem cell of interest to the site of injury followed by either differentiation of the stem cell to indigenous end-organ cells or liberation of paracrine factors that lead to preservation and/or optimization of organ function. Recognition of the ability of stem cells to home to sites of acute injury suggests that, if appropriately defined and harnessed, stem cell homing could serve as a means of local drug delivery through the infusion of genetically engineering stem cells that secrete gene products of interest. The authors have recently demonstrated the use of this approach in preclinical studies of acute myocardial function. In addition, the use of engineered cells that home to appropriate niches have been used to correct genetic deficiency states (i.e., severe combined immunodeficiency, diabetes mellitus) in patients with otherwise chronic debilitating diseases. This review focuses on exploiting stem cell homing for gene transfer and on the state of the art and the challenges that face the field.
Spasticity management in the child with spastic quadriplegia

In children with spastic quadriplegia, also described as ‘whole body involvement’, spasticity can interfere with motor function, contributes to the development of deformities and adversely impacts on care, positioning, and comfort. In this population, spasticity interventions address goals such as improving comfort, reducing pain, easing the burden of carers, slowing the progression of musculoskeletal deformities and perhaps improving function. Children with severe diplegia are distinguished from those with quadriplegia by their ability to ambulate, as well as by a greater emphasis being placed on functional motor goals even though similar treatment modalities are often employed to manage spasticity. The many treatment options currently available include, but are not limited to, botulinum toxin type A, phenol neurolysis, oral medications, intrathecal baclofen, selective dorsal rhizotomy, and orthopaedic surgery. The integration of these treatment modalities can help to optimize the overall care and function for a child with spastic quadriplegia or severe diplegia. However, the development of a management programme is complex and needs to take into account many factors, including age, weight and nutritional status, rate of progression of musculoskeletal deformities, developmental potential, comorbid conditions, current functional status and prognosis, and family and patient treatment goals. Children with marked spasticity are likely to benefit from a combination of interventions, rather than a single treatment modality. Because of these complexities, management should be planned and coordinated by a multidisciplinary team of medical and allied health professionals which recognizes the central role of the family in all decisions. Once the special characteristics of the child with spastic quadriplegia and the various treatment options are understood, outcomes can be maximized.
Substitutions at a single amino acid residue in the nitrogen‐regulated activator protein NTRC differentially influence its activity in response to phosphorylation

Four substitutions at serine residue 160 which increase the activity of the σ54‐dependent activator protein NTRC in the absence of NTRB have been analysed in detail. Mutagenesis of the putative phosphoacceptor site of NTRC and analysis of double mutants indicate that the positive control function of the S160W and S160C mutants is phosphorylation‐dependent, whereas the activity of the S160Y and S160F mutants is phosphorylation‐independent. This was confirmed with two purified mutant proteins in vitro. Occupancy of tandem NTRC‐binding sites upstream of the Klebsiella pneumoniae nifL promoter by S160W protein is also phosphorylation‐dependent in contrast to occupancy by S160F protein, confirming that both the DNA‐binding and activator functions of NTRC are influenced by phosphorylation. The S160W and S160C mutants are apparently more responsive than wild‐type protein to ‘cross‐talk’ by other members of the histidine protein kinase family but are less responsive to phosphorylation and dephosphorylation mediated by NTRB.
SAMAR — Spectrum Aware token MAc for Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio network (CRN) is one of theprominent technology for the next generation wirelessnetworks. Due to the CR version, the userswere classified into two types which are the primaryusers (PUs) and secondary users (SUs) which arealso named as licensed and unlicensed users. Themain objective of CRN is to access the underutilizedlicensed bands of PUs by SUs without any interferenceto the PUs transmission. In the CR technology, medium access control (MAC) plays a vital role toincrease the spectrum efficiency and also minimizethe collisions among SUs. So to design an efficientMAC is one of the significant challenges in theCRN. The existed MAC protocols are unable toidentify the most appropriate spectrum to access. Thus, spectrum aware token based MAC protocolis proposed to resolve the spectrum selection issuein MAC design for CRN. In this paper, we considerexpected spectrum stability time (ESST) as a metricto assign ranks to the available licensed spectrumbands. Simulation results for various parametersshow that SAMAR protocol can approximately improvethroughput 8% decrease transmission delay75% compared with IEEE 802.11n. The remainingmetric results have demonstrated the performanceof existed MAC protocols like IEEE802.11n andTMAC with the proposed MAC.
The relationship between skin conductance orienting and the allocation of processing resources.

Information processing models of autonomic orienting suggest that the elicitation of an orienting response is associated with either the call for, or the actual allocation of, limited attentional processing resources. However, Dawson, Filion, and Schell (1989) reported a directional dissociation between elicitation of the skin conductance orienting response and resource allocation, as indexed by reaction time slowing on a secondary task. Although larger skin conductance responses were elicited by a task-relevant stimulus than by a task-irrelevant stimulus, reaction time showed the opposite pattern (i.e., greater slowing to secondary task probes presented shortly following the onset of the task-irrelevant stimulus). In the present report, we describe three experiments which examine the generality of this dissociation effect and test specific hypotheses regarding its nature. Results of the first two experiments revealed that the dissociation effect is observed reliably when the task-relevant and task-irrelevant stimuli consist of left ear and right ear tones or high and low pitched binaural tones, across a range of secondary task probe presentation times. However, the third experiment demonstrated that when task-relevant and task-irrelevant stimuli are presented to different sensory modalities (auditory and visual), orienting and resource allocation are both greater during the task-relevant than the task-irrelevant stimuli, thus eliminating the dissociation effect. These results support the hypothesis that the dissociation effect is due to a switch of attention initiated because of the physical similarity of the task-relevant and task-irrelevant stimuli, and suggest that there is a fundamentally positive relationship between skin conductance orienting and resource allocation under selective attention conditions.
Effective Microwave Dielectric Properties of Ensembles of Spherical Metal Particles

Knowledge of dielectric and magnetic properties is crucially important in the numerical modeling of high-temperature microwave processing of materials. To enhance the accuracy of modeling for metal powders and metal-containing composites, adequate description is required for the interaction of the electromagnetic field with the electrically conductive particles. A theoretical model for the calculation of effective complex dielectric permittivity of an ensemble of spherical metal particles surrounded by thin insulating layers is presented. The model is based on the effective medium approximation. It accounts for the nonuniform distribution of the electromagnetic field that exists inside individual particles when the electromagnetic wavelength or penetration depth is smaller than the particle size. The effective dielectric losses predicted by the model can be highly significant compared with the magnetic losses that arise due to the eddy currents induced in metal particles by microwaves. Reasonable agreement with the experiment has been demonstrated for the millimeter-wave absorption in metal–ceramic composites with significant volume fraction of metal particles. The model can be utilized for assessing the feasibility of microwave heating of powder metals and metal–ceramic composites.
Analysis of hearing improvement in the patients operated on due to otosclerosis in the Otolaryngology Department of Jagiellonian University of Cracow, Poland.

BACKGROUND Otosclerosis is the most common cause of condactive hearing loss between 15 and 50 years old. The most common symptoms are hearinglosss and tinnitus. Surgery is currently the preferred treatment method. AIM The aim of our study was to analyze the outcomes of patients treated surgically due to otosclerosis in terms of the observed changes in pure tone audiometry and speech audiometryMaterial and methods:We observated 300 patients operated on middle ear for the fist time in the Department of Otolarygology at the Jagiellonian University of Cracow from 2010 to 2011. We used a special questinnaire which includes diagnostics of the ears disease,pure tone audiometry, speech audiometrii and longterm effects. RESULTS We discuss 53 operated ears and analyze changes in pure tone audiometry. We divided patients into 2 groups depending on 100% speech understanding in speech auodiometry or not. CONCLUSION 1. Lack of 100% speech understanding in speech audiometry correlated with greater sensorineural hearing loss than in patients who achieved 100% speech understanding prior to surgery. 2. Lack of 100% speech understanding in speech audiometry is a predictive factor for worse prognosis in improving hearing in patients operated on for otosclerosis. 3. Reconstruction of the ossicular chain in patients, regardless of the degree of speech understanding, did not produce significant changes in the average values of bone conduction.
Protective effect of locally applied carvacrol gel on ligature‐induced periodontitis in rats: a tapping mode AFM study

The aims of this study were to test a locally applied carvacrol gel and determine its efficacy preventing alveolar bone loss in experimental periodontitis in rats by regular methodology to validate applicability the atomic force microscopy (AFM) as a novel morphology method on this model. Wistar rats were subjected to ligature around second, upper‐left molars. Animals were treated carvacrol gel topically (CAG), immediately after Experimental Periodontitis Disease induction for 1′ three‐times/day for 11 days. A vehicle gel was utilized as control. The periodontium and the surrounding gingivae were examined at regular histopathology and by AFM method; the neutrophil influx into the gingivae was also assayed using myeloperoxidase activity. The bacterial flora was assessed through culture of the gingival tissue. Alveolar bone loss was significantly inhibited by CAG group compared to the Vehicle (V) group, the carvacrol gel treatment reduced tissue lesion at histopathology, with preservation of the periodontium, coupled to decreased myeloperoxidase activity in gingival tissue and also prevented the proliferation of periodontal microorganisms and the weight loss. The GAC treatment preserved alveolar bone resorption and showed anti‐inflammatory and antibacterial activities in experimental periodontitis. Topographical changes in histological sections were seen bringing into high relief the periodontal structures, being a simple and cost‐effective method for periodontal evaluation with ultrastructural resolution. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Live streaming system for omnidirectional video

NTT Media Intelligence Laboratories and DWANGO Co., Ltd. have jointly developed a virtual reality system that enables users to have an immersive experience visiting a remote site. This system makes it possible for users to watch video content wherever they want to watch it by using interactive streaming technology that selectively streams the user's watching section at a high bitrate in a limited network bandwidth. Applying this technology to omnidirectional video allows users to experience feelings of presence through the use of an intuitive head mount display. The system has also been released on a commercial platform and successfully streamed a real-time event. A demonstration is planned in which the details of the system and the streaming service results obtained with it will be presented.
An Algorithm Q-PSO for Community Detection in Complex Networks

In this paper, based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, introducing the idea of modularity function optimization, a new algorithm Q-PSO for detecting community is proposed. This algorithm can identify the community structure accurately and effectively. In order to verify the performance of this algorithm, which is tested on several representative real-world networks and a set of computer-generated networks based on LFR-benchmark. The experimental results demonstrated that this algorithm can identify the communities accurately, and compared with CNM, Walktrap and infomap algorithms, the presented algorithm can acquire higher values of modularity and NMI in most networks.
A 450-mV Single-Fuel-Cell Power Management Unit With Switch-Mode Quasi-${\rm V}^2$ Hysteretic Control and Automatic Startup on 0.35-$\mu$m Standard CMOS Process

This paper presents a power management unit (PMU) for emerging applications powered by low-voltage single direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). A subthreshold startup scheme and its circuit implementation are proposed to enable low-voltage self-startup feature. A boost switching converter with a switch-mode, quasi-V2 hysteretic control is designed for power conditioning. The PMU is implemented on a standard 0.35-μm CMOS process with VTN/VTP of 0.55 V/ -0.75 V, respectively. Experimental results prove that the PMU automatically starts up with 450-mV single DMFC input. The output voltage of the PMU is well regulated with below 25 mV ripple. With an output power ranging from 20 to 200 mW, an average efficiency above 85.2% is obtained, with a maximum of 89.4%. Load transient recovery times are 11.6 μs/4.2 μs, respectively, in response to the step-up and step-down load changes between 10 and 100 mA.
Students' perceptions on skills training in simulation

The University of Pretoria implemented a problem-oriented undergraduate medical curriculum that emphasizes experiential learning and the mastering of practical skills. Students' experiences with acquiring practical skills in a skills laboratory and the impact that acquiring these skills has on their clinical practice were explored and described. A qualitative, investigative, descriptive and contextual design was used. Data were collected at focus-group discussions and analysed using Tesch's methodology. A literature control was conducted to identify similarities of and uniqueness in the research findings. Trustworthiness was established by utilizing Guba's model for the trustworthiness of qualitative research (Lincoln & Guba, 1981). The findings were that attitudes, knowledge and skills are interrelated and contribute to an enhanced process of learning. The interrelated learning process has a positive effect when students progress from the skills laboratory to clinical practice. Students made valuable recommendations that should contribute to the optimal use of the skills laboratory.
Wireless geolocation

This article has described the impetus for the world's largest application of wireless geolocation, specifically, the FCC's E-911 requirement in the United States. It has also discussed two basic approaches to wireless geolocation, time and power derived, and showed that U.S. wireless carriers have primarily chosen time-derived approaches to meet the E-911 requirements for their more than 200 million subscribers, primarily because of their superior accuracy. It has been shown that within the domain of time-derived approaches, there are two primary techniques that are used in the United States, network-based UTDOA and handset-based GPS/A-GPS, with each technique serving about an equal percentage of the population. The backup techniques for each primary technique were also addressed, and interestingly, they are also time derived. Additionally, this article has discussed the other important metrics for wireless geolocation, yield, and latency, and suggested that network-based U-TDOA is superior to other techniques because it meets many, or all, of the criteria for an optimum mission-critical safety and security application, such as the E-911 location system. It has reviewed the parameters that impact the accuracy for the technique of U-TDOA and presented measured results for network-based U-TDOA on a commercial GSM network. Finally, this article discussed other applications of network-based U-TDOA technology that add to the safety and security of the population that is covered.
Immunohistochemical identification of type I and type III collagen and chondroitin sulphate in human pre-dentine: a correlative FEI-SEM/TEM study.

AIM To identify type I- (I-CF) and type III-collagen fibrils (III-CF) and chondroitin 4/6 sulphate (CS) within human pre-dentine by means of a correlative analysis under field emission in-lens-scanning electron microscopy (FEI-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). METHODOLOGY Human-extracted teeth were obtained and submitted to either a pre-embedding or a post-embedding immunolabelling procedure using monoclonal primary antibodies anti-I-CF, anti-III-CF and anti-CS. Gold-conjugated secondary antibodies were coupled to primary antibodies to visualize labelling under the electron beam. Correlative labelling patterns were obtained for I-CF and CS under both FEI-SEM and TEM. RESULTS Field emission in lens-SEM analysis revealed an intricate three-dimensional network of I-CF and CS clarifying the intimate relationship between the two main components of the pre-dentine organic matrix. TEM analysis revealed odontoblasts exhibiting intracellular labelling for CS, which became more intense and diffuse over the pre-dentine organic matrix. The same diffuse immunoreaction was revealed for I-CF, whereas a weak immunolocalization of III-CF was found scattered throughout the pre-dentine layer and over the collagen fibrils. CONCLUSIONS Both the pre- and post-embedding immunohistochemical approaches have led to the visualization of CF- and CS-labelling distribution within the pre-dentine layer, adding further knowledge on the elucidation of collagen-proteoglycans interaction in the organic matrix of human dental roots.
Structures involved at the time of temporal lobe spikes revealed by interindividual group analysis of EEG/fMRI data

Purpose: We measured metabolic changes associated with temporal lobe (TL) spikes using combined electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We selected 18 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) who underwent a 2‐h simultaneous EEG–fMRI and had unilateral or bilateral independent TL spikes for interindividual group analysis, in order to identify consistent blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) responses to TL spikes.