Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Non-sulfated Form of the HNK-1 Carbohydrate Is Expressed in Mouse Kidney*[boxs]

The HNK-1 carbohydrate, which is recognized by anti-HNK-1 antibody, is well known to be expressed predominantly in the nervous system. The characteristic structural feature of the HNK-1 carbohydrate is 3-sulfo-glucuronyl residues attached to lactosamine structures (Galβ1-4GlcNAc) on glycoproteins and glycolipids. The biosynthesis of the HNK-1 carbohydrate is regulated mainly by two glucuronyltransferases (GlcAT-P and GlcAT-S) and a sulfotransferase. In this study, we found that GlcAT-S mRNA was expressed at higher levels in the kidney than in the brain, but that both GlcAT-P and HNK-1 sulfotransferase mRNAs, which were expressed at high levels in the brain, were not detected in the kidney. These results suggested that the HNK-1 carbohydrate without sulfate (non-sulfated HNK-1 carbohydrate) is expressed in the kidney. We substantiated this hypothesis using two different monoclonal antibodies: one (anti-HNK-1 antibody) requires sulfate on glucuronyl residues for its binding, and the other (antibody M6749) does not. Western blot analyses of mouse kidney revealed that two major bands (80 and 140 kDa) were detected with antibody M6749, but not with anti-HNK-1 antibody. The 80- and 140-kDa band materials were identified as meprin α and CD13/aminopeptidase N, respectively. We also confirmed the presence of the non-sulfated HNK-1 carbohydrate on N-linked oligosaccharides by multistage tandem mass spectrometry. Immunofluorescence staining with antibody M6749 revealed that the non-sulfated HNK-1 carbohydrate was expressed predominantly on the apical membranes of the proximal tubules in the cortex and was also detected in the thin ascending limb in the inner medulla. This is the first study indicating the presence of the non-sulfated HNK-1 carbohydrate being synthesized by GlcAT-S in the kidney. The results presented here constitute novel knowledge concerning the function of the HNK-1 carbohydrate.
The Triangular Causal Links Between Economic Development, FDI and Exports: Evidence from Turkey

Economic development, foreign investments and trade are widely discussed by academics and scholars concentrating mainly on the deterministic relationship running from trade flows and foreign capital to economic growth. Nevertheless, it is the more contemporary studies that underline the possible reverse links. Originating from such a discussion, this study investigates the causal links between economic development, foreign capital penetration and foreign trade for a European Union candidate country, Turkey, during the period 1970–2009. Empirical findings on the long-term relationship between the tested variables are based on cointegration test. The Granger Causality test results using Vector Auto Regression (VAR) estimates and the Error Correction Model imply that there is no dynamic two–way causal link between GDP per capita, FDI flows and Exports for Turkey. However, results indicate unidirectional causalities running from FDI to GDP, exports to GDP and Exports to FDI. These triangular causal links highlight exports as a key variable for Turkey’s economy. Collectively, results suggest that Turkey’s capacity, to progress in economic development and to attract foreign capital investments will strongly depend on the country’s efficiency to further develop and promote its exports.
Service-Oriented Cooperation Models and Mechanisms for Heterogeneous Driverless Vehicles at Continuous Static Critical Sections

As driverless vehicles are increasingly becoming possible, so does the use of such vehicles as intelligent carriers in different domains. Intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) show increasingly heterogeneous, cyber-physical, cooperative, and service-oriented features and are beginning to be merged with the emerging cyber-physical-social systems. Given this new trend, how to make these intelligent vehicles cooperate more safely and efficiently with one another according to novel constraints, such as mission type and quality-of-service (QoS), has become a vital aspect of cooperative ITS (C-ITS). With these emerging characteristics, the classical passing-through-intersection problem has gained new connotations, worth further exploring. After analyzing the essences of this new problem, service-oriented cooperation models and mechanisms for whole autonomous vehicles approaching intersections are investigated in this paper. First, related traffic objects and possible vehicular behaviors are abstracted and modeled with the cyber-physical cooperative features and QoS constraints. A new reservation-based scheduling procedure is then conducted by employing the concepts of vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, and typical vehicular passing-through behaviors and several spatial-temporal constraints are designed to coordinate vehicles passing through an intersection divided as a series of continuous static critical sections. Given these considerations, a priority-based centralized scheduling algorithm, named csPriorFIFO, which adopts a novel priority inheritance mechanism to promote the traffic QoS of emergent vehicles, is proposed. Finally, all these designs are implemented in a traffic simulator named QoS-CITS, and the functions and the performance of these studied methods are verified and compared.
Cutting Edge: Engineering Active IKKβ in T Cells Drives Tumor Rejection

Acquired dysfunction of tumor-reactive T cells is one mechanism by which tumors can evade the immune system. Identifying and correcting pathways that contribute to such dysfunction should enable novel anticancer therapy design. During cancer growth, T cells show reduced NF-κB activity, which is required for tumor rejection. Impaired T cell–intrinsic NF-κB may create a vicious cycle conducive to tumor progression and further T cell dysfunction. We hypothesized that forcing T cell–intrinsic NF-κB activation might break this cycle and induce tumor elimination. NF-κB was activated in T cells by inducing the expression of a constitutively active form of the upstream activator IκB kinase β (IKKβ). T cell–restricted constitutively active IKKβ augmented the frequency of functional tumor-specific CD8+ T cells and improved tumor control. Transfer of constitutively active IKKβ–transduced T cells also boosted endogenous T cell responses that controlled pre-established tumors. Our results demonstrate that driving T cell–intrinsic NF-κB can result in tumor control, thus identifying a pathway with potential clinical applicability.
Disruption of Myxoviruses with Tween 20 and Isolation of Biologically Active Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase Subunits

Myxoviruses were disrupted with Tween 20 at high pH, and the major surface antigens were separated in biologically active form. The neuraminidase had a sedimentation coefficient of 10.8S, and the hemagglutinin had a sedimentation coefficient of 8.1S. Electron microscopic examination of negatively stained preparations revealed structures identical in size and morphology to the neuraminidase and hemagglutinin subunits described by others. Inhibition of neuraminidase activity by antibody to the hemagglutinin which occurred with intact viruses (probably for “steric” reasons) did not occur after the viruses were disrupted with Tween 20. Serological assays for neuraminidase were possible in the presence of the mild surfactant, whereas serological assays for hemagglutinin were possible after removal of the reagent. Disruption of myxoviruses with Tween 20 therefore provides a method for the independent study of these antigens during antigenic drift.
Food acceptance and anthropometry in relation to 6-n-propylthiouracil sensitivity in Japanese college women.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Differences in anthropometry and food acceptance among tasters and non-tasters of 6-n-propylthiouracil has been well studied in Western countries. However, reports on this issue from Asian countries are still limited. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN Healthy Japanese students attending Nara Women's University (n=153) were recruited and classified into 3 groups based on taste sensitivity to a 0.32 mM 6-npropylthiouracil solution as scored on a labeled magnitude scale. Accordingly, the study population consisted of 34 non-tasters, 78 medium-tasters, and 41 super-tasters. Self-reported food intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Self-reported food preferences were established using a food checklist listing 63 food items. RESULTS Although subjects in the 6-n-propylthiouracil non-taster group showed a significantly higher body height and weight than subjects in the taster groups, body mass index was comparable among three groups. Intakes of calories, 3 macronutrients, β-carotene and vitamin C did not differ significantly between groups, but the intake of green and yellow vegetables was significantly lower in the taster groups. Among the 5 factors defined by a factor analysis performed with 277 age- and BMI-matched Japanese female students, the taster groups showed a significantly reduced preference for green and cruciferous vegetables alone. CONCLUSIONS To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive report investigating associations between anthropometry, food intake, and food preference in relation to 6-n-propylthiouracil sensitivity in Asian countries. The effect of this tendency towards an aversion to vegetables including cruciferous ones among females on living a healthy life remains to be investigated.
A Device Improves Signs and Symptoms of TMD

Background Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD) therapy remains an open challenge for modern dentistry. Herein, we propose a new neuromuscular lingual device able to reduce signs and symptoms of TMD in female patients with chronic orofacial pain. Methods 50 females with myofascial TMD according to RDC/TMD were randomly assigned to study (n = 25) and control groups (n = 25). At T0, both groups received sEMG/KNG and pain evaluation by the VAS scale. The study group received the ELIBA device (lingual elevator by Balercia) constructed under ULF-TENS (ultra-low-frequency transcoutaneous electrical nervous stimulation). Subjects were instructed to use ELIBA at least for 16 h/day. After 6 months (T1), both groups underwent to sEMG/KNG and VAS revaluation. Results T1 study group compared to controls showed a significant reduction in total (p < 0.0001) and mean (p < 0.0001) sEMG values, as well as a significant increase in both maximum vertical mouth opening (p=0.003) and maximum velocity in mouth opening (p=0.003) and closing (p < 0.0001). Interestingly, a significant reduction in pain measured by VAS (p < 0.0001) was reported. Conclusions After 6 months, the ELIBA device is able to significantly reduce TMD-associated myogenous pain and to promote the enhancement of sEMG/KNG values. Practical Implications. ELIBA can be considered as a new device, potentially useful for head-neck pain relief in patients suffering from chronic TMD. In addition, its use promotes a muscles relaxation inducing freeway space increase. This characteristic makes it particularly useful for rehabilitation of patients with not enough space for construction of conventional orthotics or neuromuscular bites.
Control of sarcomere length in skinned muscle fibres of Rana temporaria during mechanical transients.

A new technique is described for high‐speed measurement of striation spacing of single skinned muscle fibres. A galvanometer mirror directs helium‐neon laser light on to the muscle fibre at a variable angle. Light diffracted by the cross‐striations is collected by a position‐sensitive photodetector. The incident angle necessary to centre the diffracted light beam on to the photodetector is related to sarcomere length. The instrument was tested by comparison with measurements obtained with a compound microscope. Discrepancies of several nanometers per half sarcomere were observed between these two methods. When the incident angle of the laser beam was varied sinusoidally about its mean position the magnitude of the discrepancy was reduced. During steady passive shortening of the muscle fibres the output of the diffraction instrument often displayed pauses and brief periods of rapid shortening. These irregularities were eliminated by averaging the sarcomere length output over a range of illumination angles by oscillating the incident angle of the laser beam. The results suggest that at the spatial resolution of several nanometers per half sarcomere, volume diffraction effects can cause the apparent sarcomere length measured from the angle of coherent light diffraction to differ from the mean striation spacing. With incident‐angle oscillation the time and spatial resolution of the equipment were satisfactory for the sarcomere length signal to be fed back to a length controller for a 'sarcomere length clamp'. In active contractions, stiffness was closely related to steady developed tension at sub‐saturating calcium concentrations. Skinned fibres are less stiff than intact fibres at a given level of developed tension.
Raman amplification for fiber communications systems

Raman amplification has enabled dramatic increases in the reach and capacity of lightwave systems. This tutorial explains why, starting with the fundamental properties of gain from stimulated Raman scattering. Next, noise accumulation from amplified spontaneous emission is reviewed, and the merits of distributing Raman gain along a transmission fiber are explained. Other sources of noise that are particularly relevant for Raman amplifiers are summarized. Finally, novel Raman pumping schemes that have recently been developed are highlighted.
A CUDA Implementation of DWT for JPEG 2000 Codec

In this paper, we propose a CUDA implementation of DWT for JPEG 2000 codec. We show that the performance of JPEG 2000 codec implemented by CUDA is better than CPU based implementation. The performance of the DWT implemented by CUDA is achieved 27.7 frame/second in 4K digital cinema.
Using TESS to Predict Transcription Factor Binding Sites in DNA Sequence

This unit describes how to use the Transcription Element Search System (TESS). This Web site predicts transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) in DNA sequence using two different kinds of models of sites, strings and positional weight matrices. The binding of transcription factors to DNA is a major part of the control of gene expression. Transcription factors exhibit sequence‐specific binding; they form stronger bonds to some DNA sequences than to others. Identification of a good binding site in the promoter for a gene suggests the possibility that the corresponding factor may play a role in the regulation of that gene. However, the sequences transcription factors recognize are typically short and allow for some amount of mismatch. Because of this, binding sites for a factor can typically be found at random every few hundred to a thousand base pairs. TESS has features to help sort through and evaluate the significance of predicted sites. Curr. Protoc. Bioinform. 21:2.6. 1‐2.6. 15. © 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Knowledge Sharing in Public Organizations: The Roles of Servant Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

ABSTRACTEmployees share their knowledge when they have motivation to go beyond their job descriptions. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) under servant leadership can be such a motivation in employees. The primary research purpose is hence to assess how servant leadership influences OCB, then contributing to knowledge sharing among employees in public organizations. This research also seeks an insight into the moderating mechanism of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) for the OCB-knowledge sharing relationship. The research model was tested on the data from 562 employees and 197 department managers in public organizations of electricity, telephone, and water industries in Vietnam context. The data analysis provided evidence for the mediating role of OCB for the positive association between servant leadership and knowledge sharing. EO was also found to play an enhancing effect on the OCB-knowledge sharing linkage.
Maternal age effect on mouse oocytes: new biological insight from proteomic analysis.

The long-standing view of 'immortal germline vs mortal soma' poses a fundamental question in biology concerning how oocytes age in molecular terms. A mainstream hypothesis is that maternal ageing of oocytes has its roots in gene transcription. Investigating the proteins resulting from mRNA translation would reveal how far the levels of functionally available proteins correlate with mRNAs and would offer novel insights into the changes oocytes undergo during maternal ageing. Gene ontology (GO) semantic analysis revealed a high similarity of the detected proteome (2324 proteins) to the transcriptome (22 334 mRNAs), although not all proteins had a cognate mRNA. Concerning their dynamics, fourfold changes of abundance were more frequent in the proteome (3%) than the transcriptome (0.05%), with no correlation. Whereas proteins associated with the nucleus (e.g. structural maintenance of chromosomes and spindle-assembly checkpoints) were largely represented among those that change in oocytes during maternal ageing; proteins associated with oxidative stress/damage (e.g. superoxide dismutase) were infrequent. These quantitative alterations are either impoverishing or enriching. Using GO analysis, these alterations do not relate in any simple way to the classic signature of ageing known from somatic tissues. Given the lack of correlation, we conclude that proteome analysis of mouse oocytes may not be surrogated with transcriptome analysis. Furthermore, we conclude that the classic features of ageing may not be transposed from somatic tissues to oocytes in a one-to-one fashion. Overall, there is more to the maternal ageing of oocytes than mere cellular deterioration exemplified by the notorious increase of meiotic aneuploidy.
Artificial Magnetic Materials Using Fractal Hilbert Curves

Novel configurations based on Fractal Hilbert curves are proposed for realizing artificial magnetic materials. It is shown that the proposed configuration gives significant rise to miniaturization of artificial unit cells which in turn results in higher homogeneity in the material, and reduction in the profile of the artificial substrate. Analytical formulas are proposed for design and optimization of the presented structures, and are verified through full wave numerical characterization. The electromagnetic properties of the proposed structures are studied in detail and compared to square spiral from the point of view of size reduction, maximum value of the resultant permeability, magnetic loss, and frequency dispersion. To validate the analytical model and the numerical simulation results, an artificial substrate containing second-order Fractal Hilbert curve is fabricated and experimentally characterized using a microstrip-based characterization method.
Role of Inactive and Active Trypanosoma cruzi Trans-sialidases on T Cell Homing and Secretion of Inflammatory Cytokines

Trans-sialidase from Trypanosoma cruzi (Tc-TS) belongs to a superfamily of proteins that may have enzymatic activity. While enzymatically active members (Tc-aTS) are able to transfer sialic acid from the host cell sialyl-glycoconjugates onto the parasite or to other molecules on the host cell surface, the inactive members (Tc-iTS) are characterized by their lectinic properties. Over the last 10 years, several papers demonstrated that, individually, Tc-aTS or Tc-iTS is able to modulate several biological events. Since the genes encoding Tc-iTS and Tc-aTS are present in the same copy number, and both proteins portray similar substrate-specificities as well, it would be plausible to speculate that such molecules may compete for the same sialyl-glycan structures and govern numerous immunobiological phenomena. However, their combined effect has never been evaluated in the course of an acute infection. In this study, we investigated the ability of both proteins to modulate the production of inflammatory signals, as well as the homing of T cells to the cardiac tissue of infected mice, events that usually occur during the acute phase of T. cruzi infection. The results showed that the intravenous administration of Tc-iTS, but not Tc-aTS protected the cardiac tissue from injury caused by reduced traffic of inflammatory cells. In addition, the ability of Tc-aTS to modulate the production of inflammatory cytokines was attenuated and/or compromised when Tc-iTS was co-injected in the same proportions. These results suggest that although both proteins present structural similarities and compete for the same sialyl-glycan epitopes, they might present distinct immunomodulatory properties on T cells following T. cruzi infection.
Importance of Conserved Cysteine Residues in the Coronavirus Envelope Protein

ABSTRACT Coronavirus envelope (E) proteins play an important, not fully understood role(s) in the virus life cycle. All E proteins have conserved cysteine residues located on the carboxy side of the long hydrophobic domain, suggesting functional significance. In this study, we confirmed that mouse hepatitis coronavirus A59 E protein is palmitoylated. To understand the role of the conserved residues and the necessity of palmitoylation, three cysteines at positions 40, 44, and 47 were changed singly and in various combinations to alanine. Double- and triple-mutant E proteins resulted in decreased virus-like particle output when coexpressed with the membrane (M) protein. Mutant E proteins were also studied in the context of a full-length infectious clone. Single-substitution viruses exhibited growth characteristics virtually identical to those of the wild-type virus, while the double-substitution mutations gave rise to viruses with less robust growth phenotypes indicated by smaller plaques and decreased virus yields. In contrast, replacement of all three cysteines resulted in crippled virus with significantly reduced yields. Triple-mutant viruses did not exhibit impairment in entry. Mutant E proteins localized properly in infected cells. A comparison of intracellular and extracellular virus yields suggested that release is only slightly impaired. E protein lacking all three cysteines exhibited an increased rate of degradation compared to that of the wild-type protein, suggesting that palmitoylation is important for the stability of the protein. Altogether, the results indicate that the conserved cysteines and presumably palmitoylation are functionally important for virus production.
Characteristic facial retargeting

Facial motion retargeting has been developed mainly in the direction of representing high fidelity between a source and a target model. We present a novel facial motion retargeting method that properly regards the significant characteristics of target face model. We focus on stylistic facial shapes and timings that reveal the individuality of the target model well, after the retargeting process is finished. The method works with a range of expression pairs between the source and the target facial expressions and emotional sequence pairs of the source and the target facial motions. We first construct a prediction model to place semantically corresponding facial shapes. Our hybrid retargeting model, which combines the radial basis function (RBF) and kernel canonical correlation analysis (kCCA)‐based regression methods copes well with new input source motions without visual artifacts. 1D Laplacian motion warping follows after the shape retargeting process, replacing stylistically important emotional sequences and thus, representing the characteristics of the target face. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A 1.5GHz CMOS/FBAR frequency reference with ±10ppm temperature stability

A temperature compensated 1.5GHz FBAR-based frequency reference implemented in a 0. 35µm CMOS process is presented. The ultra-small form factor and low power dissipation of a temperature compensated FBAR oscillator presents a promising alternative for replacement of quartz crystal frequency references. The measured frequency post-compensation drift over a 0-100°C temperature range is ≪20ppm. The measured phase noise is -125dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset from carrier. The overall system power consumption is 960µW.