Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DNA typing of fingerprints using capillary electrophoresis: Effect of dactyloscopic powders

DNA typing is a useful tool in crime solving, not only for blood samples, sperm, or sa liva but also for traces of DNA left on tools or pieces of clothing used in burglaries or thefts. On these kinds of samples, the sources of DNA are extremely small amounts of skin debris left after gripping tools. When a sensitive technique such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with capillary electrophoresis is used, it is possible to get a profile from these low amounts of DNA. The classic technique in such cases, used in forensic sciences, is to reveal fingerprints by different dactyloscopic powders. Therefore, DNA profiling was performed on physical fingerprints left on glass and wooden plates, in order to establish eventual problems or interferences involved by using both techniques simultaneously. Eleven dactyloscopic powders were investigated on their influence on DNA typing. The results show that some can be used together with DNA profiling but that serious precautions have to be taken to avoid contamination.
Potency Differences ford-Phe-Cys-Tyr-d-Trp-Arg-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH2as an Antagonist of Peptide and Alkaloid μ-Agonists in an Antinociception Assay

d-Phe-Cys-Tyr-d-Trp-Arg-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH2(CTAP) is a peptide antagonist that demonstrates potent and selective affinity for μ-opioid receptors in radioligand binding assays and in vitro bioassays. However, previous studies indicate that CTAP may possess unusual pharmacology under certain conditions. Therefore, CTAP was evaluated as an antagonist of the antinociceptive effects of a range of structurally diverse high- and low-efficacy peptide and alkaloid opioid agonists and compared with the traditional antagonist naltrexone. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (N = 227) were loosely restrained and the latency for tail withdrawal from 55°C water was measured. Morphine s.c. and i.c. v. , buprenorphine s.c. , etorphine s.c. and i.c. v. , [N-Me-Phe3,d-Pro4]-morphiceptin and [d-Ala2,N-Me-Phe4,Gly5-ol]-enkephalin produced antinociceptive effects. CTAP was at least 10-fold more potent than naltrexone as an antagonist of the antinociceptive effects of all five agonists. High doses of CTAP produced a noncompetitive antagonism of etorphine s.c. and morphine s.c. suggesting that CTAP may interact with additional opioid receptors in vivo or produce insurmountable antagonism at these doses. CTAP was approximately 300-fold more potent as an antagonist of DAMGO than the other agonists, indicating that CTAP may distinguish some peptide agonists such as DAMGO from other agonists based on binding interactions within the μ-opioid receptor or pharmacodynamic properties of these peptides. Naltrexone, however, administered by either s.c. or i.c. v. routes of administration was approximately equipotent as an antagonist of the antinociceptive effects of most agonists. Taken together, these data indicate that the peptide antagonist CTAP possesses a unique pharmacology unlike traditional opioid antagonists such as naltrexone.
Evolution of a novel function: nutritive milk in the viviparous cockroach, Diploptera punctata

Summary Cockroach species show different degrees of maternal contribution to the developing offspring. In this study, we identify a multigene family that encodes water‐soluble proteins that are a major component of nutritive “Milk” in the cockroach, Diploptera punctata. This gene family is associated with the evolution of a new trait, viviparity, in which the offspring receive nutrition during the gestation period. Twenty‐five distinct Milk complementary DNAs were cloned and partially characterized. These complementary DNAs encode 22 distinct Milk peptides, each of length 171 amino acids, including a 16‐amino acid signal peptide sequence. Southern blot analysis confirms the presence of multiple copies of Milk genes in D. punctata. Northern analysis indicates tissue‐ and stage‐specific Milk gene expression. Examination of the deduced amino acid sequences identifies the presence of structurally conserved regions diagnostic of the lipocalin protein family. The shared exon/intron structure of one of the Milk loci with lipocalin genes further supports a close evolutionary relationship between these sequences.
NF‐κB Signaling is Involved in the Effects of Intranasally Engrafted Human Neural Stem Cells on Neurofunctional Improvements in Neonatal Rat Hypoxic–Ischemic Encephalopathy

Hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a common neurological disease in infants with persistent neurobehavioral impairments. Studies found that neural stem cell (NSC) therapy benefits HIE rats; however, the mechanisms underlying are still unclear. The current study investigated the efficacy and molecular events of human embryonic neural stem cells (hNSCs) in neonatal hypoxic–ischemic (HI) rats.
The frequency of multiple personality disorder among psychiatric inpatients.

OBJECTIVE A 2-year study was undertaken to determine the frequency of multiple personality disorder among general adult psychiatric inpatients. METHOD All individuals admitted to two 23-bed acute care wards in a teaching hospital in Winnipeg, Man. , were screened with the Dissociative Experiences Scale. Individuals with prior diagnoses of multiple personality disorder were excluded. All subjects scoring 20 or higher on the Dissociative Experiences Scale were interviewed with the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule. Then subjects with a diagnosis of multiple personality disorder and comparison subjects were interviewed by a clinician who was blind to all research data. RESULTS A total of 299 subjects completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale and 80 received a structured diagnostic interview. Ten subjects (3.3%) had clinically confirmed multiple personality disorder. CONCLUSIONS If these results are replicated and accepted, multiple personality disorder will become a serious consideration in the differential diagnosis of many psychiatric patients.
A novel approach for the construction of multiple shRNA expression vectors

The application of RNA interference (RNAi) as a research and therapeutic tool depends on its ability to silence genes in a sequence‐specific manner. Recent studies have reported that the effective knockdown of genes can be achieved by multiple short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) in a single vector. Moreover, this approach can depress several genes simultaneously. However, current methods for the construction of multiple shRNA vectors often suffer from vector instability and are time‐consuming. Here, we describe a simple, quick and low‐cost approach to construct a single vector expressing four shRNA sequences driven by four different promoters. Using this vector, we were able to improve the gene silencing efficiency and make it possible to silence four different genes simultaneously, further expanding the application spectrum of RNAi, both in functional studies and therapeutic strategies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Análisis Diferencial de Actividades Instrumentales y Expansivas de la Vida Diaria en la Normalidad y el Deterioro

Es importante identificar de forma temprana dificultades en actividades de la vida diaria, tanto instrumentales como expansivas (AVDI y AVDE), a fin de alertar sobre un posible deterioro funcional incipiente. Objetivos: Comparar el desempeno en AVDI y AVDE en participantes cognitivamente normales, deterioro leve (DCL) y moderado (DCM). Explorar las AVD de riesgo o proteccion del estado cognitivo. Estudio transversal, comparativo. Diseno ex post facto. Muestra: Adultos mayores (M=67,46 anos DE=8,68), concurrentes al Servicio de Neuropsicologia, UNC. Los grupos: DCL (n=60), DCM (n=35) y controles (n=57), sin diferencias de genero, edad e instruccion. Escala AVDI (Lawton & Brody, 1969) y Escala AVDE (Mias, Sassi & Masih, 2004), controlados con entrevista. Estadistica: Anova y regresion lineal. Control de normalidad y homocedasticidad. Existen diferencias intergrupales significativas en las AVD instrumentales y expansivas. En relacion a AVDI: usar el telefono(p=0,000), cuidar la casa (p=0,000), preparar la comida (p=0,002),hacer compras (p=0,006), lavado de ropa (p=0,000), usos medios de transporte (p=0,008), manejo financiero (p=0,035); y en AVDE: contactos socioafectivos (p=0,010) y aprender cosas nuevas(p=0,000). Mediante regresion lineal se encontro que las AVD: “preparar comida”, “usar el telefono” y “aprender cosas nuevas”, resultan protectoras de la normalidad cognitiva (p<0,002). Mantener niveles funcionales de la vida diaria que impliquen nuevos aprendizajes y autonomia para alimentarse y comunicarse, puede resultar protector de la normalidad cognitiva. Su disminucion en relacion a niveles premorbidos puede alertar sobre un deterioro cognitivo posible, aunque debe considerarse el factor depresion como variable interviniente.
Candidate odorant receptors from the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae and evidence of down-regulation in response to blood feeding

Olfaction plays a major role in host preference and blood feeding, integral behaviors for disease transmission by the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (henceforth A. gambiae). We have identified four genes encoding candidate odorant receptors from A. gambiae that are selectively expressed in olfactory organs, contain approximately seven transmembrane domains, and show significant similarity to several putative odorant receptors in Drosophila melanogaster. Furthermore, one of the putative A. gambiae odorant receptors exhibits female-specific antennal expression and is down-regulated 12 h after blood feeding, a period during which substantial reduction in olfactory responses to human odorants has been observed. Taken together, these data suggest these genes encode a family of odorant receptors in A. gambiae, whose further study may aid in the design of novel antimalarial programs.
Disrupted white matter tract integrity of anterior cingulate in trauma survivors

The objective of this study was to examine the integrity of whole-brain white matter in posttraumatic stress disorder patients. Twenty posttraumatic stress disorder patients who survived the Taegu subway fire incident and 20 healthy volunteers participated in this study. Statistical parametric mapping was used to evaluate the global differences in fractional anisotropy values between the two groups. The results show that posttraumatic stress disorder patients had significantly lower fractional anisotropy values in the left anterior cingulate regions. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity negatively correlated to the level of decrease in anterior cingulate fractional anisotropy values. The outcome of the current study suggests that the disruption of the left anterior cingulate white matter tract integrity may play an important role in the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder.
Specific N‐terminal cleavage of ribosomal protein L27 in Staphylococcus aureus and related bacteria

Ribosomal protein L27 is a component of the eubacterial large ribosomal subunit that has been shown to play a critical role in substrate stabilization during protein synthesis. This function is mediated by the L27 N‐terminus, which protrudes into the peptidyl transferase center. In this report, we demonstrate that L27 in Staphylococcus aureus and other Firmicutes is encoded with an N‐terminal extension that is not present in most Gram‐negative organisms and is absent from mature ribosomes. We have identified a cysteine protease, conserved among bacteria containing the L27 N‐terminal extension, which performs post‐translational cleavage of L27. Ribosomal biology in eubacteria has largely been studied in the Gram‐negative bacterium Escherichia coli; our findings indicate that there are aspects of the basic biology of the ribosome in S. aureus and other related bacteria that differ substantially from that of the E. coli ribosome. This research lays the foundation for the development of new therapeutic approaches that target this novel pathway.
Reexamination of characteristic of spectral exponent of epileptic EEGs corresponding to levels in wavelet-based fractal analysis

Recently, the characteristics of epileptic EEG data have been examined by using the wavelet-based fractal analysis. It was observed that epileptic EEG data may be associated with multiple spectral exponents. In this study, the characteristic of spectral exponents of epileptic EEG data determined from various intervals of levels (or ranges of spectral subbands) is reexamined by applying the wavelet-based fractal analysis to EEG data of epilepsy patients. From the computational results, it is confirmed that the spectral exponent of epileptic EEG data varies corresponding to an interval of levels from which it is determined. Also, it is shown that the spectral exponents of epileptic EEG data obtained during non-seizure period and seizure activity determined from high frequency (10.85-21.70Hz) subband and low frequency (1.36-10.85Hz and 2.71-21.70Hz) subbands are substantially different.
Monozygotic twins with stiff person syndrome and autoimmune thyroiditis: rituximab inefficacy in a double-blind, randomised, placebo controlled crossover study

Autoimmune polyglandular syndromes result from the failure of multiple endocrine glands due to an autoimmune process. In autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 3, autoimmune thyroiditis is associated with autoimmune diseases other than Addison’s disease and hypoparathyroidism.1 We report two identical twins with the rare combination of autoimmune thyroiditis with stiff person syndrome (SPS). SPS presents with progressive muscle rigidity and spasms of axial muscles and extremities.2 The majority of SPS patients have serum autoantibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)65,3 an enzyme responsible for the synthesis of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the major inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system (CNS). GAD65 antibodies probably play a direct pathogenetic role in SPS because they are found within the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and block the activity of …
Automatic video thumbnail selection

A practical system named automatic video thumbnail selection system is proposed for video sharing sites in this paper. It aims to automatically select a best thumbnail among several extracted thumbnails for a video. To achieve this, video thumbnail features including high-level and low-level visual information are proposed and the corresponding scores are calculated firstly. Then a weighting method is adopted to combine all scores of features together for final decision. We also define how to measure the accuracy of thumbnail selection methods and show that our proposal is fast and precise for automatic thumbnail selection through experiments.
Induction of immunity to antigens expressed by recombinant adeno-associated virus depends on the route of administration.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) is a replication-defective parvovirus which is being explored as a vector for gene therapy because of its broad host range, excellent safety profile, and durable transgene expression in infected hosts. rAAV has also been reported by several groups to induce little or no immune response to its encoded transgene products. In this study we examined the immunogenicity of rAAV by studying the immune response of C57BL/6 mice to a single dose of rAAV-encoding ovalbumin (AAV-Ova) administered by a variety of routes. Mice injected with AAV-Ova intraperitoneally (ip), intravenously, or subcutaneously developed potent ovalbumin-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) as well as anti-ovalbumin antibodies and antibodies to AAV. In contrast, mice injected with AAV-Ova intramuscularly developed a humoral response to the virus and the transgene but minimal ovalbumin-specific CTLs. The induced CTL response after ip administration of AAV-Ova protected mice against a subsequent tumor challenge with an ovalbumin-transfected B16 melanoma cell line. Studies of the mechanism by which AAV-Ova induces CTL confirmed that the virus delivers the transgene product into the classical MHC class I pathway of antigen processing. Mice that previously had been exposed to rAAV vectors failed to develop ovalbumin-specific CTL following administration of AAV-Ova. Analysis of these mice revealed the presence of circulating anti-AAV antibodies that blocked rAAV transduction in vitro and inhibited CTL induction in vivo. These results suggest a possible role for rAAV in the immunotherapy of malignancies and viral infections, although induced antibody responses to AAV may limit its ability to be administered for repeated vaccinations.
Crystal Structures of Bacillus cereus NCTU2 Chitinase Complexes with Chitooligomers Reveal Novel Substrate Binding for Catalysis

Chitinases hydrolyze chitin, an insoluble linear polymer of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (NAG)n, into nutrient sources. Bacillus cereus NCTU2 chitinase (ChiNCTU2) predominantly produces chitobioses and belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 18. The crystal structure of wild-type ChiNCTU2 comprises only a catalytic domain, unlike other chitinases that are equipped with additional chitin binding and insertion domains to bind substrates into the active site. Lacking chitin binding and chitin insertion domains, ChiNCTU2 utilizes two dynamic loops (Gly-67—Thr-69 and Ile-106–Val-112) to interact with (NAG)n, generating novel substrate binding and distortion for catalysis. Gln-109 is crucial for direct binding with substrates, leading to conformational changes of two loops with a maximum shift of ∼4.6 Å along the binding cleft. The structures of E145Q, E145Q/Y227F, and E145G/Y227F mutants complexed with (NAG)n reveal (NAG)2, (NAG)2, and (NAG)4 in the active site, respectively, implying various stages of reaction: before hydrolysis, E145G/Y227F with (NAG)4; in an intermediate state, E145Q/Y227F with a boat-form NAG at the −1 subsite, −1-(NAG); after hydrolysis, E145Q with a chair form −1-(NAG). Several residues were confirmed to play catalytic roles: Glu-145 in cleavage of the glycosidic bond between −1-(NAG) and +1-(NAG); Tyr-227 in the conformational change of −1-(NAG); Asp-143 and Gln-225 in stabilizing the conformation of −1-(NAG). Additionally, Glu-190 acts in the process of product release, and Tyr-193 coordinates with water for catalysis. Residues Asp-143, E145Q, Glu-190, and Tyr-193 exhibit multiple conformations for functions. The inhibitors zinc ions and cyclo-(l-His-l-Pro) are located at various positions and confirm the catalytic-site topology. Together with kinetics analyses of related mutants, the structures of ChiNCTU2 and its mutant complexes with (NAG)n provide new insights into its substrate binding and the mechanistic action.
COX-2 expression in ovarian cancer: an updated meta-analysis

The prognostic role of COX-2 expression in ovarian cancer patients has been studied for years, while results remain controversial. Thus we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic impact of COX-2 expression on survival of ovarian cancer patients. The databases PubMed, Embase and CNKI were searched. Summary hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to analyze the correlations between COX-2 expression and overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS). A total of 1,867 patients from 18 studies were enrolled in the final analysis. The results showed that patients with higher COX-2 expression had a poor OS (HR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.19-1.85) and DFS (HR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.28-2.55). Subgroup analysis showed that there had significant associations between COX-2 expression and survival rate in most of the subgroups. Furthermore, there were significant associations between COX-2 expression and several clinical parameters such as FIGO stage, histological type and age. These results showed the patients with higher COX-2 expression had a significantly poorer survival rate, COX-2 expression had the potential to be a prognostic marker of ovarian cancer.
A Psychoacoustic-Based Multiple Audio Object Coding Approach via Intra-Object Sparsity

Rendering spatial sound scenes via audio objects has become popular in recent years, since it can provide more flexibility for different auditory scenarios, such as 3D movies, spatial audio communication and virtual classrooms. To facilitate high-quality bitrate-efficient distribution for spatial audio objects, an encoding scheme based on intra-object sparsity (approximate k-sparsity of the audio object itself) is proposed in this paper. The statistical analysis is presented to validate the notion that the audio object has a stronger sparseness in the Modified Discrete Cosine Transform (MDCT) domain than in the Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) domain. By exploiting intra-object sparsity in the MDCT domain, multiple simultaneously occurring audio objects are compressed into a mono downmix signal with side information. To ensure a balanced perception quality of audio objects, a Psychoacoustic-based time-frequency instants sorting algorithm and an energy equalized Number of Preserved Time-Frequency Bins (NPTF) allocation strategy are proposed, which are employed in the underlying compression framework. The downmix signal can be further encoded via Scalar Quantized Vector Huffman Coding (SQVH) technique at a desirable bitrate, and the side information is transmitted in a lossless manner. Both objective and subjective evaluations show that the proposed encoding scheme outperforms the Sparsity Analysis (SPA) approach and Spatial Audio Object Coding (SAOC) in cases where eight objects were jointly encoded.
Qualitative aspects of students' programs: Can we make them measurable?

Proper feedback can leverage students to better understand their difficulties and shorten the characteristic program-submit-refactor cycle of programming exercises. The ideal feedback is the result of a human inspection and analysis considering both functional and qualitative aspects of programs produced by students. On the other hand, automated assessment systems can provide rapid, cheap and standardized feedback. In this paper, we focus on measuring aspects of code that instructors usually assess in programming assignments which are deemed unmeasurable: qualitative aspects that go beyond functional correctness. The aim of this work is to produce richer feedback messages that go beyond functional correctness as it involves code quality issues. We found that if an instructor is required to produce a reference solution for a programming assignment, then most of the expectations the instructor has about a student's code quality are concretely present in the reference solution. Based on this idea, we proposed and evaluated a set of candidate quality measures using the assignment's reference solution as a baseline. The results showed that they seem to capture what is usually considered to be the subjective and qualitative aspects of an instructors' assessment. We used these findings to generate feedback and conducted an experiment to evaluate it effectiveness. The results enforce that this kind of feedback stimulates students to improve their quality code in a higher degree than purely functional feedback, yet it still can be fully automated.