Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dissociation of tsl-tif-Induced Filamentation and recA Protein Synthesis in Escherichia coli K-12

In Escherichia coli, expression of the tif-1 mutation (in the recA gene) induces the “SOS response” at 40°C, including massive synthesis of the recA(tif) protein, cell filamentation, appearance of new repair and mutagenic activities, and prophage induction. Expression of the tsl-1 mutation (in the lexA gene) induces massive synthesis of the recA protein and cell filamentation at 42°C, although other SOS functions are not induced. In this paper we show that the septation inhibition induced in tif and tsl strains at 42°C is not due to the presence of a high concentration of recA protein since (i) no recA mutants (≤10−8) were isolated among thermoresistant nonfilamenting revertants of a tif-1 tsl-1 strain, (ii) in a tsl-1 zab-53 strain, only the low basal level of recA protein was synthesized at 42°C, yet cell division was inhibited, and (iii) in a tsl-1 recA99 (amber) strain, no recA protein could be detected at 42°C, yet cell division was inhibited. Among suppressors of tsl-tif-induced lethality are mutations at a locus which we call infB, located in the 66- to 83-min region. The infB1 mutation confers a highly pleiotropic phenotype, which is suggestive of a regulatory defect; it suppressed tsl-tif-induced filamentation but not recA protein synthesis, it did not suppress ultraviolet-induced filamentation (in a lon derivative), and it reduced but did not abolish tif-mediated induction of λ prophage and bacterial mutagenesis. The dissociation of tsl-tif-induced septation inhibition and recA protein synthesis in the tif-1 tsl-1 infB1 strain suggests that the control of SOS filamentation may not be strictly identical to the control of recA protein synthesis.
Self-assembly of beta-amyloid 42 is retarded by small molecular ligands at the stage of structural intermediates.

Assemblyof the amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) into fibrils and its deposition in distinct brain areas is considered responsible for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, inhibition of fibril assembly is a potential strategy for therapeutic intervention. Electron cryomicroscopy was used to monitor the initial, native assembly structure of Abeta42. In addition to the known fibrillar intermediates, a nonfibrillar, polymeric sheet-like structure was identified. A temporary sequence of supramolecular structures was revealed with (i) polymeric Abeta42 sheets during the onset of assembly, inversely related to the appearance of (ii) fibril intermediates, which again are time-dependently replaced by (iii) mature fibrils. A cell-based primary screening assay was used to identify compounds that decrease Abeta42-induced toxicity. Hit compounds were further assayed for binding to Abeta42, radical scavenger activity, and their influence on the assembly structure of Abeta42. One compound, Ro 90-7501, was found to efficiently retard mature fibril formation, while extended polymeric Abeta42 sheets and fibrillar intermediates are accumulated. Ro 90-7501 may serve as a prototypic inhibitor for Abeta42 fibril formation and as a tool for studying the molecular mechanism of fibril assembly.
Magnetic resonance cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen utilization in hyperacute stroke patients

The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of obtaining magnetic resonance–measured cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen utilization (MR‐CMRO2) in acute ischemic stroke patients. Seven stroke patients were serially imaged: 4.5 ± 0.9 hours (tp1), 3 to 5 days (tp2), and 1 to 3 months (tp3) after symptom onset. Diffusion‐weighted, perfusion‐weighted, and multiecho gradient‐echo/spin‐echo images were acquired; cerebral blood flow and oxygen extraction fraction maps were obtained from which CMRO2 was calculated as the product of cerebral blood flow and oxygen extraction fraction. The final infarct lesions obtained from tp3 T2‐weighted images and the “penumbra” obtained from the tp1 perfusion‐weighted image–defined lesion were coregistered onto tp1 CMRO2 maps. CMRO2 values in the region of brain that eventually infarcted were reduced to 0.40 ± 0.24 of the respective region on the contralateral hemisphere. The “salvaged penumbra” defined by the area of mismatch between the final infarct and the tp1 perfusion‐weighted lesion demonstrated an average CMRO2 value of 0.55 ± 0.11 of the contralateral hemisphere. Although our results are preliminary and require further evaluation, the ability to obtain in vivo measurements of MR‐CMRO2 noninvasively potentially can provide information for determining brain tissue viability in acute ischemic stroke patients.
Mitochondrial DNA variation and population genetic structure of the northern redbelly dace (Phoxinus eos)

Two sections of the control region and the genes coding for NADH dehydrogenase sub‐units 5 and 6 (ND‐5/6) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were amplified from Phoxinus eos with the polymerase chain reaction. Both sections of the control region were sequenced directly while the ND‐5/6 fragment was sequenced in from each end only. Additionally, the entire ND‐5/6 fragment was examined for sequence variation using RFLP analysis. No sequence variation was detected in the control region among 70 individuals sampled from 18 populations across three Ontario regions (Spanish River, Madawaska R. and Cataraqui R.). To examine ND‐5/6 variation, a total of 75 individuals were sampled from five populations representing two of the three regions (Madawaska River and Cataraqui R.). Six haplotypes were detected by direct sequencing and four by RFLP analysis. Estimates of population subdivision from RFLP data, sequence analysis, and the two data sets combined for the ND‐5/6 fragment, suggest that gene flow is restricted within and between regions. However, estimates of sequence divergence for both sequence and RFLP analysis of this fragment suggested that populations were either founded by already differentiated populations or that populations were founded by a single stock and divergence between regions occurred prior to isolation of populations within regions. These estimates of population structure are much greater than those obtained from allozyme analysis. Additionally, high levels of heterozygosity in nuclear DNA, but low mtDNA diversity suggests that populations have experienced reductions in population size sufficient to reduce only mtDNA variation. Random lineage extinction and limited time for the accumulation of new mutations are likely responsible for low levels of mtDNA variation in ND‐5/6 and the control region, while functional constraints may limit variation more than expected in the control region in dace and other fishes.
Experiment and discussion on leukaemogenesis by cell-free extracts of radiation-induced leukaemia in mice.

SummaryWe have confirmed that cell-free extracts of radiation-induced leukaemia in C57 Bl mice contain an agent (virus) which produces lymphoid leukaemias when injected into isologous new-born or young adult non-irradiated mice. Therefore C57 Bl mice naturally harbour this virus and are not immune to it. This virus is inactive on AkR mice: it appears different from the Gross virus.From the discussion it is concluded that several processes cooperate in radio-leukaemogenesis. Some may concern the concentration of the virus; some others the competent cells of the host.
Sparse Spatio-Spectral LapSVM With Semisupervised Kernel Propagation for Hyperspectral Image Classification

The information contained in the hyperspectral data allows the characterization, identification, and classification of the land covers with improved accuracy and robustness. Many methods have been explored in the hyperspectral image classification (HIC). Among these methods, spatio-spectral Laplacian support vector machine (SS-LapSVM) combines the spatial and spectral information on both the labeled and unlabeled samples together through the weight sum of a spectral regularization term and a spatial regularization term. Thus, it can achieve accurate classification with very few labeled samples and has proved to be effective in HIC. In this paper, a sparse SS-LapSVM with semisupervised Kernel Propagation (S3LapSVM-KP) is constructed to achieve higher accuracy and efficiency in HIC. First, data-driven semisupervised KP is proposed to carefully learn a kernel matrix from a small number of labeled pixels. Furthermore, a one-step sparse pruning algorithm is advanced by solving sparse weight vectors associated with network nodes in SS-LapSVM. By combining semisupervised KP with sparse coding, S3LapSVM-KP can not only automatically determine kernels from data, but also avoid overfitting and reduce computation cost resulted from the nonsparse topology of SS-LapSVM. The performance of S3LapSVM-KP is evaluated on several real hyperspectral datasets, and the results show that S3LapSVM-KP can achieve accurate and rapid classification with very few labeled data.
Method Detection Limits of PCR and Immunofluorescence Assay for Cryptosporidium parvum in Soil

ABSTRACT We determined and compared the method detection limits (MDLα) of a PCR and an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) for detection of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in soils. Based on the MDLα and the quantitative nature and stability of the IFA, PCR analysis is not a useful screening step for soil studies of oocyst transport.
Privacy Leakage in Event-based Social Networks

Event-based social networks (EBSNs) are increasingly popular since they provide platforms on which online and offline activities are combined. Despite the increasing interest in EBSNs, little research has paid attention to the privacy issues coming from the unique features of EBSNs; the on-site information of users is highly relevant to real lives. In this paper, we try to investigate privacy leakages in Meetup, one of the most popular EBSN service. More specifically, we answer what private information can be inferred from the site's publicly available data. To this end, we conduct a measurement study by crawling webpages from Meetup containing 240K groups, 8.9M users, 27M group affiliations and 78M topical interests. By analyzing the dataset, we find that LGBT status of users, which is one of the most sensitive privacy information, can be predicted with 93% accuracy. Finally we discuss the cause of the privacy leakage on EBSNs and its possible ensuing damages.
Acute spill‐mimicking exposure effect of hexavalent chromium on the pituitary‐ovarian axis of a teleost, Channa punctatus (Bloch)

Acute exposure to hexavalent chromium (as 10, 20, and 40 mg/L potassium dichromate for 96 h) adversely affected the pituitary‐ovarian axis of a teleost Channa punctatus. The toxic impact of metal exposure on fish ovary was revealed in the form of increased percentage of atretic follicles, significantly in 20 mg/L and 40 mg/L exposure groups. The follicular atresia mostly occurred in vitellogenic (stage II and stage III) oocytes. Reduction of serum level of 17β‐estradiol was also significant in 20 mg/L and 40 mg/L exposure groups. The increase of LH‐immunointensity of pituitary gonadotrophs (LHβ‐immunoreactive cells) and their hypertrophy was evident, significantly in fish of 40 mg/L exposed group. Thus, the present acute metal spill‐mimicking laboratory study clearly demonstrated that short‐term exposures to high doses of hexavalent chromium may disrupt reproduction of the fish and affect their population. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 29: 733–739, 2014.
Conserved Regions in the Epstein-Barr Virus Leader Protein Define Distinct Domains Required for Nuclear Localization and Transcriptional Cooperation with EBNA2

ABSTRACT Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) EBNA-LP is a latent protein whose function is not fully understood. Recent studies have shown that EBNA-LP may be an important EBNA2 cofactor by enhancing EBNA2 stimulation of the latency C and LMP-1 promoters. To further our understanding of EBNA-LP function, we have introduced a series of mutations into evolutionarily conserved regions and tested the mutant proteins for the ability to enhance EBNA2 stimulation of the latency C and LMP-1 promoters. Three conserved regions (CR1 to CR3) are located in the repeat domains that are essential for the EBNA2 cooperativity function. In addition, three serine residues are also well conserved in the repeat domains. Clustered alanine mutations were introduced into CR1 to CR3, and the conserved serines were also changed to alanine residues in an EBNA-LP with two repeats, which is the minimal protein able to cooperate with EBNA2. Mutations introduced into CR1a had no effect on EBNA-LP function, while mutations introduced into CR1b resulted in EBNA-LP with slightly decreased activity. Mutations in CR1c and CR2 resulted in proteins that no longer localized exclusively to the nucleus and also had no EBNA2 cooperation activity. Mutations introduced into conserved serines S5/71 resulted in proteins with slightly higher activity, while mutations introduced into conserved serines S35/101 or in CR3 (which contains S60/126) resulted in EBNA-LP proteins with substantially reduced activity. The potential karyophilic signals within EBNA-LP CR1c and CR2 were also examined by introducing oligonucleotides encoding these positively charged amino acid groupings into a cytoplasmic test protein, herpes simplex virus ΔIE175, and by examining the intracellular localization of the resulting proteins. This assay identified a strong nuclear localization signal between EBNA-LP amino acids 43 and 50 (109 to 117 in the second W repeat) comprising CR2, while EBNA-LP amino acids 29 to 36 (91 to 98 in the second W repeat) were unable to function independently as a nuclear localization signal. However, a combination of amino acids 29 to 50 resulted in more efficient nuclear localization than with amino acids 43 to 50 alone. These results indicate that EBNA-LP has a bipartite nuclear localization signal and that efficient nuclear localization is essential for EBNA2 cooperativity function. Interestingly, EBNA-LP with only a single repeat localized exclusively to the cytoplasm, providing an explanation for why this isoform has no activity. In addition, two conserved serine residues which are distinct from nuclear import functions are important for EBNA2 cooperativity function.
An Empirical Study of Bugs in Industrial Financial Systems

Bugs in industrial financial systems have not been extensively studied. To address this gap, we focused on the empirical study of bugs in three systems, PMS, β-Analyzer, and OrderPro. Results showed the 3 most common types of bugs in industrial financial systems to be internal interface (19.00%), algorithm/method (17.67%), and logic (15.00%). key words: financial system, bug category, empirical study
A common gene exclusion mechanism used by two chemosensory systems

Sensory coding strategies within vertebrates involve the expression of a limited number of receptor types per sensory cell. In mice, each vomeronasal sensory neuron transcribes monoallelically a single V1R pheromone receptor gene, chosen from a large V1R repertoire. The nature of the signals leading to this strict receptor expression is unknown, but is apparently based on a negative feedback mechanism initiated by the transcription of the first randomly chosen functional V1R gene. We show, in vivo, that the genetic replacement of the V1rb2 pheromone receptor coding sequence by an unrelated one from the odorant receptor gene M71 maintains gene exclusion. The expression of this exogenous odorant receptor in vomeronasal neurons does not trigger the transcription of odorant receptor‐associated signalling molecules. These results strongly suggest that despite the different odorant and vomeronasal receptor expression sites, function and transduction cascades, a common mechanism is used by these chemoreceptors to regulate their transcription.
Na+/H+ Antiport Activity and Cell Growth in Cultured Skin Fibroblasts of IDDM Patients With Nephropathy

IDDM patients with incipient and overt nephropathy have been found to exhibit an overactivity of RBC sodium-lithium countertransport. To explore the physiological relevance of this finding, we measured the activity of Na+/H+ antiport in serially passaged cultured skin fibroblasts from IDDM patients with and without nephropathy and from normal, nondiabetic control subjects. Na+/H+ antiport activity (measured as the rate of amiloride-sensitive Na+ influx at pH1 = 6.4, extracellular pH = 8.0, and [Na+] = 1 mM) was elevated significantly in IDDM patients with nephropathy compared with IDDM patients without nephropathy and nondiabetic control subjects (13.35 ± 3.8 vs. 8.54 ± 2.0 vs. 7.33 ± 2.3 nmol Na+ · mg protein−1 · min−1; P < 0.006 and P < 0.001, respectively). A kinetic analysis of Na+/H+ antiport activity showed that the raised activity in IDDM patients with nephropathy was caused by an increased Vmax for extracellular Na+. Km values were similar in the three groups. pH-stimulated amiloride-sensitive Na+ influx also was higher under baseline conditions and after serum stimulation in cells from IDDM patients with nephropathy. pHI values were significantly higher, both during active proliferation and after 10-min exposure to serum, in cells from IDDM patients with nephropathy, compared with IDDM patients without nephropathy and nondiabetic control subjects. Serum-stimulated incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA was greater in IDDM patients with nephropathy than in the other two groups (35.7 ± 18.9- vs. 17.4 ± 7.5- vs. 11.9 ± 8.7-fold stimulation above baseline; P < 0.01 for both). These data from cultured skin fibroblasts suggest that intrinsic abnormalities in cell function, independent of the metabolic disturbances of diabetes, are characteristic of IDDM patients who develop nephropathy.
The normal difference in bilateral indirect blood pressure recordings in hypertensive individuals.

OBJECTIVE If there is a significant dichotomy between bilateral systolic blood pressure determinations in both arms in hypertensive individuals, it is often taken as a sign of underlying pathology. The primary objective was to determine what the normal variation might be for a significant difference between blood pressures in both arms. A clinically significant difference was chosen as a systolic blood pressure value greater than 10 mm Hg between the upper extremities, as is commonly quoted at the bedside and in the literature. METHODS Bilateral indirect blood pressure determinations were obtained in 100 subjects with hypertension in the sitting position. The blood pressure was obtained by two observers, one the recorder and the other who obtained the blood pressure but was blinded to the actual values taken. The order of blood pressure determination in the first arm was determined prior to the study from a table of random numbers. The coefficient of variation in obtaining the blood pressure in each arm was determined in 5 of the 100 subjects. The age, sex, and handedness of each individual were recorded as demographic variables. RESULTS The average left and right systolic blood pressures were 139 +/- 22 and 141 +/- 22 mm Hg, respectively. The average left and right diastolic blood pressures were 78 +/- 12 and 79 +/- 13 mm Hg, respectively. There was no significant difference between left minus right systolic or diastolic differences (paired t-test). There was no significant difference between systolic or diastolic blood pressures between gender or between left- and right-handed individuals (nonpaired t-test). The average coefficients of variation for taking right and left arm systolic pressures were 2.90% and 1.32%, respectively. Eighteen subjects (18%) had differences in systolic blood pressure between both arms exceeding 10 mm Hg (10% to 26%, 95% confidence interval). CONCLUSIONS Differences of more than 10 mm Hg in indirect systolic blood pressure recordings between arms are frequent in asymptomatic hypertensive individuals and do not per se indicate any pathologic condition. In the right clinical situation, differences that are noted should be repeated and should be added to the total clinical picture when used to determine whether a pathologic condition is present. Assuming no significant aortic or subclavian disease in the population tested, the specificity of the bilateral blood pressure test was 82%.
Providing Support for Automated Product Data Quality Assurance: A Case Study

Data quality is of utmost importance in large product databases. This is especially true for food products, since potentially health-critical data is contained. With growing database size, manual quality assurance becomes infeasible. GS1 Sync, governed by GS1 Austria, is rapidly becoming the largest national food product database. In order to support manual quality assurance, we have conceptualized a process to conduct product data quality assurance in an automatic way, based on defining rules and classifying product data. In order to evaluate our approach, we have implemented a prototype and performed a proof-of-concept. Although our research is still a work-in-progress, we were able to show that our approach is able to find a substantial number of issues that did not appear during manual control.
Atopic Manifestations: Dermatitis, Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma in Patients With Hypogammaglobulinemia

Background: Most of the hypogammaglobulinemic patients have a clinical history in favor of allergic respiratory disease. Nevertheless, in these patients the importance and prevalence of atopic disorders have not been completely explained. Objectives: This study was aimed to evaluate atopic manifestations (dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and asthma) and pulmonary function in patients with hypogammaglobulinemia. Patients and Methods: We used the international study of asthma and allergies in childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire in forty-five patients diagnosed with hypogammaglobulinemia and spirometry was done in 41 patients older than 5 years. Results: Spirometry results were normal in 21 (51%), and showed obstructive in 15 (37%) and restrictive pattern in 5 (12%) of the 41 patients who were evaluated. By the end of the study, asthma was diagnosed in nine (20%) patients and other atopies (rhinitis and dermatitis) identified in 10 (22%), and four (9%), respectively. Conclusions: Atopic conditions should be investigated in the hypogammaglobulinemic patients and the prevalence in these patients may be higher than in normal population. Also, it is recommended to perform a pulmonary function test as a routine procedure in patients with hypogammaglobulinemia and atopy should be assessed in these patients.
Fiscal Policy and Business Formation in Open Economies

According to empirical evidence, expansionary government spending policies increase consumption and the number of active firms in an economy and have large positive international spillover effects. Using a two-country sticky-price model with a variable number of producers, we analyze movements in output, consumption, extensive-margin investment and foreign output in response to government spending expansions. Our baseline results show that, first, there is divergence between consumption and firm entry; and second, spillovers are generally small. A large share of imports in government spending or a high trade elasticity can generate large spillovers in the model, but do not induce consumption-investment comovement. We propose useful government spending as a device to induce both large spillovers and positive consumption-investment comovement.
Analog BIST Functionality for Microhotplate Temperature Sensors

In this letter, we describe a novel long-term microhotplate temperature-sensor calibration technique suitable for built-in self-test (BIST). The microhotplate thermal resistance (thermal efficiency) and the thermal voltage from an integrated platinum/rhodium thermocouple were calibrated against a polysilicon temperature-sensor calibration curve which drifts over time. Both of these temperature sensors, which cannot be directly calibrated, exhibit excellent long-term temperature stability and are appropriate for BIST functionality.