Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preventing fibril formation of a protein by selective mutation

Significance Protein folding intermediates are associated with formation of amyloid fibrils, which are responsible for a number of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s diseases. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the largest problems nowadays, with a significant rise in the number and cost (more than $1 trillion a year by 2050 will be spent in the United States alone unless action is taken to shift current trends; www.alz.org). Therefore, elucidation of the origins of formation of intermediates and finding ways to prevent them are very important. The presented findings may lead to an understanding of the structural mechanisms by which intermediates initiate fibril aggregation. The origins of formation of an intermediate state involved in amyloid formation and ways to prevent it are illustrated with the example of the Formin binding protein 28 (FBP28) WW domain, which folds with biphasic kinetics. Molecular dynamics of protein folding trajectories are used to examine local and global motions and the time dependence of formation of contacts between Cαs and Cβs of selected pairs of residues. Focus is placed on the WT FBP28 WW domain and its six mutants (L26D, L26E, L26W, E27Y, T29D, and T29Y), which have structures that are determined by high-resolution NMR spectroscopy. The origins of formation of an intermediate state are elucidated, viz. as formation of hairpin 1 by a hydrophobic collapse mechanism causing significant delay of formation of both hairpins, especially hairpin 2, which facilitates the emergence of an intermediate state. It seems that three-state folding is a major folding scenario for all six mutants and WT. Additionally, two-state and downhill folding scenarios were identified in ∼15% of the folding trajectories for L26D and L26W, in which both hairpins are formed by the Matheson–Scheraga mechanism much faster than in three-state folding. These results indicate that formation of hairpins connecting two antiparallel β-strands determines overall folding. The correlations between the local and global motions identified for all folding trajectories lead to the identification of the residues making the main contributions in the formation of the intermediate state. The presented findings may provide an understanding of protein folding intermediates in general and lead to a procedure for their prevention.
Reconfigurable Dual-Stopband Filters With Reduced Number of Couplings Between a Transmission Line and Resonators

This letter proposes a new design method for a bandstop filter with two stopbands. Contrary to a conventional method, the presented method allows for achieving two stopbands without increasing the number of the couplings between resonators and the transmission line connecting the input and output ports. In addition, a filter designed using the presented method can not only have different center frequencies but also have different bandwidths by adjusting the resonant frequencies of the resonators. For verification of the proposed approach a dual-stopband filter using four tunable substrate-integrated waveguide resonators has been designed and measured.
I am Calm: Towards a Psychoneurological Evaluation of ABC Ringtones

Anthropology-Based Computing (ABC) suggests that socio-cultural, neurological, and physiological parameters of normal human interaction with the world can be applied to current technology in order to improve Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). To challenge this theory, we hypothesized smartphone ringtones that could be targeted to specific people in a manner that would inform them without disturbing their work or the work of others. In this paper we report the quantitative data from the first formal trials of these ‘ABC ringtones’. Beta Wave activity patterns were recorded in the brains of 10 participants exposed to 5 different ringtones at three different volumes while they were focused on performing a typing test in a noisy environment. Our preliminary findings seem to show that the ABC ringtones – at a volume too low to be consciously heard – triggered a response in the pre-attentive part of the brain, and that the embedded information was transferred to the attentive part of the brain by an internal mechanism that did not disrupt the work being done in the typing task. We propose that these results provide preliminary evidence for the ABC model of HCI and its explanation of the centering mechanism that is requisite if Peripheral Interaction is to be applied in changing Ubiquitous Computing into Calm Technology.
Aqueous aluminium eliminates Gyrodactylus salaris (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea) infections in Atlantic salmon

This study focuses on the effect of acidic water and aqueous aluminium on the monogenean ectoparasite Gyrodactylus salaris, infecting Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr. G. salaris-infected salmon were exposed to various combinations of acidity and aluminium concentrations. The most pronounced effect was the elimination of parasites after 4 days when 202 μg Al/l was added to the water. The effect of aluminium was concentration dependent, but was relatively independent of pH (5·2, 5·6 and 5·9). At the lowest pH of 5·0 the effect of aluminium was enhanced. Acidic aluminium-poor water had no or minor effects on the G. salaris infections except at pH 5·0 where all parasites were eliminated within 9 days. The G. salaris populations increased exponentially in untreated control water. The results show for the first time that aqueous aluminium can, to a limited extent, have a positive effect on fish health. This study emphasizes that basic knowledge about abiotic environmental factors is of importance in order to understand the population dynamics, range extension and dispersal of ectoparasites such as G. salaris. Finally, our results suggest that aluminium treatment could form an effective disinfection method against ectoparasites in hatcheries and laboratories, as well as complementing the controversial rotenone treatments used against natural populations of G. salaris.
SEDC's Ability to Stabilize SSR: A Case Study on a Practical Series-Compensated Power System

Supplementary excitation damping controller (SEDC) has been widely acknowledged as one of the effective measures to stabilize subsynchronous resonance (SSR). However, how to quantify its stabilizing ability is still an open issue raising widespread concerns. There are few in-depth studies or conclusions in this aspect yet. This paper presents a quantitative measure of SEDC's ability to damp SSR, namely stabilizing ability index (SAI). It is defined as the percentage margin of the effective gain relative to the critical stability gain (CSG). The CSG is the minimum gain of SEDC to guarantee SSR stability, while the effective gain is the control gain of SEDC actually functioning following system disturbances. A practical system is used to investigate the various factors determining the effective gain, the CSG and thus the SAI, based on eigenvalue analysis as well as time-domain simulation. The dominant factors identified include: the total equivalent series-compensation degree of system, the parameters and operating status of the generator, the response time and ceiling voltage of the exciter, and the severity of the disturbance. Why and how these factors affect the control capability of SEDC is examined and thus a practical method is offered for the assessment of SEDC's ability to stabilize SSR.
Algoritma Levenshtein Distance dalam Aplikasi Pencarian isu di Kota Bandung pada Twitter

Twitter digunakan Pemerintah Kota Bandung dalam memperoleh data terkait isu yang terjadi di Kota Bandung yang dilaporkan oleh masyarakat Kota Bandung. Kendala yang dihadapi pada saat melakukan pencarian data isu melalui Twitter adalah adanya perbedaan ejaan kata di dalam tweet pada Twitter dengan kata kunci pada data kategori isu yang ada di Pemerintah Kota Bandung. Sehingga dibutuhkan sebuah algoritma yang mampu mengubah suatu kata menjadi kata lainnya, yaitu Algoritma Levenshtein Distance. Berdasarkan hasil pengujian yang telah dilakukan, Algoritma Levenshtein Distance mampu 100% mengubah kata dengan kesalahan ejaan pada tweet menjadi kata kunci pada kategori isu.Dengan digunakannya Algoritma Levenshtein Distance pada proses pencarian data isu dari Twitter, data isu yang diperoleh Pemerintah Kota Bandung menjadi lebih baik dan akurat.
Generating Local Temporal Poses from Gestures with Aligned Cluster Analysis for Human Action Recognition

The use of pose estimation for human action recognition has seen a resurgence in previous years, due in part to the natural representation of the activity as a sequence of key poses and gestures. The use of sequence alignment techniques has aided the process of comparing between sequences of differing temporal rates, with aligned cluster analysis segmenting an observation into lower level action primitives. We suggest that the representation of a given action class via its lower level gestures can help to identify the higher-level action class label. We therefore present a method for the generation of key poses via the initial segmentation of an action class into gestures that are similar across numerous observations. We treat all training observations as a single observation in which there are repetitions of the same action class. By applying segmentation, we then identify common gestures across the class, which are used to generate the key poses we optimize via evolutionary programming. Global recognition rates of 97.4% are achieved using a subset of the MSR Action3D dataset. We then expand the method to recognize interaction events between two individuals using the SBU Kinect Interaction dataset, achieving recognition rates of 83.9% and over 96.4% when observing the first 6 classes.
The strategic dimension of transactional information systems: some organizational implications

Abstract. Often information systems (IS) are classified in three groups: (a) transactional, used mainly for co‐ordination and resource allocation purposes at the operational level of a company; (b) tactical, often employed to support the resource procurement activities typical of middle management; and (c) information systems for strategic decision making, designed to help in the planning and strategy design processes which are the direct responsibility of top management. In general, the amount of care and management attention that companies give to these different types of systems is proportional to their position in this hierarchy: little attention is devoted to the mundane transaction‐pushing systems and exquisite care is put into developing the sophisticated decision making aid for the CEO and his/her staff.
Ramathibodi Language Development Questionnaire: A Newly Developed Screening Tool for Detection of Delayed Language Development in Children Aged 18-30 Months.

OBJECTIVE To develop a parental questionnaire for screening children with delayed language development in primary care settings. MATERIAL AND METHOD Ramathibodi Language Development (RLD) questionnaire was developed and completed by groups of 40 typically developing children age 18 to 30 months old and 30 children with delayed language development. RESULTS The mean score was significantly lower in the delay language group (6.7 ± 1.9), comparing with the typically developing group (9.6 ± 0.7). The optimal ROC curve cut-off score was 8 with corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 98% and 72%, respectively. The corresponding area under the curve was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.92-0.99). CONCLUSION The RLD questionnaire was the promising language developmental screening instrument that easily utilized in well-child examination settings.
Involvement of coenzyme A esters and two new enzymes, an enoyl-CoA hydratase and a CoA-transferase, in the hydration of crotonobetaine to L-carnitine by Escherichia coli.

Two proteins (CaiB and CaiD) were found to catalyze the reversible biotransformation of crotonobetaine to L-carnitine in Escherichia coli in the presence of a cosubstrate (e.g., gamma-butyrobetainyl-CoA or crotonobetainyl-CoA). CaiB (45 kDa) and CaiD (27 kDa) were purified in two steps to electrophoretic homogeneity from overexpression strains. CaiB was identified as crotonobetainyl-CoA:carnitine CoA-transferase by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and enzymatic assays. The enzyme exhibits high cosubstrate specificity to CoA derivatives of trimethylammonium compounds. In particular, the N-terminus of CaiB shows significant identity with other CoA-transferases (e.g., FldA from Clostridium sporogenes, Frc from Oxalobacter formigenes, and BbsE from Thauera aromatica) and CoA-hydrolases (e.g., BaiF from Eubacterium sp.). CaiD was shown to be a crotonobetainyl-CoA hydratase using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and enzymatic assays. Besides crotonobetainyl-CoA CaiD is also able to hydrate crotonyl-CoA with a significantly lower Vmax (factor of 10(3)) but not crotonobetaine. The substrate specificity of CaiD and its homology to the crotonase confirm this enzyme as a new member of the crotonase superfamily. Concluding these results, it was verified that hydration of crotonobetaine to L-carnitine proceeds at the CoA level in two steps: the CaiD catalyzed hydration of crotonobetainyl-CoA to L-carnitinyl-CoA, followed by a CoA transfer from L-carnitinyl-CoA to crotonobetaine, catalyzed by CaiB. When gamma-butyrobetainyl-CoA was used as a cosubstrate (CoA donor), the first reaction is the CoA transfer. The optimal ratios of CaiB and CaiD during this hydration reaction, determined to be 4:1 when crotonobetainyl-CoA was used as cosubstrate and 5:1 when gamma-butyrobetainyl-CoA was used as cosubstrate, are different from that found for in vivo conditions (1:3).
Hyperinsulinism and cerebral microangiopathy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE High insulin levels are a recognized risk factor for atherosclerosis. Microvascular endothelium is more susceptible to metabolic and mitogenic effects of insulin than large-vessel endothelium. Besides their atherogenic effect, high insulin levels impair fibrinolysis by enhancing plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. We undertook this study to evaluate the hypothesis that elevated serum insulin and C-peptide levels are related to cerebral small-vessel disease rather than large-vessel pathology. METHODS One hundred ninety-four consecutive patients presenting with symptomatic cerebrovascular disease were assigned to three subgroups that were differentiated by clinical presentations, brain imaging studies, and extracranial as well as transcranial vascular ultrasound findings: (1) patients with lacunes (n = 20), (2) patients with subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (n = 35), and (3) patients with strokes due to large-vessel disease (n = 99). Patients who had suffered a cryptogenic (n = 9) or cardioembolic (n = 16) stroke or who showed characteristics of the microangiopathy and macroangiopathy groups (n = 15) were not further evaluated. Thirty patients without manifestations of cerebrovascular disease were also examined. Fasting blood glucose, insulin, and C-peptide levels were determined in all subjects. RESULTS There were no significant differences in age or sex among the three groups and control patients. Insulin levels were significantly higher in the lacunar group compared with the subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy group, the macroangiopathy group, and the control patients (median [interquartile range]: 103.8 [198.6], 72.0 [103.2], 66.0 [57.0], and 52.2 [57.0] pmol/L, respectively; all P < .05, Mann-Whitney test). There was a statistically significant difference in insulin concentrations between the microangiopathy group (subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy and lacunes) and the macroangiopathy and control groups (81.0 [110.4], 66.0 [57.0], and 55.2 [57.0] pmol/L, respectively; all P < .05, Mann-Whitney). The same was true for the distribution of C-peptide levels and to a minor extent blood glucose values, but these differences failed to reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS Elevated insulin levels potentially represent a pathogenetic factor in the development of cerebral small-vessel disease, predominantly in patients presenting with lacunes. Whether this is due solely to atherosclerotic changes of the small penetrating arteries or whether changes in hemorheology are operative as well remains to be evaluated.
Serial Transcranial Doppler Sonography in Ischemic Strokes in Middle Cerebral Artery Territory

The changes in middle cerebral artery (MCA) blood flow velocity were serially evaluated in 31 patients with acute ischemic strokes in the MCA territory using transcranial Doppler ultrasound. In patients with a poor clinical prognosis, MCA mean velocity on the infarcted side (MV,) was significantly decreased within 48 hours after onset, compared with that on the opposite side (MV2 ) (p < 0.01 ). However, this change was not significant in patients with a good clinical prognosis. As predictors of poor clinical prognosis, an MV, of 40 cm/sec or less and an asymmetry index of ‐ 20% or less showed positive predictive values of 93 and 88%, with sensitivities of 72 and 83% and specificities of 92 and 85%, respectively. An MV, slower than 20 cm/sec or an asymmetry index below ‐50% had a 100% positive predictive value and a 100% specificity, but less sensitivity (17 and 44%, respectively). Combining an MV, of 40 em/sec or less with an asymmetry index of ‐20% or less resulted in a 100% positive predictive value and a 100% specificity, with a relatively high sensitivity of 67%. As predictors of good clinical prognosis, an MV, faster than 40 cm/sec and an asymmetry index above ‐20% showed positive predictive values of 71 and 79%, with sensitivities of 92 and 85% and specificities of 72 and 83%, respectively. The clinical prognosis based on MV, seems particularly reliable for MCA territorial and cortical infarctions.
Towards More Flexible BDI Agents

BDI agents are among the most popular models for the development of intelligent agents. The practical reasoning within the most of BDI models and architectures rely, in the best case, on three kinds of attributes: The utility associated with a goal, the cost of a plan and the uncertainty associated with the action’s effects. Based on a richer set of practical reasoning’s attributes, we propose a BDI architecture which aims to provide a step towards more flexible BDI agents.
Reactive power compensation for parallel inverters without control interconnections in microgrid

In this paper, a control technique is developed for parallel inverters with no control interconnections in microgrid. The proposed control technique, based on droop control method and virtual impedance method, uses only locally measurable feedback signals to make some of the parallel inverters supply only reactive power equally for loads while the others share only active power. Simulation results are provided to prove the validity of this approach.
Evidence for Acquisition of the Lipooligosaccharide Biosynthesis Locus in Campylobacter jejuni GB11, a Strain Isolated from a Patient with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, by Horizontal Exchange

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni GB11, a strain isolated from a patient with Guillain-Barré syndrome, has been shown to be genetically closely related to the completely sequenced strain C. jejuni NCTC 11168 by various molecular typing and serotyping methods. However, we observed that the lipooligosaccharide (LOS) biosynthesis genes strongly diverged between GB11 and NCTC 11168. We sequenced the LOS biosynthesis locus of GB11 and found that it was nearly identical to the class A LOS locus from the C. jejuni HS:19 Penner serotype strain (ATCC 43446). Analysis of the DNA sequencing data showed that a horizontal exchange event involving at least 14.26 kb had occurred in the LOS biosynthesis locus of GB11 between galE (Cj1131c in NCTC 11168) and gmhA (Cj1149 in NCTC 11168). Mass spectrometry of the GB11 LOS showed that GB11 expressed an LOS outer core that mimicked the carbohydrate portion of the gangliosides GM1a and GD1a, similar to C. jejuni ATCC 43446. The serum from the GB11-infected patient was shown to react with the LOS from both GB11 and ATCC 43446 but not with that from NCTC 11168. These data indicate that the antiganglioside response in the GB11-infected patient was raised against the structures synthesized by the acquired class A LOS locus.
An image registration method based on similarity of edge information

Considering that spatial structural information of images, taken from the same scene even with diverse illustration or in different wavebands, has much in common with each other, we propose an image registration method utilizing similarity of edge information as a new similarity measure. Similarity of edge information can be achieved from gradient information of detected edge pixels in two images, so it reflects well the relevance of spatial structures between two corresponding scenes. Experimental results indicate that, no matter when lighting changes or for images sensed in different wavebands, the proposed similarity measure exhibits a perfect single peak response with respect to transformation parameters and the proposed method achieves more accurate alignment than the one based on mutual information.
CRYSTALS - Dilithium: Digital Signatures from Module Lattices

This paper presents Dilithium, a lattice-based signature scheme that is part of the CRYSTALS (Cryptographic Suite for Algebraic Lattices) package that will be submitted to the NIST call for postquantum standards. The scheme is designed to be simple to securely implement against side-channel attacks and to have comparable efficiency to the currently best lattice-based signature schemes. Our implementation results show that Dilithium is competitive with lattice schemes of the same security level and outperforms digital signature schemes based on other post-quantum assumptions.