Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interleukin‐1 Beta Gene Deregulation Associated With Chromosomal Rearrangement: A Candidate Initiating Event for Murine Radiation‐Myeloid Leukemogenesis?

The incidence of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in CBA/H mice following exposure to single acute doses of ionizing radiation has previously been determined. A high proportion of these AMLs are characterized by rearrangement of murine chromosome 2 in the C2 and/or E5‐F regions, and there is evidence that these events are a direct consequence of radiation damage to multipotential hemopoietic cells. Using a combination of in situ chromosome hybridization and mRNA analyses, we show that the cytokine gene interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) is encoded in the chromosome 2 F region and is translocated in a chromosome 2 ‐> 2 rearrangement in an x‐ray‐induced AML (N36). Also, IL‐1β is specifically deregulated in N36and in two other chromosome 2‐rearranged AMLs but not in a fourth, which has two cytogenetically normal chromosome 2 copies. We suggest that radiation‐induced specific chromosome 2 rearrangement associated with IL‐1β deregulation may initiate murine leukemogenesis through the uncoupling of normal proliferative control mechanisms in multipotential hemopoietic cells.
Architecture for Managing Knowledge on Cybersecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa

In this paper, we present architecture for managing knowledge on cybersecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa. This architecture captures the critical contextual factors in the Sub-Saharan African region. The architecture enables the creation, storage/retrieval, transfer and application of knowledge on cybersecurity especially for home users while providing awareness and enforcement mechanisms to help home users protect themselves against cyber threats. The architecture can facilitate the building of expertise on cybersecurity among the stakeholders. The implications of the proposed architecture are presented.
Causal Link between Trade, Political Instability, FDI and Economic Growth – Nigeria Evidence

The current liberal policies adopted by the government in Nigeria since 1986 provided a stronger bilateral ties which continue to spring up between Nigeria and other participating trading partners, hence trade and foreign direct investment continue to increase noticeably on oil and gas sector. Nigeria continues to emerge as one of the biggest hubs for trade and investment in Africa while the free flow of FDI is expected to contribute and increase the exports rate. The last two decades witnessed numerous trade reforms, which has given more liberal export favorable surroundings. The pace of FDI is greater than the growth at international level, which would enhance grandness rational behind FDI inflow with the volume of trade and goods, as well as the possible effect of FDI inflow on the economic growth in Nigeria while not neglecting the likely effect of political instability that might pose to a major threat to foreign investors. An attempt is made to investigate the causal nexus between FDI inflow, volume of trade, political instability index, and Gross Domestic Product in Nigeria within the period of 1981 to 2012 using co-integration analysis and multivariate Granger causality. Multivariate Granger causality test is carried out using VECM approach to analyze the causal links among all the variables considered for estimation. A bi-directional causality was discovered between FDI inflow and economic growth (GDP); however there is one –way direction between political instability and FDI, between political instability and GDP. Moreover, there is also one –way relationship between FDI and volume of trade within the period of study.
Role of preterminal protein processing in adenovirus replication

Preterminal protein (pTP), the protein primer for adenovirus DNA replication, is processed at two sites by the virus-encoded protease to yield mature terminal protein (TP). Here we demonstrate that processing to TP, via an intermediate (iTP), is conserved in all serotypes sequenced to date; and in determining the sites cleaved in Ad4 pTP, we extend the previously published substrate specificity of human adenovirus proteases to include a glutamine residue at P4. Furthermore, using monoclonal antibodies raised against pTP, we show that processing to iTP and TP are temporally separated in the infectious cycle, with processing to iTP taking place outside the virus particles. In vitro and in vivo studies of viral DNA replication reveal that iTP can act as a template for initiation and elongation and argue against a role for virus-encoded protease in switching off DNA replication. Virus DNA with TP attached to its 5' end (TP-DNA) has been studied extensively in in vitro DNA replication assays. Given that in vivo pTP-DNA, not TP-DNA, is the template for all but the first round of replication, the two templates were compared in vitro and shown to have different properties. Immunofluorescence studies suggest that a region spanning the TP cleavage site is involved in defining the subnuclear localization of pTP. Therefore, a likely role for the processing of pTP-DNA is to create a distinct template for early transcription (TP-DNA), while the terminal protein moiety, be it TP or pTP, serves to guide the template to the appropriate subcellular location through the course of infection.
NS-2 extension for interface assignment in AODV routing protocol

Network Simulator(NS-2) is an open source discrete event simulator, widely used by the networking research community. NS-2 provides flexibility for the researcher to extend the simulator functionality for any new area of research in networks. The primary objective of the paper is to investigate the development and simulation of the interface assignment in multi-interface multi-channel wireless adhoc network in NS-2. Accordingly, existing ad hoc on-demand distance vector(AODV) routing protocol which was designed for single interface single channel (S-AODV) was studied and modified to support multi-interface multi-channel (M-AODV)configuration. Simulation results show better performance of M-AODV over S-AODV.
The effects of fixative type and fixation time on the quantity and quality of extractable DNA for hybridization studies on lymphoid tissue.

Encouraged by recent reports of extraction of diagnostically useful DNA from formalin-fixed tissues, we devised a study to determine which fixatives are suitable for DNA hybridization studies. Seven lymph node specimens (6 lymphomas and one reactive hyperplasia) were studied. Specimens were divided into portions, each of which was processed separately. Processing protocols followed were: 1) snap freezing; 2) immersion in formalin, ethanol, glutaraldehyde, B5 and methanol acetic acid (MAA) Michel's transport medium or phosphate buffered saline for 2, 24, 48 and 120 hrs. ; 3) paraffin embedding following fixation. DNA was obtained by proteinase K digestion followed by phenolchloroform extraction. DNA was cleaved with restriction endonucleases (Eco RI and Bam HI), separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, after which Southern blot hybridization with radio-labelled probes for J-heavy and T-beta genes was performed. Fixation with formalin, glutaraldehyde and B5 resulted in poor yields of DNA. MAA produced degradation of DNA and Michel's medium and PBS gave low quantities and purity of extracted DNA. Ethanol fixation consistently permitted extraction of large amounts of high molecular weight DNA suitable for hybridization studies and compared favourably with the fresh-frozen 'gold standard'. We conclude that ethanol may be the fixative of choice when transport or storage conditions limit the availability of fresh frozen tissue for DNA hybridization studies.
Multi-scale event-based optimization for matching uncertain wind supply with EV charging demand

Due to the global environmental pollution and fossil fuel shortage, there is an increasing demand for renewable energy. In this circumstance, the wind power and the electric vehicle (EV) are an important part of the supply side and the demand side, respectively. Because of the multi-scale system dynamics, to match the random wind supply and EV charging demand to reduce the charging cost is challenging and of great practical interest. This is considered as an important problem in this paper. In order to capture the structure of this problem and to use the area information of EVs, we formulate this charging problem as a multi-scale event-based optimization (EBO) model. At the upper level, we define a series of macro events to determine the number of EVs to be charged for each aggregator. At the lower level, we finally decide every EV's charging plan based on a series of micro events and the upper level action. So as to solve this large-scale problem, we develop a multi-scale event-based policy iteration method in this paper. The numerical testing results show the effectiveness of this multi-scale EBO approach on reducing the total charging cost of all EVs.
Metabolism of nicotine in rat lung microvascular endothelial cells

The aim of this study was to examine whether cultured rat lung microvascular endothelial cells (LMECs), which constitute the gas‐blood barrier, have the ability to metabolize nicotine. Nicotine was biotransformed to cotinine and nicotine N′‐oxide by cytochrome 450 (CYP) and flavin‐containing monooxyganase (FMO), respectively, in rat LMECs. The intrinsic clearance (Vmax1/Km1) for the cotinine formation was about 20 times as high as that for the trans‐nicotine N′‐oxide formation in the low‐Km phase, indicating that oxidation by CYP was much higher than that by FMO. On the other hand, as shown in Eadie‐Hofstee plots, the formation of cis‐nicotine N′‐oxide was monophasic, whereas the plot for the trans‐nicotine N′‐oxide formation was clearly biphasic. These results suggest that nicotine N′‐oxide was stereoselectively metabolized to cis and trans forms. However, in the high‐Km phase there was no significant difference in N′‐oxidation between the cis and trans forms. Moreover, we suggest that CYP2C11 and CYP3A2 are key players in the metabolism to cotinine of nicotine in rat LMECs using the respective enzyme inhibitors (tranylcypromine and troleandomycine). On the other hand, methimazole (5 μm) caused 73 and 45% decreases in the formation of N′‐oxides of cis‐ and trans‐ enantiomers, respectively, demonstrating the presence of FMO in rat LMECs. These results suggest that rat LMEC enzymes can convert substrates of exogenous origin such as nicotine for detoxication, indicating LMECs are an important barrier for metabolic products, besides hepatic cells.
DISCREPANCY BETWEEN FLUORESCEIN ANGIOGRAPHY AND OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY IN DETECTION OF MACULAR DISEASE

Purpose: To compare high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescein angiography (FA) in detection of macular edema (ME) of various etiologies. Methods: In a retrospective study over a 12-month period at one retina center, data for consecutive eyes that had undergone simultaneous conventional FA (HRA; Heidelberg Engineering, Vista, CA) and StratusOCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA) to rule out ME were reviewed. A subset of patients underwent additional examination with extremely high-resolution (6-&mgr;m)/ultrahigh-speed spectral OCT/scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (OTI, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Results: Of 1,272 eyes, 1,208 (94.97%) had the finding of ME or subretinal fluid confirmed by both techniques. There were 49 eyes (3.86%) for which FA showed dye leakage in the macular area and OCT showed normal foveal contour. Of 10 eyes in this group that underwent imaging with ultrahigh-speed spectral OCT/scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, 8 had subtle diffuse lucencies in the retina. For 15 eyes (1.17%), OCT showed intraretinal and subretinal fluid, which was missed by FA. Conclusions: Both FA and high-resolution OCT are highly sensitive techniques and correlate well in detection of ME. However, there is a small chance that when performed alone they might miss existing subtle ME.
Identification of the Alternative Sigma Factor SigX Regulon and Its Implications for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pathogenicity

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is distinguished by its broad metabolic diversity and its remarkable capability for adaptation, which relies on a large collection of transcriptional regulators and alternative sigma (σ) factors. The largest group of alternative σ factors is that of the extracytoplasmic function (ECF) σ factors, which control key transduction pathways for maintenance of envelope homeostasis in response to external stress and cell growth. In addition, there are specific roles of alternative σ factors in regulating the expression of virulence and virulence-associated genes. Here, we analyzed a deletion mutant of the ECF σ factor SigX and applied mRNA profiling to define the SigX-dependent regulon in P. aeruginosa in response to low-osmolarity-medium conditions. Furthermore, the combination of transcriptional data with chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) led to the identification of the DNA binding motif of SigX. Genome-wide mapping of SigX-binding regions revealed enrichment of downstream genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis, type III secretion, swarming and cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) signaling. In accordance, a sigX deletion mutant exhibited altered fatty acid composition of the cell membrane, reduced cytotoxicity, impaired swarming activity, elevated c-di-GMP levels, and increased biofilm formation. In conclusion, a combination of ChIP-seq with transcriptional profiling and bioinformatic approaches to define consensus DNA binding sequences proved to be effective for the elucidation of the regulon of the alternative σ factor SigX, revealing its role in complex virulence-associated phenotypes in P. aeruginosa.
Changing information technology strategies to cope with funding changes within Higher Education

This report analyses the trends in expected changes for strategic direction of information technology departments and also the service delivery within higher education institutions through the use of a questionnaire. It finds a common trend amongst higher education institutions whereby there is a shift towards the outsourcing of Information Technology (IT) services. It highlights the need for change management methodologies for these types of changes to be a success and also how benefits of change if properly managed can be successfully realised.
The utility of ultrasound elastography and MicroPure imaging in the differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of ultrasound elastography and MicroPure imaging in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A total of 74 consecutive patients (65 women and nine men; age range, 21-80 years; mean [± SD] age, 51 ± 12.7 years) with thyroid nodules, who were referred for fine-needle aspiration biopsy by endocrinology or general surgery clinics, were prospectively examined using B-mode ultrasound, ultrasound elastography, and MicroPure imaging. The strain value ratio (strain index) of thyroid nodules was calculated. Patients with malignant or intermediate fine-needle aspiration biopsy results underwent thyroid surgery. RESULTS Using MicroPure imaging, 17 of 65 benign thyroid nodules (26.6%) and three of nine malignant thyroid nodules (33.3%) were found to contain microcalcifications. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value, and the accuracy rate of MicroPure imaging were 42.9%, 80.6%, 93.1%, 18.8%, and 77%, respectively. By using receiver operating characteristic analysis, the best cutoff point (2.31) was computed (area under the curve, 0.87; p < 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value and accuracy rate of the strain index values were 85.7%, 82.1%, 98.2%, 33.3%, and 82.4%, respectively, when the best cutoff point of 2.31 was used (p = 0.001). The p value (x = malign) was 0.96 for a strain index value higher than 2.31. CONCLUSION This preliminary study indicated that ultrasound elastography and MicroPure imaging can be used for the differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules.
The Lys198Asn polymorphism in the endothelin-1 gene is associated with blood pressure in overweight people.

There is accumulating evidence that endothelin-1 plays an important role in vascular pathophysiology. Our objective was to examine whether molecular variations at the endothelin-1 locus were involved in susceptibility to myocardial infarction and variation in blood pressure. The entire coding sequence and 1.4 kb of the 5' flanking region were screened. Five polymorphisms were detected, which were genotyped in the ECTIM (Etude Cas-Témoin de l'Infarctus du Myocarde) Study, a multicenter study comparing 648 male patients who had survived a myocardial infarction and 760 population-based controls. The polymorphisms were not associated with myocardial infarction, nor did they contribute to blood pressure levels in the population at large. However, a G/T polymorphism predicting an Lys/Asn change (ET1/C198) strongly interacted (P<0.001) with body mass index in the determination of blood pressure levels. There was a steeper increase of blood pressure with body mass index in carriers of the T allele than in GG homozygotes. As a consequence, the T allele was associated with an increase of blood pressure in overweight subjects (body mass index >/=26 kg/m2), while no significant effect was observed in lean subjects (body mass index <26 kg/m2). To determine whether this finding could be replicated, the ET1/C198 was genotyped in the Glasgow Heart Scan Study, a population-based study including 619 men and 663 women. Subjects homozygous for the T allele had higher resting blood pressure levels than others (P<0.05). A similar interaction between the T allele and body mass index was observed on the maximum blood pressure achieved during a treadmill exercise test (P<0.001). In conclusion, results from 2 independent studies suggest that the ET1/C198 polymorphism is associated with blood pressure levels in overweight people.
Detection and Removal for Impulse Noise in Monte Carlo Global Illumination Rendered Images of Highly Glossy Scenes

Monte Carlo global illumination (MCGI) plays an important role for the rendering and synthesis of photorealistic image. However, the synthetic images using MCGI are always corrupted by heavy noise. Especially, very unpleasant impulse noise appears in MCGI images when 3D environments contain highly glossy surfaces. In this paper, we propose a two-stage filtering technique, by utilizing pixel samples, to remove the impulse noise during MCGI image rendering. Firstly, impulsive pixels are detected using the impulsiveness of the distribution. And then the noise suppression technique is applied to obtain the final result. For a salt-like noise, the outlier samples are identified by the Grubbs test and their energies are re-distributed to the neighbors of the noisy pixel. For a pepper-like noise, the energies of its neighbors are gathered. Experimental results show that the proposed method behaves remarkably well in terms of both quantitative assessment of noise reduction and qualitative evaluation of image quality.
Spatiotemporal dynamics of regulatory protein recruitment at DNA damage sites

Mammalian cells are constantly threatened by multiple types of DNA lesions arising from various sources like irradiation, environmental agents, replication errors or by‐products of the normal cellular metabolism. If not readily detected and repaired these lesions can lead to cell death or to the transformation of cells giving rise to life‐threatening diseases like cancer. Multiple specialized repair pathways have evolved to preserve the genetic integrity of a cell. The increasing number of DNA damage sensors, checkpoint regulators, and repair factors identified in the numerous interconnected repair pathways raises the question of how DNA repair is coordinated. In the last decade, various methods have been developed that allow the induction of DNA lesions and subsequent real‐time analysis of repair factor assembly at DNA repair sites in living cells. This combination of biophysical and molecular cell biology methods has yielded interesting new insights into the order and kinetics of protein recruitment and identified regulatory sequences and selective loading platforms for the efficient restoration of the genetic and epigenetic integrity of mammalian cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 104: 1562–1569, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Humidity Profile Retrieval from SAPHIR On-Board the Megha-Tropiques

The Megha-Tropiques (MT) satellite, a joint Indo- French mission, was launched by ISRO's PSLV-C18 on 12 October 2011 from Sriharikota, India. SAPHIR, a microwave humidity sounder on-board Megha Tropiques operates in six channels with frequencies around 183.31 GHz. A radiative transfer simulationbased operational algorithm has been developed to retrieve layer-averaged relative-humidity (LARH) for six atmospheric layers from the surface to nearly 12 km using SAPHIR observations over land and ocean under non-rainy conditions. SAPHIR-derived LARH for the period July to November 2012 has been validated with concurrent quality-controlled radiosonde observations as well as with ECMWF analysis data. Global validation with radiosonde and ECMWF data shows that root mean square deviation in LARH for all the six layers is nearly 20% and 15% respectively, after bias correction.
Assessment of AlbuSure and Its Usefulness in Identifying IDDM Subjects at Increased Risk for Developing Clinical Diabetic Nephropathy

This study, which included 154 participants in a 10-yr follow-up study of diabetes complications, was conducted to evaluate AlbuSure (a qualitative test designed to detect urinary albumin concentrations > 0.03 g/L) for its ability to discriminate between albumin concentrations above and below the manufacturer's concentration threshold and to identify individuals at increased risk for developing diabetic nephropathy (i.e., those with albumin excretion rate [AER] > 0.0288 g/24 h). The reproducibility of AlbuSure results was also evaluated. The results of these evaluations were examined by three different types of urine collections (24 h, overnight, and timed postclinic) and overall. AlbuSure's validity was examined by comparing its results to immunonephelometrically measured concentrations and AER. When compared to albumin concentration, AlbuSure had an overall sensitivity of 81.8%, specificity of 94.8%, and positive predictive value of 90.6%. AlbuSure's sensitivity was lower (71.4%) when compared with AER; however, this was higher than the sensitivity achieved by dipsticks against AER (50.7%). On testing urine samples stored for 3 days at 4°C, AlbuSure results were 100% reproducible after 1 day and had an overall reproducibility of 92% after 3 days. When urine was retested after 3 and 15 mo of storage at −70°C, AlbuSure was ≥ 90% reproducible, with some of the differing results attributable to corresponding changes in albumin concentration. The overnight sample appeared to be the sample of choice for testing with AlbuSure in that it showed excellent reproducibility and the highest sensitivity (compared to both albumin concentration and AER).