Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Observed and simulated estimates of the meridional overturning circulation at 26.5° N in the Atlantic

Daily timeseries of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) estimated from the UK/US RAPID/MOCHA array at 26.5° N in the Atlantic are used to evaluate the MOC as simulated in two global circulation models: (I) an 8-member ensemble of the coupled climate model ECHAM5/MPI-OM, and (II) the ECCO-GODAE state estimate. In ECHAM5/MPI-OM, we find that the observed and simulated MOC have a similar variability and time-mean within the 99% confidence interval. In ECCO-GODAE, we find that the observed and simulated MOC show a significant correlation within the 99% confidence interval. To investigate the contribution of the different transport components, the MOC is decomposed into Florida Current, Ekman and mid-ocean transports. In both models, the mid-ocean transport is closely approximated by the residual of the MOC minus Florida Current and Ekman transports. As the models conserve volume by definition, future comparisons of the RAPID/MOCHA mid-ocean transport should be done against the residual transport in the models. The similarity in the variance and the correlation between the RAPID/MOCHA, and respectively ECHAM5/MPI-OM and ECCO-GODAE MOC estimates at 26.5° N is encouraging in the context of estimating (natural) variability in climate simulations and its use in climate change signal-to-noise detection analyses. Enhanced confidence in simulated hydrographic and transport variability will require longer observational time series.
Conceptual Organization in Alzheimer’s Dementia

Although episodic memory impairment is usually the earliest feature of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), semantic memory deficits often occur during the course of the disease. The present study is the first to examine the conceptual organization of semantic memory with Chinese AD patients in Hong Kong. In the attempt to minimize the effects of the level of formal education, our procedure involved pictorial sorting tasks similar to the ones used in developmental literature on preschool children. The first condition involved a triadic comparison in which subjects were instructed to find one out of two choice objects which was most related to the target object. This condition was followed by the second condition that involved more specific instructions asking the subjects to find the taxonomic, thematic and shape associate of the target object. Results indicated that AD patients as compared to the controls tended to use more perceptual cues in categorization. The tendency to use perceptual cues for categorization was found to increase with the severity of dementia. These results were discussed in light of the hypothesized structural alteration of semantic networks in AD.
Relative Activities of Rat and Dog Platelet Phospholipase Az and Diglyceride Lipase

RHC 80267, 1,6-di(O-(carbamoyl)cyclohexanone oxime)hexane, is a potent and selective inhibitor (I5o = 4 CM) of canine platelet diglyceride lipase. This agent had no effect on rat platelet phospholipase C at 300 p~ and only slight activity at 100 BM (15% inhibition) against rat platelet phospholipase Az. In the course of studying the effect of this agent on diglyceride lipase, it was found that this enzyme could easily be obtained from dog platelets but was much more difficult to detect in the enzyme-rich supernatants obtained from rat platelets. RHC 80267 inhibited the diglyceride lipases obtained from the platelets of both species. Detectable phospholipase Az activity was not found in the enzyme extracts prepared from dog platelets whether assayed at pH 9.0 with 5 mM CaClz or at pH 7.0 with 0.1 H ~ M CaClZ. Phospholipase AZ activity was easily detected in both soluble and particulate fractions prepared from rat platelets. An activity was detected at pH 7.0 with 0.1 mM CaClz in the rat platelet extracts, which may be due to phospholipase AI. Such activity was not found in the dog platelet extracts. Phospholipase C activity was easily detectable in the extracts of platelets from both species. We postulate that the observed differences in enzyme distribution suggest that future studies will reveal differences in the metabolism of phospholipids in the platelets of these two species. The diglyceride lipase inhibitor RHC 80267 may be useful in future studies of lipid and phospholipid metabolism in platelets and other cell types.
Bkca opener, NS1619 pretreatment protects against shock-induced vascular hyporeactivity through PDZ-Rho GEF–RhoA–Rho kinase pathway in rats

BACKGROUND Our previous study showed that the ischemic preconditioning and pretreatment of adenosine triphosphate–sensitive potassium channel (KATP) opener, pinacidil, may induce a good protective effect on shock-induced vascular hyporeactivity. Whether the pretreatment of opener/activator of the large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (Bkca), NS1619, can also induce a protective effect on vascular reactivity and play a beneficial effect on subsequent hemorrhagic shock is not clear. METHODS With Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to hemorrhagic shock and their isolated superior mesenteric artery, the protective effect of NS1619 (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg/kg) pretreatment (30 minutes before hemorrhage shock) on vascular reactivity and the underlying mechanisms were observed. RESULTS NS1619 pretreatment significantly improved the 72-hour survival of hemorrhagic shock rats, alleviated shock-induced decrease of vascular reactivity and calcium sensitivity, and increased the cardiac output and oxygen delivery. NS1619 2 mg/kg had the best effect. These protective effects of NS1619 pretreatment on vascular reactivity and calcium sensitivity were antagonized by RhoA inhibitor, C3 transferase, and Rho kinase antagonist, Y-27632. NS1619 pretreatment up-regulated the activities of RhoA, Rho-kinase, and PDZ–Rho GEF (guanine nucleotide exchange factor). These effects of NS1619 pretreatment were eliminated by RhoA inhibitor, C3 transferase. CONCLUSION Bkca opener, NS1619 pretreatment has good protective effect on vascular reactivity and calcium sensitivity, which plays a good beneficial effect on hemorrhagic shock. The mechanism may be mainly through PDZ-Rho GEF–RhoA–Rho kinase pathway. Bkca channel may be a potential target for the treatment of shock-induced vascular hyporeactivity.
From nonpeptide toward noncarbon protease inhibitors: Metallacarboranes as specific and potent inhibitors of HIV protease

HIV protease (PR) represents a prime target for rational drug design, and protease inhibitors (PI) are powerful antiviral drugs. Most of the current PIs are pseudopeptide compounds with limited bioavailability and stability, and their use is compromised by high costs, side effects, and development of resistant strains. In our search for novel PI structures, we have identified a group of inorganic compounds, icosahedral metallacarboranes, as candidates for a novel class of nonpeptidic PIs. Here, we report the potent, specific, and selective competitive inhibition of HIV PR by substituted metallacarboranes. The most active compound, sodium hydrogen butylimino bis-8,8-[5-(3-oxa-pentoxy)-3-cobalt bis(1,2-dicarbollide)]di-ate, exhibited a Ki value of 2.2 nM and a submicromolar EC50 in antiviral tests, showed no toxicity in tissue culture, weakly inhibited human cathepsin D and pepsin, and was inactive against trypsin, papain, and amylase. The structure of the parent cobalt bis(1,2-dicarbollide) in complex with HIV PR was determined at 2.15 Å resolution by protein crystallography and represents the first carborane-protein complex structure determined. It shows the following mode of PR inhibition: two molecules of the parent compound bind to the hydrophobic pockets in the flap-proximal region of the S3 and S3′ subsites of PR. We suggest, therefore, that these compounds block flap closure in addition to filling the corresponding binding pockets as conventional PIs. This type of binding and inhibition, chemical and biological stability, low toxicity, and the possibility to introduce various modifications make boron clusters attractive pharmacophores for potent and specific enzyme inhibition.
Validation of low-cost eye tracking setup for smooth pursuit application

Eye movement can systematically facilitate the detection of brain activities for the discovery of neurologic diseases. However, the traditional techniques such as electrooculography requires expensive equipments, technical handling skills and fairly invasive. This research work aims to test the validity of the low-cost smooth pursuit experimental setup to track eye movement when presented with different stimuli. The setup is constructed based on open system concept.
Performance analysis of WLAN medium access control protocols in simulcast radio-over-fiber-based distributed antenna systems

The performance of three wireless local-area network (WLAN) media access control (MAC) protocols is investigated and compared in the context of simulcast radio-over-fiber-based distributed antenna systems (RoF-DASs) where multiple remote antenna units (RAUs) are connected to one access point (AP) with different-length fiber links. The three WLAN MAC protocols under investigation are distributed coordination function (DCF) in basic access mode, DCF in request/clear to send (RTS/CTS) exchange mode, and point coordination function (PCF). In the analysis, the inter-RAU hidden nodes problems and fiber-length difference effect are both taken into account.Results show that adaptive PCF mechanism has better throughput performances than the other two DCF modes, especially when the inserted fiber length is short.
Tbx1 haploinsufficiency is linked to behavioral disorders in mice and humans: Implications for 22q11 deletion syndrome

About 35% of patients with 22q11 deletion syndrome (22q11DS), which includes DiGeorge and velocardiofacial syndromes, develops psychiatric disorders, mainly schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We previously reported that mice carrying a multigene deletion (Df1) that models 22q11DS have reduced prepulse inhibition (PPI), a behavioral abnormality and schizophrenia endophenotype. Impaired PPI is associated with several psychiatric disorders, including those that occur in 22q11DS, and recently, reduced PPI was reported in children with 22q11DS. Here, we have mapped PPI deficits in a panel of mouse mutants that carry deletions that partially overlap with Df1 and have defined a PPI critical region encompassing four genes. We then used single-gene mutants to identify the causative genes. We show that PPI deficits in Df1/+ mice are caused by haploinsufficiency of two genes, Tbx1 and Gnb1l. Mutation of either gene is sufficient to cause reduced PPI. Tbx1 is a transcription factor, the mutation of which is sufficient to cause most of the physical features of 22q11DS, but the gene had not been previously associated with the behavioral/psychiatric phenotype. A likely role for Tbx1 haploinsufficiency in psychiatric disease is further suggested by the identification of a family in which the phenotypic features of 22q11DS, including psychiatric disorders, segregate with an inactivating mutation of TBX1. One family member has Asperger syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder that is associated with reduced PPI. Thus, Tbx1 and Gnb1l are strong candidates for psychiatric disease in 22q11DS patients and candidate susceptibility genes for psychiatric disease in the wider population.
Visualizing recycling synaptic vesicles in hippocampal neurons by FM 1-43 photoconversion

Exo–endocytotic turnover of synaptic vesicles (SVs) at synapses between hippocampal neurons in culture was examined by electron microscopy (EM). We carried out photoconversion (PC) of the fluorescent endocytotic marker FM 1-43 by using 3,3′-diaminobenzidine to convert the dye signal into an electron-dense product. Electron-dense products were located almost exclusively in SVs, whose densities were bimodally distributed in two sharply demarcated populations, PC-positive (PC+) and PC-negative (PC−). The median densities of these populations did not vary with the proportion of vesicles stained within a presynaptic terminal (bouton). The proportion of PC+ SVs remained constant across consecutive thin sections of single boutons, but varied greatly from one bouton to another, indicating marked heterogeneity in exo-endocytotic activity. Our experiments indicated that only a minority of SVs were stained in most boutons after stimuli known to cause complete turnover of the functional vesicular pool. A direct spatial correlation was found between FM 1-43 fluorescent spots seen with light microscopy and PC+ boutons by EM. The correlation was clearer in isolated boutons than in clusters of boutons. Photoconversion in combination with FM dyes allows clarification of important aspects of vesicular traffic in central nervous system nerve terminals.
System-Wide Harmonic Mitigation in a Diesel-Electric Ship by Model Predictive Control

This paper proposes a system-oriented approach for mitigating harmonic distortions by utilizing a single active power filter (APF) in an electrical grid with multiple buses. Common practice for the control of APFs is to locally compensate the load current harmonics or to mitigate voltage harmonics at a single bus. However, the operation of an APF in a multibus system will influence the voltages at neighboring buses. It is, therefore, possible to optimize the APF operation from a system perspective instead of considering only conventional local filtering strategies. For such purposes, model predictive control (MPC) is proposed in this paper as a framework for generating APF current references that will minimize the harmonic distortions of the overall system within a given APF rating. A diesel-electric ship, with two buses supplying separate harmonic loads, with an APF located at one of the buses, is used as study case. The operation with online MPC-based optimization of the APF current references is compared to two benchmark methods based on conventional approaches for APF control. The results demonstrate that the MPC generates current references that better utilize the APF current capability for system-wide harmonic mitigation.
Integration of Multimedia Communication into Telemedicine and Tele-consultation

Telemedicine and teleconsultation are key areas that address the problem of shortage of medical professionals and experts in remote locations by leveraging remote expertise for local problems. Here in this paper we address a real time and nonreal time communication system simulataneously between health care professionals for providing expertise and informal/formal recommendations. Such computer mediated systems can bridge the gap between doctors in rural regions and the medical expertise worldwide. It uses social networks as a basic framework of design upon which existing technologies such as video conferencing, teleconferencing, video broadcast can be integrated easily to enhance the user interactivity with the system.
Manheim Auctions: Transforming Interorganizational Relationships with an Extranet

This case study demonstrates how a traditional face-to-face auction has been augmented by an electronic sales system to draw on the advantages of an extranet (lower site specificity, less risk, more information, just-in-time buying, lower costs). The paper suggests adoption strategies for an extranet and describes how to assess a disintermediation threat. It explains that an extranet is a device for redesigning interorganizational structures and provides further evidence of the ongoing creative destruction of existing business practices caused by Internet technologies.
Loss of PSD-95 Enrichment Is Not a Prerequisite for Spine Retraction

Changes in neuronal structure are thought to underlie long-term behavioral modifications associated with learning and memory. In particular, considerable evidence implicates the destabilization and retraction of dendritic spines along with the loss of spine synapses as an important cellular mechanism for refining brain circuits, yet the molecular mechanisms regulating spine elimination remain ill- defined. The postsynaptic density protein, PSD-95, is highly enriched in dendritic spines and has been associated with spine stability. Because spines with low levels of PSD-95 are more dynamic, and the recruitment of PSD-95 to nascent spines has been associated with spine stabilization, we hypothesized that loss of PSD-95 enrichment would be a prerequisite for spine retraction. To test this hypothesis, we used dual-color time-lapse two-photon microscopy to monitor rat hippocampal pyramidal neurons cotransfected with PSD-95-GFP and DsRed-Express, and we analyzed the relationship between PSD-95-GFP enrichment and spine morphological changes. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that the majority of spines that retracted were relatively unenriched for PSD-95-GFP. However, in the subset of PSD-95-GFP-enriched spines that retracted, spine shrinkage and loss of PSD-95-GFP were tightly coupled, suggesting that loss of PSD-95-GFP enrichment did not precede spine retraction. Moreover, we found that, in some instances, spine retraction resulted in a significant enrichment of PSD-95-GFP on the dendritic shaft. Our data support a model of spine retraction in which loss of PSD-95 enrichment is not required prior to the destabilization of spines.
Paleolithic Cultures in China

This paper presents an overview of the Chinese Paleolithic industries between 300 ka and 40 ka, a time span now termed the “later Early Paleolithic” (LEP) in the Chinese chronological scheme. It describes the unique features of LEP remains in China compared with contemporaneous materials in Africa and western Eurasia as well as the internal diversity and complexity of these Chinese Paleolithic assemblages. Basic features of LEP remains in China include the persistent and conservative pebble-tool and simple flake-tool traditions, the use of poor-quality local raw materials, tool fabrication on pebbles and direct use of unretouched flakes, opportunistic flaking, simple and casual modification, and the lack of obvious temporal trends. The diversity and complexity of Chinese Paleolithic cultures as they are expressed in terms of the major difference between southern China’s pebble-tool tradition and northern China’s simple flake-tool tradition are also assessed. Based on such generalizations and analyses, a comprehensive behavioral model is proposed to explain the unique features of LEP cultures in China and the alternative pathway of human evolution and adaptation in China during that period of time.
A parallel rough set attribute reduction algorithm based on attribute frequency

Reduction is the core issue of rough set theory. Integrate the parallel idea into the attribute reduction in order to improve the efficiency and construct a parallel rough set attribute reduction algorithm based on attribute frequency. The algorithm divides the original information system into several subsystems according to the proposed division of thought, then uses the properties of frequency as the attribute importance to reduce each subsystem. When encountered with the situation of the same frequency, select the most uniform classification of the property by calculating the information entropy, and finally, obtain the global reduction from partial reduction. The algorithm is applied to corn breeding. Experiments show that the algorithm outperforms the traditional algorithms.
Parallel Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Specific CD8+ T-Lymphocyte Responses in Blood and Mucosa during Chronic Infection

ABSTRACT Gut-associated lymphoid tissue is the major reservoir of lymphocytes and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in vivo, yet little is known about HIV-1-specific CD8+ T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses in this compartment. Here we assessed the breadth and magnitude of HIV-1-specific CTL in the peripheral blood and sigmoid colon mucosa of infected subjects not on antiretroviral therapy by enzyme-linked immunospot analysis with 53 peptide pools spanning all viral proteins. Comparisons of blood and mucosal CTL revealed that the magnitude of pool-specific responses is correlated within each individual (mean r2 = 0.82 ± 0.04) and across all individuals (r2 = 0.75; P < 0.001). Overall, 85.1% of screened peptide pools yielded concordant negative or positive results between compartments. CTL targeting was also closely related between blood and mucosa, with Nef being the most highly targeted (mean of 2.4 spot-forming cells [SFC[/106 CD8+ T lymphocytes/amino acid [SFC/CD8/aa]), followed by Gag (1.5 SFC/CD8/aa). Finally, comparisons of peptide pool responses seen in both blood and mucosa (concordant positives) versus those seen only in one but not the other (discordant positives) showed that most discordant results were likely an artifact of responses being near the limit of detection. Overall, these results indicate that HIV-1-specific CTL responses in the blood mirror those seen in the mucosal compartment in natural chronic infection. For protective or immunotherapeutic vaccination, it will be important to determine whether immunity is elicited in the mucosa, which is a key site of initial infection and subsequent HIV-1 replication in vivo.
Multiple Reaction Monitoring-based, Multiplexed, Absolute Quantitation of 45 Proteins in Human Plasma*

Mass spectrometry-based multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) quantitation of proteins can dramatically impact the discovery and quantitation of biomarkers via rapid, targeted, multiplexed protein expression profiling of clinical samples. A mixture of 45 peptide standards, easily adaptable to common plasma proteomics work flows, was created to permit absolute quantitation of 45 endogenous proteins in human plasma trypsin digests. All experiments were performed on simple tryptic digests of human EDTA-plasma without prior affinity depletion or enrichment. Stable isotope-labeled standard peptides were added immediately following tryptic digestion because addition of stable isotope-labeled standard peptides prior to trypsin digestion was found to generate elevated and unpredictable results. Proteotypic tryptic peptides containing isotopically coded amino acids ([13C6]Arg or [13C6]Lys) were synthesized for all 45 proteins. Peptide purity was assessed by capillary zone electrophoresis, and the peptide quantity was determined by amino acid analysis. For maximum sensitivity and specificity, instrumental parameters were empirically determined to generate the most abundant precursor ions and y ion fragments. Concentrations of individual peptide standards in the mixture were optimized to approximate endogenous concentrations of analytes and to ensure the maximum linear dynamic range of the MRM assays. Excellent linear responses (r > 0.99) were obtained for 43 of the 45 proteins with attomole level limits of quantitation (<20% coefficient of variation) for 27 of the 45 proteins. Analytical precision for 44 of the 45 assays varied by <10%. LC-MRM/MS analyses performed on 3 different days on different batches of plasma trypsin digests resulted in coefficients of variation of <20% for 42 of the 45 assays. Concentrations for 39 of the 45 proteins are within a factor of 2 of reported literature values. This mixture of internal standards has many uses and can be applied to the characterization of trypsin digestion kinetics and plasma protein expression profiling because 31 of the 45 proteins are putative biomarkers of cardiovascular disease.