Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Silencing of the Aspergillopepsin B (pepB) Gene of Aspergillus awamori by Antisense RNA Expression or Protease Removal by Gene Disruption Results in a Large Increase in Thaumatin Production

ABSTRACT Aspergillopepsin B was identified in culture broths of Aspergillus awamori by in situ detection of its proteolytic activity and by immunodetection with anti-aspergillopepsin B antibodies. Severe thaumatin degradation was observed after in vitro treatment of thaumatin with purified aspergillopepsin B. The pepB gene encoding aspergillopepsin B of A. awamori was cloned and characterized. It is located in chromosome IV of A. awamori, as shown by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and encodes a protein of 282 amino acids with high similarity to the aspergillopepsin B of Aspergillus niger var. macrosporus. The pepB gene is expressed at high rates as a monocistronic 1.0-kb transcript in media with casein at acidic pH values. An antisense cassette constructed by inserting the pepB gene in the antisense orientation downstream from the gpdA promoter resulted in a good level of antisense mRNA, as shown by reverse transcription-PCR. Partial silencing of the pepB gene by the antisense mRNA resulted in a 31% increase in thaumatin yield. However, significant residual degradation of thaumatin still occurred. To completely remove aspergillopepsin B, the pepB gene was deleted by double crossover. Two of the selected transformants lacked the endogenous pepB gene and did not form aspergillopepsin B. Thaumatin yields increased by between 45% in transformant APB 7/25 and 125% in transformant 7/36 with respect to the parental strain. Reduction of proteolytic degradation by gene silencing with antisense mRNA or total removal of the aspergillopepsin B by directed gene deletion was a very useful method for improving thaumatin production in A. awamori.
Brain Oxygen Optimization in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Phase-II: A Phase II Randomized Trial*

Objectives: A relationship between reduced brain tissue oxygenation and poor outcome following severe traumatic brain injury has been reported in observational studies. We designed a Phase II trial to assess whether a neurocritical care management protocol could improve brain tissue oxygenation levels in patients with severe traumatic brain injury and the feasibility of a Phase III efficacy study. Design: Randomized prospective clinical trial. Setting: Ten ICUs in the United States. Patients: One hundred nineteen severe traumatic brain injury patients. Interventions: Patients were randomized to treatment protocol based on intracranial pressure plus brain tissue oxygenation monitoring versus intracranial pressure monitoring alone. Brain tissue oxygenation data were recorded in the intracranial pressure –only group in blinded fashion. Tiered interventions in each arm were specified and impact on intracranial pressure and brain tissue oxygenation measured. Monitors were removed if values were normal for 48 hours consecutively, or after 5 days. Outcome was measured at 6 months using the Glasgow Outcome Scale–Extended. Measurements and Main Results: A management protocol based on brain tissue oxygenation and intracranial pressure monitoring reduced the proportion of time with brain tissue hypoxia after severe traumatic brain injury (0.45 in intracranial pressure–only group and 0.16 in intracranial pressure plus brain tissue oxygenation group; p < 0.0001). Intracranial pressure control was similar in both groups. Safety and feasibility of the tiered treatment protocol were confirmed. There were no procedure-related complications. Treatment of secondary injury after severe traumatic brain injury based on brain tissue oxygenation and intracranial pressure values was consistent with reduced mortality and increased proportions of patients with good recovery compared with intracranial pressure–only management; however, the study was not powered for clinical efficacy. Conclusions: Management of severe traumatic brain injury informed by multimodal intracranial pressure and brain tissue oxygenation monitoring reduced brain tissue hypoxia with a trend toward lower mortality and more favorable outcomes than intracranial pressure–only treatment. A Phase III randomized trial to assess impact on neurologic outcome of intracranial pressure plus brain tissue oxygenation–directed treatment of severe traumatic brain injury is warranted.
Commentary: The University and Research Ethics

The issue of fraud in research raises a number of difficult problems for the university. A few researchers have violated commonly accepted norms for ethical behavior. Among other offenses, they have falsified data, plagiarized information, and stolen ideas. The exact mechanisms of the violations may be quite clear to the institution within which they happen. What may be less certain are the significance of these episodes of misconduct, the factors that explain their occurrence, and the appropriate actions for dealing with them. These are the problems that universities must now address as they establish formal policies for research ethics. Because of the small number of publicized cases, some observers argue that instances of major compromises of research ethics are trivial in comparison to the total amount of scientific research undertaken. In other words, science appears on the whole to be an honest profession-an assessment that has led some commentators to conclude that the present concern over research ethics is more the product of biased publicity than of widespread misconduct in the practice of science. ' Whatever the cause of current concern, fraud has not been ignored. As cases are discovered, they are confronted; evidence is assembled, review
Low noise LDO architecture with consideration for low voltage operation

High performance low dropout regulator (LDO) is presented in this paper. An analysis of low noise architecture incorporating reference amplifier followed by a low-pass filter (LPF) and an error amplifier (EA) connected as a voltage follower is done, with a special focus on the low voltage operation implementation. By introduction of special design approach of error and reference amplifiers, low voltage operation of the regulator was achieved. This LDO is ideal for supplying sensitive loads in low power applications.
Dual Polarization Frequency Reuse in SATCOM: A Method to Counter Poor Cross-Polar Isolation

Utilizing orthogonal polarizations is a well-known frequency reuse technique in satellite communications (SATCOM) to provide additional spectrum in a given geographical region. However, in practice there will be a link degradation due to cross talk between the two polarization channels. The cross talk results from the combined effects of the antenna's imperfect ability to distinguish between the two polarizations and channel depolarization effects. Greater cross-polar isolation (XPI) reduces the link degradation in terms of the received signal to noise plus interference ratio (SNIR). The effect of cross talk can be significant, limiting the benefits of using orthogonal polarizations. In this paper we evaluate the XPI impact in terms of received SNIR when using orthogonal polarizations. We then propose the use of a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) singular value decomposition technique (SVD) to mitigate the XPI impact.
(To appear in Intern. J. Math.) ORIENTABILITY AND REAL SEIBERG-WITTEN INVARIANTS

We investigate Seiberg-Witten theory in the presence of real structures. Certain conditions are obtained so that integer valued real Seiberg-Witten invariants can be defined. In general we study properties of the real Seiberg-Witten projection map from the point of view of Fredholm map degrees. 2000 MS Classification: 57R57, 53C07, 14P25
Facial Components Detection with Boosting and Geometric Constraints

An efficient framework utilizing both local features and geometrical distribution for detecting facial components is presented. First, candidate facial components are efficiently collected by cascaded boosting of Haar-like features. The candidates may include false positives and multiple detections. Then, geometrical distribution of facial components is imposed on the candidates to select the optimal configuration. For simplicity, we suppose full dependence between the components and model it with multivariate Gaussian. The effectiveness of the framework is evaluated with experiments
Feasibility and usefulness of an efficient anti‐HBc screening programme in blood donors

SUMMARY. Post‐transfusion hepatitis B remains a risk for recipients of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) screened blood. Anti‐hepatitis B core antibody (anti‐HBc) screening may help reduce this risk. To evaluate its usefulness, 9,238 East Anglian blood donors were screened for anti‐HBc. Those with isolated anti‐HBc were identified with two confirmatory anti‐HBc and anti‐HB surface antibody (anti‐HBs) assays. The prevalence of anti‐HBc reactions in screening and confirmatory assays was 1.29% and 0.35%, respectively. The level of reactivity was significantly higher when two anti‐HBc assays gave concordant results or, being concordant, were anti‐HBs positive. All isolated anti‐HBc‐positive units (0.04%) were negative for additional HBV markers including DNA tested with nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Environmental control of reproductive phenology and the effect of pollen supplementation on resource allocation in the cleistogamous weed, Ruellia nudiflora (Acanthaceae).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Mixed reproductive strategies may have evolved as a response of plants to cope with environmental variation. One example of a mixed reproductive strategy is dimorphic cleistogamy, where a single plant produces closed, obligately self-pollinated (CL) flowers and open, potentially outcrossed (CH) flowers. Frequently, optimal environmental conditions favour production of more costly CH structures whilst economical and reliable CL structures are produced under less favourable conditions. In this study we explore (1) the effect of light and water on the reproductive phenology and (2) the effect of pollen supplementation on resource allocation to seeds in the cleistogamous weed Ruellia nudiflora. METHODS Split-plot field experiments were carried out to assess the effect of shade (two levels: ambient light vs. a reduction of 50 %) and watering (two levels: non-watered vs. watered) on the onset, end and duration of the production of three reproductive structures: CH flowers, CH fruit and CL fruit. We also looked at the effect of these environmental factors on biomass allocation to seeds (seed weight) from obligately self-pollinated flowers (CL), open-pollinated CH flowers and pollen-supplemented CH flowers. KEY RESULTS CH structures were produced for a briefer period and ended earlier under shaded conditions. These conditions also resulted in an earlier production of CL fruit. Shaded conditions also produced greater biomass allocation to CH seeds receiving extra pollen. CONCLUSIONS Sub-optimal (shaded) conditions resulted in a briefer production period of CH structures whilst these same conditions resulted in an earlier production of CL structures. However, under sub-optimal conditions, plants also allocated more resources to seeds sired from CH flowers receiving large pollen loads. Earlier production of reproductive structures and relatively larger seed might improve subsequent success of CL and pollen-supplemented CH seeds, respectively.
Determinant factors of functional status among the oldest old.

BACKGROUND The fastest-growing age group in Brazil and around the world is the oldest-old group (aged 80 and over). Among these individuals, the prevalence of disability and morbidity is higher than in other groups. OBJECTIVES To investigate the influence of socioeconomic, demographic, biological, health, nutritional, and social factors, as well as perceived health, on the functional status of the oldest old. METHODS This was a cross-sectional population-based study in which the data were collected by means of questionnaires and anthropometric measurements. The functional status was evaluated according to the model developed by Andreotti and Okuma (1999). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used. RESULTS The independent factors associated with worse functional status were: age 85 years and over (OR=2.91), female gender (OR=0.69), continuous use of five or more medications (OR=2.67), no visits to friends and/or relatives at least once a week (OR=11.91), and worse perceived health relative to peers (OR=4.40). CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that functional status is associated with a complex web of multidimensional factors. Thus, it is important to develop programs related to the factors that are susceptible to intervention in order to provide a better quality of life to the oldest old.
Effect of Losartan, a Nonpeptide Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonist, on Drinking Behavior and Renal Actions of Centrally Administered Renin

Abstract Losartan, a nonpeptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist, was used to establish the role of brain AT1 angiotensin II receptor subtype on the natriuretic, antidiuretic, and dipsogenic actions of centrally administered renin. Intracerebroventricular administration of renin reduces urine volume and increases sodium excretion and water intake in conscious, male, hydrated rats. Losartan (3 or 10 mg/kg, sc) reduced the increased sodium excretion and totally inhibited the antidiuretic action induced by intracerebroventricular renin. When both renin and Losartan were given intracerebroventricularly, at the highest dose, there was a potent inhibition of the antidiuretic and natriuretic actions. Peripheral and central administration of the AT1 receptor blocker significantly lengthened the onset of drinking behavior and reduced the cumulative water intake observed after intracerebroventricular injection of renin. Our results strongly suggest that the brain AT1 receptor subtype mediates the physiologic actions of angiotensin II, such as drinking behavior, the increase in sodium excretion, and vasopressin release.
Distributed in-memory cluster computing approach in scala for solving graph data applications

Large graph analysis is one of the significant applications of distributed computing frameworks. The distributed computing applications are solved by developing programs over different types of established distributed computing frameworks. Since graph analysis and prediction is one of the new trend in data analytics, designing the problems on an in-memory cluster framework which consumes graph data-sets have a significant role in distributed computing. Traditional disk-based distributed computing framework like hadoop will confine only to a specific group of problems in data analytics. The importance of utilizing the memory of the cluster apart from the disk-based storage space contributes a significant role in reducing the latency and increasing the speedup. The whole work describes the significance of spark-framework in solving graph related problems in a distributed approach using page ranking algorithm and proteome-protein annotation method in Scala.
The Role of Potassium in Inflammasome Activation by Bacteria*

Many Gram-negative bacteria possess a type III secretion system (TTSS¶) that can activate the NLRC4 inflammasome, process caspase-1 and lead to secretion of mature IL-1β. This is dependent on the presence of intracellular flagellin. Previous reports have suggested that this activation is independent of extracellular K+ and not accompanied by leakage of K+ from the cell, in contrast to activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. However, non-flagellated strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are able to activate NLRC4, suggesting that formation of a pore in the cell membrane by the TTSS apparatus may be sufficient for inflammasome activation. Thus, we set out to determine if extracellular K+ influenced P. aeruginosa inflammasome activation. We found that raising extracellular K+ prevented TTSS NLRC4 activation by the non-flagellated P. aeruginosa strain PA103ΔUΔT at concentrations above 90 mm, higher than those reported to inhibit NLRP3 activation. Infection was accompanied by efflux of K+ from a minority of cells as determined using the K+-sensitive fluorophore PBFI, but no formation of a leaky pore. We obtained exactly the same results following infection with Salmonella typhimurium, previously described as independent of extracellular K+. The inhibitory effect of raised extracellular K+ on NLRC4 activation thus reflects a requirement for a decrease in intracellular K+ for this inflammasome component as well as that described for NLRP3.
Double Layer Multi-Threshold Extension improving the generic object proposal generation

Generic object proposal generator plays an essential role in promoting the speed and accuracy of subsequent classification because of its ability of determining a general location of generic object in the image. Nevertheless many current object proposal generators somehow have the problems of time consuming or localization bias. In this paper, a new approach, Double Layer Multi-Threshold Extension (DLMTE) is proposed, which substantially is a bounding box refinement process to improve the performance of the object-locating method. Firstly, the object proposals produced by Binarized Normed Gradients (BING) method is taken as the initial object bounding boxes. And for validation of our method, the Edge Boxes is also regarded as an input. After box alignment procedure employed in the Multi-Thresholding Straddling Expansion (MTSE) method, according to superpixel boundary cue and global search, our DLMTE is utilized to refine the aligned object proposals to increase the location accuracy with simple computation. Experiments on PASCAL VOC 2007 dataset represent a better performance compared with M-Bing and M-EB improved by MTSE method.
Fast fourier imaging

A new NMR imaging technique, aiming at a reduction of the data acquisition time, is described in detail. The method is applicable in all multidimensional imaging situations where at least one spatial coordinate is resolved. Discussed at some length are the point‐spread function, the requird bandwidth of the NMR spectrometer, and the sampling strategy used to diminish the loss in signal‐to‐noise ratio. Experiments reveal that a reduction of the data acquisition time by at least a factor of four is attainable in practice.
Aerial surveillance of public areas with autonomous track and follow using image processing

The recent terror incidents make us question if the existing surveillance systems are still the best solution. CCTVs have proven to be a solution for large scale surveillance but when it comes to solving crimes, CCTVs have played a very minimal role. The concept that is proposed in this paper is an idea that is set to overcome these shortcomings and revolutionize the surveillance systems. Based on the framework of a quadcopter with autonomous flight capabilities and auto-tracking feature, the drone uses image processing algorithm of Probability Hypothesis Density (PHD) filtering using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) implementation. To efficiently control the swarm of quadcopters we use an Energy Efficient Coverage Path Planning (EECPP) problem. The concept explained in this paper integrates a swarm of drones which can act autonomously with Image processing and can be the key for the future of public monitoring and security when made into a full scale device, saving precious lives at times.
HIV-Negative Partnered Men's Willingness to Use Non-Occupational Post-Exposure Prophylaxis and Associated Factors in a U.S. Sample of HIV-Negative and HIV-Discordant Male Couples.

PURPOSE Non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) is an underutilized biomedical option for HIV prevention. Few studies have assessed male couples' knowledge of and willingness to use nPEP. METHODS Cross-sectional dyadic data from 275 HIV-negative and 58 HIV-discordant male couples were used to describe HIV-negative, partnered men's awareness and willingness to use nPEP, and factors associated with their willingness to use nPEP. Data were analyzed with the use of multivariate multilevel modeling. RESULTS Less than a third of the men were aware of nPEP, yet 73% were very-to-extremely likely to use nPEP. Partnered men's willingness to use nPEP was positively associated with having an individual income less than $30,000 USD and serosorting within the relationship. Willingness to use nPEP was negatively associated with greater age difference between primary partners and with higher scores on measures of couples' investment in their relationship. CONCLUSION Efforts should be made to increase male couples' awareness of nPEP and how to access nPEP. Uptake of nPEP has the potential to help avert new HIV infections among male couples.
Excision of the distal end of the ulna in rheumatoid arthritis.

1. The results of excision of the distal end of the ulna in eighty-six wrists of seventy patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis are presented. 2. There was relief of pain in 93 per cent and restoration of full rotation in 87 per cent. 3. Further destructive changes of the radio-carpal joint were seen in 85 per cent, but these did not affect the good clinical results.
Approaching efficiencies above 25% with both sides-contacted silicon solar cells

A high cell performance is one of the key drivers to reduce the levelized cost of electricity for PV. Nevertheless, the production costs of a solar cell technology have to be low, to allow a market entry. A both sides-contacted solar cell can potentially fulfill both requirements. In this work we present the latest results of our DOE FPACE project: A both sides-contacted n-type solar cell with a passivated rear contact and an efficiency of 24.9 %. Furthermore, we present preliminary results for the next solar cell improvements and the path to reach efficiencies well above 25 %.
Recent advances in cognitive communications

This article describes recent advances in cognitive communications. We combine the concepts of signal processing, communications, pattern classification, and machine learning to make dynamic use of the spectrum, such that the emanated signals do not interfere with the existing ones. Unlike other programs such as neXt Generation communications of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, where radio scene analysis is performed to find the spectrum holes or the white space, we make use of the white, as well as the gray space for non- interfering signal transmission. We examine the possibility of employing machine perception and autonomous machine learning technologies to the autonomous design and analysis of air interfaces. The underlying premise is that a learning module will facilitate adaptation in the standard classification process so that the presence of new types of waveforms can be detected, features that best facilitate classification of the previously and newly identified signals can be determined, and waveforms can be generated by using the basis-set orthogonal to the ones present in the environment. Incremental learning and prediction allows knowledge enhancement as more snapshots of data are processed, resulting in improved decisions. Some of the contributions of this project include technological advances in signal detection, feature identification, signal classification, sub-space tracking, adaptive waveform design, machine learning, and prediction.