Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HBV DNA vaccine with adjuvant cytokines induced specific immune responses against HBV infection.

AIM To seek for an effective method to improve the immune responses induced by DNA vaccine expressing HBV surface antigen (pCR3.1-S) in Balb/c mice (H-2(d)). METHODS The pCR3.1-S plasmid and the eukaryotic expression vectors expressing murine IL-2 (pDOR-IL-2) or IL-12 (pWRG3169) were injected into mice subcutaneously. The immune responses to pCR3.1-S and the adjuvant effect of the cytokines plasmid were studied. Meanwhile the effect of pCR3.1-S on anti-translated subcutaneous tumor of P815 mastocytoma cells stably expressing HBsAg (P815-HBV-S) was also studied. Anti-HBs in serum was detected by enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) and HBsAg specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) activity was measured by (51)Cr release assay. After three weeks of DNA immunization, the cells of P815-HBV-S were inoculated into mice subcutaneously and the tumor growth was measured every five days. The survival rate and living periods of mice were also calculated. RESULTS After 8 wk DNA immunization, the A 450 nm values of sera in mice immunized with pCR3.1, pCR3.1-S and pCR3.1-S codeliveried with IL-2 or IL-12 plasmids were 0.03+/-0.01, 1.24+/-0.10, 1.98+/-0.17 and 1.67+/-0.12 respectively. Data in mice codeliveried pCR3.1-S with IL-2 or IL-12 plasmids were significantly higher than that of mice injected pCR3.1 or pCR3.1-S only. The HBsAg specific CTL activities in mice coinjected with pCR3.1-S and IL-2 or IL-12 eukaryotic expression vectors were (61.9+/-7.1) % and (73.3+/-8.8) %, which were significantly higher than that of mice injected with pCR3.1 (10.1+/-2.1) % or pCR3.1-S (50.5 +/-6.4) %. The HBsAg specific CTL activities in mice injected with pCR3.1, pCR3.1-S, pCR3.1-S combined with IL-2 or IL-12 eukaryotic expression vectors decreased significantly to (3.2+/-0.8) %, (10.6+/-1.4) %, (13.6+/-1.3) % and (16.9+/-2.3) % respectively after the spleen cells were treated by anti-CD8(+) monoclonal antibody, but presented no significant change to anti-CD4(+) monoclonal antibody or unrelated to monoclonal antibody. The HBV-S DNA vaccine (pCR3.1-S) could evidently inhibit the tumor growth, prolong the survival period of mice and improve the survival rate of mice and these effects could be improved by IL-12 gene codeliveried. CONCLUSION HBV DNA vaccine has a strong antigenicity in humoral and cellular immunities, which can be promoted by plasmid expressing IL-2 or IL-12. CD8+ cells executed the CTL activities. DNA vaccine may be useful for both prophylaxis and treatment of HBV infection.
Breaking the copy/paste cycle: the Stretchable Selection Tool

Copy-and-paste, or cut-and-paste, using a clipboard or paste buffer, has long been the principle facility provided to users for transferring data between and within GUI applications. We argue that this mechanism can be clumsy in circumstances where several pieces information must be moved systematically-for example, extracting a predetermined set of data fields from a piece of unstructured text. In dealing with the plethora of potentially useful, but not appropriately structured, information on the World Wide Web, interfaces which facilitate manual information gathering are of considerable importance. We present an alternative, more natural user interface facility to make the task less onerous, and to provide improved visual feedback during the operation. We call our facility the "Stretchable Selection Tool", a semi-transparent overlay augmenting the mouse pointer to automate paste operations and provide information to prompt the user. We describe a prototype implementation that functions in a collaborative software environment, allowing users to cooperate on multiple copy/paste operations.
Supplementary Information for Social Networks and Cooperation in Hunter-Gatherers

1 Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA 2 Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA 3 Department of Anthropology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, CB2 3DZ, UK 4 Medical Genetics Department, University of California, San Diego, CA 92103, USA 5 Political Science Department, University of California, San Diego, CA 92103, USA 6 Department of Sociology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA 7 Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Structural characterization of a unique marine animal family 7 cellobiohydrolase suggests a mechanism of cellulase salt tolerance

Nature uses a diversity of glycoside hydrolase (GH) enzymes to convert polysaccharides to sugars. As lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction for biofuel production remains costly, natural GH diversity offers a starting point for developing industrial enzymes, and fungal GH family 7 (GH7) cellobiohydrolases, in particular, provide significant hydrolytic potential in industrial mixtures. Recently, GH7 enzymes have been found in other kingdoms of life besides fungi, including in animals and protists. Here, we describe the in vivo spatial expression distribution, properties, and structure of a unique endogenous GH7 cellulase from an animal, the marine wood borer Limnoria quadripunctata (LqCel7B). RT-quantitative PCR and Western blot studies show that LqCel7B is expressed in the hepatopancreas and secreted into the gut for wood degradation. We produced recombinant LqCel7B, with which we demonstrate that LqCel7B is a cellobiohydrolase and obtained four high-resolution crystal structures. Based on a crystallographic and computational comparison of LqCel7B to the well-characterized Hypocrea jecorina GH7 cellobiohydrolase, LqCel7B exhibits an extended substrate-binding motif at the tunnel entrance, which may aid in substrate acquisition and processivity. Interestingly, LqCel7B exhibits striking surface charges relative to fungal GH7 enzymes, which likely results from evolution in marine environments. We demonstrate that LqCel7B stability and activity remain unchanged, or increase at high salt concentration, and that the L. quadripunctata GH mixture generally contains cellulolytic enzymes with highly acidic surface charge compared with enzymes derived from terrestrial microbes. Overall, this study suggests that marine cellulases offer significant potential for utilization in high-solids industrial biomass conversion processes.
Mapping the regional in fl uence of genetics on brain structure variability — ^ A Tensor-^ Based Morphometry study

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Article history: Received 6 December 2008 Revised 4 May 2009 Accepted 5 May 2009 Available online xxxx 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 CT ED PR Genetic and environmental factors influence brain structure and function profoundly. The search for heritable anatomical features and their influencing genes would be accelerated with detailed 3D maps showing the degree to which brain morphometry is genetically determined. As part of an MRI study that will scan 1150 twins, we applied Tensor^ Based Morphometry to compute morphometric differences in 23 pairs of identical twins and 23 pairs of same^ sex fraternal twins (mean age: 23.8±1.8 SD years). All 92 twins' ^ 3D brain MRI scans were nonlinearly registered to a common space using a Riemannian fluid^ based warping approach to compute volumetric differences across subjects. A multi^ template method was used to improve volume quantification. Vector fields driving each subject' ^ s anatomy onto the common template were analyzed to create maps of local volumetric excesses and deficits relative to the standard template. Using a new structural equation modeling method, we computed the voxelwise proportion of variance in volumes attributable to additive (A) or dominant (D) genetic factors versus shared environmental (C) or unique environmental factors (E). The method was also applied to various anatomical regions of interest (ROIs). As hypothesized, the overall volumes of the brain, basal ganglia, thalamus, and each lobe were under strong genetic control; local white matter volumes were mostly controlled by common environment. After adjusting for individual differences in overall brain scale, genetic influences were still relatively high in the corpus callosum and in early^ maturing brain regions such as the occipital lobes, while environmental influences were greater in frontal brain regions which have a more protracted maturational time^ course. 38 E © 2009 Published by Elsevier Inc.
Hydrodynamic delivery of DNA

Hydrodynamic delivery is an efficient and inexpensive procedure to deliver a wide range of nucleic acids to hepatic tissues and other organs in vivo. The successful application of hydrodynamic delivery is dependent on the rapid injection of a large aqueous volume containing DNA, RNA or other molecules into the vasculature of the liver. In this review, the development of the procedures for hydrodynamic delivery will be described and the parameters necessary for attaining maximal gene expression will be highlighted. A review of the mechanisms for transfecting hepatocytes, as well as potential uses of this approach in various research and clinical applications, will also be discussed.
Performance Analysis of solar air heater having absorber plate artificially roughened by chamfered-square elements

A very common technique to improve the thermo hydraulic performance of solar air heater is providing artificial roughness on absorber plate. Diagonally chamfered cuboids has been used to generate roughness and applied on the absorber surface. A numerical study is performed to study the enhancement of the thermo hydraulic performance of the heater for thoroughness parameters of relative roughness pitch (transverse and longitudinal) of 6 to 14, cross section of cuboids from 8 mm to 14 mm and relative roughness height of 0.44 to 0.088. The Reynolds number is kept in the range of 5000 to 22500 with a constant heat flux of 1000 W/m2 on the absorber plate. The numerical computation is conducted by using the ANSYS FLUENT CFD software. The standard k-e turbulence model with enhanced wall treatment has been used to handle the flow turbulence. The Nusselt number and the average friction factor are determined for different values of relative roughness pitch (transverse and longitudinal), cross section of cuboids and relative roughness height. The values of Nusselt number and friction factor of roughened solar air heater is compared with smooth duct at similar flow condition to find out the enhanced performance.
Música y Educación

El Espacio Europeo de Educacion Superior (EEES) supone una serie de cambios de mentalidad en todos los implicados en el proceso de ensenanza-aprendizaje. En este nuevo contexto el discente es protagonista de su aprendizaje de una forma activa, construyendo su conocimiento a partir de multiples experiencias e interacciones que le ayuden a alcanzar las competencias que se requieren para el desempeno profesional. Asi, desde la asignatura Musica en la Educacion Primaria, perteneciente al grado de Educacion Primaria, se utilizo la plataforma Moodle como vehiculo para complementar un modelo blended-learning. Esta herramienta permitio poner al alcance del alumnado diferentes recursos como videos, presentaciones, ejercicios autocorregibles, cuestionarios de evaluacion continua, � Para conocer las opiniones de los participantes se diseno una encuesta cuantitativa y se utilizo el programa SPSS.17 para analizar los datos. Los resultados obtenidos nos demuestran la aceptacion del alumnado de esta nueva forma de trabajar en todos los items analizados. Por otro lado, se refleja la escasa o nula influencia de las variables edad y sexo en el uso de estas herramientas de autoaprendizaje.
DIURNAL VARIATION IN THE NUMBER OF CIRCULATING EOSINOPHIL LEUCOCYTES IN NORMAL CONTROLS AND ASTHMATICS

Eosinophilia is often found in allergic disorders. Previous investigations have demonstrated a diurnal variation in the number of circulating eosinophil leucocytes (NCE) . In normals (2,5) a minimum count is seen in the forenoon, after which the number rises, until a maximum is reached during the night. Arnoldsson & Helander (2) found the exact opposite pattern in patients with bronchial asthma; an unexpected result, which has not later been confirmed. Therefore, we found it indicated to repeat this study.
Power control and resource allocation in TDD-OFDM based femtocell networks with interference

Femtocell technology is a promising solution for different dilemmas in cellular networks. In femtocell power control, the interference experienced by the network is divided into two main tiers according to the type of network whose signal is interfering with another network. In utilizing the functionality of a two-tier network where femtocell technology is deployed, a major challenge is in sharing the frequency resource of a macrocell. This paper proposes an enhanced dynamic algorithm bounded by two constraints to optimize the transmission powers of femtocell users in TDD-OFDM based femtocell networks, taking into consideration rate enhancement of femtocell mobile stations. We compare our algorithm with the macrocell guard system, which allows femtocells to occupy only the subchannels unoccupied by the macrocell.
Multi‐drug resistance 1 polymorphism is associated with reduced risk of gastric cancer in the Japanese population

Background and Aims: Host genetic factors play a key role in gastric carcinogenesis, but the mechanism has not been clarified. The multi‐drug resistance 1 (MDR1) gene mediates the expression of P‐glycoprotein, which has a role in active transport of various substrates, including xenobiotics, and thus has a protective function in various tissues and organs like gastrointestinal epithelial cells. C3435T polymorphism in exon 26 of the MDR1 gene influences P‐glycoprotein expression and activity in the gastrointestinal tract. We investigated the influences of MDR1 gene polymorphism on the risk of gastric cancer.
Eco-Driving Assistance System for a Manual Transmission Bus Based on Machine Learning

Driving assistance systems (DAS) is a key technology to improve fuel economy for in-use vehicles. This also reduces the operational cost of running a fleet of these vehicles, such as city buses. In this paper, we develop a novel white-box evaluation model using machine learning for a manual transmission bus based on previous research about fuel consumption sensitivity to driving style. Using the proposed evaluation model, an algorithm for learning path planning (LPP) for a driving style is also proposed. The LPP method plans a step-by-step shortest learning path for different driving styles to achieve eco-driving, while increasing the driver’s acceptance and adaptation of DAS. Simulation results based on vehicle and engine physical models show that the proposed evaluation model, a pure data model, can be used as an alternative to physical model for the eco-driving prompt strategy. The results of the verification show that the proposed strategy can progressively guide the driver to improve the fuel consumption by 6.25% with minimal changes to driver’s driving task and driving style.
Bond Graph Modeling for Energy Harvested WSNs

We propose Bond Graphs model for Energy Harvesting WSNs (EHW SNs). It is an energy conservation based approach. We model several system blocks such as energy source, storage b uffer, microcontroller, radio and wireless channel. The dy namic behavior of both physical and computational elements of a sy stem can be modeled accurately and this allows us to seek answ ers to some of the key questions in EHWSNs including finding stabi lity regions. The outage probability result of a wireless li nk shows a close match between the model and the test-bed.
Proteomic profiling of the extracellular matrix (slime sheath) of Dictyostelium discoideum

Dictyostelium discoideum has historically served as a model system for cell and developmental biology, but recently it has gained increasing attention as a model for the study of human diseases. The extracellular matrix (ECM) of this eukaryotic microbe serves multiple essential functions during development. It not only provides structural integrity to the moving multicellular pseudoplasmodium, or slug, it also provides components that regulate cell motility and differentiation. An LC/MS/MS analysis of slug ECM revealed the presence of a large number of proteins in two wild‐type strains, NC4 and WS380B. GO annotation identified a large number of proteins involved in some form of binding (e.g. protein, polysaccharide, cellulose, carbohydrate, ATP, cAMP, ion, lipid, vitamin), as well as proteins that modulate metabolic processes, cell movement, and multicellular development. In addition, this proteomic analysis identified numerous expected (e.g. EcmA, EcmD, discoidin I, discoidin II), as well as unexpected (e.g. ribosomal and nuclear proteins) components. These topics are discussed in terms of the structure and function of the ECM during the development of this model amoebozoan and their relevance to ongoing biomedical research.
Bridging the Gap Between SysML and Design Space Exploration

In the last few years the embedded systems design discipline required new design methodologies and new specification languages to support system engineers in developing heterogeneous systems where hardware and software are combined. One of the emerging modeling languages for system designers is the UML-based language called Systems Modeling Language (SysML). One of the most important tasks to be addressed early in the system design phase is the Design Space Exploration (DSE). DSE helps designers in discovering the optimal solutions among all possible combinations after mapping functional to architectural specifications. This paper describes an approach on how to use SysML for a DSE analysis within a system design phase.
The minimal mammalian Y chromosome – the marsupial Y as a model system

The mammalian X and Y chromosomes are very different in size and gene content. The Y chromosome is much smaller than the X and consists largely of highly repeated non-coding DNA, containing few active genes. The 65-Mb human Y is homologous to the X over two small pseudoautosomal regions which together contain 13 active genes. The heterochromatic distal half of the human Yq is entirely composed of highly repeated non-coding DNA, and even the euchromatic portion of the differential region is largely composed of non-coding repeated sequences, amongst which about 30 active genes are located. The basic marsupial Y chromosome (about 10 Mb) is much smaller than that of humans or other eutherian mammals. It appears to include no PAR, since it does not undergo homologous pairing, synaptonemal complex formation or recombination with the X. We show here that the tiny dunnart Y chromosome does not share cytogenetically detectable sequences with any other chromosome, suggesting that it contains many fewer repetitive DNA sequences than the human or mouse Y chromosomes. However, it shares several genes with the human and/or mouse Y chromosome, including the sex determining gene SRY and the candidate spermatogenesis gene RBMY, implying that the marsupial and eutherian Y are monophyletic. This minimal mammalian Y chromosome might provide a good model Y in which to hunt for new mammalian Y specific genes.
Very Old Women at Highest Risk of Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

Objective: To determine the incidence of different types of dementia in the very old, and to explore the relation with age and gender. Design: A dementia-free cohort was followed for an average of three years in Stockholm, Sweden. At the end of the follow-up, the subjects were interviewed by nurses, clinically examined by physicians, and cognitively assessed by psychologists. Deceased cohort members were studied using death certificates, hospital clinical records, and discharge diagnoses. Dementia diagnoses were made according to the DSM-III-R criteria independently by two physicians. Participants: The cohort consisted of 1,473 subjects (75+ years old), of which 987 were clinically examined at follow-up, 314 died before the examination, and 172 refused to participate. Results: During the follow-up, 148 subjects developed dementia. In the age-group 75 to 79, the incidence rates for dementia were 19.6 for women and 12.4 for men per 1,000 person-years, whereas for 90+ year-old subjects the corresponding figures were 86.7 and 15.0 per 1,000 person-years. A similar pattern of distribution by age and gender was seen for Alzheimer's disease. In each age stratum, the incidence rates of dementia and Alzheimer's disease were higher for women than for men. The age-adjusted odds ratio for women was 1.9 for dementia and 3.1 for Alzheimer's disease. Conclusions: (1) The incidence of dementia increases with age, even in the oldest age groups; (2) women have a higher risk of developing dementia than men, especially at very old ages; (3) this pattern is mainly due to the age and gender distribution of Alzheimer's disease, rather than vascular dementia. NEUROLOGY 1997;48: 132-138
An assessment of how scientific literacy-related aims are actualised in the National Primary Science curricula in China and Finland

ABSTRACT This research compared how the scientific literacy-related goals of the current Chinese and Finnish national science curricula at primary school level are actualised using a revised Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scientific literacy framework in the content analysis of the curricula. The content of the curricula focuses principally on knowledge, followed by competencies and attitudes, respectively. The learning context was seen to be thoroughly integrated with the content in both countries. However, the curricula are written in different ways. Generally, the literacy objectives for both curricula are based on scientific knowledge (Vision I) and the application of knowledge-based skills in situations (Vision II). However, they are characterised by implicit views that derive from the pursuit of the value-driven transformation of individuals and society achieved through science education (Vision III). The Chinese curriculum appears to favour the Anglo-American curriculum tradition, whereas the Finnish curriculum appears to be more attached to the Bildung-Didaktik tradition in terms of core tasks and the specification of objectives. The recommendation is that Vision III should be included in the science curricula, and should explicitly relate to social and scientific topics with a view to furthering a scientifically literate public.
Enhancements of Substrate Deposition Rate and Target Erosion Profile in a DC Magnetron Sputtering System

The dc magnetron sputtering system (MSS) is widely used in the microelectronic industries for thin film depositions. With certain designs, users have observed low operational performance and high target material consumption rates due to unsatisfactory interactions between electrons or ions and fields inside the sputter. This paper describes refinements that can be applied to commercial on-line dc MSS to control the magnetic field affecting the behavior of electrons inside the sputter. Results from a study showed that the proposed refinements can increase the sputtering efficiency by as much as 39.40%, and a corresponding enhancement of the substrate deposition rate is also to be expected. In addition, compared to that obtained without the refinements, the target erosion profiles with the refinements are more evenly spread out, reduction in the target material consumptions can also be expected.