Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beta‐site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) as a biological candidate marker of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the progressive formation of insoluble amyloid plaques and vascular deposits consisting of the amyloid β‐peptide (Aβ) in the brain. Pathological mechanisms are already active early in the presymptomatic stage of AD. BACE1, β‐secretase, is one of the two key enzymes in amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing; the other being γ‐secretase. The Aβ peptide results from cleavage of APP initially by BACE1 to produce the C99 fragment and releases soluble APPβ (sAPPβ); C99 is then further cleaved by γ‐secretase leading to the Aβ peptide. Increased BACE1 activity and elevated levels of insoluble Aβ peptide have been shown in brain tissue of patients with sporadic AD. Since the CSF is in direct contact with the extracellular space of the central nervous system, biochemical changes in the brain can potentially be reflected in CSF. Therefore, CSF‐based detection of BACE1 levels and activity might be valuable in aiding early detection and prediction, particularly in preclinical or even presymptomatic subjects who are at risk of AD. Recently, we were among the first groups to quantitatively analyse the enzymatic activities and protein levels of BACE1 in the CSF. Preliminary research using recently developed BACE1 ELISAs, BACE1 enzymatic activity, sAPPβ and total Aβ1−x ELISAs were used by examining these hypothesis driven functional candidate markers in subjects with clinically diagnosed AD and amnestic MCI. Two sandwich ELISAs were used and BACE1 enzymatic activities were seen by synthetic fluorescence substrate and total Aβ levels by sandwich‐ELISA. Moreover, elevated CSF levels of BACE1 protein were associated with an increased risk ratio in MCI. Interestingly, amnestic MCI subjects showed increased levels of BACE1 activity compared to HC and AD patients. For total Aβ and tau, increased CSF levels were associated with a higher risk of MCI compared to HC as well. BACE1 activity was significantly correlated with BACE1 protein concentration and total Aβ levels, with Aβ being itself correlated with the BACE1 protein level. Currently, independent studies are ongoing to validate BACE1 and functionally associated proteins as candidate biomarkers for early detection, prediction, progression as well as for biological activity in AD.
NOAA's contributions to the Integrated Ocean Observing System

The Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) will enable and encourage communication and collaboration between government agencies, universities, industries, and among individuals who conduct ocean and coastal research and observations. IOOS addresses seven societal goals including improved predictions of climate change and weather, protection of natural resources, and improved safety and efficiency of marine operations. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) actively promotes integration and coordination of ocean and coastal observations through significant investments in ocean observing infrastructure and technology. Many of NOAA's current activities and programs are components of IOOS, such as Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) forecasts, the National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON), Living Marine Resource (LMR) Surveys, and the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) Marine Weather Buoys. NOAA's current IOOS efforts support integrating existing NOAA and external observations in addition to filling gaps in the national backbone. New activities being undertaken within NOAA in support of IOOS include an emphasis on Data Management and Communications (DMAC), coordination with other federal agencies involved in ocean research and observations through Ocean.US, and coordination with nascent Regional Associations.
An Overview of the International H2O Project (IHOP_2002) and Some Preliminary Highlights

The International H2O Project (IHOP_2002) is one of the largest North American meteorological field experiments in history. From 13 May to 25 June 2002, over 250 researchers and technical staff from the United States, Germany, France, and Canada converged on the Southern Great Plains to measure water vapor and other atmospheric variables. The principal objective of IHOP_2002 is to obtain an improved characterization of the time-varying three-dimensional water vapor field and evaluate its utility in improving the understanding and prediction of convective processes. The motivation for this objective is the combination of extremely low forecast skill for warm-season rainfall and the relatively large loss of life and property from flash floods and other warm-season weather hazards. Many prior studies on convective storm forecasting have shown that water vapor is a key atmospheric variable that is insufficiently measured. Toward this goal, IHOP_2002 brought together many of the existing operational and new st.
Delay-Dependent Adaptive Sliding Mode Control of Uncertain Systems With State and Input Delays

This paper is concerned with the robust stability and robust stabilization for a class of uncertain systems with delayed state and control. Introducing an extra time-delay term in system and taking the relationship between the terms in the Leibniz-Newton formula into account obtain a new delay-dependent stability criterion. Based on this stability criterion, firstly a sufficient condition is proposed for existence of the sliding mode in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Correspondingly, a sliding mode controller is also synthesized for the reaching motion. Moreover, an adaptive law is introduced to adaptively estimate the unknown external disturbances resulted by the system transformation. The control strategy guarantees the robust asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system. A numerical example is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of this control scheme.
Characterization of the Exosporium Basal Layer Protein BxpB of Bacillus anthracis

ABSTRACT Bacillus anthracis spores, the cause of anthrax, are enclosed by a prominent loose-fitting structure called the exosporium. The exosporium is composed of a basal layer and an external hair-like nap. The filaments of the hair-like nap are apparently formed by a single collagen-like glycoprotein called BclA, whereas several different proteins form or are tightly associated with the basal layer. In this study, we used immunogold electron microscopy to demonstrate that BxpB (also called ExsF) is a component of the exosporium basal layer. Binding to the basal layer by an anti-BxpB monoclonal antibody was greatly increased by the loss of BclA. We found that BxpB and BclA are part of a stable complex that appears to include the putative basal layer protein ExsY and possibly other proteins. Previous results suggested that BxpB was glycosylated; however, our results indicate that it is not a glycoprotein. We showed that ΔbxpB spores, which lack BxpB, contain an exosporium devoid of hair-like nap even though the ΔbxpB strain produces normal levels of BclA. These results indicated that BxpB is required for the attachment of BclA to the exosporium. Finally, we found that the efficiency of production of ΔbxpB spores and their resistance properties were similar to those of wild-type spores. However, ΔbxpB spores germinate faster than wild-type spores, indicating that BxpB suppresses germination. This effect did not appear to be related to the absence from ΔbxpB spores of a hair-like nap or of enzymes that degrade germinants.
Transmit antenna selection in a cognitive MIMO system with primary cooperation

In this paper a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) cognitive system is investigated. In this setting the receivers in the primary user (PU) group null interference with the application of zero-forcing (ZF) filters and the transmit signals are adapted to meet individual rate constraints. The objective is to maximize the rate of the secondary user (SU), subject to a SU power constraint and individual PU rate constraints. Since the PU receiver cooperates with the SU by actively reserving part of its receive space for interference, the problem critically depends on the feasibility of the PU ZF operation and this in turn translates into a restriction on the number of SU transmit antennas. To investigate the behavior of the system in terms of SU rate and PU power sacrifice a SU transmit antenna selection method is proposed. It is demonstrated that PU cooperation enables SU communication in situations where transmit zero-forcing beamforming or opportunistic interference alignment (OIA) remains infeasible. In addition, simulation results highlight the advantage of PU cooperation over OIA in situations where the SU only just has enough transmit antennas to perform OIA.
Stimulation of Human Monocytes with the Gram-Positive Vaccine Vector Streptococcus gordonii

ABSTRACT Streptococcus gordonii is a bacterial vaccine vector which has previously been shown to activate dendritic cells in vitro and to induce local and systemic immune responses in vivo. In the present study, human monocytes (THP-1 cell line and peripheral blood monocytes) were characterized following interaction with S. gordonii. Treatment of human monocytes with S. gordonii but not latex beads induced a clear up-regulation of CD83, CD40, CD80, and CD54 and the down-regulation of CD14. Furthermore, bacterial treatment stimulated an increased expression of Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5), TLR6, and TLR7, production of the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 beta, and reduction of the phagocytic activity. This work shows that the immunostimulatory activity of S. gordonii is not restricted to induction of dendritic-cell maturation but also affects the differentiation process of human monocytes.
Time-controlled oral delivery systems for colon targeting

In recent years, many research efforts have been spent in the achievement of selective delivery of drugs into the colon following oral administration. Indeed, colonic release is regarded as a beneficial approach to the pharmacological treatment or prevention of widespread large bowel pathologies, such as inflammatory bowel disease and adenocarcinoma. In addition, it is extensively explored as a potential means of enhancing the oral bioavailability of peptides, proteins and other biotechnological molecules, which are known to be less prone to enzymatic degradation in the large, rather than in the small, intestine. Based on these premises, several formulation strategies have been attempted in pursuit of colonic release, chiefly including microflora-, pH-, pressure- and time-dependent delivery technologies. In particular, this review is focused on the main design features and release performances of time-controlled devices, which rely on the relative constancy that is observed in the small intestinal transit time of dosage forms.
A novel population of Gr‐1+‐activated macrophages induced during acute toxoplasmosis

Macrophages are potent mediators of parasite control following in vitro activation, yet the subsets of mononuclear cells that contribute to resistance in vivo remain poorly defined. To identify effector cells that contribute to the control of Toxoplasma gondii during the initial stages of disseminated infection, we developed a low‐dose intraperitoneal challenge model. A population of unusual macrophage‐like cells was recruited to the peritoneal cavity during the first 4 days postinfection. Surprisingly, these cells expressed the granulocyte marker Gr‐1 and the macrophage marker CD68. They also expressed high levels of major histocompatibility complex class II and low levels of F4/80 and CD11b and were negative for the immature myeloid cell marker CD31, the dendritic cell marker CD11c, and the B cell marker B220. Gr‐1+ macrophages produced interleukin‐12 p40, generated reactive nitrogen intermediates during acute infection, and inhibited virulent type I and nonvirulent type II strains of the parasite in vitro. Gr‐1+ macrophages were the primary cell type recruited in response to nonvirulent type II strain parasites, and large numbers of neutrophils (Gr‐1+/CD68−) were also recruited to the peritoneum in response to virulent type I strain parasites. Our findings suggest that activated CD68+/Gr‐1+ macrophages contribute to parasite control during infection by directly inhibiting parasite replication and through production of T helper cell type I cytokines.
Functional and morphological assessment of side branch after left main coronary artery bifurcation stenting with cross‐over technique

In left main coronary artery (LMCA) bifurcation lesions, hemodynamic and geometrical change in left circumflex artery (LCX) ostium after main branch (MB) stenting has not been known. This study evaluated how accurately intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) predicts the functional compromise of the sidebranch.
FGF‐2‐mediated protection of cultured mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons against MPTP and MPP+: Specificity and impact of culture conditions, non‐dopaminergic neurons, and astroglial cells

The protective role of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF‐2) for 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)‐ and methylpyridiniumion (MPP+)‐lesioned dopaminergic (DAergic) nigrostriatal neurons was studied, using dissociated cell cultures of embryonic day (E) 14 rat mesencephalon. Cells were grown in different culture media and received FGF‐2 (5 ng/ml) and/or the toxins (5 μM) at various schedules, but were consistently allowed to differentiate for 3 days prior to becoming exposed to the toxin. Survival of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)‐immunoreactive cells at 7 days was only markedly impaired by MPTP, if horse serum (HS) or bovine serum albumine (BSA) were omitted from the culture medium. FGF‐2 increased the number of TH‐immunoreactive cells, and this increase not diminished by MPTP under any culture condition. Uptake of 3H‐DA was significantly reduced by MPTP in HS‐ and BSA‐containing, but not in protein‐less cultures. A protective effect by FGF‐2 was only seen in the presence of BSA. MPP+ caused a more pronounced reduction in 3H‐DA uptake than MPTP, and this effect was partially reversed by the addition of FGF‐2, unless cultures contained HS. Neurofilament protein (NF), an indirect measure for the total number of neurons present in the cultures, was not significantly reduced by MPTP or MPP+ corroborating the specificity of the toxin for DAergic neurons, which constitute only a minor fraction in these cultures. In line with the wide spectrum of target neurons of FGF‐2, this factor significantly increased NF contents under any culture condition. Quantification of the amounts of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) revealed stimulatory effects of FGF‐2 (2.5‐ to 4‐fold) and at least 10‐fold higher levels in the presence as compared to the absence of HS. These data show that FGF‐2 can protect DAergic neurons against MPTP‐ and MPP+‐mediated damage. However, the effects of the toxins as well as of FGF‐2 are partially dependent on culture conditions. Variations in the effectiveness of toxins and FGF‐2 are not overtly related to the total numbers of neurons or astroglial cells, but may reflect culture type‐dependent alterations of neuronal and glial metabolism. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Friend recommendation based on the Luscher color theory: Twitter use case

At the area of information technology, social networks are becoming an unavoidable part of the Internet usage, due to their facilities for users as well as the benefits to the providers. However, the popularity and thereby, the success of social networks depends highly on number of the network members. This in turn, depends on considerations for several criteria such as networking and number of networks. On the other hand, it is believed that suggestion of appropriate friends to members performed by an effective recommender system can lead to suitable content ranking and consequently, impact the growth of the network in significant sense. The current paper introduces a novel method of recommending celebrities in a social network based on genetic algorithm and the concept of color psychology. The proposed method is applied to Twitter social network as case study, through which the cost function of the user is first optimized to achieve the ideal weights, and the celebrities are then ranked based on the specified parameters as follower and following counts, background color and description. The system is tested using real data of celebrities and number of 100 users with identical parameters. The results evidence the closest recommendation in terms of affordable recommendation error rates as low as 7.6% based on the psychological data validation.
Analysis of Viscoelastic Properties of Wrist Joint for Quantification of Parkinsonian Rigidity

This study aims to analyze viscoelastic properties of the wrist in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in comparison with the clinical score of severity. Forty-five patients with PD and 12 healthy volunteers participated in this study. Severity of rigidity at the wrist was rated by a neurologist just before the experiment. Wrist joint torque resistive to the imposed movement was measured. Three different models, (identical in structure, only different in the number of parameters for extension and flexion phases) were used in identification of viscoelastic properties: 1) one damping constant and one spring constant throughout all phases, 2) two damping constants for each phase and one spring constant throughout all phases, and 3) two damping constants and two spring constants for each phase. Normalized work and impulse suggested in the literature were also calculated. Spring constants of different models and phases showed comparable correlation with rigidity score ( r=0.68-0.73). In terms of the correlation of damping constant with clinical rigidity score, model 1 ( r = 0.90) was better than models 2 and 3 ( r=0.59 - 0.71). These results suggest that the clinical rigidity score is better represented by the mean viscosity during both flexion and extension. In models with two dampers (model 2 and 3), the damping constant was greater during extension than flexion in patients ( p <; 0.001), in contrast that there was no phase difference in normal subjects. This suggests that in contrast with normal subjects, phase-dependent viscosity may be an inherent feature of PD. Although work and impulse were correlated with clinical rigidity score ( r = 0.11 - 0.84), they could not represent the phase-dependent rigidity inherent in PD. In conclusion, the viscosity of model 1 would be appropriate for quantification of clinical ratings of rigidity and that of model 2 for distinction of PD and also for investigation of phase-dependent characteristics in parkinsonian rigidity.
Impact of Daily Assessments on Distress and PTSD Symptoms in Trauma-Exposed Women

As more advanced methodologies are developed for symptom assessment in traumatic stress studies, it is important to examine how these methodologies can exacerbate distress or contribute to symptoms among study participants. Using a sample of 202 female college students, we examined the changes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and general psychological symptomatology among groups of trauma-exposed and non-trauma-exposed women randomly assigned to complete 30 days of daily monitoring of traumatic symptoms and substance use behaviors using personal digital assistants (PDAs). These two groups were compared with a trauma-exposed sample of women who did not complete daily monitoring assessments and only completed pre- and post-monitoring online assessments. While trauma-exposed participants in the monitoring group reported more distress from the daily assessments than those in the monitoring group with no history of trauma, this distress level was relatively low. Online surveys delivered pre- and post-monitoring showed a similar pattern. Trauma-exposed participants in monitoring and no-monitoring groups reported a decrease in general psychological symptoms over the 30 days; however, monitoring participants reported increased levels of PTSD severity over time. Closer examination revealed the observed changes were relatively moderate. Participants expressed benefits and risks regarding study participation supporting the findings that repeated assessments of traumatic symptoms using personal handheld devices may lead to small increases in distress and PTSD symptoms, but that these approaches may be generally well tolerated.
Electrical Muscle Stimulation in the Intensive Care Setting: A Systematic Review*

Context:The role of electrical muscle stimulation in intensive care has not previously been systematically reviewed. Objectives:To identify, evaluate, and synthesize the evidence examining the effectiveness and the safety of electrical muscle stimulation in the intensive care, and the optimal intervention variables. Data Sources:A systematic review of articles using eight electronic databases (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library, Excerpta Medica Database, Expanded Academic ASAP, MEDLINE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, PubMed, and Scopus) personal files were searched, and cross-referencing was undertaken. Eligibility Criteria:Quantitative studies published in English, assessing electrical muscle stimulation in intensive care, were included. Data Extraction and Data Synthesis:One reviewer extracted data using a standardized form, which were cross-checked by a second reviewer. Quality appraisal was undertaken by two independent reviewers using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database and Newcastle–Ottawa scales, and the National Health and Medical Research Council Hierarchy of Evidence Scale. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews guidelines were followed. Results:Nine studies on six individual patient groups of 136 participants were included. Eight were randomized controlled trials, with four studies reporting on the same cohort of participants. Electrical muscle stimulation appears to preserve muscle mass and strength in long-stay participants and in those with less acuity. No such benefits were observed when commenced prior to 7 days or in patients with high acuity. One adverse event was reported. Optimal training variables and safety of the intervention require further investigation. Conclusions:Electrical muscle stimulation is a promising intervention; however, there is conflicting evidence for its effectiveness when administered acutely. Outcomes measured are heterogeneous with small sample sizes.
Mitochondria and peroxisomes: Are the ‘Big Brother’ and the ‘Little Sister’ closer than assumed?

Mitochondria and peroxisomes are essential subcellular organelles in mammals. Despite obvious differences, both organelles display certain morphological and functional similarities. Recent studies have elucidated that these highly dynamic and plastic organelles share components of their division machinery. Mitochondria and peroxisomes are metabolically linked organelles, which are cooperating and cross‐talking. This review addresses the dynamics and division of mitochondria and peroxisomes as well as their functional similarities to provide insight as to why these organelles share the fission machinery in evolutionary aspects. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.