Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Murein Hydrolase LytF of Streptococcus sanguinis and the Ecological Consequences of Competence Development

ABSTRACT The overall health of the oral cavity is dependent on proper homeostasis between health-associated bacterial colonizers and bacteria known to promote dental caries. Streptococcus sanguinis is a health-associated commensal organism, a known early colonizer of the acquired tooth pellicle, and is naturally competent. We have shown that LytF, a competence-controlled murein hydrolase, is capable of inducing the release of extracellular DNA (eDNA) from oral bacteria. Precipitated LytF and purified LytF were used as treatments against planktonic cultures and biofilms. Larger amounts of eDNA were released from cultures treated with protein samples containing LytF. Additionally, LytF could affect biofilm formation and cellular morphology. Biofilm formation was significantly decreased in the lytF-complemented strain, in which increased amounts of LytF are present. The same strain also exhibited cell morphology defects in both planktonic cultures and biofilms. Furthermore, the LytF cell morphology phenotype was reproducible in wild-type cells using purified LytF protein. In sum, our findings demonstrate that LytF can induce the release of eDNA from oral bacteria, and they suggest that, without proper regulation of LytF, cells display morphological abnormalities that contribute to biofilm malformation. In the context of the oral biofilm, LytF may play important roles as part of the competence and biofilm development programs, as well as increasing the availability of eDNA. IMPORTANCE Streptococcus sanguinis, a commensal organism in the oral cavity and one of the pioneer colonizers of the tooth surface, is associated with the overall health of the oral environment. Our laboratory showed previously that, under aerobic conditions, S. sanguinis can produce H2O2 to inhibit the growth of bacterial species that promote dental caries. This production of H2O2 by S. sanguinis also induces the release of eDNA, which is essential for proper biofilm formation. Under anaerobic conditions, S. sanguinis does not produce H2O2 but DNA is still released. Determining how S. sanguinis releases DNA is thus essential to understand biofilm formation in the oral cavity.
Can the Seller Benefit from an Insider in Common-Value Auctions?

Abstract In existing models of first-price common-value auctions, heterogeneous bidder information characterized by a well-informed “insider” is detrimental to the seller's revenue. We show that this is not a general principle. The linkage effect of increased information identified by Milgrom and Weber has force in our model of heterogeneous bidders, and dominates any adverse effects of an insider on revenues. In addition, a bidder with garbled information can profit in a first-price auction if his information is private, and an inside bidder may prefer to have less information about the outside bidder's signal. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D44, D82.
The Problem of Underqualified Teachers in American Secondary Schools

This article presents the results of a research project on the phenomenon of out-of-field teaching in American high schools–teachers teaching subjects for which they have little education or training. Over the past couple of years, the problem of out-of-field teaching has become a prominent topic in the realm of educational policy and reform, and the results of this research have been widely reported and commented on both by education policymakers and the national media. But unfortunately, out-of-field teaching is a problem that remains largely misunderstood. My research utilizes nationally representative data from the Schools and Staffing Survey, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. The purpose of this article is to summarize what my research has revealed about out-of-field teaching: how much of it goes on; to what extent it varies across different subjects, across different kinds of schools, and across different kinds of classrooms; and finally, the reasons for its prevalence in American schools. The data show that even using a minimal standard for qualified teachers — those holding a college minor in the fields in which they teach —the numbers of out-of-field teachers are striking. For example, a third of all secondary school teachers of mathematics have neither a major nor a minor in mathematics. My analyses have also shown that out-of-field teaching greatly varies across schools, teachers, and classrooms. The crucial question, however, and the source of great misunderstanding is why so many teachers are teaching subjects for which they have little background. 1 examine three widely believed explanations of out-of-field teaching — that out-of-field teaching is a result of either inadequate training on the part of teachers, inflexible teacher unions, or shortages of qualified teachers. My analysis shows that each of these views is seriously flawed. The article closes by offering an alternative explanation for out-of-field teaching—one focused on the organizational structure of schools and the occupational conditions and characteristics of teaching.
Long‐Term Follow‐Up of Ictal Asystole in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: Is Permanent Pacemaker Therapy Needed?

Ictal asystole (IA) is an infrequent complication of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), but one that may cause transient loss of consciousness (T‐LOC) similar to reflex syncope (particularly the vasovagal faint). Although IA‐triggered T‐LOC is relatively rare, its recognition is therapeutically important. However, while the need for anti‐epileptic drugs (AeDs) is broadly accepted, cardiac pacing in IA is controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the need for cardiac pacing in the follow‐up of IA patients being treated with AeDs.
Data-Driven Texture Rendering on an Electrostatic Tactile Display

ABSTRACT In this article, we present a data-driven texture rendering method applied to a tactile display based on electrostatic attraction. The proposed method was examined in two steps. First, accelerations occurring due to sliding a tool on three different surfaces were measured, and then the collected data were replayed on an electrostatic tactile display. The proposed data-driven texture rendering method was evaluated against a conventional method in which a standard input such as a square wave was used for texture representation. Second, data from the Penn Haptic Texture Toolkit were used to generate virtual textures on the same tactile display. Psychophysical experiments were carried out for both steps, during which subjects rated similarities among the rendered virtual textures and the real samples. Confusion matrices were created, and multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis was performed to create a perceptual space for further examination and to extract underlying dimensions of the textures. The results show that the virtual textures generated using the data-driven method were similar to the real textures. Roughness and stickiness were the primary dimensions of texture perception. Together with the supporting results from the MDS analysis, this study showed that the data-driven method is a viable solution for realistic texture rendering with electrostatic attraction.
Americans' perceptions of the nature of governing

Foreword, Representative Lee Hamilton 1. The Context for Defeat, Dona-Gene Mitchell and Jeffery J. Mondak 2. Did the Media Do It? The Influence of News Coverage on the 2006 Congressional Elections, Edward G. Carmines, Jessica C. Gerrity and Michael W. Wagner 3. Polarization, Attribution, and Communication Networks in the 2006 Congressional Elections, Matthew Buttice, Robert Huckfeldt and John Barry Ryan 4. Candidate Entry, Voter Response and Partisan Tides in the 2002 and 2006 Elections, Walter J. Stone, Nathan J. Hadley, Rolfe D. Peterson, Cherie D. Maestas and L. Sandy Maisel 5. Abramoff, Email, and the Mistreated Mistress: Scandal and Character in the 2006 Elections, David J. Hendry, Robert A. Jackson and Jeffery J. Mondak 6. Perceptions and Realities of Issue Voting, Dona-Gene Mitchell 7. The President, the War, and Voting Behavior in the 2006 House Elections, Gary C. Jacobson 8. Americans' Perceptions of the Nature of Governing, John R. Hibbing, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse and Eric Whitaker
Synergistic action of the microRNA‐17 polycistron and Myc in aggressive cancer development

The c13orf25/miR‐17 cluster, which is responsible for 13q31‐q32 amplification in malignant lymphoma, contains the microRNA‐17‐18‐19‐20‐92 polycistron. A previous study demonstrated that this polycistron could modulate tumor formation following transplantation of microRNA 17‐19b into Eu‐myc mice. Another study reported that Myc can upregulate the miR‐17 cluster by binding directly upstream of the miR‐17 locus. These findings suggest that Myc and the miR‐17 cluster synergistically contribute to cancer development. In the study presented here, we observed recurrent 13q31‐32 amplification in MYC‐rearranged lymphomas (11 of 47 cases). Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction analysis of c13orf25 for MYC‐rearranged lymphomas demonstrated that cases with 13q31‐32 amplification showed significantly higher expression of c13orf25 than cases without such amplification, although cases without 13q31‐32 amplification still showed slight upregulation of c13orf25. To investigate the relationship between Myc and the miR‐17 polycistron in tumorigenesis, we engineered rat fibroblasts (Rat‐1) that constitutively express the miR‐17 polycistron (miR), Myc, or both miR and Myc. The highest level of miR expression was detected in Rat‐1 transfected with both miR and Myc, whereas Myc transfectant cells alone also showed slight upregulation of miR. Furthermore, we demonstrated that nude mice injected with Rat‐1 transfected with both miR and Myc presented more accelerated tumor growth than those injected with Myc transfectant cells. These results suggest that miR is stably upregulated in the presence of constitutive expression of Myc, and that the deregulation of miR and Myc synergistically contribute to aggressive cancer development, probably by repressing tumor suppressor genes. (Cancer Sci 2007; 98: 1482–1490)
Evolutionary training of a biologically realistic spino-neuromuscular system

This paper presents a biologically realistic model of the spino-neuromuscular system (SNMS). The model uses a pulse-coded recurrent neural network to control a simulated humanlike arm. We use a genetic algorithm to train the network based on a target behaviour for the arm. Our goal is to create a useful model for studying the function and behaviour of neural pathways in the SNMS. The genetic algorithm is able to train the network to actuate the arm to achieve controlled motion. Our experimental results demonstrate that certain types of feedback pathways are important for controlling certain movements.
Preparation and Thickness Profile of Endothelial Keratoplasty Lenticules from Donated Whole Eyes with Previous Photorefractive Keratectomy

Purpose: To describe the preparation and thickness profiles of endothelial keratoplasty lenticules harvested from eyes with previous photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). Methods: Donor whole eyes that underwent PRK were subjected to microkeratome-assisted dissection for Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty. Specular microscopy and Visante optical coherence tomography were performed on precut corneas. Endothelial cell indices and thickness profiles of endothelial keratoplasty lenticules were statistically analyzed. Postoperative reports for transplanted lenticules were recorded. Results: Over a 6-month period, 2,929 whole eyes from 1,471 donors were screened for PRK. Twenty-five (0.85%) eyes from 14 donors were diagnosed with disciform haziness due to prior PRK and were used uneventfully for preparation of endothelial keratoplasty lenticules. Mean endothelial cell count was 3164.6 ± 311.0/mm2 and mean central posterior lenticule thickness was 128 ± 34 μm. Posterior lenticules revealed an increase in thickness from the central to peripheral cornea (mean increase of 26.2 μm at pericentral and 90.4 μm at peripheral locations). Mean increase in thickness was statistically different between two peripheral locations (74.5 μm vs. 108.1 μm, P = 0.047). Postoperative reports of transplanted lenticules revealed no posterior flap detachment or loss of clarity at least three months after the surgery. Conclusion: PRK donor whole eyes are potential sources for preparation of microkeratome-assisted thin endothelial keratoplasty lenticules with a high endothelial cell count. Although an asymmetric and significant increase in thickness was present at the peripheral cornea, neither attachment nor clarity of transplanted lenticules was affected by variations in thickness of precut corneas.
THE PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF THE GENUS SPOROPACHYDERMIA RODRIGUES DE MIRANDA (SACCHAROMYCETACEAE) BASED ON THE PARTIAL SEQUENCES OF 18S AND 26S RIBOSOMAL RNAS

Since the genus Sporopachydermia Rodrigues de Miranda was proposed (9), the following three species, Sp. lactativora Rodrigues de Miranda (type species), Sp. cereana Rodrigues de Miranda, and Sp. quercuum Lachance (3) have been described (10). The anamorphs of the former two species, Cryptococcus lactativorus Fell et Phaff and Cr. cereanus Phaff et al. matched the definition of the genus Cryptococcus Kutzing emend. Phaff et Spencer by their assimilation of inositol and their lack of pseudomycelium (1, 8,11). However, they were distinct from other cryptococci by the absence of starch-like compounds or capsule. The two species were assumed not to be basidiomycetous in affinity (1, 8,11), and the discovery of ascospores provided the final demonstration that the two anamorphs are related to ascomycetous yeasts (9,10). When the third species, Sp. quercuum, was isolated, it was shown to give a positive reaction in a diazonium blue B test different from any other ascomycetous yeast species (4). The phylogenetic position of the genus Sporopachydermia is accordingly of interest.
On the quality of vocabularies for linked dataset papers published in the Semantic Web journal

Linked Data and knowledge graphs more generally1 have been a main driver of research and technology transfer in our field. Linked data serves as a testbed for Semantic Web technologies, as an outreach to application communities interested in data sharing, and contributes more generally to the big data effort by making a large variety of structured data available for all kinds of purposes in various communities [24]. As of December 2017, the LOD Laundromat aggregator [38] alone shows over 38,000,000,000 Linked Data triples which is only a fraction of the data that has been published as Linked Data to date. Much of Linked Data is generated by researchers as a contribution to the community effort. Due to the importance of this type of data for the advance of research and applications in our field, the Semantic Web journal began in 2012 to solicit papers containing linked dataset descriptions.2 The idea behind this was to provide the broader researchers and practitioners commu-
Dynamic Coattention Networks for Reading Comprehension

We investigate the reading comprehension task using SQaAD dataset. The reading comprehension task is formulated as finding the answer span in the given paragraph for the given question. We describe multiple approaches to solving this problem starting from very simple baseline that gradually evolves into a much more complicated architecture. For each model we describe the underlying architecture and analyze its performance on the training and validation data. Our final model is a modification of the dynamic Coattention network described in the work of Socher et al. [1] and it achieves F1 = 58.6% and EM = 44.6% scores on the test set.
The reception of the church fathers in the West : from the Carolingians to the Maurists

W. Otten, 'The Texture of Tradition. The Role of the Church Fathers in Carolingian Theology'. J. Werckmeister, 'The Reception of the Church Fathers in Canon Law'. E.A. Matter, 'The Church Fathers and the Glossa ordinaria'. J.-G. Bougerol, 'The Church Fathers and the Sentences of Peter Lombard'. B. Pranger, 'Sic et non. Patristic Authority between Refusal and Acceptance: Anselm of Canterbury, Peter Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux'. N. Lewis, 'Robert Grosseteste and the Church Fathers'. B. Fleith, 'The Patristic sources of the Legenda aurea. A Research Report'. J.-G. Bougerol, 'The Church Fathers and auctoritates in Scholastic Theology to Bonaventure'. L.J. Elders, 'Thomas Aquinas and the Fathers of the Church'. E.L. Saak, 'The Reception of Augustine in the Later Middle Ages'. N. Staubach, 'Memores priscae perfectionis.The Importance of the Church Fathers for Devotio moderna'. C. Stinger, 'Italian Renaissance Learning and the Church Fathers'. D. Rutherford, 'Gratian's Decretum as a source of Patristic Knowledge in the Italian Renaissance. The example of Timoteo Maffei's In sanctam rusticitatem (1454)'. J. den Boeft, 'Erasmus and the Church Fathers'. M. Schulze, 'Martin Luther and the Church Fathers'. I. Backus, 'Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer and the Church Fathers'. J. van Oort, 'Calvin and the Church Fathers'. R. Keen, 'The Fathers in Counter-Reformation Theology in the Pre-Tridentine Period'. E. Norelli, 'The Authority attributed to the Early Church in the Centuries of Magdeburg and in the Ecclesiastical Annals of Caesar Baronius'. M. Vessey, 'English translations of the Latin Fathers, 1517-1611'. I. Backus and E.P. Meijering, 'The Fathers in Calvinist Orthodoxy: Patristic Scholarship and Systematic Theology'. D. Bertrand, 'The Society of Jesus and the Church Fathers in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century'. J.L. Quantin, 'The Fathers in Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Roman Catholic Theology'. J.L. Quantin, 'The Fathers in Seventeenth and Eighteenth century Anglican Theology'. O. Hurel, 'The Benedicts of the Congregation of St. Maur and the Church Fathers'.
Biological sensor based on a lateral electric field-excited resonator

This paper describes a biological sensor based on a lateral electric field-excited resonator using an X-cut lithium niobate plate. Its potential was shown through the example of biological interaction between bacterial cells and specific bacteriophages. The detection was based on the analysis of the measured real and imaginary parts of electrical impedance for a resonator loaded by the biological suspension under study. It has been shown that the sensor is sensitive to specific interactions between bacterial cells and specific bacteriophages in a pure state as well as in the presence of extraneous microflora. The degree of electrical impedance variation resulting from the biological interaction depends on the numbers of phage particles and bacteria cells. The sensor may be used not only for the qualitative analysis of bacteria but also for their quantitative detection.
Estimating Dynamic Games of Electoral Competition to Evaluate Term Limits in US Gubernatorial Elections

This paper shows how to identify and estimate, using standard semi-parametric techniques, a class of dynamic games with perfect monitoring, that have been at the frontier of recent research in political economy. The empirical analysis provides novel quantitative insights into the trade-off that voters face between ideology and ability, the differences in ability and ideology among parties and states, and the differences in preferences between political candidates and voters. We analyze the consequences of term limits and quantify their relative importance. Specifically, we characterize conditions under which term limits improve voters' welfare.
Rho/Rho kinase and PI3-kinase are parallel pathways in the development of spontaneous arterial tone in deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension

: Hypertension is characterized by abnormal vascular contractility and function. Arteries from deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats develop spontaneous tone that is not observed in arteries from normotensive rats. Inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) by LY294002 reduces spontaneous tone development. The Rho/Rho-kinase pathway has been suggested to play a role in hypertension and may be dependent on PI3-kinase activity. We hypothesized that Rho-kinase is involved in spontaneous tone development and that Rho/Rho-kinase is a downstream effector of PI3-kinase. Using endothelium-denuded aortic strips in isolated tissue bath, we demonstrated that Y27632 (1 µ M), a Rho-kinase inhibitor, significantly reduced spontaneous tone in the DOCA aorta, but did not affect sham aorta basal tone (DOCA:63.5 + 15.9 vs. Sham:1.2 + 0.4 Total change % phenylephrine contraction). We examined the interaction between the PI3-kinase and Rho pathways by observing the effects of LY294002 on a Rho-kinase effector, myosin phosphatase (MYPT), and Y27632 on a PI3-kinase effector, Akt, using Western blot analysis. Inhibition of PI3-kinase reduced spontaneous tone, but had no effect on the phosphorylation status of MYPT, indicating that PI3-kinase is not a downstream effector of Rho/Rho-kinase. These data indicate that there is little interaction between the Rho/Rho-kinase and PI3-kinase pathways in the DOCA-salt aorta, and the two pathways appear to operate in parallel in supporting spontaneous arterial tone. These data reflect spontaneous tone only and do not rule out the possibility of interaction between these pathways in agonist-stimulated tone.
Cutting Edge: Modulation of Intestinal Autoimmunity and IL-2 Signaling by Sphingosine Kinase 2 Independent of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate1

Sphingosine kinase (Sphk) phosphorylates sphingosine into sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), but its recently identified isoform Sphk2 has been suggested to have distinct subcellular localization and substrate specificity. We demonstrate here that, surprisingly, Sphk2−/− CD4+ T cells exhibit a hyperactivated phenotype with significantly enhanced proliferation and cytokine secretion in response to IL-2 as well as reduced sensitivity to regulatory T cell-mediated suppression in vitro, apparently independent of effects upon S1P. Such findings appear to reflect a requirement for Sphk2 to suppress IL-2 signaling because, in Sphk2−/− CD4+ T cells, IL-2 induced abnormally accentuated STAT5 phosphorylation and small interfering RNA knockdown of STAT5 abrogated their hyperactive phenotype. This pathway physiologically modulates autoinflammatory responses, because Sphk2−/− T cells induced more rapid and robust inflammatory bowel disease in scid recipients. Thus, Sphk2 regulates IL-2 pathways in T cells, and the modulation of Sphk2 activity may be of therapeutic utility in inflammatory and/or infectious diseases.
Projection-Based Force Reflection Algorithm for Stable Bilateral Teleoperation Over Networks

The problem of stable force-reflecting teleoperation is addressed, where the communication between the master and the slave is subject to multiple time-varying, discontinuous, and possibly unbounded communication delays. A new force reflection (FR) algorithm is proposed, which improves the stability of the system without decreasing its transparency. Based on the estimate of human forces provided by the high-gain input observer, the proposed algorithm restricts the reflected force in such a way that it eliminates the motion of the master induced by the FR signal without changing the human perception of the environmental force. It is shown that the proposed FR algorithm allows us to achieve stability of the system for an arbitrarily high FR gain and arbitrarily low damping and stiffness of the master manipulator. The stability analysis is based on the input-to-output stability small-gain theorem for systems with multiple time-varying communication delays.