Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Induction of In Vivo Functional Db-Restricted Cytolytic T Cell Activity against a Putative Phosphate Transport Receptor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis1

Using plasmid vaccination with DNA encoding the putative phosphate transport receptor PstS-3 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 36 overlapping 20-mer peptides spanning the entire PstS-3 sequence, we determined the immunodominant Th1-type CD4+ T cell epitopes in C57BL/10 mice, as measured by spleen cell IL-2 and IFN-γ production. Furthermore, a potent IFN-γ-inducing, Db-restricted CD8+ epitope was identified using MHC class I mutant B6.C-H-2bm13 mice and intracellular IFN-γ and whole blood CD8+ T cell tetramer staining. Using adoptive transfer of CFSE-labeled, peptide-pulsed syngeneic spleen cells from naive animals into DNA vaccinated or M. tuberculosis-infected recipients, we demonstrated a functional in vivo CTL activity against this Db-restricted PstS-3 epitope. IFN-γ ELISPOT responses to this epitope were also detected in tuberculosis-infected mice. The CD4+ and CD8+ T cell epitopes defined for PstS-3 were completely specific and not recognized in mice vaccinated with either PstS-1 or PstS-2 DNA. The H-2 haplotype exerted a strong influence on immune reactivity to the PstS-3 Ag, and mice of the H-2b, p, and f haplotype produced significant Ab and Th1-type cytokine levels, whereas mice of H-2d, k, r, s, and q haplotype were completely unreactive. Low responsiveness against PstS-3 in MHC class II mutant B6.C-H-2bm12 mice could be overcome by DNA vaccination. IFN-γ-producing CD8+ T cells could also be detected against the Db-restricted epitope in H-2p haplotype mice. These results highlight the potential of DNA vaccination for the induction and characterization of CD4+ and particularly CD8+ T cell responses against mycobacterial Ags.
Characterization of a cell division gene from Bacillus subtilis that is required for vegetative and sporulation septum formation

We report the cloning and characterization of a cell division gene, herein designated divIC, from the gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium Bacillus subtilis. This gene was previously identified on the basis of a temperature-sensitive mutation, div-355, that blocks septum formation at restrictive temperatures. We show that the divIC gene is a 125-codon open reading frame that is capable of encoding a protein of 14.7 kDa and that div-355 is a 5-bp duplication near the 3' end of the open reading frame. We also show that divIC is an essential gene by use of an in vitro-constructed null mutation. In confirmation and extension of earlier results, we show that divIC is necessary for both vegetative and sporulation septum formation, and we demonstrate that it is required for the activation of genes expressed under the control of the sporulation transcription factors sigma F and sigma E. The divIC gene is located 1.3 kb upstream of the coding sequence for the sporulation gene spoIIE. Between divIC and spoIIE is a 128-codon open reading frame whose predicted product contains a region of similarity to the RNA-binding domains of polynucleotide phosphorylase and ribosomal protein S1 from Escherichia coli and two putative tRNA genes for methionyl-tRNA and glutamyl-tRNA, the gene order being divIC orf128 tRNA(Met) tRNA(Glu) spoIIE.
Identification of a novel point mutation in the ligand-binding domain of the human glucocorticoid receptor (hGR) in a patient with glucocorticoid resistance

The aim of this study is to evaluate the genetic abnormalities that led to a diagnosis of glucocorticoid resistance syndrome (GRS) in a young woman presenting with hirsutism and irregular menstrual cycles. A 16-yr-old girl presented with acne and hirsutism since menarche and recent secondary amenorrhea. The patient had borderline hypertension, but no signs of hypercortisolism. She had an intact circadian rhythm of circulating ACTH and Cortisol. Higher than normal oral doses of dexamethasone were required to decrease her serum Cortisol significantly. We performed single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis to screen the gene encoding the isoform (X of glucocorticoid receptor (GROC). Amplicons displaying abnormal migration pattern were subjected to direct sequencing. We found the patient heterozygous for a novel point mutation of GROC in exon 6 (Leu595-»Val), which yielded molecular structure, with functional consequences based on comparative molecular modeling of the ligand binding domain (LBD) of the wild-type and mutant GROC. She was also heterozygous for a silent mutation in exon 9 (Asn766—>Asn). We demonstrated that GRS was associated with a novel point mutation in the LBD of GR(X gene that apparently modifies the binding to dexamethasone, in a young woman.
P 2 X purinergic receptor-mediated ionic current in cardiac myocytes of calsequestrin model of cardiomyopathy : implications for the treatment of heart failure

Jian-Bing Shen, Chunxia Cronin, Dmitry Sonin, Bhalchandra V. Joshi, Maria Gongora Nieto, David Harrison, Kenneth A. Jacobson, and Bruce T. Liang Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut; Molecular Recognition Section, Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry, National Institutes of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; and Cardiovascular Division, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Towards Web Scale RDF

We are witnessing the ﬁrst stages of the document web becoming a data web, with the implied new opportunities for discovering, re-purposing, ”meshing up” and analyzing linked data. There is an increasing volume of linked open data and the ﬁrst data web search engines are taking shape. Dealing with queries against the nascent data web may easily add two orders of magnitude in computing power requirements on top of what a text search engine faces. Queries may involve arbitrary joining, aggregation, ﬁltering and so forth, compounded by the need for inference and on the ﬂy schema mapping. This is the environment for which Virtuoso Cluster Edition is intended. This paper presents the main challenges encountered and solutions arrived at during the development of this software product. We present adaptations of RDF load and query execution and query planning suited for distributed memory platforms, with special emphasis on dealing with message latency and the special operations required by RDF.
A General Model for Preferential Hetero-oligomerization of LIN-2/7 Domains

LIN-2/7 (L27) domains are protein interaction modules that preferentially hetero-oligomerize, a property critical for their function in directing specific assembly of supramolecular signaling complexes at synapses and other polarized cell-cell junctions. We have solved the solution structure of the heterodimer composed of the L27 domains from LIN-2 and LIN-7. Comparison of this structure with other L27 domain structures has allowed us to formulate a general model for why most L27 domains form an obligate heterodimer complex. L27 domains can be divided in two types (A and B), with each heterodimer comprising an A/B pair. We have identified two keystone positions that play a central role in discrimination. The residues at these positions are energetically acceptable in the context of an A/B heterodimer, but would lead to packing defects or electrostatic repulsion in the context of A/A and B/B homodimers. As predicted by the model, mutations of keystone residues stabilize normally strongly disfavored homodimers. Thus, L27 domains are specifically optimized to avoid homodimeric interactions.
Green fluorescent protein and epitope tag fusion vectors for Dictyostelium discoideum.

We have constructed expression vectors for Dictyostelium discoideum which encode a green fluorescent protein (GFP) sequence upstream of a multicloning site for introduction of sequences of interest. Insertion of cDNAs into the multicloning site results in expression of fusion protein bearing an amino- or carboxyl-terminal GFP tag which can be used for fluorescent localization studies in Dictyostelium cells. A parallel construct fuses a FLAG epitope tag at the amino terminus of expressed protein. Each fusion cartridge was placed either in a G418-resistance vector allowing transactivated Ddp2-based extrachromosomal replication or in a vector allowing autonomous Ddp1-based replication. Distinct differences in expression stability were observed in the two vector types. When GFP-expressing cells were analyzed by fluorescence microscopy, significant cell-to-cell variability in expression level was observed when expression was based on the Ddp2 vector, while less cell-to-cell variation in expression level was observed when the Ddp1 backbone was used for expression.
Investigation of the p-GaN Gate Breakdown in Forward-Biased GaN-Based Power HEMTs

In this letter, we report a detailed experimental investigation of the time-dependent breakdown induced by forward gate stress in GaN-based power HEMTs with a p-type gate, controlled by a Schottky metal/p-GaN junction. When a high stress voltage is applied on the gate, a large voltage drop and an electric field occur in the depletion region of the p-GaN close to the metal interface, promoting the formation of a percolation path. We have investigated the mechanisms underlying the gate breakdown by adopting different stress conditions, analyzing the influence of the temperature, and investigating the activation energy of the traps. In addition, thanks to this approach, the device lifetime has been evaluated and an original empirical model, representing the relationship between the gate leakage current and the time to failure, has been proposed.
A Cost-Efficient Data Placement Algorithm with High Reliability in Hadoop

In the big data era, more and more enterprises use Hadoop distributed file system (HDFS) to provide the function of managing and storing big data for upper applications. However, the default three replicas strategy of HDFS brings tremendous storage cost for a data center, as the volume of big data is increasing especially when the cold data is also growing. On the other hand, in the heterogeneous Hadoop clusters, the rack-aware data placement of HDFS ignores the differences of each node, data blocks of high reliability requirements may be placed on the nodes with poor reliability, which may cause that the reliability of the data cannot be guaranteed effectively. In order to solve the above problems, this paper presents a data placement theoretical model and designs a double sort exchange algorithm (DSEC) to guarantee the reliability of cold data and lowers storage cost. Specifically, for the cold data based on erasure code, the algorithm uses the information of nodes which contributes to selecting the result set. Then, through double-sorting the result set and the remaining set, the elements of two sets are exchanged until finding the lowest cost and satisfying reliability. Finally, we make some experiments which shows that DSEC can guarantee the reliability, but also has the lowest storage cost compared with other data placement strategies.
The North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial : surgical results in 1415 patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE This study reports the surgical results in those patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy in the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET). METHODS The rates of perioperative stroke and death at 30 days and the final assessment of stroke severity at 90 days were calculated. Regression modeling was used to identify variables that increased or decreased perioperative risk. Nonoutcome surgical complications were summarized. The durability of carotid endarterectomy was examined. RESULTS In 1415 patients there were 92 perioperative outcome events, for an overall rate of 6.5%. At 30 days the results were as follows: death, 1.1%; disabling stroke, 1.8%; and nondisabling stroke, 3.7%. At 90 days, because of improvement in the neurological status of patients judged to have been disabled at 30 days, the results were as follows: death, 1.1%; disabling stroke, 0.9%; and nondisabling stroke, 4.5%. Thirty events occurred intraoperatively; 62 were delayed. Most strokes resulted from thromboembolism. Five baseline variables were predictive of increased surgical risk: hemispheric versus retinal transient ischemic attack as the qualifying event, left-sided procedure, contralateral carotid occlusion, ipsilateral ischemic lesion on CT scan, and irregular or ulcerated ipsilateral plaque. History of coronary artery disease with prior cardiac procedure was associated with reduced risk. The risk of perioperative wound complications was 9.3%, and that of cranial nerve injuries was 8.6%; most were of mild severity. At 8 years, the risk of disabling ipsilateral stroke was 5.7%, and that of any ipsilateral stroke was 17.1%. CONCLUSIONS The overall rate of perioperative stroke and death was 6.5%, but the rate of permanently disabling stroke and death was only 2.0%. Other surgical complications were rarely clinically important. Carotid endarterectomy is a durable procedure.
Differentiated services: an experimental vs. simulated case study

This paper aims to provide a proof of concept of the accuracy of simulations for studying advanced networking. The particular target technology is the differentiated services (DiffServ) architecture. The method has been to apply experimental activities conducted in a real network to a simulation environment, to gather the same performance parameters and to compare results. A worthy re-engineering of the DiffServ module of the deployed software program has been carried out and significant contribution have been made to overcome the encountered limitations and to enrich its modeling capabilities. Final results give useful suggestions for a more critical approach to simulations targeted at studying advanced networking.
Reliefs as images

We describe how to create relief surfaces whose diffuse reflection approximates given images under known directional illumination. This allows using any surface with a significant diffuse reflection component as an image display. We propose a discrete model for the area in the relief surface that corresponds to a pixel in the desired image. This model introduces the necessary degrees of freedom to overcome theoretical limitations in shape from shading and practical requirements such as stability of the image under changes in viewing condition and limited overall variation in depth. The discrete surface is determined using an iterative least squares optimization. We show several resulting relief surfaces conveying one image for varying lighting directions as well as two images for two specific lighting directions.
Piezo-Photovoltaic Effect in Thin-Film CDS/CDTE Solar Cells

We study pressure dependence of photovoltaic (PV) parameters in CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells, attributable to piezo-electric properties of the CdS layer. The significance of this piezo-PV coupling is that it reveals the indispensable effects of internal pressure developing in the device as a result of its deposition, post-deposition treatments, lattice mismatches, and interfacial morphology. The static piezo-voltage induced by the internal pressure across the CdS layer in a device may be rather significant reaching several tenths of a volt. In addition to the recently reported effect of pressure perpendicular to the device surface, here we apply stress in lateral direction via bending the cells of two different configurations: on 3 mm glass superstrate and on flexible molybdenum (Mo) substrate. The observed reversible changes in major photovoltaic parameters are not small and can be related to the known strong piezoelectric effect in CdS. The effect of lateral stretching is found similar to that observed under pressure applied perpendicular to the film surface
The big motivational picture: Examining the relationship between positive intrapersonal processes and adolescent health-promoting behaviors

ABSTRACT The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between positive intrapersonal processes (intrinsic motivation and subjective vitality) at a general level and adolescent physical activity and food intake. Self-report questionnaires were administered to 433 ninth graders to assess their generalized perceptions of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and subjective vitality as well as their physical activity and eating behavior. Cluster analytic procedures resulted in the identification of three groups of adolescents who differed in their positive intrapersonal processes. Furthermore, these groups exhibited significant and contrasting patterns in their health-promoting behaviors. Participants who were in the most positive intrapersonal cluster (high well-being) reported the highest levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and healthy eating patterns when compared to the adolescents in the low and moderate well-being clusters. These findings support a top-down approach to understanding adolescent motivation for and participation in health-promoting behavior. Implications for intervention are discussed.
A Review on Methodologies for detection of Epilepsy using EEG Signals

In this paper we are working on literature review of EEG Signals. In our paper synchronization analysis is also done on driven oscillators and it is used to know whether the oscillators are in Phase Synchronization (PS) or in non-Phase Synchronization (non-PS). The application of the PS is done on biomedical signals and how the biomedical signals can be distinguished based on PS is studied. Synchronization analysis also includes Generalized Synchronization (GS) based on recurrences and its application to driven oscillators and biomedical signals is observed. KeywordBiomedical Signals, CRP, EEG Signals, Recurrence Plots.
Plant RNA virus fitness predictability : 3 contribution of genetic and environmental factors 4 5

Forecasting plant virus emergence depends on identifying the factors that determine the distribution of genetic variants within the primary host as well as across potential new hosts. It is crucial to determine: (i) the distribution of mutational fitness effects (DMFE) on the primary host, (ii) how it changes on different hosts, (iii) the way in which multiple mutations interact in determining viral fitness in the primary host, and (iv) whether this interaction is host-dependent. To illustrate points (i) and (ii), this paper reviews recent reports showing that the DMFE for a potyvirus markedly differs between natural and non-natural hosts. Changes in genetic variance for fitness are the main cause of the observed pattern among related hosts, whereas sign pleiotropy mainly explains differences observed among unrelated hosts. To illustrate point (iii), comments are made on experiments showing significant epistasis among random pairs of mutations in the potyvirus genome. A large fraction of the interactions correspond to the reciprocal sign epistasis, meaning that the sign of the effects of mutations at two loci are mutually dependent. Finally, to illustrate point (iv), evidence is presented that epistatic interactions for an RNA virus varied among hosts, with magnitude epistasis being stronger in the primary host but becoming weaker as host’s taxonomic relatedness decreased. The existence of all these interactions jeopardizes the prediction of the fitness and evolutionary fate of a given mutation, as it will depend on the genetic background but also on the host wherein the virus replicates.
‘ ‘ Sagging transitions ’ ’ between high pitch accents in English : experimental evidence

The ToBI transcription system for English intonation draws a distinction between two kinds of pitch accents involving local F0 maxima, namely H* and L+H*. In the L+H*, the rise to the F0 maximum begins with an actual phonological target (L), but in the H* the beginning of the rise (here ‘‘F0 min’’) supposedly has no phonological status and its phonetic properties are determined by various contextual factors. The three experiments reported here provide evidence against this latter claim. The experiments are based on the phonetic properties of the medial F0 min in H* H* sequences on English given name+surname phrases (e.g., Norman Elson). In Experiment 1, we show that the F0 min is reliably aligned with the beginning of the accented syllable of the surname, thus correlating with the word boundary distinction in minimal pairs like Norman Elson/Norma Nelson. In Experiment 2, we show that experimentally modifying the alignment of the F0 min in such segmentally ambiguous phrases affects listeners’ judgment of which name they are hearing. In Experiment 3, we show that the F0 level of the F0 min and of the second H* accent is affected by the number of syllables intervening between the two accented syllables, in a way that is not predicted by Pierrehumbert’s ‘‘sagging transition’’ model, which is central to the distinction between H* and L+H*. We therefore argue that in both H* and L+H* there are distinct L and H targets, and that the two should be regarded as belonging to a single accent category. This analysis makes the description of English intonation more theoretically consistent with that of various other European languages. The analysis also helps explain ToBI transcribers’ demonstrated difficulty in making the distinction between H* and L+H* reliably. r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. *Corresponding author. Tel. : +44-131-650-3961; fax: +44-131-650-3962. E-mail addresses: bob@ling.ed.ac.uk (D.R. Ladd), a.schepman@abertay.ac.uk (A. Schepman). 0095-4470/03/$ see front matter r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 9 5 4 4 7 0 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 7 3 6
Heavy metal retention in tissues of cattle fed high cadmium sewage sludge.

A diet containing 11.5% (dry matter basis) of a moderately high Cd sewage sludge was fed to six Hereford steers for 106 days to simulate a high sludge intake from sludge-amended soils. At a mean live weight of 460 kg, the steers were slaughtered and liver, kidney, bone, muscle, lung, brain and spleen tissues were collected for heavy metal determinations; tissues were also collected at this time from six control steers fed the same diet with no sludge. The sludge-fed cattle consumed an average of 8.95 kg of diet dry matter/day and gained 1.13 kg/day. This feed intake was slightly higher, but the gain lower than that of control cattle. All gains were equal to those expected from intake of non-sludge diet components. This indicated that the sludge had approximately zero energy value and was acting as a dietary diluent. The sludge metal content (ppm, dry basis) was: Cd, 98; Hg, 18; Pb, 466; Cu, 1,733, and Zn, 1,733. Addition of sludge increased metal contents of the feedlot diet to 30 to 100 times that of the control. Retention of heavy metals in the total animal from sludge ingestion averaged . 09%, . 06% and . 3% for Cd, Hg and Pb; no retention was noted from Cu and Zn. These low fractional retentions increased tissue Cd, Hg and Pb concentrations of liver and kidney tissues by five to 20-fold. Estimates of levels that would enter the human diet from average beef tissue consumption if all feedlot steers were fed sludge are presented for Cd, Hg and Pb. The data indicate that cattle are a moderately effective screen against the entry of these potentially toxic metals into the human diet.