Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Six Sets of PCR Primers from Two Different Genomic Regions for Amplification of GB Virus C/Hepatitis G Virus RNA

ABSTRACT Forty-four clinical samples positive for GB virus C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV) were tested with six primer sets, four from the 5′ untranslated region (5′-UTR) and two from the NS5a genomic region. Two of the 5′-UTR primer sets, when used in a single-round 60-cycle PCR, detected between 86.4 and 97.7% of the positive samples, while two different sets from the same area, when used in a nested PCR, amplified between 97.7 and 100% of the positive specimens. Both sets from the NS5a region, when used in a single-round PCR, detected 95.5% of the GBV-C/HGV-positive samples. Parallel testing with two PCR sets, one from the 5′-UTR and a second from NS5a, may eliminate false-negative results attributable to the genetic heterogeneity of the virus.
Spintronic Device Memristive Effects and Magnetization Switching Optimizing

Spintronics, an exploration of spin properties instead of or in addition to charge degrees of freedom, holds promise to continue device miniaturization in the postsilicon era and beyond the age of Moore’s law. The benefits of spintronics come from the fact that there is no need for electric current to retain spin, and there are many paths to change spin without massively moving electrons. CONTENTS
Neurodevelopment of C57B/L6 mouse brain assessed by in vivo diffusion tensor imaging

Heterogeneous spatiotemporal patterns of C57B/L6 murine brain maturation during the first 7 weeks after birth (i.e. P15 to P45) were assessed in vivo by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at 9.4 T. Maps of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were used to assess developmental changes. Because directionally encoded color (DEC) maps provide an efficient and straightforward way to visualize anisotropy direction, they were used to highlight the orientation‐dominant anisotropic tissues. In the corpus callosum, the increases in FA (∼0.4 to ∼0.6 from P15 to P45) were primarily dominant in the medial–lateral direction, whereas the ADC decreased slightly (∼0.8 × 10−3 to ∼0.5 × 10−3 mm2/s from P15 to P45). Similar increases in FA (∼0.3 to ∼0.4 from P15 to P45) and decreases in ADC (∼0.8 × 10−3 to ∼0.5 × 10−3 mm2/s from P15 to P45) were found in the cingulate, but these anisotropic changes were dominant in the anterior–posterior direction. In the caudate putamen, there were significant FA increases (∼0.1 to ∼0.2 from P15 to P45) dominant in the dorsal–ventral and anterior–posterior directions, whereas the ADC increased rapidly early in development (∼0.3 × 10−3 to ∼0.7 × 10−3 mm2/s from P15 to P17). There were no significant changes in tissue anisotropy in the somatosensory regions (whisker, forelimb), but the ADC decreased slightly (∼0.7 × 10−3 to ∼0.5 × 10−3 mm2/s from P15 to P45). Although the major differences in DEC values were mainly observed in white matter pathways, other cortical and subcortical regions showed some potential morphological changes that were consistent with classical histological findings. In summary, these results show that high‐resolution DTI at high magnetic fields allows detection and quantification of brain structures throughout normal development in C57B/L6 mice in vivo. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Graph Matching via Multiplicative Update Algorithm

As a fundamental problem in computer vision, graph matching problem can usually be formulated as a Quadratic Programming (QP) problem with doubly stochastic and discrete (integer) constraints. Since it is NP-hard, approximate algorithms are required. In this paper, we present a new algorithm, called Multiplicative Update Graph Matching (MPGM), that develops a multiplicative update technique to solve the QP matching problem. MPGM has three main benefits: (1) theoretically, MPGM solves the general QP problem with doubly stochastic constraint naturally whose convergence and KKT optimality are guaranteed. (2) Em- pirically, MPGM generally returns a sparse solution and thus can also incorporate the discrete constraint approximately. (3) It is efficient and simple to implement. Experimental results show the benefits of MPGM algorithm.
Naltrexone in patients with bipolar disorder and alcohol dependence

Bipolar disorder is associated with very high rates of substance abuse. However, few clinical trials are reported in this population. Naltrexone is effective for alcohol dependence, but its safety and efficacy are not established in patients with bipolar disorder and alcohol dependence. A 16‐week, open‐label, add‐on pilot study of naltrexone was conducted in 34 outpatients with bipolar disorder and alcohol dependence. Assessments included the 17‐item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD‐17), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and an alcohol craving scale. Alcohol use was quantified. Significant improvement was observed in the HRSD‐17 and YMRS, and days of alcohol use and craving decreased significantly. Naltrexone was well tolerated. Controlled trials are warranted. Depression and Anxiety 23:492–495, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Paracrine anti‐fibrotic effects of neonatal cells and living cell constructs on young and senescent human dermal fibroblasts

Senescent cells observed in the area of chronic wounds have been proposed to affect wound healing. Therapeutic approaches against chronic wounds include, among others, the local application of living cell constructs (LCCs), containing fibroblasts and/or keratinocytes. Accordingly, the aim of the present work was to examine the effects of factors secreted by early passage neonatal fibroblasts and LCCs—in the form of a conditioned medium (CM)—on senescent adult dermal fibroblasts regarding functions related to the healing process, i.e., cell proliferation, alpha‐smooth muscle actin and metalloproteinase expression, and collagen synthesis. Target cells were fibroblasts senescent either due to subsequent divisions (replicative senescence) or due to an exogenous stress (stress‐induced premature senescence). No effect on the proliferation of senescent fibroblasts was observed, as expected. All CMs were found to inhibit overall collagen synthesis both in early passage and in senescent fibroblasts. The LCC‐derived CM was found to be more potent than fibroblast‐derived CMs and, furthermore, to inhibit alpha‐smooth muscle actin expression. In conclusion, these results may indicate anti‐contractile and anti‐fibrotic activities of factor(s) secreted by neonatal skin fibroblasts, and more intensely by LCCs on adult donor‐derived fibroblasts. These activities seem to persist during senescence of the target cells.
Patients’ preferences in palliative care: A systematic mixed studies review

Background: It is necessary to develop palliative care to meet existing and future needs of patients and their families. It is important to include knowledge of patient preferences when developing high-quality palliative care services. Previous reviews have focused on patient preferences with regard to specific components of palliative care. There is a need to review research on patient’s combined preferences for all elements that constitute palliative care. Aim: The aim of this study is to identify preferences for palliative care among patients in the palliative phase of their illness, by synthesizing existing research. Data sources: Studies were retrieved by searching databases – the Cochrane Library, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus and Sociological Abstracts – from 1946 to 2014, and by hand searching references in the studies included. Design: A systematic mixed studies review was conducted. Two reviewers independently selected studies for inclusion and extracted data according to the eligibility criteria. Data were synthesized using integrative thematic analysis. Results: The 13 qualitative and 10 quantitative studies identified included participants with different illnesses in various settings. Four themes emerged representing patient preferences for care. The theme ‘Living a meaningful life’ illustrated what patients strived for. The opportunity to focus on living required the presence of ‘Responsive healthcare personnel’, a ‘Responsive care environment’ and ‘Responsiveness in the organization of palliative care’. Conclusion: The four themes may be useful for guiding clinical practice and measurements of quality, with the overall goal of meeting future needs and improving quality in palliative care services to suit patients’ preferences.
Experimental demonstration of OCDMA traffic over optical packet switching network with hybrid PLC and SSFBG en/decoders

The transmission of coherent optical code division multiple access (OCDMA) traffic over optical-code-based optical packet switching (OPS) network has been proposed and successfully demonstrated in experiment. Full function of the OPS node has been successfully demonstrated in the experiment with coherent OCDMA traffic. A hybrid using planar lightwave circuit and superstructured fiber Bragg grating en/decoder for packet label and OCDMA-payload encoding/decoding has been verified as well. Error-free (<10-12) transmissions have been achieved for the 10- and 40-Gb/s payload data and up to two OCDMA channels
Optimized expression and purification of NavAb provide the structural insight into the voltage dependence

Voltage‐gated sodium channels are crucial for electro‐signalling in living systems. Analysis of the molecular mechanism requires both fine electrophysiological evaluation and high‐resolution channel structures. Here, we optimized a dual expression system of NavAb, which is a well‐established standard of prokaryotic voltage‐gated sodium channels, for E. coli and insect cells using a single plasmid vector to analyse high‐resolution protein structures and measure large ionic currents. Using this expression system, we evaluated the voltage dependence and determined the crystal structures of NavAb wild‐type and two mutants, E32Q and N49K, whose voltage dependence were positively shifted and essential interactions were lost in voltage sensor domain. The structural and functional comparison elucidated the molecular mechanisms of the voltage dependence of prokaryotic voltage‐gated sodium channels.
Sample size determination for multiple comparison studies treating confidence interval width as random.

Methods for optimal sample size determination are developed using four popular multiple comparison procedures (Scheffe's, Bonferroni's, Tukey's and Dunnett's procedures), where random samples of the same size n are to be selected from k (>/=2) normal populations with common variance sigma2, and where primary interest concerns inferences about a family of L linear contrasts among the k population means. For a simultaneous coverage probability of (1-alpha), the optimal sample size is defined to be the smallest integer value n*m such that, simultaneously for all L confidence intervals, the width of the lth confidence interval will be no greater than tolerance 2deltal (l=1,2,.,L) with tolerance probability at least (1-gamma), treating the pooled sample variance S2p as a random variable. Using Scheffe's procedure as an illustration, comparisons are made to usual sample size methods that incorrectly ignore the stochastic nature of S2p. The latter approach can lead to serious underestimation of required sample sizes and hence to unacceptably low values of the actually tolerance probability (1-gamma'). Our approach guarantees a lower bound of [1-(alpha+gamma)] for the probability that the L confidence intervals will both cover the parametric functions of interest and also be sufficiently narrow. Recommendations are provided regarding the choices among the four multiple comparison procedures for sample size determination and inference-making.
Functional improvement of damaged adult mouse muscle by implantation of primary myoblasts.

1. Myoblasts from expanded primary cultures were implanted into cryodamaged soleus muscles of adult BALB/c mice. One to four months later isometric tension recordings were performed in vitro, and the male donor cells implanted into female hosts were traced on histological sections using a Y‐chromosome‐specific probe. The muscles were either mildly or severely cryodamaged, which led to reductions in tetanic muscle force to 33% (n = 9 muscles, 9 animals) and 70% (n = 11) of normal, respectively. Reduced forces resulted from deficits in regeneration of muscle tissue as judged from the reduced desmin‐positive cross‐sectional areas (34 and 66% of control, respectively). 2. Implantation of 10(6) myogenic cells into severely cryodamaged muscles more than doubled muscle tetanic force (to 70% of normal, n = 14), as well as specific force (to 66% of normal). Absolute and relative amount of desmin‐positive muscle cross‐sectional areas were significantly increased indicating improved microarchitecture and less fibrosis. Newly formed muscle tissue was fully innervated since the tetanic forces resulting from direct and indirect (nerve‐evoked) stimulation were equal. Endplates were found on numerous Y‐positive muscle fibres. 3. As judged from their position under basal laminae of muscle fibres and the expression of M‐cadherin, donor‐derived cells contributed to the pool of satellite cells on small‐ and large‐diameter muscle fibres. 4. Myoblast implantation after mild cryodamage and in undamaged muscles had little or no functional or structural effects; in both preparations only a few Y‐positive muscle nuclei were detected. It is concluded that myoblasts from expanded primary cultures‐unlike permanent cell lines‐significantly contribute to muscle regeneration only when previous muscle damage is extensive and loss of host satellite cells is severe.
El cabildo catedral de sevilla: organización y sistema contable (1625-1650)

El objetivo de la tesis ha sido analizar la organizacion economica y el sistema contable que empleo el Cabildo Catedral de Sevilla durante los anos 1625 a 1650, teniendo en cuenta que disponia de siete contadurias para administrar muy diversos negociados, desde el reparto de una serie de rentas entre sus miembros capitulares, el mantenimiento del templo catedralicio, la gestion de los alquileres de sus propiedades inmobiliarias, asi como la administracion del diezmo y de otros impuestos en toda la diocesis hispalense. Para ello, dedicamos un primer capitulo como introduccion a la investigacion, y otro a explicar como funcionaba el Cabildo como institucion. En los capitulos tercero a septimo analizamos toda la documentacion disponible sobre el funcionamiento economico y contable de cada una de las siete contadurias, asi como de los principales patronatos, fundaciones pias tuteladas por el Cabildo Catedral. En cada capitulo hacemos especial hincapie a los flujos de informacion necesarios entre los diversos libros contables, ya fueran dentro o fuera de cada contaduria. Finalmente dedicamos dos apartados a las conclusiones y a la bibliografia consultada, detallando las fuentes documentales del Archivo de la Catedral de Sevilla. Nuestra conclusion principal es que el Cabildo Catedral de Sevilla utilizo para su administracion economica un complejo sistema contable que estaba al dia de las tecnicas administrativas y contables que se utilizaban en la contabilidad mercantil de la epoca, apoyada cada ano en mas de sesenta libros de contabilidad distintos, llevados por diversos metodos contables.
Global Analysis of Proteins Synthesized by Mycobacterium smegmatis Provides Direct Evidence for Physiological Heterogeneity in Stationary-Phase Cultures

ABSTRACT We have characterized the induction kinetics of ∼1,700 proteins during entry into and survival in carbon-starved stationary phase by Mycobacterium smegmatis. Strikingly, among the patterns of expression observed were a group of proteins that were expressed in exponential-phase cultures and severely repressed in 48-h stationary-phase cultures (Spr or stationary-phase-repressed proteins) but were synthesized again at high levels in ≥128-day stationary-phase cultures (Spr128↑ proteins). A number of Spr128↑ proteins were identified, and they included the heat shock protein DnaK, the tricarboxylic acid cycle enzyme succinyl coenzyme A synthase, a FixA-like flavoprotein, a single-stranded DNA binding protein, and elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu). The identification of EF-Tu as an Spr128↑ protein is significant, as ribosomal components are known to be expressed in a growth rate-dependent way. We interpreted these data in terms of a model whereby stationary-phase mycobacteria comprise populations of cells that differ in both their growth status and gene expression patterns. To investigate this further, we constructed gene fusions between the rpsL gene promoter (which heads the Mycobacterium smegmatis operon encoding the tuf gene encoding EF-Tu) or the rrnA promoter gene and an unstable variant of green fluorescent protein. While the majority of cells in old stationary-phase cultures had low levels of fluorescence and so rpsL expression, a small but consistently observed population of approximately 1 in 1,000 cells was highly fluorescent. This indicates that a small fraction of the cells was expressing rpsL at high levels, and we argue that this represents the growing subpopulation of cells in stationary-phase cultures.
Redesigning of JPEG statistical model in the lossy mode fitting distribution of DCT coefficients

The JPEG statistical models in the lossy mode specify the procedures for converting the discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients into binary strings and context modeling in the case where the binary arithmetic coder called the QM-coder is employed as an entropy coder. The JPEG lossy mode establishes two statistical models, one for prediction residuals of the DC coefficients and the other for the AC coefficients. We redesign these two models by taking account of their distribution. We confirm that the Laplacian distribution is appropriate for both the DC coefficients and the AC coefficients through the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test; consequently, we propose statistical models that fit the Laplacian distribution. By adopting the proposed statistical models in lieu of the conventional models, the number of the states decreases from 294 to 210 and the compression performance on several test images including super high definition images improves by 0.01 to 1.48%.
Simplified model and submodule capacitor voltage balancing of single-phase AC/AC modular multilevel converter for railway traction purpose

A single-phase AC/AC modular multilevel converter (MMC) can interact directly with 25 kV railway grid without a bulky 50 Hz step-down transformer. This brings in great savings in size and cost. Submodule (SM) voltage balancing of this kind of MMCs remains a major technique issue. This study proposes a voltage-balancing solution for this scenario which consists of intra- and inter-arm voltage balancing methods. The former combines the advantages of carrier phase-shifted pulse-width modulation (PWM) and phase disposition PWM based voltage-balancing methods. It only uses two proportional regulators, easing the control system significantly. The latter is based on a power channel between the upper and lower arms. It avoids interferences with input/output voltage and current, and gets rid of common mode current component which would be injected into the grid with conventional inter-arm balancing methods. By assuming perfect voltage-balancing, a simplified mathematical model is also developed, which reveals more clearly the power conversion relationship. Simulations and experiments verify the proposed voltage-balancing methods and the mathematical model.
The iFat 1 transgene permits conditional endogenous n-3 PUFA enrichment both in vitro and in vivo

Fat-1 transgenic mice, which endogenously convert n-6 PUFA to n-3 PUFA, are a useful tool in health research; however with this model timing of n-3 PUFA enrichment cannot be directly controlled. To add such capability, the novel Crerecombinase inducible fat-1 (iFat1) transgenic mouse has been developed. The aim of this study was to characterize the utility of the iFat1 transgene as a model of Cre-inducible endogenous n-3 PUFA enrichment. Functionality of the iFat1 transgene was screened both in vitro and in vivo. In the presence of Cre, the iFat1 transgene resulted in a balancing (p \ 0.01) of the n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio within phospholipids in the human embryonic kidney 293T cell line. For in vivo analysis, iFat1 transgenic mice were crossed with the R26-Cre-ER (Tam-Cre) mouse line, a tamoxifen inducible Cre-expression model. Tam-Cre/iFat1 double hybrids were transiently treated with tamoxifen at 6–7 weeks, then terminated 3 weeks later. Tamoxifen treated mice had increased (p \ 0.05) tissue n-3 PUFA and Ctwo-fold reduction (p \ 0.05) in the n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio of liver, kidney and muscle phospholipids relative to vehicle treated controls. Collectively these findings suggest that the iFat1 transgenic mouse may be a promising tool to help elucidate the temporal effects through which n-3 PUFA impacts health related outcomes.
Distortion Correction of Laser Scan Data from In-vehicle Laser Scanner based on Kalman Filter and NDT Scan Matching

This paper presents a Kalman-filter-based method of correcting distortion in 3D laser-scan data from invehicle multilayer laser scanner. A robot identifies its own 3D pose (position and attitude) in a laser-scan period using the normal-distributions transform (NDT) scan-matching method. Based on the pose information, the robot’s pose is predicted and smoothed in a period shorter than the scan period using Kalman filter under the assumption that the robot moves at nearly constant linear and turning velocities. The predicted and smoothed poses of the robot are applied to map laser-scan data onto a world coordinate frame. Subsequently, the robot again identifies its own 3D pose from the mapped scan data using NDT scan matching. This iterative process enables the robot to correct the distortion of laser-scan data and accurately map the laser-scan data onto the world coordinate frame. Experimental results of mapping a signal light in a road environment validate the proposed method.
Detection of Microbial Growth on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Microtiter Plates by Using the Respiration Indicator WST-1

ABSTRACT We have developed a microtiter plate method for screening a large number of bacterial isolates for the ability to grow on different crystalline polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Growth on PAHs cannot easily be determined with standard growth assays because of the very low aqueous solubility and bioavailability of the PAHs. Our microtiter plate assay utilizes a new water-soluble respiration indicator, WST-1 {4-[3-(4-iodophenyl)-2-(4-nitrophenyl)-2H-5-tetrazolio]-1,3-benzene disulfonate}, in combination with easily degradable carbon sources. PAH-mineralizing strains were grown on PAHs in microtiter plates for 7 to 10 days. The tetrazolium dye WST-1 was added after incubation. Dehydrogenases in growing cells reduced WST-1 to a water-soluble colored formazan, and the intensity of the color was a measure of the respiration rate. Addition of easily degradable carbon to the wells along with WST-1 resulted in a 3- to 40-fold increase in the absorbance of positive wells within 90 min, which made it possible to detect growth on fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, and pyrene. Addition of the electron transport blocker sodium azide unexpectedly decreased formazan formation. The method was adapted for most-probable-number enumeration of PAH degraders in soil.