Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Defining the Roles of Nucleotide Excision Repair and Recombination in the Repair of DNA Interstrand Cross-Links in Mammalian Cells

ABSTRACT The mechanisms by which DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs) are repaired in mammalian cells are unclear. Studies in bacteria and yeasts indicate that both nucleotide excision repair (NER) and recombination are required for their removal and that double-strand breaks are produced as repair intermediates in yeast cells. The role of NER and recombination in the repair of ICLs induced by nitrogen mustard (HN2) was investigated using Chinese hamster ovary mutant cell lines. XPF and ERCC1 mutants (defective in genes required for NER and some types of recombination) and XRCC2 and XRCC3 mutants (defective inRAD51-related homologous recombination genes) were highly sensitive to HN2. Cell lines defective in other genes involved in NER (XPB, XPD, and XPG), together with a mutant defective in nonhomologous end joining (XRCC5), showed only mild sensitivity. In agreement with their extreme sensitivity, the XPF and ERCC1 mutants were defective in the incision or “unhooking” step of ICL repair. In contrast, the other mutants defective in NER activities, the XRCC2 and XRCC3 mutants, and the XRCC5 mutant all showed normal unhooking kinetics. Using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) were found to be induced following nitrogen mustard treatment. DSB induction and repair were normal in all the NER mutants, including XPF and ERCC1. The XRCC2, XRCC3, and XRCC5 mutants also showed normal induction kinetics. The XRCC2 and XRCC3 homologous recombination mutants were, however, severely impaired in the repair of DSBs. These results define a role for XPF and ERCC1 in the excision of ICLs, but not in the recombinational components of cross-link repair. In addition, homologous recombination but not nonhomologous end joining appears to play an important role in the repair of DSBs resulting from nitrogen mustard treatment.
Antibody to thymus myosin: its immunological characterization and use for immunocytochemical localization of myosin in vertebrate nonmuscle cells.

Thymus myosin differs immunologically from smooth muscle and striated muscle myosin isoenzymes. In the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay a moderate degree of cross reaction was observed between anti-thymus myosin and myosin from chicken gizzard (about 50% of the titer of the homologous reaction). In contrast, the cross reactivity between thymus myosin and antibodies to gizzard myosin was very low (about 5%) and no significant cross reaction was observed between thymus myosin and antibodies to striated muscle myosin and vice versa (below 1%). Antibodies to thymus myosin were further distinguished from antibodies to gizzard and striated muscle myosin by their reaction with both smooth muscle and a very broad spectrum of vertebrate nonmuscle cells. Nonmuscle cells reacting with anti-thymus myosin included (1) cell types which did not display any detectable affinity for anti-gizzard myosin (e.g. lymphocytes, polymorphonuclear leucocytes, vascular endothelium, adrenal chromaffine cells) and (2) cell types which reacted with anti-gizzard myosin as well (e.g. intestinal epithelial brush border, thymic epithelial cells, liver cells and stress fibres of cultured cells). These results illustrate, that anti-thymus myosin is a potent tool for investigating the intracellular localization of myosin in most if not all vertebrate nonmuscle cells. With respect to lymphatic tissue the present findings indicate that lymphocyte maturation appears to be accompanied by an increased level of expression of myosin and filamentous actin (the latter was visualized by labelled phalloidin). On the ultrastructural level, gold labelled antibodies to thymus myosin bound preferentially to the head region of in vitro assembled thymus myosin filaments. In cultured cells (PtK1) the antibodies showed a particular affinity for stress fibre densities, and in lymphocytes the anti-myosin label (immunoperoxidase) displayed a more or less diffuse distribution which was similar to the distribution of actin filaments (identified by decoration with heavy meromyosin).
Executive Pay Compensation: What Regulators, Shareholders and Managers can learn from Major Sports Leagues

Executive pay regulation is widely discussed as a measure to reduce financial mismanagement in corporations. We show that the professional team sports industry, the only industry with substantial experience in the regulation of compensation arrangements, provides valuable insights for the regulation of executive pay. Based on the experience from professional sports leagues, we develop implications for the corporate sector regarding the establishment and enforcement of executive pay regulation as well as the level, structure, and rigidity of such regulatory measures.
Molecular Characterization Reveals Three Distinct Clonal Groups among Clinical Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Strains of Serogroup O103

ABSTRACT Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is one of the most important groups of food-borne pathogens, and STEC strains belonging to the serotype O103:H2 can cause diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic-uremic syndrome in humans. STEC O103:non-H2 strains are also sometimes isolated from human patients, but their genetic characteristics and role in significant human enteric disease are not yet understood. Here, we investigated 17 STEC O103:non-H2 strains, including O103:H11, O103:H25, O103:HUT (UT [untypeable]), and O103:H− (nonmotile) isolated in Japan, and their characteristics were compared to those of STEC O103:H2 and other serotype STEC strains. Sequence analyses of fliC and eae genes revealed that strains possessed any of the following combinations: fliC-H2/eae-epsilon, fliC-H11/eae-beta1, and fliC-H25/eae-theta, where fliC-H2, -H11, and -H25 indicate fliC genes encoding H2, H11, and H25 flagella antigens, respectively, and eae-epsilon, -beta1, and -theta indicate eae genes encoding epsilon, beta1, and theta subclass intimins, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis based on the sequences of seven housekeeping genes demonstrated that the O103:H11/[fliC-H11] and O103:H25/[fliC-H25] strains formed two distinct groups, different from that of the O103:H2/[fliC-H2] strains. Interestingly, a group consisting of O103:H11 strains was closely related to STEC O26:H11, which is recognized as a most important non-O157 serotype, suggesting that the STEC O103:H11 and STEC O26:H11 clones evolved from a common ancestor. The multiplex PCR system for the rapid typing of STEC O103 strains described in the present study may aid clinical and epidemiological studies of the STEC O103:H2, O103:H11, and O103:H25 groups. In addition, our data provide further insights into the high variability of STEC stains with emerging new serotypes.
Hybrid systems using Optical Wireless, Fiber Optics and WLAN for temporary multimedia applications

Real estate investors nowadays request more and more high-performance buildings to be competitive on the market and to deliver its users the highest convenience. To present the convergence of telephony (SIP VoIP), Internet services via WLAN and digital TV this paper shows the interaction of state of the art last mile access technologies (WLAN, FSO, fiber optics) in combination with high (HDTV) and low (SDTV) resolution multimedia signals during a test setup. Advantages and disadvantages of the used technologies in this special case will be shown and discussed.
The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30: a quality-of-life instrument for use in international clinical trials in oncology.

BACKGROUND In 1986, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) initiated a research program to develop an integrated, modular approach for evaluating the quality of life of patients participating in international clinical trials. PURPOSE We report here the results of an international field study of the practicality, reliability, and validity of the EORTC QLQ-C30, the current core questionnaire. The QLQ-C30 incorporates nine multi-item scales: five functional scales (physical, role, cognitive, emotional, and social); three symptom scales (fatigue, pain, and nausea and vomiting); and a global health and quality-of-life scale. Several single-item symptom measures are also included. METHODS The questionnaire was administered before treatment and once during treatment to 305 patients with nonresectable lung cancer from centers in 13 countries. Clinical variables assessed included disease stage, weight loss, performance status, and treatment toxicity. RESULTS The average time required to complete the questionnaire was approximately 11 minutes, and most patients required no assistance. The data supported the hypothesized scale structure of the questionnaire with the exception of role functioning (work and household activities), which was also the only multi-item scale that failed to meet the minimal standards for reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficient > or = .70) either before or during treatment. Validity was shown by three findings. First, while all interscale correlations were statistically significant, the correlation was moderate, indicating that the scales were assessing distinct components of the quality-of-life construct. Second, most of the functional and symptom measures discriminated clearly between patients differing in clinical status as defined by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status scale, weight loss, and treatment toxicity. Third, there were statistically significant changes, in the expected direction, in physical and role functioning, global quality of life, fatigue, and nausea and vomiting, for patients whose performance status had improved or worsened during treatment. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were highly consistent across the three language-cultural groups studied: patients from English-speaking countries, Northern Europe, and Southern Europe. CONCLUSIONS These results support the EORTC QLQ-C30 as a reliable and valid measure of the quality of life of cancer patients in multicultural clinical research settings. Work is ongoing to examine the performance of the questionnaire among more heterogenous patient samples and in phase II and phase III clinical trials.
Psychological perspectives on death.

Although this is the first critical survey of the psychology of death between the covers of the Annual Review of Psychology, it is difficult to identify a more ancient topic. Death awareness already had a long history before Socrates attempted to calm his friends' agitation prior to quaffing the hemlock (127). The Gilgamesh Epic, known to the Sumerians of 3000 B.G. and probably of earlier origin, expressed both the intense desire to triumph over death and the doubt that magic, cunning, virtue, or strength could achieve this objective (64). Life prolongation and renewal were salient themes not only in The Book of the Dead (18), but throughout Egyptian culture (168). The prefix that we have made our own-psyche-often appeared in the Greek classical period within the context of reflections on death. The soul was that-which-departs, sometimes to return (as in dreams) and sometimes not. Dia­ logues on mortality and awareness of the complexities of ph�nomenological life began to flourish at the same time. The faithful in biblical times knew a God of life. Death plunged one into a miserable subexistence more akin to the dank underworld imagined by ancient Mesopotamian civilizations than to a beatific immortality (16). Christianit y's dra­ matic news of triumph over death came in for its share of astonishment and ridicule from Romans who believed in afterlife but could not credit the proposition that the dead would again put on flesh (25). For centuries thereafter the death theme has played through both sacred and secular spheres. Gruman (60) documents the motivating force of the death-shall-be­ overcome sentiment in the rise of alchemy and, eventually, modem science. Further­ more, Ponce de Leon's search for the fountain of youth was but one episode in a series of adventurings which contributed much to exploration and charting of planet Earth, even though the central purpose of outflanking aging and death was not achieved.
Synchronization methods for three phase distributed power generation systems - An overview and evaluation

Nowadays, it is a general trend to increase the electricity production using distributed power generation systems (DPGS) based on renewable energy resources such as wind, sun or hydrogen. Jf these systems are not properly controlled, their connection to the utility network can generate problems on the grid side. Therefore, considerations about power generation, safe running and grid synchronization must be done before connecting these systems to the utility network. This paper is mainly dealing with the grid synchronization issues of distributed systems. An overview of the synchronization methods as well as their major characteristics is given. New solutions to optimize the synchronization methods when running on distorted grid conditions are discussed. Simulation and experimental results are used to evaluate the behavior of the synchronization methods under different kind of grid disturbances such as voltage dips, harmonics and notches.
The relationship between sedative infusion requirements and permissive hypercapnia in critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients*

Objective:Permissive hypercapnia (PH) may result from mechanical ventilation (MV) strategies that intentionally reduce minute ventilation. Sedative doses required to tolerate PH have not been well characterized. With increased attention to lung-protective ventilation, characterization of sedative requirements with PH and determination of sedative dose changes with PH are needed. Design:Retrospective analysis. Setting:Tertiary care university hospital. Patients:We evaluated 124 patients randomized in a previous study to either propofol or midazolam. PH was employed in ten of 60 patients receiving propofol and 13 of 64 patients receiving midazolam. Interventions:We analyzed dosing of propofol and midazolam in patients undergoing PH through a retrospective analysis of an existing database on MV patients. Total sedative (propofol and midazolam) dose was recorded for the first three days of MV. Linear regression analysis (dependent variable: sedative dose) was used to analyze the following independent variables: PH, age, gender, daily sedative interruption, type of respiratory failure, presence of hepatic and/or renal failure, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, morphine dose, and Ramsay sedation score. Measurements and Main Results:Propofol dose was higher in PH patients (42.5 ± 16.2 vs. 27.0 ± 15.3; p = .02); Midazolam dose did not differ between PH and non-PH patients (0.05 [0.04, 0.14] vs. 0.05 [0.03, 0.07]; p = .17). By univariate linear regression analysis, propofol dose was significantly dependent on PH, age, type of respiratory failure, morphine dose, and Ramsay score, with PH (regression coefficient, 11.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.2–22.7; p = .03) and age (regression coefficient, −0.3; 95% confidence interval −0.5 to −0.08; p = .005) remaining significant by multivariate linear regression. By univariate linear regression analysis, midazolam dose was dependent on age, morphine dose, and Ramsay score, but not PH; only morphine dose (regression coefficient, 0.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.22–0.67 for a 0.1-unit increase in morphine dose; p < .001) was significant by multivariate linear regression. Conclusions:We conclude that higher doses of propofol but not midazolam are required to sedate patients managed with PH.
Modeling Riverine Nutrient Transport to the Baltic Sea: A Large-scale Approach

Abstract We developed for the first time a catchment model simulating simultaneously the nutrient land-sea fluxes from all 105 major watersheds within the Baltic Sea drainage area. A consistent modeling approach to all these major watersheds, i.e., a consistent handling of water fluxes (hydrological simulations) and loading functions (emission data), will facilitate a comparison of riverine nutrient transport between Baltic Sea subbasins that differ substantially. Hot spots of riverine emissions, such as from the rivers Vistula, Oder, and Daugava or from the Danish coast, can be easily demonstrated and the comparison between these hot spots, and the relatively unperturbed rivers in the northern catchments show decisionmakers where remedial actions are most effective to improve the environmental state of the Baltic Sea, and, secondly, what percentage reduction of riverine nutrient loads is possible. The relative difference between measured and simulated fluxes during the validation period was generally small. The cumulative deviation (i.e., relative bias) [Σ(Simulated − Measured)/ΣMeasured × 100 (%)] from monitored water and nutrient fluxes amounted to +8.2% for runoff, to −2.4% for dissolved inorganic nitrogen, to +5.1% for total nitrogen, to +13% for dissolved inorganic phosphorus and to +19% for total phosphorus. Moreover, the model suggests that point sources for total phosphorus compiled by existing pollution load compilations are underestimated because of inconsistencies in calculating effluent loads from municipalities.
Model to Predict Survival of Transportation and Shipping Companies

The article focuses on the issue of evaluation of economic sustainability of transportation and shipping companies. The economic crisis, which is currently abating in many world’s countries, has affected all industries, including transportation and shipping. This important sector of national economy with a multifunctional character has been influenced by the economic recession very significantly and its consequences are visible even now. For this reason there is a growing demand for methods allowing comprehensive evaluation of businesses. This article contributes to the topic by describing a procedure for development of a model for comprehensive evaluation of transportation and shipping companies. The model makes it possible to monitor, to evaluate and to signal financial health and performance of such companies. Finally, the model is validated and its predictive power is assessed. The proposed model is an output from research conducted by the Institute of Technology and Business in Ceske Budějovice, Czech Republic.
Resource constrained multirobot task allocation based on leader–follower coalition methodology

This paper investigates the multirobot task allocation problem for a group of heterogeneous mobile robots with consideration of resource constraints. The robots and tasks are characterized by resources as required by task execution. Since each individual robot may not have sufficient resources to accomplish the assigned task alone, the robots must form coalitions to meet task-imposed resource constraints in task execution. A leader–follower based coalition methodology is developed in this paper, with detailed discussions on leader selection, preliminary coalition forming, coalition evaluation and submission procedures. When the tasks are assigned online and only one task is assigned at each time, the proposed leader–follower coalition method can maximize coalition utility for every assigned task, which further ensures greedy optimal solution for the resource constrained task allocation problem. Simulations and experiments performed on a group of mobile robots demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Active Gate Control for Current Balancing in Paralleled IGBT Modules in a Solid State Modulator

Summary form only given. In the paper an active gate control for paralleled IGBTs in a solid state modulator is presented. There, the focus is put on the rising and falling edges and the overshoot which are very important for klystron applications. For controlling the current sharing and providing fast switching also a high dynamic gate drive is presented in the paper. There, a PCB integrated Rogowski current probe is used which has a high bandwidth and enables a low inductive construction required for the pulse modulator.
A Limb Compliant Sensing Strategy for Robot Collision Reaction

This paper introduces a compliant limb sensor (CLS) concept for collision detection during robot-human contact. The CLS consists of an external rigid shell compliantly connected to the robot link with collision inferred from measured shell displacements. Measuring displacement of a rigid shell allows customizable compliance and high sampling rates due to the small number of required sensors. The proposed sensor is prototyped for the planar case using LED/light-to-voltage (LTV) sensors for shell pose measurement and foam as the compliant link between the shell and base. A physically motivated model for the output of LED/LTV sensor pairs is formulated for the estimation of the shell pose. Voltage measurements of redundant LTVs and a calibrated shell model are used with an iterative optimization routine to estimate the shell pose at high frequencies. Sensor performance is tested using five trajectories: rest, compression, shear, rotation, and arbitrary motion. Experiments confirmed that the CLS can sense the presence, direction, and intensity of impact. The potential application of the proposed sensor to safety in physical human-robot interaction is discussed. The novel sensing methodology also enables a new method of 3-D human-computer interaction due to the ability to modify the compliance and operating range of the CLS.
Apolipoprotein E ε2 may be a risk factor for sporadic frontotemporal dementia

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common form of presenile dementia, after early onset Alzheimer's disease. Up to half of cases of FTD are thought to be familial, probably with an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance, some with mutations on chromosome 17. The genetics of sporadic FTD have been less studied, although several groups have examined the potential association of FTD with apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4, with inconclusive results.1-3 We studied 11 patients with sporadic FTD (excluding patients with first degree relatives with dementia) in the cohort of the Oxford project to investigate memory and aging (OPTIMA). Nine of the 11 were histopathologically confirmed and the remaining two fulfilled the consensus criteria of Neary et al 4 (three of the first nine had also been clinically diagnosed by these criteria and all three were confirmed at necropsy); only one of the nine confirmed cases was Pick-type. Apolipoprotein E genotyping was performed, blind to diagnosis, by polymerase chain reaction methods5 for the 11 patients with FTD …
Determination of Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst viability by fluorescence in situ hybridization using a ribosomal RNA‐directed probe

Aims: Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has been proposed for species‐specific detection, and viability determination of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. FISH‐based viability determination depends on rRNA decay after loss of viability. We examined the effects of RNase(s) and RNase inhibitors on FISH of C. parvum.
Compact Band-Notched UWB Filter Using Parallel Resonators With a Dielectric Overlay

This letter presents compact band-notched ultra-wideband (UWB) filters with independently controlled responses within the lower and upper portions of the UWB frequency band. The proposed filter consists of dual parallel resonators with common feeding structures as well as a dielectric overlay. One resonator is designed to resonate within the lower portion of the UWB band and the other within the upper portion. The coupling strengths within lower and upper UWB portions can be independently adjusted and the corresponding responses can be individually controlled. A notch band is generated by the inter-digital coupling structure without extra circuits. Two transmission zeros are generated close to the passband edges. For demonstration, two UWB filters are implemented and the results are presented.