Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MS) is rapidly growing in popularity as an analytical characterization method in several fields. The technique shot to prominence using matrix-assisted desorption/ionization for large biomolecules (>700 Da), such as proteins, peptides and nucleic acids. However, because the matrix, which consists of small organic molecules, is also ionized, the technique is of limited use in the low-molecular-mass range (<700 Da). Recent advances in surface science have facilitated the development of matrix-free laser desorption/ionization MS approaches, which are referred to here as surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) MS. In contrast to traditional matrix-assisted techniques, the materials used for SALDI-MS are not ionized, which expands the usefulness of this technique to small-molecule analyses. This review discusses the current status of SALDI-MS as a standard analytical technique, with an emphasis on potential applications in proteomics.
Self-Organising Applications: A Survey

A self-organising system is a system that changes its basic structure as a function of its experience and environment. This definition relates to approaches undertaken in multi-agent systems, adaptive control, collective robotics, neural networks, and Grid computing research. The aim of this paper is to survey applications exhibiting emergent behaviour or complex social organisation, and outline the mechanisms enabling such behaviours.
Are User Reviews Systematically Manipulated? Evidence from the Helpfulness Ratings

There is a lot of evidence that people place great weight on online user reviews. And yet there are many reports of mischief in reviews, such as the January 2009 incident with a Belkin manager publicly offering sixty-five cents for positive reviews of their products. Is the high level of trust warranted when there are so many motives and opportunities for manipulating reviews? That question motivates this work. We propose a way to quantify the extent of manipulation in online user reviews. Our approach is based on the idea that the combination of the review data and the helpfulness ratings of the reviews that many sites now offer (the answers to the “was this review helpful to you? ” question, what we call “metareview data”) provides clues to manipulative behavior. If a highly motivated segment of the reviewing population has an agenda to push for a product, then they would use both the reviews to express their views and the helpfulness ratings to reinforce those views: someone promoting a product would write a favorable review, mark other favorable reviews as helpful, and mark unfavorable reviews as unhelpful. That double voting leaves an identifiable trail in the data. We argue that such trails are circumstantial evidence of manipulation, and therefore call into question the credibility of the review data itself. Our findings are based on five data sets: elliptical trainers from Amazon (76 products, with 1,378 reviews in total, and 9,548 helpfulness votes), computer accessories from Amazon (370 products, 3,599 reviews, 16,495 votes), snack products from Amazon (1,201 products, 7,319 reviews, 11,742 votes), iPhone applications from the iTunes store (100 products, 7,509 reviews, 14,842 votes), and companies from Vanno, a company reputation website (586 companies, 7,636 submissions, 281,047 votes). In all of our data sets, we find that manipulation clearly is not the dominant mode of behavior. However, in the Amazon and iTunes data sets, we see that while manipulation is not dominant, it is still prevalent. Using our “minimum distance” approach, the models that predict manipulation are the best match for as low as 20% (for the elliptical trainers) and as high as 47% (for the snack products). The computer accessories and iTunes apps are in between. The Vanno data set shows almost no evidence of manipulation, at less than 1%.
Preliminary results for broadband electrical detection of live bacteria

For the first time, broadband (0.5-20 GHz) electrical detection of live bacteria was successfully demonstrated on E. coli, despite their being small and adherent compared to mammalian cells such as Jurkat T-lymphoma human cells that had been detected by using a similar coplanar waveguide in conjunction with a microfluidic channel. Critical to the success was in suppressing the background drift of the insertion and return losses to the order of 0.01 dB. Presently, it is estimated that approximately 104 E. coli were required to yield a statistically significant signal in the insertion/return losses. Therefore, to detect a single bacterium, the measurement sensitivity and the background stability need to be further improved by orders of magnitude in the future.
Perforin-Dependent Brain-Infiltrating Cytotoxic CD8+ T Lymphocytes Mediate Experimental Cerebral Malaria Pathogenesis 1

Experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) resulting from Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection involves T lymphocytes. However, the mechanisms of T cell-mediated pathogenesis remain unknown. We found that, in contrast to ECM-susceptible C57BL6 mice, perforin-deficient (PFP-KO) mice were resistant to ECM in the absence of brain lesions, whereas cytoadherence of parasitized erythrocytes and massive accumulation of activated/effector CD8 lymphocytes were observed in both groups of mice. ECM is induced in PFP-KO mice after adoptive transfer of cytotoxic CD8+ cells from infected C57BL6 mice, which were directed to the brain of PFP-KO mice. This specific recruitment might involve chemokine/chemokine receptors, since their expression was up-regulated on activated CD8 cells, and susceptibility to ECM was delayed in CCR5-KO mice. Thus, lymphocyte cytotoxicity and cell trafficking are key players in ECM pathogenesis.
Efficient poly A trap approach allows the capture of genes specifically active in differentiated embryonic stem cells and in mouse embryos

Special vectors have been constructed that allow the trapping of genes in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. These vectors generally contain the neomycin phosphotransferase (neo) gene for selection and the β ‐galactosidase (β‐gal) gene as a marker. Promoterless vectors can be used to identify genes that are active in undifferentiated ES cells. To also have access to genes that are inactive in totipotent ES cells, we constructed a polyadenylation (poly A) trap vector in which the expression of a poly A less neo gene is driven by a constitutive promoter, whereas the expression of β‐gal depends on the trapped sequences. We demonstrate here that this vector integrates with a high frequency into transcription units and that it traps genes with very different expression patterns in vitro and in vivo. The vector integrates efficiently into transcription units that are inactive in undifferentiated ES cells and which can be activated through in vitro differentiation. Furthermore, in vivo expression patterns demonstrate that this vector integrates into genes that exhibit a highly specific temporal and spatial expression pattern during embryogenesis. Dev. Dyn. 1998;212:326–333. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An improved derandomized approximation algorithm for the max-controlled set problem

A vertex i of a graph G=(V,E) is said to be controlled by M ⊆ V if the majority of the elements of the neighborhood of i (including itself) belong to M. The set M is a monopoly in G if every vertex i ∈ V is controlled by M. Given a set M ⊆ V and two graphs G 1=(V,E 1) and G 2=(V,E 2) where E 1 ⊆ E 2, the monopoly verification problem (mvp) consists of deciding whether there exists a sandwich graph G=(V,E) (i.e., a graph where E 1 ⊆ E ⊆ E 2) such that M is a monopoly in G=(V,E). If the answer to the mvp is No, we then consider the max-controlled set problem (mcsp), whose objective is to find a sandwich graph G=(V,E) such that the number of vertices of G controlled by M is maximized. The mvp can be solved in polynomial time; the mcsp, however, is NP-hard. In this work, we present a deterministic polynomial time approximation algorithm for the mcsp with ratio \(\frac{1}{2}+ \frac{1+\sqrt{n}}{2n-2}\), where n=|V|>4. (The case n ≤ 4 is solved exactly by considering the parameterized version of the mcsp.) The algoritm is obtained through the use of randomized rounding and derandomization techniques, namely the method of conditional expectations. Additionally, we show how to improve this ratio if good estimates of expectation are obtained in advance.
Classification and variable selection for high-dimensional data with applications to proteomics

We deal with a question whether the visualization is always effective for big data? “Big data” is an important key word for business, academic, medical and so on. Many persons insist “In a Big Data World we need visualization” or “What we need to deal with big data is a visualization! ” We discuss a mechanism and a limitation of visualization and generalize the visualization approach to the mini data approach1.
Can mechanical myotonometry or electromyography be used for the prediction of intramuscular pressure?

The aim of the study was to characterize the electromechanical properties of skeletal muscle during isometric loading as well as to assess the potential of estimating intramuscular pressure by electrical and mechanical methods. Simultaneous electromyography (EMG), mechanical myotonometry (MYO, frequency and decrement of decay) and intramuscular pressure (IMP) measurements were conducted at rest and during short-term and long-term isometric contractions in patients with chronic pain in the anterior leg or dorsal forearm. The EMG amplitude and MYOfreq accounted significantly (24–73%, p < 0.0001) for the variations in the IMP under short-term isometric loading. The IMP, EMG and MYOfreq increased linearly with the relative muscle load (r = 0.868–0.993, p < 0.05). Mean values of EMG amplitudes at the contraction levels of 75% and 100% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) and MYOfreq values at all contraction levels (0–100% MVC) were higher for subjects with pathological values of IMP than for those with IMP values in the normal range. Total changes in IMP and EMG amplitude during 1 min isometric contraction were linearly interrelated (r = 0.747, p < 0.0001). We conclude that both surface electromyography and myotonometry parameters are indicative of intramuscular pressure, but neither of these methods can be used alone to diagnose non-invasively chronic compartment syndrome with acceptable accuracy.
Changing Northern Hemisphere Storm Tracks in an Ensemble of IPCC Climate Change Simulations

Winter storm-track activity over the Northern Hemisphere and its changes in a greenhouse gas scenario (the Special Report on Emission Scenarios A1B forcing) are computed from an ensemble of 23 single runs from 16 coupled global climate models (CGCMs). All models reproduce the general structures of the observed climatological storm-track pattern under present-day forcing conditions. Ensemble mean changes resulting from anthropogenic forcing include an increase of baroclinic wave activity over the eastern North Atlantic, amounting to 5%–8% by the end of the twenty-first century. Enhanced activity is also found over the Asian continent and over the North Pacific near the Aleutian Islands. At high latitudes and over parts of the subtropics, activity is reduced. Variations of the individual models around the ensemble average signal are not small, with a median of the pattern correlation near r 0.5. There is, however, no evidence for a link between deviations in present-day climatology and deviations with respect to climate change.
A low noise folded bit-line sensing architecture for multi-Gb DRAM with ultra high density 6F2cell

A new low noise sensing architecture for 6F2DRAM cell is presented, employing two noise reduction methods; Divided Sense and Combined Restore Scheme and Noise Absorbing Scheme which eliminate word line to bit line coupling noise and bit line to bit line coupling noise, respectively. The new sensing architecture reduces bit line noise to less than 15% of a conventional scheme with only 0.2% area overhead. The 6F2cell enables the giga bit DRAM to have about 85% chip area of conventional DRAM. The measurement results of the fabricated test chip show stable DRAM operations and the proposed sensing scheme is useful in multi-giga bit DRAM.
Determination of Cyanogenic Compounds in Edible Plants by Ion Chromatography

Cyanogenic glycosides are HCN-producing phytotoxins; HCN is a powerful and a rapidly acting poison. It is not difficult to find plants containing these compounds in the food supply and/or in medicinal herb collections. The objective of this study was to investigate the distribution of total cyanide in nine genera (Dolichos, Ginkgo, Hordeum, Linum, Phaseolus, Prunus, Phyllostachys, Phytolacca , and Portulaca) of edible plants and the effect of the processing on cyanide concentration. Total cyanide content was measured by ion chromatography following acid hydrolysis and distillation. Kernels of Prunus genus are used medicinally, but they possess the highest level of total cyanide of up to 2259.81 CN7g dry weight. Trace amounts of cyanogenic compounds were detected in foodstuffs such as mungbeans and bamboo shoots. Currently, except for the WHO guideline for cassava, there is no global standard for the allowed amount of cyanogenic compounds in foodstuffs. However, our data emphasize the need for the guidelines if plants containing cyanogenic glycosidesare to be developed as dietary supplements.
A multichannel collision free MAC protocol for wireless ad hoc networks

Thinking of multiple frequency channels in wireless ad hoc networks can significantly improve the throughput if advanced MAC protocols are employed. The efficiency of multichannel protocols mainly depends on the channel assignment strategy, which has to assure both fairness and low signaling overhead. Taking into account these needs, the present work proposes a new multichannel MAC protocol, based on the Balanced Incomplete Block Design (BIBD) theory. In details, the protocol we propose is time slotted, collision free, and assures a fair distribution of both available frequency channels and time slots, thanks to the BIBD resolvability feature. Exploiting the peculiarities of BIBD, procedures for handling network topology modifications with a low overhead have been also developed. Finally, analytical results have shown very high channel utilization, efficiency, and global energy saving.
Sociophonetics of the velarized lateral in the Viennese dialect

The alveolar lateral of the Viennese dialect undergoes several allophonic processes, among these, vocalization and velarization are the most prominent ones. In the current contribution, we will concentrate on the sociolinguistic aspects which disturb the complementary distribution of the alveolar and the velarized lateral and give rise to a possible reversal of the velarization process which started around 1900 due to contact with Czech immigrants. We investigate the realization of the alveolar and the velarized lateral in a corpus of spontaneous speech of 11 Viennese dialect speakers. F2 of the lateral is measured to describe the effect of the parameters phoneme context, syllable stress, word position and gender on the lateral realization. Results show that the velarized lateral is mainly produced between back vowels and in wordfinal position. Male speakers produce the velarized lateral also in stressed position, while female speakers, if at all, produce it in the unstressed word-final position.
A dose escalation study of ORG 10172 (low molecular weight heparinoid) in stroke

An intravenous infusion of a low molecular weight heparinoid, with a reduced risk of hemorrhage, may be an alternative to heparin in the management of acute ischemic stroke. To evaluate this hypothesis, we studied the safety of the heparinoid, ORG 10172, in a dose-escalation study in 26 patients. The drug was administered as a loading bolus followed by a 7-day infusion in five rates with target anti-factor Xa levels from 0.2 to 1.0 U/ml. The drug was well tolerated; no major bleeding complications or thrombocytopenia occurred. There were no deaths or hemorrhagic transformation of cerebral infarctions. The results indicate that ORG 10172 at doses to achieve a level of 1.0 U/ml or less may be used safely in management of acute cerebral infarction.
Site-selective spectroscopy in Sm3+-doped sol–gel-derived nano-glass-ceramics containing SnO2 quantum dots

Nano-glass-ceramics of composition 95SiO2–5SnO2 doped with 0.4 Sm3+ (mol%) were synthesized by the thermal treatment of precursor sol–gel glasses. Structural and luminescence measurements were carried out. The precipitated SnO2 nanocrystals in the glass matrix constitute a wide bandgap quantum-dot system with size comparable to the bulk exciton Bohr radius. A site-selective excitation, by energy transfer from the semiconductor host, reveals that a fraction of the Sm3+ ions are incorporated in the SnO2 nanocrystals, whereas the rest remains in the silica glassy phase. An evolution in the Sm3+ emission spectra has been observed when the SnO2 nanocrystals are excited with different UV wavelengths, which has been ascribed to selective excitation of nanocrystal sets with predetermined size.
Use of Fluid‐Attenuated Inversion‐Recovery Pulse Sequences for Imaging the Spinal Cord

Fourteen patients with disease of the spinal cord were imaged with fluid‐attenuated inversion‐recovery (FLAIR) sequences in which the inversion time was chosen to substantially reduce or null the signal from CSF. Lesions were seen with greater conspicuity than with conventional contrast‐enhanced and ‐unenhanced T1‐ and T2‐‐weighted sequences in 11 cases. © 1992 Academic Press,Inc.
Two point mutations in the transmembrane domain of P68gag-ros inactive its transforming activity and cause a delay in membrane association

The transforming protein of the avian sarcoma virus UR2 is a 68-kDa transmembrane tyrosine protein kinase. We examined the relationship between membrane localization and transforming activity of P68 by changing Val-168-Val-169 in its hydrophobic domain into Asp-168-Glu-169. The resulting transmembrane (TM) mutant (P68TM) lost transforming activity toward chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF). We found that the mutant protein was expressed and rapidly degraded into a smaller form which was still membrane associated and kinase active. The instability of the TM mutant protein is a phenomenon only manifested in CEF, because the same mutant protein was expressed with efficiency and stability similar to those of the wild-type protein in a transient expression system in COS cells. However, there are several differences between the wild-type and the TM mutant proteins in COS cells. The wild-type protein is more heavily phosphorylated and associated with membrane fractions in a cotranslational manner. It is enzymatically active when recovered from membrane fractions. The TM mutant protein is less phosphorylated, more labile toward protease degradation, and delayed in membrane association, with a lag period of 30 min or longer, and has little kinase activity when recovered from membrane fractions. Most of the kinase-active TM mutant protein was found in the cytosol fractions. Despite the delay, most of the TM protein in COS cells was found to be membrane associated, and its orientation on the cell surface was similar to that of the wild-type protein. It is probable that loss of the CEF-transforming activity of the TM mutant protein is due to its susceptibility to protease degradation resulting from improper membrane association of the newly synthesized product. The differences in the kinetics of membrane association and the distribution of kinase activity in COS cells might not be directly applicable in explaining the inability of the TM mutant to transform CEF but are intriguing as regards protein biosynthesis and translocation. The difference between CEF and COS cells implies that different factors or pathways are involved in the biosynthesis and processing of the TM mutant protein in these two cellular environments. Changes of P68TM in the kinetics of membrane association indicate that the transmembrane domain of ros, besides functioning as a membrane anchor, also plays a role in directing initial membrane association.
Thc6 protein, isolated from Trichoderma harzianum, can induce maize defense response against Curvularia lunata

Mutant T66 was isolated from 450 mutants (constructed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens‐mediated transformation method) of Trichoderma harzianum. Maize seeds coated with T66 were more susceptible to Curvularia lunata when compared with those coated with wild‐type (WT) strain. The disease index of maize treated with T66 and WT were 62.5 and 42.1%, respectively. Further research showed T‐DNA has inserted into the ORF of one gene, which resulted in the functional difference between WT and T66. The gene was cloned and named Thc6, which encodes a novel 327 amino acid protein. To investigate its function, we obtained knockout, complementation, and overexpression mutants of Thc6. Challenge inoculation studies suggested that the Thc6 overexpression mutant can reduce the disease index of maize inbred line Huangzao 4 against the leaf spot pathogen (C. lunata). Meanwhile, The Thc6 mutants were found to affect the resistance of maize inbred line Huangzao 4 against C. lunata by enhancing the activation of jasmonate‐responsive genes expression. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) data further confirmed that the concentration of jasmonate in the induced maize exhibits a parallel change tendency with the expression level of defense‐related genes. Hence, the Thc6 gene could be participated in the induced resistance of maize inbred line Huangzao 4 against C. lunata infection through a jasmonic acid‐dependent pathway.
Cytogenetic study of myelodysplastic syndrome from India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) represents a group of clonal haematological disorders characterized by progressive cytopenia reflecting defects in erythroid, myeloid and megakaryocytic maturation. The incidence of MDS is more in older age groups and frequent chromosome abnormalities reported to be monosomies 5 and 7. However, the data on cytogenetic changes in Indian MDS patients are scanty. The present study was therefore undertaken to study the aetiology and frequency of chromosomal changes in MDS patients, attending a tertiary care hospital in Maharashtra, India. METHODS The study was carried out in 145 MDS patients for six years (2001-2006) at National Institute of Immunohaematology (ICMR), and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India. The patients were diagnosed according to FAB and WHO classification. Cytogenetic study was carried out using GTG-banding and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) methods. Statistical analysis was done with Chi(2) and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS Chromosomal abnormalities, including novel chromosome aberrations were detected in 54.48 per cent MDS patients and frequency of chromosomal aberrations increased with increase in age (> or = 30 yr). Among occupational exposure factors, chromosomal aberrations significantly (P<0.05) associated with pesticides exposure. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION Our findings showed 54.48 per cent chromosome abnormalities including novel chromosome aberrations in MDS patients and these chromosome aberrations were increased with advancing age. In our series a high frequency of younger population (53%) developed MDS, a detailed molecular genetics and aetiological factors need to be studied.