Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Attenuated CMV Vaccine with a Deletion in Tegument Protein GP83 (pp65 Homolog) Protects against Placental Infection and Improves Pregnancy Outcome in a Guinea Pig Challenge Model.

AIMS Congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection can lead to long-term neurodevelopmental sequelae, including mental retardation and sensorineural hearing loss. Preconception vaccine strategies relevant to prevention of HCMV-mediated injury to the newborn can be studied in the guinea pig cytomegalovirus (GPCMV) model. The objectives of this study were: 1) to assess in guinea pigs the protective efficacy against congenital infection and disease of a recombinant live, attenuated vaccine with a targeted deletion of the GPCMV homolog of the HCMV pUL83 tegument protein, GP83; and, 2) to compare the extent of placental infection in vaccine and control groups, using an in situ hybridization (ISH) assay. MATERIALS AND METHODS Outbred Hartley guinea pigs were vaccinated prior to pregnancy with a two-dose series of 5×104 pfu of vAM409, a GP83 deletion virus. Deletion of the GP83 gene resulted in an attenuated virus, and vAM409 vaccinated animals did not demonstrate evidence of DNAemia following vaccination, although ELISA antibody responses were comparable to those observed in natural infection. After mating, pregnant animals were challenged with salivary gland-adapted (SG) GPCMV (1×106 pfu) in the second trimester, and pregnancy outcomes were compared to controls. RESULTS Compared to placebo-immunized controls, vaccination resulted in significantly reduced maternal DNAemia following SG challenge, and there was significantly decreased pup mortality in litters born to vaccinated dams (3/29; 10%), compared to control (35/50; 70%; p<0.001). By in situ hybridization study, recovered placentas in the vAM409 vaccine group demonstrated reduced infection and fewer infectious foci compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS In summary, preconception immunization with a GP83 deletion vaccine reduced maternal DNAemia and results in protection against congenital GPCMV-associated pup mortality compared to unvaccinated controls. Vaccination resulted in reduced placental infection, probably related to the reduction in maternal DNAemia. Although the pp65 homolog in GPCMV, GP83, is a known target of protective T cell immune responses, it is nevertheless dispensable for effective vaccination against maternal and fetal CMV disease in this model.
A MANDA-An Intelligent Dialog Coordination Environment

This paper describes AMANDA an intelligent system intended to coordinate collective dialog sessions in distance learning environments. The overall objective of AMANDA is to help tutors achieve better results from group discussions and improve knowledge transfer among the participants. This is done by integrating the collective dialog as a disciplined and wellcoordinated activity in distance learning situations. For this purpose, the dialog is represented as an argumentation tree, a structured collection of questions, alternatives and arguments which evolves along sequential dialog cycles. The intelligent behavior of the system is due to its coordination actions taken in response to reasoning over the dialog. We describe how AMANDA coordinates the dialog process by generating a sequence of dialog cycles based on a set of coordination parameters. In this paper we briefly describe AMANDA’s functional modules, internal structures and coordination algorithms. The knowledge models that support system reasoning are described, as well as our practical experience in domain modeling. We have tested the system in actual training situations, for which we chose a test course and modeled the corresponding domain knowledge. Although some modules of the system are still under development, specially those related to semantic reasoning, we discuss the application of semantic parameters and identify some techniques which may improve the coordination algorithm. 2 AMANDA Agent de Modélisation et ANalyse de Dialogues Argumentés is a joint R&D effort between the Pontifical University of Paraná, Brazil (PUC-PR), the Technology University of Compiègne, France (UTC) and their respective partners Siemens Telecomunicações, Brazil and Cegos, France.
Semantometrics: Fulltext-Based Measures for Analysing Research Collaboration

The aim of this article is to demonstrate some of the possible uses of a novel set of metrics called Semantometrics in relation to the role of "bridges" in scholarly publication networks. In contrast to the existing metrics such as Bibliometrics, Altmetrics or Webometrics, which are based on measuring the number of interactions in the scholarly network, Semantometrics build on the premise that full-text is needed to understand scholarly publication networks and the value of publications.
Numerical modeling and measurements on the shielding effectiveness of enclosure with apertures

Generally, most of the electronic equipments need a metallic enclosure in order to mechanically protect and to electrically shield the interior printed circuit boards (PCBs) and subsystems. But in the practical situations, the apertures or slots of various forms are essential parts of the shielding enclosure for heat dissipation, CD-ROMs, connectors, I/O cabling and so on. The performance of shielding enclosures for high-speed digital systems is compromised by those inevitable discontinuities on enclosure. To minimize the electromagnetic interference and susceptibility risk by those discontinuities, the shielding enclosures with apertures should be designed based on the thorough analysis about the electromagnetic coupling mechanism through apertures. In this paper, the effect of apertures on shielding effectiveness of the enclosure is studied with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. And the simulated SE data are verified numerically and experimentally. Good agreements are seen. Also several guidelines on the apertures design of shielding enclosure are verified with the numerical methods.
Physikalische Grundlagen des thermischen Raummodells THERAKLES

Das thermische Raummodell THERAKLES berechnet das dynamische Verhalten eines Raumes und seiner Umschliesungsflachen in Abhangigkeit von realistischen Klimarandbedingungen, sowie Nutzerund Anlagenverhalten. Neben Energieverbrauchswerten werden die operative Temperatur sowie weitere Kriterien zur Beurteilung der Behaglichkeit berechnet. Schwerpunkt der Anwendung liegt auf Optimierung der thermischen Behaglichkeit im Sommerfall, sowie energetischer Optimierung der Regelung von Heizungsanlagen unter Ausnutzung der Dynamik schwerer Baukonstruktionen und Massivbauwande. Das Modell beschreibt das dynamische Verhalten der Umfassungskonstruktionen durch instationare, raumlich aufgeloste Simulation der Wand-, Fusboden-, und Deckenbzw. Dachflachen. Dadurch werden in der Konstruktion enthaltene Phasenwechselmaterialien (PCM) berucksichtigt und die zeitliche Verfugbarkeit der zusatzlichen Warmespeicherfahigkeit abgebildet.
The OGI multi-language telephone speech corpus

The OGI Multi-language Telephone Speech Corpus is designed to support research on automatic language identi cation and multi-language speech recognition. The corpus consists of up to nine separate responses from each caller, ranging from single words to short topic-speci c descriptions to 60 seconds of unconstrained spontaneous speech. The utterances were spoken over commercial telephone lines by speakers of English, Farsi (Persian), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Tamil, and Vietnamese. We have completed the initial phase of our data acquisition e ort: the recording and initial veri cation of utterances produced by 100 di erent speakers in each of the 10 languages. We describe the recording protocol, data collection procedure, ongoing corpus development, preliminary results of the statistical evaluation of the 10 languages, and plans to provide orthographic transcriptions of the speech.
Pointwise linear regression analysis of serial Humphrey visual fields and a correlation with electroretinography in birdshot chorioretinopathy

Aims To investigate deterioration in serial Humphrey visual fields (HVFs) using pointwise linear regression (PLR) analysis in patients with birdshot chorioretinopathy (BCR) monitored with full field electroretinography (ERG). Methods Retrospective review of the case notes, HVFs and ERG of patients under treatment for BCR at Moorfields Eye Hospital between 1998 and 2014. Eyes with ERG recorded using protocols to incorporate International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision standards and at least five reliable Swedish Interactive Testing Algorithm standard 24-2 HVFs were included. HVFs were analysed by PLR analysis of luminance sensitivity using the Progressor software and linear regression analysis of mean deviation (MD). Results 202 HVFs from 31 eyes of 16 patients were analysed. Mean follow-up was 60.25 months. MD remained stable in all eyes. PLR analysis detected progressive field loss in 10 eyes (seven patients). The mean (SD) slope of change at progressing points was −1.83 (0.90) db/year (p<0.05). ERG worsened in 3 of the 10 eyes with field loss. Although there was no clear relationship between patterns of field loss and electrophysiological dysfunction, more extensive field loss was associated with more marked ERG abnormalities and rod system involvement. Conclusions This study demonstrates that PLR analysis can identify field loss despite a stable MD and stable and even normal electrophysiology in BCR, thus establishing a role for regular standardised monitoring of visual fields as an adjunct to electrophysiology in order to facilitate more accurate characterisation of retinal dysfunction and hence enabling better-informed treatment decisions and monitoring of treatment efficacy.
A Model Based on Influence Diagrams for Multi-Criteria Decision-Making

In this paper, we focus on multi-criteria decision-making problems. We propose a model based on influence diagrams; this model is able to handle uncertainty, represent interdependencies among the different decision variables and facilitate communication between the decision-maker and the analyst. The particular structure of the proposed model makes it possible to take into account the alternatives described by an attribute set, the decision-maker's characteristics and preferences, and other information (e.g., internal or external factors) that influence the decision. Modeling the decision problem in terms of influence diagrams requires a lot of work to gather expert knowledge. However, once the model is built, it can be easily and efficiently used for different instances of the decision problem. In fact, using our model simply requires entering some basic information, such as the values of internal or external factors and the decision-maker's characteristics. Our model also defines the importance of each criterion in terms of what is known about the decision maker, the quality index and the utility of each alternative.
p27Kip1 Inhibits Cyclin D-Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 by Two Independent Modes

ABSTRACT Cell cycle progression is regulated by cyclin-dependent kinases (cdk's), which in turn are regulated by their interactions with stoichiometric inhibitors, such as p27Kip1. Although p27 associates with cyclin D-cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (cdk4) constitutively, whether or not it inhibits this complex is dependent on the absence or presence of a specific tyrosine phosphorylation that converts p27 from a bound inhibitor to a bound noninhibitor under different growth conditions. This phosphorylation occurs within the 3-10 helix of p27 and may dislodge the helix from cdk4's active site to allow ATP binding. Here we show that the interaction of nonphosphorylated p27 with cdk4 also prevents the activating phosphorylation of the T-loop by cyclin H-cdk7, the cdk-activating kinase (CAK). Even though the cyclin H-cdk7 complex is present and active in contact-arrested cells, p27's association with cyclin D-cdk4 prevents T-loop phosphorylation. When p27 is tyrosine phosphorylated in proliferating cells or in vitro with the tyrosine Y kinase Abl, phosphorylation of cdk4 by cyclin H-cdk7 is permitted, even without dissociation of p27. This suggests that upon release from the contact-arrested state, a temporal order for the reactivation of inactive p27-cyclin D-cdk4 complexes must exist: p27 must be Y phosphorylated first, directly permitting cyclin H-cdk7 phosphorylation of residue T172 and the consequent restoration of kinase activity. The non-Y-phosphorylated p27-cyclin D-cdk4 complex could be phosphorylated by purified Csk1, a single-subunit CAK from fission yeast, but was still inactive due to p27's occlusion of the active site. Thus, the two modes by which p27 inhibits cyclin D-cdk4 are independent and may reinforce one another to inhibit kinase activity in contact-arrested cells, while maintaining a reservoir of preformed complex that can be activated rapidly upon cell cycle reentry.
Nanosecond Time‐Resolved Fluorescence Protease Assays

Herein, we introduce an assay type that combines the assets of time-resolved fluorescence detection with the advantages of collision-induced quenching and the use of a highly biocompatible fluorophore: 2,3-diazabicycloA (DBO). We have previously introduced DBO derivatives as an unconventional class of fluorescent probes; they have been termed fluorazophores. [19] The most remarkable feature is their exceedingly long fluorescence lifetime (up to 1 ms, lmax = 430 nm, ff = 0.26), [20] which we have previously exploited for mechanistic investigations in the area of supramolecular and biomolecular chemistry, namely for the determination of the association kinetics of water-soluble host molecules, [21–25] the diffusional properties of antioxidants in membrane models, [26–28] and the kinetics of oligonucleotide and polypeptide folding. [29–31] This
Recent research on gender differences in collegiate alcohol use.

Abstract Gender differences in collegiate alcohol use are reviewed in the literature from 1975–1986 with respect to (1) overall differences in drinking motivations, consequences, and consumption patterns; (2) evidence for historical convergence (a lessening of gender differences over time); (3) developmentally related patterns of alcohol use in transition to and during the years of college; and (4) the relative impact of environmental influences on drinkng patterns. There is considerable agreement in the literature regarding overall gender differences: Men drink more often, in greater quantities, with more negative consequences, and are more likely to drink to get drunk. These differences may be the result of a somewhat misleading gender dichotomy, however, with most men and women sharing a large amount of overlap regarding consumption levels. Historical trends toward convergence of men's and women's drinking have occurred with respect to the percentage of students who drink and the frequency of consumpti.
Effect of peak inspiratory pressure on the development of postoperative pulmonary complications in mechanically ventilated adult surgical patients: a systematic review protocol.

REVIEW QUESTION/OBJECTIVE The objective is to identify the effect of peak inspiratory pressure on the development of postoperative pulmonary complications.More specifically, the objective is to identify the effect of maintaining intraoperative peak inspiratory pressure less than or equal to 30 cmH2O compared with peak inspiratory pressure greater than 30 cmH2O on the incidence of postoperative atelectasis, pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome in mechanically ventilated adult surgical patients.
Do You Walk the Talk in Quality Culture

We present an action research project to foster quality culture in business processes. The client setting is in the food industry, a vital sector for our society and one of the most regulated in the world. Food production involves auditing throughout the supply chain and a demanding information system (IS), with numerous requirements grounded on the organizational policies. Our ISO 2 approach – for joint development of IS and quality management system (QMS) – was tailored with a set of routines and artifacts to promote quality culture in the maintenance process of the selected organization. This contribution enables a graphical visualization of existing gaps between the high-level principles endorsed by an organization and its confirmation: (1) instantiating company policies at process level; (2) contrasting the assessment of the process owner and of the quality auditor; and (3) comparing the desired and the real practices in a specific business process. An audit from a food retail group confirmed the positive outcome of ISO 2 approach in what regards the internalization of quality principles while developing the IS. Moreover, we performed a longitudinal evaluation to verify enduring effects of the ISO 2 approach in business processes. We gathered evidence that ISO 2 can (1) improve process users’ awareness of quality culture; (2) suggest an approach to increase trust in company policies; and (3) contribute to business process improvements.
Question Answering Using Regularized Match-LSTM and Answer Pointer

Automated reading comprehension is an important problem in natural language processing. The Stanford Question Answering Dataset (SQuAD) is a convenient set of questions and crowdsourced answers to utilize for evaluation of QA systems. In this paper, we implement a version of an architecture proposed by Wang and Jiang (2016) based on match-LSTM [9], a model used for textual entailment, and answer candidate generation based on Pointer Net (Vinyals et al., 2015) [7]. We extend the original implementation with an investigation of the effect of regularization methods on this task. Specifically, we argue that any amount of regularization via dropout improves test performance because it prevents overfitting; however, we also note that varying the dropout probability does not significantly change performance, provided it is sufficiently far from 1 (< 0.8).
An investigation into the effect of number of trials during proprioceptive testing in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of increasing the number of test trials in the assessment of knee joint position sense, in a group of patellofemoral patients, and second, to investigate the effects of joint angle and type of test. Thirty‐two patients with a diagnosis of patellofemoral pain syndrome were admitted to this study. Knee joint position sense was measured by performing an ipsilateral matching activity at target angles of 20° and 60° using two techniques; Passive Angle Reproduction (PAR), and Active Angle Reproduction (AAR). The results show that five repetitions are required for AAR and six for PAR. A two‐way repeated‐measures ANOVA showed that there was no significant difference (p = 0.559) in the accuracy of angle reproduction for the two angles (60° and 20°); however, there was a significant difference (p = 0.001) between the two types of test (AAR and PAR). The results of this study have implications for clinicians and researchers who examine knee joint proprioception as part of functional assessment in a variety of knee joint pathologies including PFPS. A “quick” one‐off assessment of knee joint position sense may give erroneous data; subjects need to have several trials before a true picture of their proprioceptive status emerges. Type of testing performed, active or passive, is also important, although the angle of testing may not be relevant. © 2006 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 24:1218–1224, 2006
On the Origin of Intracluster Entropy

The entropy distribution of the intracluster medium and the shape of its confining potential well completely determine the X-ray properties of a relaxed cluster of galaxies, motivating us to explore the origin of intracluster entropy and to describe how it develops in terms of some simple models. We present an analytical model for smooth accretion, including both preheating and radiative cooling, that links a cluster's entropy distribution to its mass accretion history and shows that smooth accretion overproduces the entropy observed in massive clusters by a factor of ~2-3, depending on the mass accretion rate. Any inhomogeneity in the accreting gas reduces entropy production at the accretion shock; thus, smoothing of the gas accreting onto a cluster raises its entropy level. Because smooth accretion produces more entropy than hierarchical accretion, we suggest that some of the observed differences between clusters and groups may arise because preheating smooths the smaller scale lumps of gas accreting onto groups more effectively than it smooths the larger scale lumps accreting onto clusters. This effect may explain why entropy levels at the outskirts of groups are ~2-3 times larger than expected from self-similar scaling arguments. The details of how the density distribution of accreting gas affects the entropy distribution of a cluster are complex, and we suggest how to explore the relevant physics with numerical simulations.
Enriching Tortoises: Assessing Color Preference

Environmental enrichment is a principle that is used to enhance the quality of care for nonhuman animals in captivity. To achieve this, it is necessary to understand the animal's needs. This study focused on color preference to provide food stimuli as a source of environmental enrichment for the tortoise, Chelonoidis denticulata. During this study, the stimuli green-, blue-, yellow-, and red-colored bananas and plaster blocks were randomly offered to the tortoises. Analysis of the data showed that the tortoises had a preference for the stimuli dyed with colors red and yellow over the other presented colors. It was possible to conclude that presenting food in different colors stimulated the animals to evaluate their environment and make choices in relation to their color preference. Thus, this experiment introduced an element of choice into their lives, beyond identifying color food preferences for the tortoises. The element of choice is known to be important to animal welfare.
AMYLOID. VI. A COMPARISON OF TWO MORPHOLOGIC COMPONENTS OF HUMAN AMYLOID DEPOSITS

Two morphologic components of human amyloid deposits, the periodic rod and the fibril, have been prepared free of cross-contamination. On tryptic digestion of guanidine-denatured material, peptide maps indicate these two components to have characteristic patterns with no detectable peptide fragments in common. Additional studies on ultrastructural morphology, physical characteristics and chemical composition reveal that the two components are clearly distinct entities with no evidence that one is a derivative of the other. The periodic rod, composed of stacked pentagonal unit structures or "doughnuts," is an antigenic globular glycoprotein deficient in tryptophan and methionine. The fibril, composed of laterally aggregated unit structures or filaments, is a poorly or nonantigenic fibrous glycoprotein of "pleated sheet" type containing both tryptophan and methionine. Congo red staining and birefringence, a dual characteristic of the fibrils and filaments, is dependent upon the physical integrity of these structures.
Magneto-Electric Coupling in a Multiferroic Tunnel Junction Functioning as a Magnetic-Field-Effect Transistor

A nanoscaled multilayered composite structure made of a ferroelectric tunnel capacitor attached to a magnetic sensor layer is studied using a Landau-Ginzburg thermodynamic model. The relation between the polarization and the mechanical load induced by the magnetic signal via electrostriction is established. Our results suggest that the spin-flip-induced resistance change of such a structure may reach hundreds of percents to orders of magnitude, which is sufficiently strong to allow its use as a magnetic-field-effect transistor.