Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-canonical YXXGΦ endocytic motifs: recognition by AP2 and preferential utilization in P2X4 receptors

During clathrin-mediated endocytosis, proteins on the cell surface are selected for inclusion in clathrin-coated vesicles by clathrin adaptors, mainly the adaptor complex AP2. The P2X4 subtype of ATP-gated ion channel has in its C-terminus two putative endocytic motifs: a canonical YXXΦ motif and a non-canonical YXXGΦ motif (YEQGL). We demonstrate that endocytosis of P2X4 receptors is mediated preferentially by the YXXGΦ motif because the YXXΦ motif is inaccessible to AP2 owing to the structure of the channel. The crystal structure of a complex between residues 160-435 of the μ2 subunit of AP2 and a P2X4 C-terminal peptide showed that the YEQGL motif binds to μ2 at the same site as YXXΦ motifs. Y and Φ residues are accommodated in the same hydrophobic pockets in μ2 with the extra residue between them being accommodated by changes in the peptide's backbone configuration, when compared to YXXΦ motifs. These data demonstrate that the family of potential tyrosine-based endocytic signals must be expanded to include motifs with an additional glycine at Y+3 (YXXGΦ).
Speaker verification: a tutorial

The task of speaker verification, a subset of the general problem of speaker recognition is defined. The feature selection and pattern matching steps of the recognition procedure are examined. Speaker verification system design and performance are discussed, and databases for evaluating them are briefly considered. An example of a speaker verification system is described. An overview of industry research in this area is given. <<ETX>>
DNA Sequence Classification in the Presence of Sequencing Errors Project of CSE 847

We propose a new method to solve the problem of DNA sequence classification in the presence of sequence errors. This method incorporates sequencing error models into standard Viterbi Algorithm(AJ, 1967) which is used to find the best path that a query DNA sequence is generated by a profile Hidden Markov Model (profile HMM)(SR., 1998). Our method will correct the sequencing errors and then align the corrected query sequence to different protein families. By sequencing error correction our method will improve the prediction accuracy for sequence classification. Moreover, we will classify more sequences to one of the candidate families which cannot be classified by current tools due to sequencing errors.
Biometric encryption using fingerprint fuzzy vault for FPGA-based embedded systems

This paper discusses a biometric encryption system using fuzzy vault scheme implemented on FPGA development board. Cryptographic algorithms are very secure overall but have a weak point in terms of the storage of the crypto keys. Biometric authentication systems have many exploitable weak points that can be used to compromise the system. Biometric encryption is a security scheme that combines strong cryptographic algorithms with biometric authentication to provide better security. This paper discusses a simple implementation of a biometric encryption system as a stand-alone embedded device. Fuzzy vault scheme is used as the method to bind the crypto key and biometrics. The system processes were implemented as software blocks run on the firmware.
Recent Developments in Fast Neutron Radiography for the Interrogation of Air Cargo Containers

There is a growing need to rapidly scan bulk air cargo for contraband such as illicit drugs and explosives. Ideally, cargo containers must be imaged without unpacking and with scan times of less than one minute. Fast neutron techniques are particularly attractive for screening cargo as they can be used to determine cargo composition. The Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has developed a scanner that combines fast (14 MeV) neutron and gamma-ray (or X-ray) radiography (FNGR). This direct, dual- beam radiography technique is much more efficient than methods that measure secondary radiation and has much better material discrimination sensitivity than the dual-energy X-ray technique. A full-scale prototype FNGR scanner was trialed by Australian Customs Service to screen incoming air cargo at Brisbane International Airport in 2005/6. The trial of the scanner demonstrated the material discrimination capability of the technology and its ability to make concealed organic materials more obvious. CSIRO and Nuctech Company Limited have recently developed a new version of the scanner suitable for commercial deployment that combines a 14 MeV fast neutron radiography system with dual-energy X-ray radiography. The X-ray system uses a 6 MeV LINAC X-ray source and Binocular Stereoscopic imaging with much better spatial resolution than the scanner trialed at Brisbane airport. The improved resolution, combined with binocular stereoscopic imaging, allows complex cargo images to be separated into multiple layers, making it easier to identify threat items. The first unit of the commercial scanner was recently commissioned in Beijing and initial results are presented.
Implementation and Evaluation of Proportional Integral Controller Enhanced (PIE) Algorithm in ns-3

This paper proposes a new ns-3 model and presents the evaluation results for Proportional Integral controller Enhanced (PIE), a recently designed Active Queue Management (AQM) mechanism to address the problem of bufferbloat. The problem of bufferbloat arises due to the presence of large unmanaged buffers in routers. This leads to high queuing latency and significantly degrades the performance of timesensitive and interactive traffic. AQM mechanisms that aim to address the problem of bufferbloat try to achieve an optimal trade-off between high link utilization and low mean queue length. PIE is a lightweight AQM mechanism that tries to achieve the same. To our knowledge, ns-3 network simulator does not have a model for simulating PIE. Hence, in this paper, we implement a ns-3 model for PIE, and show that the results obtained from it are in line with those obtained from the ns-2 model of PIE, implemented by its authors.
A case‐control study of Alzheimer's disease in China

We conducted a case-control study to assess possible factors associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) with 70 clinically diagnosed AD patients and 140 age- and sex-matched nondemented neighborhood controls in China. Factors significantly associated with AD cases were family history of dementia in first-degree relatives, family history of psychotic disorders in first-degree relatives, and left-handedness/ambidexterity. A history of arthritis showed a significantly negative association with AD. Neither a family history for Down's syndrome, history of head trauma, nor other conditions that might support immune or viral hypotheses in AD were significantly associated with AD cases. These data support the role of familial/genetic factors in AD.
Prooxidant‐induced c‐Src/nuclear factor kappa B‐coupled signalling in sensory ganglia mediates cutaneous hyperalgesia

Persistent pain resulting from peripheral injury/inflammation is associated with altered sensitivity to cutaneous stimuli, which can manifest as hyperalgesia. The role of oxidant stress in the development, progression and maintenance of hyperalgesia is still not understood. Furthermore, there appears to be a relationship between c‐Src kinase in the pain pathway and oxidative stress.
Bioavailability of hexabromocyclododecane to the polychaete Hediste diversicolor: Exposure through sediment and food from a contaminated fjord

Knowledge of the bioavailability of brominated flame retardants for sediment‐dwelling organisms is limited. The present study investigated bioaccumulation of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) in the ragworm Hediste diversicolor exposed to field‐contaminated sediments and food. Sediments and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were sampled from a fjord on the Norwegian west coast known to be highly contaminated with the brominated flame retardant HBCD. During a four‐week experiment, ragworms were either exposed to sediment containing moderate or high concentrations of HBCD, or they were fed contaminated soft tissue from mussel. Although mean sediment concentrations were as high as 40 µg/g dry weight in the contaminated sediments, no HBCD were detected in the exposed ragworms (detection limit up to 2.0 ng/g wet wt). In contrast, the exposure to contaminated food (mussel) resulted in elevated body concentrations of 9.1 ng HBCD/g wet weight. The partitioning of HBCD in the test‐sediments appeared to be influenced by the quantity and quality of the sediment organic matter (up to 15% total organic carbon). The presence of small plastic beads (<2 mm), which were shown to contain a mean of 50 µg/g dry weight of HBCD, could explain the low bioavailability of the flame retardant in the sediment. Hexabromocyclododecane in food appeared to be readily assimilated in the ragworm, however, and the diastereomer pattern indicated a relative increase of α‐HBCD from mussel to ragworm. Hence, in the sampled areas of the fjord, trophic transfer appeared to be a more important mechanism for the entry of HBCD into the local benthic food web than sediment‐to‐biota accumulation. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2010; 29:1709–1715. © 2010 SETAC
The Computer Readability Editing System

The Computer Readability Editing System (CRES) is a tool for helping technical writers adhere to writing rules contained in military standards and guidelines. For example, it helps in using consistent terminology, defining technical terms and avoiding certain kinds of awkward sentence construction. The most important feature of the system is its control of vocabulary using a series of carefully compiled word lists including a common word list of 4,000 words and seven technical word lists (e.g., electronics and propulsion engineering). The lists were laboriously compiled for use specifically with military technical information. Users can easily compile lists for their own needs. The program, now running on the WANG VS minicomputer, has been designed for ease of use. Many contractors are incorporating CRES into their automated publishing systems.
Drugs, Quarantine Might Stop a Pandemic Before It Starts

Thirty-six years after the last influenza pandemic, researchers wonder whether they can make these global disasters a thing of the past. A new model reported online this week in Science (www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1115717) predicts that a hypothetical emergent flu strain may be containable.
Submental intubation an alternative to tracheostomy in patients with panfacial fractures

Introduction In panfacial injuries, a choice has to be made among different ways of intubation, especially when short-term airway management is desirable only for intraoperative management of a case in the presence of difficult oral and nasal airway access and frequent intraoperative dental occlusion. We report our experience with submental intubation as an alternative to tracheostomy in the airway management of patients with complex panfacial fractures. The aim of this article was to evaluate the outcome of airway management in patients with complex maxillofacial fractures by submental intubation, time required for intubation, accidental extubation and postoperative complications and to discuss indications, contraindications, advantages and disadvantages of submental intubation. Materials and Methods Three patients of panfacial fractures who underwent submental intubation from May 2013 to December 2013 were reviewed, and no statistical analysis was used. Results At the end of the procedure, all three patients were extubated without any complications. Conclusion Submental endotracheal intubation is a simple technique with very low morbidity and can be used as an alternative to tracheostomy in cases of complex maxillofacial trauma.
Label-free microscopic bioimaging by means of confocal Raman spectroscopy on living glioblastoma cells

The present thesis evaluates the possibility of noninvasive label free imaging on living cells by means of Raman microspectroscopic mapping. Here, after Raman measurements on living cells, immunofluorescence (IF) imaging served as a reference and helped to derive spectral patterns from Raman datasets. This allowed a clear identification of five intracellular comparments.With these patterns, artificial IF images (aIF) could be generated from Raman data, which can illustrate all five organelles only from the Raman spectral data. The feasibility of Raman spectroscopy to capture specific alternations in living cells, without changing the specimen itself, make the method highly interesting for investigations in molecular pathology.
First Report of the Male of Amblyomma rotundatum (Acari: Ixodidae) from a Field-Collected Host

Abstract An adult male of the tick Amblyomma rotundatum Koch was collected on a naturally infested lizard, Tropidurus sp. (Squamata: Tropiduridae), at Monte Negro, State of Rondônia, Brazil. The tick’s identity was confirmed morphologically and by analysis of the second internal transcribed spacer of the ribosomal DNA. This is the third known male specimen of A. rotundatum, a species that has been shown to reproduce exclusively by parthenogenesis. The two previously reported male specimens seemed to be partially teratological or gynandromorphic, whereas the present specimen shows no visible genetic or developmental anomaly.
Is home blood pressure monitoring feasible and well accepted in nephrectomized patients for renal cancer? (STAFF study)

Abstract Aims: Few studies have looked at blood pressure (BP) evolution after nephrectomy, except for in living kidney donors with no clinical relevant modifications. STAFF is a pilot, open-label, observational study to evaluate the feasibility of following BP by home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) after nephrectomy for cancer. Major findings: 56 patients (66.1% previously treated for hypertension) were included between November 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012; 95.8% of the patients realized five of six primary end-points in HBPM, but the last monitoring session at 6 months was often lacking (60%) probably because of a lack of understanding. When BP was controlled before surgery, 36% of the patients underwent new hypertension or hypertension dysregulation, without any correlating factor found; 33% of the patients presented the presence of proteinuria or an increase during the follow-up. Previous hypertension or high body mass index were risk factors for proteinuria increase (p = 0.036 and 0.032) but not treatment by an renin–angiotensin system blocker. There was no statistical link between HTA control and proteinuria. Conclusion: Our study shows that most patients undergoing nephrectomy for cancer are able to follow HBPM. It should be encouraged for detecting high BP or proteinuria, especially if antiangiogenic therapies are envisaged because of the supplementary risk of hypertension and proteinuria induced by these treatments.
Differential RNA Sequence Requirement for Dengue Virus Replication in Mosquito and Mammalian Cells

ABSTRACT Dengue virus cycles between mosquitoes and humans. Each host provides a different environment for viral replication, imposing different selective pressures. We identified a sequence in the dengue virus genome that is essential for viral replication in mosquito cells but not in mammalian cells. This sequence is located at the viral 3′ untranslated region and folds into a small hairpin structure. A systematic mutational analysis using dengue virus infectious clones and reporter viruses allowed the determination of two putative functions in this cis-acting RNA motif, one linked to the structure and the other linked to the nucleotide sequence. We found that single substitutions that did not alter the hairpin structure did not affect dengue virus replication in mammalian cells but abolished replication in mosquito cells. This is the first sequence identified in a flavivirus genome that is exclusively required for viral replication in insect cells.
Comprehensibility of selected United States Pharmacopeia pictograms by illiterate and literate Farsi speakers: The first experience in Iran – Part II

Background: Conveying information to patients on how to use medications at the dispensing sessions and retention of this information by the patients is essential to the good pharmaceutical care. The aim of our study was to examine the comprehensibility of the selected three potentially usable pictograms by five groups of subjects who had different levels of literacy in both before and after mini educational sessions. Materials and Methods: Nine experienced pharmacists selected three potentially usable pictograms in Isfahan pharmacies: Pictograms D through F representing respectively: “do not take medication during pregnancy,” “keep medication in the refrigerator,” and “take medication with plenty of water. ” Then, graduate students of two major universities (Groups 1 and 2), low-literate and illiterate individuals (Groups 3 and 4), and walk – in patients in the pharmacies affiliated to the Isfahan School of Pharmacy (Group 5) were asked about the comprehensibility of these pictograms before and after mini-education sessions. The American National Standard Institute and International Organization for Standardization standards were used for comparisons. Results: In the pre-follow-up period, D and E pictograms were most understandable (87.4%, 87.2%). In the post-follow-up, E and D pictograms were understood most (98.0%, 95.3%), followed by F (92.9%). Among the improvements measured in post-follow-up, pictogram F showed the biggest improvement (P = 0.0). Conclusion: Pictograms depicting the use of medications during pregnancy (D) and storing medication in the refrigerator (E) was easier to understand by our study population. The groups with the high level of literacy interpreted the pictograms better than those with lower levels of literacy.
Use of large‐volume sample stacking in on‐line solid‐phase extraction‐capillary electrophoresis for improved sensitivity

We present a new system for the sensitive analysis of cephalosporins by CE using both on‐line SPE and large‐volume sample stacking (LVSS). Sample volumes of 250 μL were loaded onto the SPE microcolumn which was then desorbed with 426 nL of ACN. The SPE elution plug was injected into the CE system via an in‐line valve interface filling approximately 60% of the volume of the separation capillary. Subsequently, LVSS was performed by applying a voltage of −5 kV, which resulted in the simultaneous removal of the elution solvent and the preconcentration of the analytes in a narrow zone. This way the amount of analyte loaded into the capillary could be considerably increased without serious loss of CE separation efficiency. LODs for cefoperazone and ceftiofur were in the ng/L range which represents an improvement of a factor of 8450 and 11 450 when compared with direct CE injection. The cephalosporin test compounds presented a good linear response (corrected peak area) between 0.5 and 10 μg/L with correlation coefficients higher than 0.995. The final method is compared with previously reported LVSS‐CE and SPE‐CE systems for the analysis of cephalosporins.
Effect of Arctium lappa L. in the dextran sulfate sodium colitis mouse model.

AIM To analyze the possible protective role of Arctium lappa L. (AL) in a murine model of ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS BALB/c mice were administered 100 mg/kg AL powder orally each day. After 7 d, colitis was induced by administration of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) (5% W/V) in drinking water for a further 8 consecutive days. Diarrhea and bloody stools as well as colonic histology were observed. The level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in colonic sections were detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS There were significant differences in mean body weight values and disease activity indices between controls and AL-treated animals. Moreover, the histological findings showed that AL treatment can prevent mucosal edema, submucosal erosions, ulceration, inflammatory cell infiltration and colon damage. In addition, immunohistochemistry analysis showed that the levels of the inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and TNF-alpha were also decreased in AL-treated groups. CONCLUSION We suggest that AL can prevent intestinal damage and decrease inflammatory cytokines in mice with DSS-induced colitis. Thus, AL could prove to be a useful food for UC.
Improving item-based collaborative filtering recommendation system with tag

Since market segmentation brings the need of personalized service and long tail phenomenon is continuously proven in the Internet applications, recommendation systems have been paid more and more attention. Item-based collaborative filtering algorithms as the one of most widely used and successful recommendation technology have been continuously improved. But traditional item-based collaborative filtering algorithms cannot solve the data sparseness and the "cold start" problems properly, and handle the over-reliance on the user rating information without consideration of the user's rating subjective factor. With the growing up of Web2.0, tag has been widely used, which allows users to define characteristics of objects from their own point of view. As a consequence, the interaction between the user and recommendation system is improved, and a new way of thinking to improve the quality of recommendation is provided as considering the view point of user in the recommendation. This paper uses tag-based method to calculate the similarity between users, and in the process of calculating item similarity, which makes use of TAG to calculate the similarity between the current user and each user in the candidate set to filter out users with different interest points, thereby it enhances the credibility of item similarity and guarantees the quality of recommendation quality as well. And based on mentioned above, the recommendation system framework is designed, meanwhile which facilitates further research.
Electromagnetic energy density in dispersive and dissipative media

The description of the energy density associated with an electromagnetic field propagating through matter must treat two different phenomena: dispersion, the variation of the refractive index with frequency, and dissipation, the loss of field energy by absorption. In many cases, as in common dielectrics, the dispersive medium is essentially transparent, so dissipation can be neglected. For metals, however, both dispersion and dissipation must be taken into account, and their respective contributions vary significantly with the frequency of the electromagnetic field. Plasmonic structures such as slits, holes, and channel waveguides always involve surfaces between dielectrics and metals, and the energy density in the vicinity of the interface figures importantly in the dynamic response of these structures to light excitation in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions. Here we consider the electromagnetic energy density propagated on and dissipated at real metal–dielectric surfaces, including the important surface plasmon polariton, the wave guided by the interface. We show how the “stored energy” oscillates over an optical cycle between the plasmonic structure and the propagating surface mode, while the dissipated energy continues to accumulate over the same period. We calculate these energy densities for the case of the silver–air interface (using two datasets for silver permittivity commonly cited in the research literature) over a range of frequencies corresponding to the range of wavelengths from 200 to 2000 nm.