Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of the C-terminal Part of BordetellaDermonecrotic Toxin as a Transglutaminase for Rho GTPases*

Bordetella dermonecrotic toxin (DNT) causes the deamidation of glutamine 63 of Rho. Here we identified the region of DNT harboring the enzyme activity and compared the toxin with the cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1, which also deamidates Rho. The DNT fragment (ΔDNT) covering amino acid residues 1136–1451 caused deamidation of RhoA at glutamine 63 as determined by mass spectrometric analysis and by the release of ammonia. In the presence of dansylcadaverine or ethylenediamine, ΔDNT caused transglutamination of Rho. Deamidase and transglutaminase activities were blocked in the mutant proteins Cys1292 → Ala, His1307 → Ala, and Lys1310 → Ala of ΔDNT. Deamidation and transglutamination induced by ΔDNT blocked intrinsic and Rho- GTPase-activating protein-stimulated GTPase activity of RhoA. ΔDNT deamidated and transglutaminated Rac and Cdc42 in the absence and presence of ethylenediamine, respectively. Modification of Rho proteins by ΔDNT was nucleotide-dependent and did not occur with GTPγS-loaded GTPases. In contrast to cytotoxic necrotizing factor, which caused the same kinetics of ammonia release in the absence and presence of ethylenediamine, ammonia release by ΔDNT was largely increased in the presence of ethylenediamine, indicating that ΔDNT acts primarily as a transglutaminase.
Novel ferroelectric FET based synapse for neuromorphic systems

A compact nanoscale device emulating the functionality of biological synapses is an essential element for neuromorphic systems. Here we present for the first time a synapse based on a single ferroelectric FET (FeFET) integrated in a 28nm HKMG technology, having hafnium oxide as the ferroelectric and a resistive element in series. The gradual and non-volatile ferroelectric switching is exploited to mimic the synaptic weight. We demonstrate both the spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) and the signal transmission and discuss the effect of the spike properties and circuit design on STDP.
In vitro accessibility of carotenes from green leafy vegetables cooked with sunflower oil or red palm oil

Although vegetables and fruits are readily available and consumed in most areas of Tanzania, vitamin A deficiency is still prevalent. The objective of the present study was to measure the in vitro accessibility (available for absorption) of α-carotene and β-carotene in vegetable relishes prepared with or without oil. Derived results were used to calculate the contribution of vegetable relish to recommended daily intake of retinol. Five sundried green leafy vegetables from Tanzania were cooked without oil, with sunflower oil or with red palm oil. The total amount and in vitro accessibility of α-carotene and β-carotene from a portion (100 g) of vegetable relish was determined. The in vitro method used simulated the digestion process in the gastrointestinal tract. Carotenoids released after digestion were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. The total amount of β-carotene varied between 1211 and 3659 μ g/100 g among the five vegetable sources studied. From green leaves cooked without oil, 8-29% of the β-carotene content became accessible after in vitro digestion and 39-94% from leaves cooked with sunflower oil or red palm oil. Adding red palm oil instead of sunflower oil resulted in about twice as much accessible β-carotene, due to the high accessibility of its β-carotene content. The red palm oil contributed also a considerable amount of α-carotene. The results showed that by eating vegetable relishes with added oil daily, it should be possible to provide the recommended intake level of vitamin A.
Inhibition of thyrotropin-stimulated DNA synthesis by microinjection of inhibitors of cellular Ras and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase

Microinjection of a dominant interfering mutant of Ras (N17 Ras) caused a significant reduction in thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH])-stimulated DNA synthesis in rat thyroid cells. A similar reduction was observed following injection of the heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Coinjection of both inhibitors almost completely abolished TSH-induced DNA synthesis. In contrast to TSH, overexpression of cellular Ras protein did not stimulate the expression of a cyclic AMP response element-regulated reporter gene. Similarly, injection of N17 Ras had no effect on TSH-stimulated reporter gene expression. Moreover, overexpression of cellular Ras protein stimulated similar levels of DNA synthesis in the presence or absence of the heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor. Together, these results suggest that in Wistar rat thyroid cells, a full mitogenic response to TSH requires both Ras and cyclic APK-dependent protein kinase.
Alternative Modes of Inquiry for Agricultural Education.

The Journal of the American Association of Teacher Educators in Agriculture (AATEA) represents the broad research interests of the Agricultural Education profession. As such, it should be representative of the research conducted in the profession. Utilizing classifications interpreted by Borg and Gall (1983) and Kaplan (1963), a review of the articles published in the Journal during 1986 and 1987 revealed that 84% of the articles could be classified as quantitative (they were based upon numerical data), while only some 13% were qualitative (findings were based upon subjective observations). The remaining articles were not research articles but were special articles of interest to the profession. The Problem
Free rider behavior is determined by innate factor or acquired factor?

In economic and social systems, the personal contribution usually varies in different age period. We investigate the impacts of social network on individual contribution in their lifespan. First, we use Ucinet software to analyze individual social network density. Second, we use E-views software to analyze experimental data. We design an experiment in which personal consumption level and gender are introduced to the standard L-D experiment. We also explore the link between educational level and free rider behavior. The results of a plenty of laboratory experiments indicate that the free rider behavior is determined by the acquired factor rather than innate factor.
Time-stamped transition density for the estimation of delay dependent switching activities

We propose a new method to improve the accuracy of the transition density for the estimation of delay dependent switching activities in combinational circuits. In the previous method, glitching sensitivity concept was defined and used to modify the transition density so as to generate and propagate the glitch. To account for the inertial delay effect, the same technique that is commonly used in logic simulators to filter out unacceptably short pulses was used. However, since it does not keep transition density at each occurrence time separately, it is not adequate for the accurate estimation of glitch and inertial delay effect. In addition, it underestimates the difference between probabilistic property of the transition density and the deterministic property of signals in logic simulations in computing inertial delay effect. We describe the problems of the previous methods and propose a new method called time-stamped transition density to solve the problems. We also show the extensions of the method to consider possible delay variation due to imperfections in the manufacturing process. The experimental results demonstrate the validity of our proposed method.
Robust Analysis in Stochastic Simulation: Computation and Performance Guarantees

Any performance analysis based on stochastic simulation is subject to the errors inherent in misspecifying the modeling assumptions, particularly the input distributions. In situations with little support from data, we investigate the use of worst-case analysis to analyze these errors, by representing the partial, nonparametric knowledge of the input models via optimization constraints. We study the performance and robustness guarantees of this approach. We design and analyze a numerical scheme for solving a general class of simulation objectives and uncertainty specifications. The key steps involve a randomized discretization of the probability spaces, a simulable unbiased gradient estimator using a nonparametric analog of the likelihood ratio method, and a Frank-Wolfe (FW) variant of the stochastic approximation (SA) method (which we call FWSA) run on the space of input probability distributions. A convergence analysis for FWSA on non-convex problems is provided. We test the performance of our approach via several numerical examples.
CHIANTI—AN ATOMIC DATABASE FOR EMISSION LINES. XII. VERSION 7 OF THE DATABASE

The CHIANTI spectral code consists of an atomic database and a suite of computer programs to calculate the optically thin spectrum of astrophysical objects and carry out spectroscopic plasma diagnostics. The database includes atomic energy levels, wavelengths, radiative transition probabilities, collision excitation rate coefficients, and ionization and recombination rate coefficients, as well as data to calculate free–free, free–bound, and two-photon continuum emission. Version 7 has been released, which includes several new ions, significant updates to existing ions, as well as Chianti-Py, the implementation of CHIANTI software in the Python programming language. All data and programs are freely available at http://www.chiantidatabase. org, while the Python interface to CHIANTI can be found at http://chiantipy.sourceforge. net.
Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling of Pak5 Regulates Its Antiapoptotic Properties

ABSTRACT p21-activated kinase 5 (Pak5) is an effector for the small GTPase Cdc42, known to activate cell survival signaling pathways. Previously, we have shown that Pak5 localizes primarily to mitochondria. To study the relationship between Pak5 localization and its effects on apoptosis, we identified three N-terminal regions that regulate the localization of this kinase: a mitochondrial targeting sequence, a nuclear export sequence, and a nuclear localization sequence. When the first two sequences are deleted, Pak5 is retained in the nucleus and no longer protects cells from apoptosis. Moreover, blockade of nuclear export with leptomycin B causes endogenous Pak5 to accumulate in the nucleus. Additionally, the removal of the N-terminal nuclear localization sequence abolishes Pak5 translocation to the nucleus. Finally, we show that reduction of endogenous Pak5 expression in neuroblastoma and neural stem cells increases their sensitivity to apoptosis and that this effect is reversed upon reexpression of wild-type Pak5 but not of a mutant form of Pak5 that cannot localize to mitochondria. These results show that Pak5 shuttles from mitochondria to the nucleus and that the mitochondrial localization of Pak5 is vital to its effects on cell survival.
Modeling nonlinear phenomena of multipactor and passive intermodulation

We discuss two interesting subjects in high-power microwave engineering: multipactor and passive intermodulation (PIM). Different from existing work, the attention of this paper is focused on their nonlinear phenomena. On the multipactor, we introduce a self-developed time-domain method to solve Maxwell equations and Newton-Lorentz equations. Subsequently, we discuss the nonlinear phenomena caused by interaction between the electromagnetic (EM) fields and charged particles in the frequency domain. On the passive intermodulation, we give an EM-circuit scheme to numerically analyze the nonlinear features of PIM induced by the nonlinear contacts. Some numerical and experimental examples validate the efficiency of the proposed methods.
Colonic J-pouch as a neorectum: functional assessment.

BACKGROUND Sphincter-saving procedures are now commonly used for low rectal cancer but straight colo-anal anastomosis seemed to produce poor functional outcome. The present study was therefore carried out to compare and contrast the functional outcome of colonic J-pouch and straight colo-anal anastomosis. METHODS The clinical and functional outcome of 17 patients having a colonic J-pouch-anal anastomosis and 10 patients having a straight colo-anal anastomosis were compared. They were compared in terms of age, sex, distal resection margin, Dukes stage, histological grade, morbidity/mortality and postoperative anal function. RESULTS There was better bowel function in patients having J-pouch-anal anastomosis, especially in the early period after closure of the covering stoma. Bowel frequency in those patients who had a J-pouch anastomosis was much less compared to those patients in the straight colo-anal group in the 1st and possibly the 2nd year. There was a period of adaptation for the straight colo-anal group which led to a bowel frequency approaching that of the J-pouch group over 1-2 years. Differences in urgency, faecal continence, evacuation function, the use of drugs to slow bowel frequency and ability to discriminate between flatus and faeces were found to favour the J-pouch group in the first postoperative year. The difference between the two groups diminished after that because the straight group improved, especially by the end of the 2nd year. During the study period, there were no constipation problems in the J-pouch group, as noted in some other studies. This was probably associated with the 6-cm length chosen for the pouch. CONCLUSIONS The use of colonic J-pouch resulted in a significant decrease in stool frequency and more satisfactory anal function for the first postoperative year. This difference lessened during the second postoperative year. There was no demonstrable difficulty with rectal evacuation in the pouch patients.
Source attribution and credibility of health and appearance exercise advertisements: Relationship with implicit and explicit attitudes and intentions

The relationship of attributed source (commercial or nonprofit) and credibility of exercise advertisements to explicit and implicit exercise-related attitudes and intentions was examined. Male and female participants (N = 227) were randomly assigned to watch health or appearance-related advertisements and then completed an implicit attitudes task and questionnaires. Health advertisements and those attributed to a nonprofit source were rated more credible. Appearance condition participants who attributed the advertisement to a nonprofit source also rated the advertisement as more credible. Participants who rated a commercial advertisement as credible reported higher implicit instrumental attitudes. Implications for exercise promotion are discussed.
Valuation Structures of Health States Revealed with Singular Value Decomposition

Objective. A basic mathematical routine called singular value decomposition (SVD) is introduced and applied to explore the applicability of this methodology in the context of health state valuations. Methods. SVD dissects a data matrix into 3 separatematrices that contain all the information present in the original data. Eachmatrix comprises a specific type of information. One matrix comprises arrays of weights that show the different valuation structures (i.e., similar ways among respondents to quantify specific sets of health states). A 2nd matrix with weights expresses how strongly each respondent's ratings are related to each of the valuation structures, and a 3rd matrix contains the percentages of variance associated with the valuation structures. SVD was applied to data from a group of 340 respondents who each gave a value to 16 health states using the time tradeoff (TTO) method and the visual analog scale (VAS). Results. SVD of the VAS data showed 1 distinct response pattern that accounted for 91.6% of the total variance. The contribution of the 1st component in the TTO data wasmuch lower (57.4%), and a 2nd component (15.6%) could be identified that reflected a distinct preference structure opposed to the 1st and principal component. Conclusions. Application of SVD to the TTO data revealed that respondents fell into 2 different groups in their TTO evaluations, but respondents weremore similar to each other in their VAS responses. The author discusses other applications of SVD to clinical research.
Prevalence, Risk Factors and Multilocus Genotyping of Giardia intestinalis in Dairy Cattle, Northwest China

Giardia intestinalis is a cosmopolitan protozoan parasite that can infect a range of animals, including dairy cattle. As information regarding the prevalence and genotyping of G. intestinalis infection in dairy cattle in northwestern China is limited, 2,945 feces samples from 1,224 dairy cattle in Gansu Province and from 1,614 in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NXHAR) were examined between December 2012 and March 2014. The overall prevalence of G. intestinalis was 3.63% (107/2,945), with 2.63% and 4.38% in Gansu and NXHAR, respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed region, age and season to be significant risk factors for G. intestinalis infection. Assemblage analysis identified 106 assemblage E and one assemblage A at the triose phosphate isomerase (tpi) locus in this study. Intravariations were also detected at tpi, glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and beta giardin (bg) loci within assemblage E, showing seven, three, and five new subtypes, respectively. Moreover, 13 new multilocus genotypes (E20‐E32) were observed in assemblage E. Effective strategies and measures should be taken to prevent and control giardiasis in Gansu and NXHAR.
Optimizing the radiation pattern of sparse periodic linear arrays

We have developed a method for designing sparse periodic arrays. Grating lobes in the two-way radiation pattern are avoided by using different element spacings on transmission and reception. The transmit and receive aperture functions are selected such that the convolution of the aperture functions produces a desired effective aperture. A desired effective aperture is simply an aperture with an appropriate width, element spacing, and shape such that the Fourier transform of this function gives the desired two-way radiation pattern. If a synthetic aperture approach is used, an exact solution to the problem is possible. However, for conventional imaging, often only an approximation of the desired effective aperture can be found. Different strategies for obtaining these approximate solutions are described. The radiation pattern of a sparse array designed using the effective aperture concept is compared experimentally with the radiation patterns of a dense array, and sparse arrays with periodic and random element spacing. We show that the number of elements in a 128-element linear array can be reduced by at least four times with little degradation of the beam forming properties of the array.
Dynamic scheduling issues in SMT architectures

Simultaneous multithreading (SMT) attempts to attain higher processor utilization by allowing instructions from multiple independent threads to coexist in a processor and compete for shared resources. Previous studies have shown, however, that its throughput may be limited by the number of threads. A reason is that a fixed thread scheduling policy cannot be optimal for the varying mixes of threads it may face in an SMT processor. Our adaptive dynamic thread scheduling (ADTS) was previously proposed to achieve higher utilization by allowing a detector thread to make use of wasted pipeline slots with nominal hardware and software costs. The detector thread adaptively switches between various fetch policies. Our previous study showed that a single fixed thread scheduling policy presents much room (some 30%) for improvement compared to an oracle-scheduled case. In this paper, we take a closer look at ADTS. We implemented the functional model of the ADTS and its software architecture to evaluate various heuristics for determining a better fetch policy for a next scheduling quantum. We report that performance could be improved by as much as 25%.
Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Decompression Trial: twenty-four-month update.

OBJECTIVE To describe visual acuity outcomes of patients in the Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Decompression Trial (IONDT) after 24 months of follow-up. DESIGN The IONDT is a single-masked, multicenter, randomized clinical trial. SETTINGS Patients were evaluated and followed up at 25 clinical centers located throughout the United States. Data were sent to and analyzed at a central coordinating center. PATIENTS Two hundred fifty-eight patients 50 years or older with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy and visual acuity of 20/64 or worse, but better than no light perception, were randomized to either a careful follow-up group (n=131) or an optic nerve decompression surgery (ONDS) group (n=127). Of these, 174 continued participation for at least 24 months, 89 in the careful follow-up group and 85 in the ONDS group. METHODS Randomized patients underwent a standard visual acuity examination at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of follow-up. The primary outcome was a change of 3 lines or more of visual acuity, defined as a difference of 0.3 in logMAR scores, between baseline and 6 months of follow-up. A secondary outcome was mean change in visual acuity (in logMAR units) at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months following baseline. These changes were estimated using available data from all randomized patients for whom we had data. RESULTS Of the 258 patients randomized, 143 (55.4%) were male, and 169 (65.5%) were 65 years or older. Mean visual acuity was statistically significantly improved from baseline value at all study visits and for both treatment groups, although visual acuity declined gradually in both groups after the 3-month visit. There were no significant differences between careful follow-up and ONDS in mean change in vision from the baseline and any follow-up time point. At 24 months of follow-up, 31.0% of patients in the careful follow-up group and 29.4% of patients in the ONDS group experienced an increase of 3 or more lines of vision compared with baseline acuity; 21.8% of patients in the careful follow-up group and 20.0% of patients in the ONDS group experienced a decrease of 3 or more lines. In patients who could read at least 1 letter on the Lighthouse chart, there was a gradual decline in mean visual acuity noted over time for both treatment groups, although acuity remained significantly better than at baseline. CONCLUSION Analysis of visual acuity data from patients enrolled in the IONDT at 24 months of follow-up confirms that there is no benefit of ONDS compared with careful follow-up in patients with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. Arch Ophthalmol. 2000;118:793-798