Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teamwork and leadership in a virtual learning environment

The aim of this article is to identify the relationships and synergies between two basic management skills — teamwork and leadership — in the virtual learning environment of a master’s degree programme subject, whose purpose, among other things, is to enable students to acquire both competencies. A two-fold methodology was used: first, a qualitative analysis of a student survey specifically designed to gain an insight into teamwork and leadership practices; and second, a quantitative analysis of Moodle activity logs for each member of every team’s use of communication spaces and methods (forums and chats). The results obtained from both analyses showed that the dynamics varied considerably from team to team; that there was a clear relationship between teamwork, leadership management and participation, and each group’s performance; and that groups with a clear leader from the start obtained better results.ResumenEl objetivo de este trabajo es identificar relaciones y sinergias entre dos habilidades básicas ligadas a la función directiva -trabajo en equipo y liderazgo- en el entorno de aprendizaje virtual de una asignatura que pretende, entre otras cosas, la adquisición de ambas competencias. La metodología utilizada fue doble: por un lado, encuesta diseñada al efecto y dirigida al alumno para conocer la forma y modo de trabajar en equipo y ejercer el liderazgo y, por el otro, el análisis y seguimiento de los registros o logs que genera la plataforma de e-learning Moodle en cuanto al uso de espacios y métodos de comunicación (foros y chats) por parte de cada uno de los miembros de los equipos de trabajo que se formaron. Los resultados de ambos análisis han permitido advertir dinámicas muy diversas entre los distintos equipos así como una clara relación entre el trabajo en equipo, la gestión del liderazgo, y la participación y el rendimiento obtenido por cada equipo. Se demuestra que los grupos con un líder claro desde el inicio son los que obtienen mejores resultados.
Combination therapy with imatinib mesylate (sti571): synopsis of in vitro studies

Chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) is the first malignancy in which knowledge about the pathomechanisms of the disease has led to the development of a specific and highly effective molecular therapy. The first clinical trials with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate showed high response rates with minimal toxicity and raised hope for a possible cure of CML by drug therapy alone. However, not all patients show a complete response and even in responders relapses continue to occur, particularly in advanced phases of the disease. Combination therapy with imatinib and established or investigational antileukaemic agents may lead to an increase in the response rates and remission duration. This review summarizes relevant in vitro studies in the hope that translation of promising preclinical data into clinical trials will lead to further increases in the life expectancy of CML patients.
Purification and characterization of a pilin specific for Brazilian purpuric fever-associated Haemophilus influenzae biogroup aegyptius (H. aegyptius) strains

Brazilian purpuric fever (BPF) is a recently described fatal pediatric disease caused by systemic infection with Haemophilus influenzae biogroup aegyptius. Previous studies have shown that all H. influenzae biogroup aegyptius strains isolated from BPF cases and case contacts share several unique phenotypic and genotypic characteristics that differentiate them from other H. influenzae biogroup aegyptius strains isolated from conjunctivitis cases in Brazil. One key characteristic of this BPF clone is reactivity in a BPF-specific monoclonal antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We have purified and partially characterized a pilin, referred to as the 25-kilodalton (kDa) protein. Aggregates of this protein contain a heat-labile epitope which is recognized by a monoclonal antibody used in the BPF-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The protein has a molecular weight of approximately 25,000, is insoluble in most detergents, and fractionates with outer membrane vesicles after LiCl extraction. Biochemical analysis of the 25-kDa protein shows it to have an amino acid composition similar but not identical to that of the H. influenzae type b pilin. The sequence of 20 N-terminal amino acids of the 25-kDa protein shows almost complete homology with the N terminus of the H. influenzae type b pilin and the types 1 and P pilins of Escherichia coli. Transmission electron microscopic analysis of the purified protein shows the presence of filamentous structures similar in morphology to those of H. influenzae pili. Reactivity between the 25-kDa protein and the BPF-specific monoclonal antibody is demonstrated by Western blotting (immunoblotting) and colloidal gold-enhanced immunoelectron microscopy. Hemadsorption analysis shows that expression of this protein is associated with increases in piliated cells and enhanced binding of these cells to human erythrocytes. These studies indicate that expression of the 25-kDa protein is a characteristic unique to the BPF clone and suggest that this protein plays a role in the pathogenesis of BPF.
Fixed-Point Performance of Space-Time Turbo Trellis Coded Modulation

To achieve both diversity gain and coding gain, the design of space-time turbo trellis coded modulation (ST turbo TCM), which is based on the turbo structure, has been proposed in the literature. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of finite-word length representation on the performance of ST turbo TCM. We present the investigation of bit-width optimization for an 4-state QPSK ST turbo TCM decoder based on the symbol-by-symbol (SBS) logarithm-maximum a posteriori (log-MAP) algorithm on a quasistatic fading channel. The decoder structure utilizes a sliding window algorithm for reducing memory requirements and decoding latency. Simulation results show that ST turbo TCM is feasible for finite word length representation without significant degradation in the frame error rate (FER) performance. The optimum word length configurations are defined for all quantities external and internal to the SBS log-MAP decoder
Recursive Subspace Identification Based on Principal Component Analysis

The problem of recursive subspace identification of state-space models is considered in this paper. A new recursive algorithm based on SA-PCA (stochastic approximation-principal component analysis) is proposed to estimate a basis of the extended observability matrix in the noise-free case. Besides, a recursive algorithm based on RLS (Recursive Least-Squares) is proposed to estimate the system matrices. The algorithm is evaluated by a simulation study.
Induction of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway during the keratocyte transition to the repair fibroblast phenotype.

PURPOSE To examine dynamics and function of the ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome pathway (UPP) during corneal stromal cell acquisition of the repair fibroblast phenotype. METHODS An established cell culture model was used in which freshly isolated rabbit corneal stromal cells acquire a repair fibroblast phenotype, thereby mimicking injury-induced stromal cell activation. RESULTS Transition to the repair fibroblast phenotype during the 72 hours after initial plating was coincident with progressive UPP induction. Levels of Ub, Ub-conjugated proteins, ubiquitinylating enzymes E1 and E2-25K, and 26 S proteasome increased two- to fivefold in activated stromal cells. These increases were associated with enhanced (>10-fold) capacity for Ub-dependent proteolysis of (125)I-labeled H2A and with progressive (>6-fold) increases in the UPP substrate, inhibitor of kappaBalpha (IkappaBalpha). Because IkappaBalpha expression is induced by nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB, this finding suggests that rates of constitutive NF-kappaB activation, and thus IkappaBalpha degradation, are elevated in activated stromal cells. Both freshly isolated and activated stromal cells degraded IkappaBalpha in response to IL-1alpha; yet, only activated stromal cells maintained autocrine IL-1alpha expression after 24 hours. UPP induction was coincident with a more than 90% loss of tissue transketolase (TKT) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) class 1. TKT was stabilized during the repair phenotype transition by proteasome inhibition and was degraded (>30%/h) by the UPP in cell-free assays. CONCLUSIONS Coordinate induction of the UPP during stromal cell activation alters levels of IkappaBalpha and TKT, two UPP substrates that are implicated in the loss of tissue stasis and corneal clarity after injury.
The parameterized complexity of degree constrained editing problems

This thesis examines degree constrained editing problems within the framework of parameterized complexity. A degree constrained editing problem takes as input a graph and a set of constraints and asks whether the graph can be altered in at most k editing steps such that the degrees of the remaining vertices are within the given constraints. Parameterized complexity gives a framework for examining problems that are traditionally considered intractable and developing efficient exact algorithms for them, or showing that it is unlikely that they have such algorithms, by introducing an additional component to the input, the parameter, which gives additional information about the structure of the problem. If the problem has an algorithm that is exponential in the parameter, but polynomial, with constant degree, in the size of the input, then it is considered to be fixed-parameter tractable. Parameterized complexity also provides an intractability framework for identifying problems that are likely to not have such an algorithm. Degree constrained editing problems provide natural parameterizations in terms of the total cost k of vertex deletions, edge deletions and edge additions allowed, and the upper bound r on the degree of the vertices remaining after editing. We define a class of degree constrained editing problems, WDCE, which generalises several well know problems, such as Degree r Deletion, Cubic Subgraph, r-Regular Subgraph, f-Factor and General Factor. We show that in general if both k and r are part of the parameter, problems in the WDCE class are fixed-parameter tractable, and if parameterized by k or r alone, the problems are intractable in a parameterized sense. We further show cases of WDCE that have polynomial time kernelizations, and in particular when all the degree constraints are a single number and the editing operations include vertex deletion and edge deletion we show that there is a kernel with at most O(kr(k + r)) vertices. If we allow vertex deletion and edge addition, we show that despite remaining fixed-parameter tractable when parameterized by k and r together, the problems are unlikely to have polynomial sized kernelizations, or polynomial time kernelizations of a certain form, under certain complexity theoretic assumptions. We also examine a more general case where given an input graph the question is whether with at most k deletions the graph can be made r-degenerate. We show that in this case the problems are intractable, even when r is a constant.
Automated Virtual Machine Replication and Transparent Machine Switch Support for An Individual Personal Computer User

Automated Virtual Machine Replication and Transparent Machine Switch Support for An Individual Personal Computer User Beom Heyn Kim Master of Science Graduate Department of Computer Science University of Toronto 2011 As the price of computing devices drops, the number of machines managed by an individual PC user has been increased. In many cases, a user with multiple computers wants to use an exact desktop environment across machines. For personal data replication, there are several tools like DropBox, Live Mesh and Tonido. However, these tools can not provide software environment replication. Without a tool to replicate software environment, users have to manage each device’s desktop environment separately which is hassling and difficult task to do manually. In this work, we explore the solution to help modern day PC users to perceive the consistent view of not only personal data but also a whole desktop environment. Our approach automatically replicates modifications made on the desktop environment of one machine to other devices using different replication policies for different network properties. Moreover, users can switch machines instantly and still see the exact environment.
The hOCT1 and ABCB1 polymorphisms do not influence the pharmacodynamics of nilotinib in chronic myeloid leukemia

First-line nilotinib in chronic myeloid leukemia is more effective than imatinib to achieve early and deep molecular responses, despite poor tolerability or failure observed in one-third of patients. The toxicity and efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors might depend on the activity of transmembrane transporters. However, the impact of transporters genes polymorphisms in nilotinib setting is still debated. We investigated the possible correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms of hOCT1 (rs683369 [c.480C>G]) and ABCB1 (rs1128503 [c.1236C>T], rs2032582 [c.2677G>T/A], rs1045642 [c.3435C>T]) and nilotinib efficacy and toxicity in a cohort of 78 patients affected by chronic myeloid leukemia in the context of current clinical practice. The early molecular response was achieved by 81% of patients while 64% of them attained deep molecular response (median time, 26 months). The 36-month event-free survival was 86%, whereas 58% of patients experienced toxicities. Interestingly, hOCT1 and ABCB1 polymorphisms alone or in combination did not influence event-free survival or the adverse events rate. Therefore, in contrast to data obtained in patients treated with imatinib, hOCT1 and ABCB1 polymorphisms do not impact on nilotinib efficacy or toxicity. This could be relevant in the choice of the first-line therapy: patients with polymorphisms that negatively condition imatinib efficacy might thus receive nilotinib as first-line therapy.
Role of plasmid in the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbon by Pseudomonas fluorescens NS1

In this study the role of plasmid in Pseudomonas fluorescens, isolated from petroleum contaminated soil on hexadecane degradation was assessed. The organism was able to utilize hexadecane as sole carbon source and also reduce surface tension up to 27 mN/m. The organism harboured a plasmid of approximately 1.8 kb. Plasmid curing and transformation of plasmid DNA into E. coli revealed that the plasmid was involved in hexadecane degradation. When compared to P. fluorescens, no significant growth was observed with wild-type E. coli strain. P. fluorescens degraded 95% of hexadecane (0.4% (v/v)) whereas the transformed strain degraded 92% of hexadecane in 120 h, which was almost equivalent to the degradation by P. fluorescens. The wild-type E. coli showed no significant degradation of hexadecane whereas, the plasmid transformed E. coli was able to degrade hexadecane, which indicates the expression of the catabolic genes in the transformed E. coli strain.
Neurological Aspects of Human Retroviruses (Baillière's Clinical Neurology

This excellent volume is the first edition of a new series of monographs on clinical neurology. The concise and well-edited chapters of the monograph comprise only 262 pages but provide essential knowledge of the basic science and clinical aspects of retroviral infections. The 10 well-conceived and well-written chapters cover the virology and immunology of retrovirus infections, animal models of retroviral infection, human infections (HTLV-I, HIV-1, and HIV-2) and their clinical manifestations, neuropathology, and therapy of human retrovirus infections. The chapters are well integrated and there is a minimum of redundancy in the text. Each chapter provides a n excellent review of the literature and is supplemented by well-chosen and easily interpreted tables and figures. This volume is highly recommended for a wide audience including students, practitioners, and basic scientists. Because the chapters are structured to provide the basis for learning, from the elements to the significant details of their specific topics, the text is enjoyable to read. This is a feature that will be especially appreciated by medical and graduate students. Investigators specializing in retroviral infections will find the volume useful as a quick reference to the contemporary literature. The clinical chapters are particularly valuable for the neurologist. Based on the first volume, this new series of monographs on clinical neurology promises to be outstanding. Single volumes in the series can be ordered in the United S ta tes from t h e periodicals division of W.B. Saunders i n Philadelphia.
Band-limited interpolation applied to the time series of rapidly oscillating stars

We reconstruct the temporal Fourier spectra obtained from incomplete records of the luminosities of rapidly oscillating stars. This reconstruction involves a deterministic procedure related to ‘band-limited interpolation’. We show that the stability of the underlying deconvolution process is governed by the choice of the frequency intervals over which the restoration has to be achieved. A ‘time–frequency analysis’ provides a progressive constructive process allowing us to choose these intervals, to measure the frequencies and the fine structure of the driven modes of the star, and to control the error propagation. The method, which is the first step towards multisite deconvolution, is described in detail, and numerical examples for the DAV white dwarf GD 154 are presented to illustrate the application of the algorithm. The restored frequencies are compared with data obtained during a Whole Earth Telescope campaign.
arDB : A database of antigenic variant sequences — Current status nd future prospects

Antigenic variation is a common mechanism employed by many pathogenic organisms to avoid recognition of surface proteins by the host immune system. The malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, among many others, exploits this mechanism and manages to survive in an otherwise hostile environment. Although similarities in the mechanisms used among different species to generate antigenic variation are broadly recognized, there is a lack of studies using cross-species data. The varDB project (http://www.vardb.org) was created to study antigenic variation at a range of different levels, both within
Forgotten driving forces in right heart failure (Part II): experimental study

Background: Cardiac-assist devices for right ventricular failure remain controversial with poor results. This study evaluated a pulsatile cardiac-assist device in an acute right ventricular failure model vs. current therapies. Materials and methods: Pulmonary regurgitation was created in 12 piglets by valve avulsion and external transfixation of 2 pulmonary artery cusps suspended to the pulmonary arterial wall. The piglets were divided into 2 treatment groups: a pulsatile group P and a non-pulsatile group NP. Management started when severe right ventricular failure was observed (48.1 ± 24.5 min). In group P, pulsatile trousers driven by a pneumatic generator were pulsated intermittently at 40 beats·min−1. Group NP was treated with oral tadalafil 1 mg·kg−1, intravenous fluids, and adrenaline 0.3 µg·kg−1. After 1 h of therapy, cardiac output was significantly better in group P than group NP (1 ± 0.2 vs. 0.7 ± 0.2 L·min−1). Mean right ventricular pressure (16 ± 6 vs. 24 ± 2 mm Hg) and pulmonary arterial pressure (22 ± 1 vs. 31 ± 2 mm Hg) were lower in group P. Vascular resistances indices were lower in group P than group NP: pulmonary resistance index was 174 ± 60 vs. 352 ± 118 dyne·sec·cm−5·kg−1; systemic resistance index was 611 ± 70 vs. 1215 ± 315 dyne·sec·cm−5·kg−1. Western-blot analysis showed higher endogenous NO synthase expression in group P pulmonary arteries. Conclusions: The pulsatile suit can be used safely as a noninvasive cardiac-assist device in acute right ventricular failure. This represents a cost-effective nearly physiological method, suitable for adults and children.
DESC1 and MSPL Activate Influenza A Viruses and Emerging Coronaviruses for Host Cell Entry

ABSTRACT The type II transmembrane serine protease (TTSP) TMPRSS2 cleaves and activates the influenza virus and coronavirus surface proteins. Expression of TMPRSS2 is essential for the spread and pathogenesis of H1N1 influenza viruses in mice. In contrast, H3N2 viruses are less dependent on TMPRSS2 for viral amplification, suggesting that these viruses might employ other TTSPs for their activation. Here, we analyzed TTSPs, reported to be expressed in the respiratory system, for the ability to activate influenza viruses and coronaviruses. We found that MSPL and, to a lesser degree, DESC1 are expressed in human lung tissue and cleave and activate the spike proteins of the Middle East respiratory syndrome and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses for cell-cell and virus-cell fusion. In addition, we show that these proteases support the spread of all influenza virus subtypes previously pandemic in humans. In sum, we identified two host cell proteases that could promote the amplification of influenza viruses and emerging coronaviruses in humans and might constitute targets for antiviral intervention. IMPORTANCE Activation of influenza viruses by host cell proteases is essential for viral infectivity and the enzymes responsible are potential targets for antiviral intervention. The present study demonstrates that two cellular serine proteases, DESC1 and MSPL, activate influenza viruses and emerging coronaviruses in cell culture and, because of their expression in human lung tissue, might promote viral spread in the infected host. Antiviral strategies aiming to prevent viral activation might thus need to encompass inhibitors targeting MSPL and DESC1.
TIRF microscopy analysis of the mechanism of insulin exocytosis.

INSULIN is synthesized, stored, and released from the pancreatic β cells in islets of Langerhans. Insulin pro-motes glucose uptake by tissues such as fat and mus-cle, while simultaneously inhibiting glucose output by the liver. As a result, rising insulin levels depress glucose concentration in the blood. Insulin levels are es-sentially determined by secretory rates because insulin is cleared from the circulation with a t1/2 of less than 10 min. Thus, blood glucose levels in the body are de-pendent on insulin secretion, which varies from minute to minute.
A 65nm sub-1V multi-stage low-dropout (LDO) regulator design for SoC systems

This proposed 65 nm sub-1V multi-stage low-dropout (LDO) regulator aims to integrate of power management for SoC systems. The multi-stage structure can derive the high dc voltage gain from the short-channel core devices to insure the load/line regulation. The inserted flying capacitor used to separate the high-frequency non-dominant poles can increase the system phase margin. Moreover, a dynamic gain adjusting (DGA) mechanism can adjust the dc voltage gain based on the load condition to ensure the LDO operation at ultra light loads. The correct operation under sub-1V condition is achieved with 65 nm low-power core devices. Simulated load transient response shows the voltage recovery time is within 0.6 µs when load current changes from 50 µA to 100 mA and vice versa.