Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The function of RNase G in Escherichia coli is constrained by its amino and carboxyl termini

RNase G is a homologue of the essential Escherichia coli ribonuclease RNase E. Whereas RNase E plays a key role in the degradation of mRNA and the processing of tRNA and rRNA in E. coli, the biological functions of RNase G appear more limited. We report here that this difference in function is not merely a consequence of the significantly lower cellular concentration of RNase G, but also reflects differences in the intrinsic properties of these ribonucleases, as overproducing wild‐type RNase G at a level up to 20 times the usual cellular concentration of RNase E cannot normally compensate for the absence of RNase E in E. coli. Instead, RNase G can sustain significant growth of RNase E‐deficient E. coli cells only when it bears an unnatural extension at its amino terminus (e.g. MRKGINM) or carboxyl terminus (e.g. GHHHHHH). These extensions presumably enable RNase G to cleave critically important cellular RNAs whose efficient processing or degradation ordinarily requires RNase E. That extending the amino terminus of RNase G restores growth to E. coli cells lacking RNase E without detectably improving tRNA processing suggests that RNase E is not essential for tRNA production and is required for cell growth because it plays an indispensable role in the maturation or decay of essential E. coli RNAs other than tRNA.
A Qualitative Study to Understand the Factors Influencing Student Acceptance of Mobile Learning

The rapid development in mobile and Internet technologies makes mobile devices powerful. Students use their mobile devices for communication, social interaction, entertainment and information access every day. In view of the phenomenon, educators start to think about the possibilities of student learning through mobile technologies. This paper investigates what influences student acceptance of mobile learning. A conceptual mobile learning model, developed based on prior literature, contains four aspects: (a) learner attitude & behavior, (b) teacher attitude & behavior, (c) facilitation & support and (d) collaboration & social interaction.
Hydrothermal liquefaction for energy recovery from high-moisture waste biomass

Hydrothermal liquefaction is promising technology for converting high-moisture waste biomass into energy dense “biocrude” oil that can be used for direct combustion or refined for transportation grade fuels. This study investigates the influence of biomass composition on the chemical characteristics of hydrothermal liquefaction biocrude oil, and the potential of algal biomass as a feedstock for combined wastewater treatment and bioenergy production. Hydrothermal liquefaction was examined for converting various types of waste biomass into biocrude oil to determine the effect of biomass composition on product yields and biocrude oil chemical characteristics. Feedstocks tested included Spirulina algae, swine manure, and digested anaerobic sludge. Bulk biocrude oil properties (e.g., oil yield, elemental analysis, higher heating value) and physico-chemical characteristics (e.g., molecular constituents, functional group allocation, proton and carbon speciation, molecular weight distribution, boiling point distribution) were compared for the varying feedstocks as well as with published results for petroleum crudes and tar sand bitumens. Results demonstrated that although the biocrude oils displayed similar higher heating values (32-35 MJ/kg), widely varying biocrude oil yields were observed, ranging from 9.4% with digested sludge to 33% with Spirulina. High total nitrogen and oxygen content was observed in the biocrude oils (19-23%), greatly differentiating them from petroleum crude oils which are typically less than 4% total. Detailed characterization also revealed significant differences in biocrude oil chemistry. Feedstock composition influenced the individual compounds identified in the low-boiling fraction of the biocrude oil as well as the functional group chemistry. Biocrude oil molecular weights tracked with the feedstock obdurate carbohydrate content and followed the order of Spirulina < swine manure < digested sludge. A similar trend was observed in the biocrude oil boiling point distributions and the long branched aliphatic contents. After examining the hydrothermal liquefaction of various waste biomass sources, a detailed analysis of the hydrothermal liquefaction of Spirulina and Scenedesmus algal biomass was undertaken. Algal biomass was analyzed due to its potential integration into wastewater treatment plant operations for nutrient removal, carbon dioxide capture, and bioenergy production. Recently, much work has focused on extracting high value chemicals (e.g., nutraceuticals) and energy-dense lipids (e.g., for biodiesel) from algae, but effective utilization of residual “defatted” algal biomass will be necessary to achieve favorable energy balances and production costs. Therefore, hydrothermal liquefaction product yields, biocrude oil properties, and energy balance for raw and defatted Scenedesmus biomass were compared against slow pyrolysis, an alternative thermochemical process. Biocrude oil chemistries from both processes were then evaluated against Illinois shale oil as a representative low-quality…
Subtype-Specific Analysis of the K65R Substitution in HIV-1 That Confers Hypersusceptibility to a Novel Nucleotide-Competing Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor

ABSTRACT Compound A is a novel nucleotide-competing HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitor (NcRTI) that selects for a unique W153L substitution that confers hypersusceptibility to tenofovir, while the K65R substitution in RT confers resistance against tenofovir and enhances susceptibility to NcRTIs. Although the K65R substitution is more common in subtype C viruses, the impact of subtype variability on NcRTI susceptibility has not been studied. In the present study, we performed experiments with compound A by using purified recombinant RT enzymes and viruses of subtypes B and C and circulating recombinant form CRF_A/G. We confirmed the hypersusceptibility of K65R substitution-containing RTs to compound A for subtype C, CRF_A/G, and subtype B. Steady-state kinetic analysis showed that K65R RTs enhanced the susceptibility to compound A by increasing binding of the inhibitor to the nucleotide binding site of RT in a subtype-independent manner, without significantly discriminating against the natural nucleotide substrate. These data highlight the potential utility of NcRTIs, such as compound A, for treatment of infections with K65R substitution-containing viruses, regardless of HIV-1 subtype.
Comparison of Image Processing Techniques for Nonviable Tissue Quantification in Late Gadolinium Enhancement Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Images

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the performance of quantitative methods, either semiautomated or automated, for left ventricular (LV) nonviable tissue analysis from cardiac magnetic resonance late gadolinium enhancement (CMR-LGE) images. Materials and Methods: The investigated segmentation techniques were: (i) n-standard deviations thresholding; (ii) full width at half maximum thresholding; (iii) Gaussian mixture model classification; and (iv) fuzzy c-means clustering. These algorithms were applied either in each short axis slice (single-slice approach) or globally considering the entire short-axis stack covering the LV (global approach). CMR-LGE images from 20 patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy were retrospectively selected, and results from each technique were assessed against manual tracing. Results: All methods provided comparable performance in terms of accuracy in scar detection, computation of local transmurality, and high correlation in scar mass compared with the manual technique. In general, no significant difference between single-slice and global approach was noted. The reproducibility of manual and investigated techniques was confirmed in all cases with slightly lower results for the nSD approach. Conclusions: Automated techniques resulted in accurate and reproducible evaluation of LV scars from CMR-LGE in ischemic patients with performance similar to the manual technique. Their application could minimize user interaction and computational time, even when compared with semiautomated approaches.
Regulation of P2y‐purinoceptor‐mediated prostacyclin release from human endothelial cells by cytoplasmic calcium concentration

1 ATP and ATP analogues induced prostacyclin (PGI2) secretion from human cultured umbilical vein endothelial cells. 2 The threshold active concentration for ATP was ≤ 1 μm. The rank order of potency of analogues was 2‐chloroadenosine 5′‐triphosphate (2‐C1ATP) > 2‐methylthioadenosine 5′‐triphospate (2‐MeSATP) > ATP > ADP, while adenosine 5′‐(α,βfanethylene)triphosphonate, AMP and adenosine were inactive, indicating the presence of P2y‐purinoceptors. 3 In contrast to their actions on P2y‐receptors in guinea‐pig taenia coli, isopolar analogues of 2‐methylthioadenosine 5′‐(β,γ‐methylene)triphosphonate were less effective than ATP. 4 ATP and ATP analogues increased intracellular free calcium ions, [Ca2+]i, giving a rapid transient peak due predominantly to release from intracellular stores, followed by a maintained steady‐state elevated level due to influx. 5 The dose‐response curves for peak [Ca2+]i induced by ATP, 2‐C1ATP and 2‐MeSATP were very similar to those for PGI2 production. 6 Elevations of [Ca2+]i, above a threshold value of 0.8–1 μm, were necessary for PGI2 production in response to P2y‐receptor activation. 7 The dose relationships between PGI2 release and peak [Ca2+]i were equivalent whether [Ca2+]i was raised by ionomycin or via P2y‐receptor activation by ATP or 2‐ClATP, indicating that elevations of [Ca2+]i provide the major, if not the exclusive intracellular pathway for P2y‐purinoceptor‐mediated PGI2 synthesis.
Association of anthropometric indices of obesity withdyslipidemia: A study from South India

Anthropometry is a simple reliable method for quantifying body size and proportions. The present study was aimed to study the association of selected established anthropometric indices of obesity such as waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR) and body mass index (BMI) with dyslipidemia in the population residing in south India. Hundred healthy subjects within the age group of 25 and 60 years were selected from out-patients setting in a teaching hospital. Anthropometric data and serum lipid profile were analysed. Based on anthropometric parameters and the lipid profile the subjects were grouped into obese and non-obese groups. Data obtained was statistically analysed. The raised values of WC, WHR and BMI were highly significant (p<0.001) in obese group compared to non-obese group. Based on the present results we conclude that WC was more sensitive for predicting altered lipid profile and WHR is a prime factor to predict occurrence of dyslipidaemia. Routine health examination will enhance obesity related evaluation of cardio vascular risk factors.
Health care utilization patterns and costs for patients with hidradenitis suppurativa.

IMPORTANCE Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic cutaneous disease with acutely painful flares that require appropriate and timely treatment. OBJECTIVE To assess how individuals with HS utilize medical care, especially emergency department (ED) care, a high-cost setting, and to describe the health care costs for this group. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Cohort cost-identification study of 150 493 individuals with claims from the MarketScan medical claims database. Patients with claims for HS and psoriasis (16 736 and 110 266, respectively) and a control group with neither condition (23 491) during the study period, January 2008 to December 2010, were included. EXPOSURES An HS cohort was formed from all the patients who had 2 or more claims for HS (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision [ICD-9] code 705.83) during the 3-year period. A psoriasis cohort was used as a comparison group, since it is another chronic inflammatory condition with prominent skin findings. This group included randomly selected patients who had 2 or more claims for psoriasis (ICD-9 code 696.1) during the 3-year period. A second control group included randomly selected patients who had no claims for either condition during the 3-year period. From these cohorts only patients that were continuously enrolled for the 3-year period were included. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Health care utilization measures including inpatient length of stay, emergency department and outpatient visits, and number of days supplied of prescription medication were investigated. Cost variables were also investigated and included inpatient, outpatient, emergency department, prescription drug, and total all-cause health care expenditures, which were adjusted for inflation and reported in 2010 US dollars. RESULTS The largest component of the total 3-year cost for the HS group was inpatient cost (37.4%). In contrast, for the psoriasis group this was drug costs (46.5%) and for the control group, inpatient costs (40.9%). The proportion of people who were hospitalized in the HS cohort (15.8%) was higher than the psoriasis (10.8%) or control (8.6%) groups (P < .001). The proportion of patients who used the ED over the 3-year period was higher in the HS cohort (27.1%) than the psoriasis (17.4%) or control groups (17.2%) (P < .001). Similarly, the mean (SD) 3-year ED cost for the HS group was $2002 ($6632) and was higher than both comparison groups (P < .001). After adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidities, ED utilization remained higher in the HS group compared with the control (P < .001) and psoriasis (P = .02) cohorts. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Hidradenitis suppurativa affects a younger, predominantly female population of patients. High-cost settings, such as ED and inpatient care, are used more frequently for patients with HS. Both patients and clinicians should be aware of this finding, and further research is needed to investigate the impact of health care utilization on patient outcomes.
A Novel Unscented Kalman Filter in Autonomous Optical Navigation

Through much research on unscented Kalman filter based on scaled and square-root algorithm in autonomous navigation, it is known that these algorithms take so much time on calculation. So an improved unscented Kalman filter algorithm is proposed in the paper for autonomous navigation to solve the non-real-time difficulty. Simple scheme is adopted to predigest the choose procedure of sigma-points and weights, which reduces a mass of complex operations. From both theory and practical simulation, it is shown that much mass of calculation is reduced when the dimension of state matrix is large, and not leads to bad filtering performance.
Cytoskeletal Stability in the Auditory Organ In Vivo: RhoA Is Dispensable for Wound Healing but Essential for Hair Cell Development

Abstract Wound healing in the inner ear sensory epithelia is performed by the apical domains of supporting cells (SCs). Junctional F-actin belts of SCs are thin during development but become exceptionally thick during maturation. The functional significance of the thick belts is not fully understood. We have studied the role of F-actin belts during wound healing in the developing and adult cochlea of mice in vivo. We show that the thick belts serve as intracellular scaffolds that preserve the positions of surviving cells in the cochlear sensory epithelium. Junctions associated with the thick F-actin belts did not readily disassemble during wound healing. To compensate for this, basolateral membranes of SCs participated in the closure of surface breach. Because not only neighboring but also distant SCs contributed to wound healing by basolateral protrusions, this event appears to be triggered by contact-independent diffusible signals. In the search for regulators of wound healing, we inactivated RhoA in SCs, which, however, did not limit wound healing. RhoA inactivation in developing outer hair cells (OHCs) caused myosin II delocalization from the perijunctional domain and apical cell-surface enlargement. These abnormalities led to the extrusion of OHCs from the epithelium. These results demonstrate the importance of stability of the apical domain, both in wound repair by SCs and in development of OHCs, and that only this latter function is regulated by RhoA. Because the correct cytoarchitecture of the cochlear sensory epithelium is required for normal hearing, the stability of cell apices should be maintained in regenerative and protective interventions.
Continuous glucose monitoring in conditions other than diabetes

The development of new systems for continuous glucose monitoring has recently increased the interest for their potential applications among physicians involved in diabetes care. One of the most common applications of such devices is the identification of hypoglycaemic events in insulin‐treated diabetic patients (particularly during the night) and the evaluation of the full daily glucose excursions.
Fast and Accurate Computation of Exact Nonreflecting Boundary Condition for Maxwell's Equations

We report in this paper a fast and accurate algorithm for computing the exact spherical nonreflecting boundary condition (NRBC) for time-dependent Maxwell's equations. It is essentially based on a new formulation of the NRBC, which allows for the use of an analytic method for computing the involved inverse Laplace transform. This tool can be generically integrated with the interior solvers for challenging simulations of electromagnetic scattering problems. We provide some numerical examples to show that the algorithm leads to very accurate results.
Named Entity Recognition in Greek Texts with an Ensemble of SVMs and Active Learning

We present a freely available named-entity recognizer for Greek texts that identifies temporal expressions, person, and organization names. For temporal expressions, it relies on semi-automatically produced patterns. For person and organization names, it employs an ensemble of Support Vector Machines that scan the input text in two passes. The ensemble is trained using active learning, whereby the system itself proposes candidate training instances to be annotated by a human during training. The recognizer was evaluated on both a general collection of newspaper articles and a more focussed, in terms of topics, collection of financial articles.
Path Analysis Shows That Increasing Ketogenic Ratio, but Not β-Hydroxybutyrate, Elevates Seizure Threshold in the Rat

Previous work has identified several criteria that may be important in determining the efficacy of the ketogenic diet as a treatment for intractable epilepsy in children. The present study was designed to investigate the influence of four major variables on seizure threshold, i.e. ketogenic ratio, body weight, age at diet onset and β-hydroxybutyrate in rats. Path analysis was used to statistically model and quantify the causal relationships among variables. Results indicate that seizure threshold was significantly elevated with increasing ketogenic ratios (i.e. more fats vs. carbohydrates and proteins) and decreasing weight. Conversely, age at diet onset and plasma levels of β-OHB showed no causal relation to seizure resistance. These results suggest that the efficacy of the ketogenic diet is independent of the level of ketonemia but is markedly influenced by diet and growth.
Cascaded multilevel inverter modulation strategies: a novel solution based on duty-cycle space vector approach

In this paper the problem of the modulation strategy of a cascaded multilevel inverter is solved using the duty-cycle space vector (DCSV) approach, which is based on the space vector representation of the switch state. This approach simplifies the study of the modulation strategies and leads to a general solution of the problem, providing an intuitive graphical representation of the modulation properties. Starting from the general solution, a great number of particular modulation strategies, having different characteristics, can be immediately derived. An example of application to a 5-level inverter is presented. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is tested by numerical simulations.
A RIGOROUS COMPARISON OF REAL TIME AND B SCAN CEPHALOMETRY

Real time cephalometry has been compared with B scan cephalometry by a rigorous method with complete partition of variables. Analysis was by standard analysis of variance techniques. Systematic and random errors between and within observers, machines and days have been evaluated. The largest systematic error has been shown to be between machines. This is due to failure to align the beam precisely at right angles to the mid‐line of the fetal head using B scanners. Real time scanners with bar calipers are, therefore, superior to B scanners for cephalometry. There is a lesser difference between observers. An additional element of variability arises when measurements are made on different days but this is smaller than other sources of variation and smaller than the random variation. Random errors are described by a standard deviation of 1 mm and systematic errors are all numerically smaller than this.
Fine structure of the developing telencephalic and myelencephalic choroid plexus in the rabbit

The anterior portion of the telencephalic choroid plexus is unlike other choroid plexuses in that it arises as an infolding of the multilayered roof plate of the neural tube, rather than from a previously thinned-out choroidal area or lamina. The roof plate invaginates in the angle between the paraphyseal arch and the medial wall of the hemisphere forming the anlage of the telencephalic choroid plexus (Bailey, '16). The histogenesis of this area in the human embryo has been studied by Kappers ('58) with the light microscope. The pseudostratified cylindrical choroidal epithelium in the human embryo of six weeks gestation is transformed by the eighth week into a columnar, glycogen-containing epithelium. After the fourth month of development, the epithelium gradually becomes cuboidal, loses its glycogen, and attains the cytological appearance of mature choroidal epithelium. The time of appearance of the anlage of the choroid plexuses in the rabbit embryo has been reported in light microscopic studies (Minot and Taylor, '05; Cohen and Davies, '38; Strong and Cohen, '51; and Strong, '56). An infolding into the lateral ventricle may occur as early as the thirteenth day of gestation, slightly in advance of the invagination of the myelencephalic roof. By day 14, the telencephalic fold contains highly vascular mesoderm, and by day 15 and 16, it has become larger and more convoluted. During the fetal stage, beginning at day 20, it has enlarged greatly in size and occupies a large portion of the ventricle. This period of development of the choroidal epithelium in the rabbit from day 14 to 16 appears to correspond closely with the two early stages of choroidal differentiation in the human embryo (Kappers, '58). The last