Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Amino Acid Exchange R28E in Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor (CNTF) Abrogates Interleukin-6 Receptor-dependent but Retains CNTF Receptor-dependent Signaling via Glycoprotein 130 (gp130)/Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Receptor (LIFR)*

Background: CNTF signaling is mediated by CNTFR or IL-6R in complex with gp130 and LIFR. Results: The CNTFR variant CV-1 is CNTFR-selective. Conclusion: The single amino acid exchange R28E within CNTF abrogated IL-6R binding. Significance: CV-1 allows discrimination between CNTFR- and IL-6R-mediated effects in vivo. Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is a neurotrophic factor with therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, therapeutic application of CNTF reduced body weight in mice and humans. CNTF binds to high or low affinity receptor complexes consisting of CNTFR·gp130·LIFR or IL-6R·gp130·LIFR, respectively. Clinical studies of the CNTF derivative Axokine revealed intolerance at higher concentrations, which may rely on the low-affinity binding of CNTF to the IL-6R. Here, we aimed to generate a CNTFR-selective CNTF variant (CV). CV-1 contained the single amino acid exchange R28E. Arg28 is in close proximity to the CNTFR binding site. Using molecular modeling, we hypothesized that Arg28 might contribute to IL-6R/CNTFR plasticity of CNTF. CV-2 to CV-5 were generated by transferring parts of the CNTFR-binding site from cardiotrophin-like cytokine to CNTF. Cardiotrophin-like cytokine selectively signals via the CNTFR·gp130·LIFR complex, albeit with a much lower affinity compared with CNTF. As shown by immunoprecipitation, all CNTF variants retained the ability to bind to CNTFR. CV-1, CV-2, and CV-5, however, lost the ability to bind to IL-6R. Although all variants induced cytokine-dependent cellular proliferation and STAT3 phosphorylation via CNTFR·gp130·LIFR, only CV-3 induced STAT3 phosphorylation via IL-6R·gp130·LIFR. Quantification of CNTF-dependent proliferation of CNTFR·gp130·LIFR expressing cells indicated that only CV-1 was as biologically active as CNTF. Thus, the CNTFR-selective CV-1 will allow discriminating between CNTFR- and IL-6R-mediated effects in vivo.
Reproducible combinatorial regulatory networks elucidate novel oncogenic microRNAs in non-small cell lung cancer

This study investigates the network of miRNAs, transcription factors, and their common predicted target genes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), revealing eight hub miRNAs, a novel co-regulatory module acting on the TGF-pathway centered around miR-9-5p, miR-130b-3p, and TGFBR2.
Characteristics of patients with COPD newly prescribed a long-acting bronchodilator: a retrospective cohort study

Introduction This study aimed to characterize patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) newly prescribed a long-acting bronchodilator (LABD), and to assess changes in medication over 24 months. Methods A cohort of patients with COPD aged ≥40 years newly prescribed an LABD between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2009 were identified from the Truven Marketscan® Commercial Database (Truven Health Analytics, Ann Arbor, MI, USA) and followed for 24 months. Inclusion criteria included no prior prescription for an LABD or inhaled corticosteroids for 12 months prior to the LABD index date (baseline). Patient characteristics were examined. As LABDs were mainly long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs), additions, switches, discontinuation, adherence to (medication possession ratio), and persistence (proportion of days covered) with LAMA monotherapy were assessed for 24 months following the index date. Adherence and persistence with long-acting β2-agonists (LABAs) were also assessed. Results A cohort of 3,268 patients aged 40–65 years was identified (mean age 55.8 years, 48% male). LAMA monotherapy was prescribed to 93% of patients who received an LABD. During the 24-month follow-up, 16% of these patients added COPD medication, 10% switched to an inhaled corticosteroid-containing medication, and 25% discontinued after one LAMA prescription at baseline. Over 12 and 24 months, adherence to LAMA was 40% and 33%, respectively, and adherence to LABA was 29% and 24%, respectively. Over the same time periods, persistence with LAMA monotherapy was 19% and 15%, respectively, and persistence with LABA was 9% and 7%, respectively. Conclusion Adherence to newly initiated LAMA monotherapy was low, with one in four patients adding to or switching from LAMA and many patients discontinuing therapy. Adherence to LABA was also low. These results suggest that additional medication to a single LABD may be required in some patients with COPD to achieve optimal disease control.
PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL EFFECTS ON RATS AND MICE EXPOSED TO SMALL CONCENTRATIONS OF CARBON MONOXIDE FOR LONG PERIODS

Pathogen-free mice and rats were exposed in chambers to 50 ppM CO for 5 days/wk (approx. 95 hr) for 3 months to 2 yr. Reproduction, growth, aging, various metabolic parameters, susceptibility to experimental infection, and mortality were not affected by CO. In general, no effect other than that attributed to chamber effect (e.g., initial heartbeat and ECG) was observed.
Position control of a 6×6 ATV using a MIMO fuzzy controller

Motion control for all terrain vehicles with skidsteer actuation is particularly challenging due to the nonlinearities that arise from tire slip and braking. In addition, the unobservability of the instantaneous friction coefficient leads to significant uncertainty in the dynamics of the vehicle. This work seeks to overcome these challenges by developing a Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy controller for vehicle position control. This removes the requirement for the high-level planning algorithms to be able to compensate for the system's nonlinearities. The controller mitigates problems found in using traditional control methods for this problem. This controller is then compared against baselines set by a human driver and a hysteresis controller, and found to be a promising candidate for the control of systems of this kind.
Penetration limit of photovoltaic distributed generation — Case study for the Italian Embassy in Brasília

This paper presents a study of the photovoltaic distributed generation (PVDG) in a radial distribution grid. These grids were devised for the power flow to run in a determinated direction, nevertheless it can be altered with the use of PVDG depending on the amount of power generated and the load demands from the consumer units. This paper aims to simulate a radial distribution grid when PVDG is installed in all consumer units and to determine the maximum power that can be installed without causing unwanted impact to the grid. An interactive method that comprises several variables involved in the process is proposed for this purpose and applied to the radial feeder where the Italian Embassy is located. Through the results alterations in the grid's performance are apparent after the insertion of the PVDG, and a maximum penetration level is found.
The Simulator : Towards a Richer Understanding of Adaptive Sampling in the Moderate-Confidence Regime

In this work, we propose a novel technique for analyzing adaptive sampling called the Simulator. Our approach differs from the existing methods by considering not how much information could be gathered by any fixed sampling strategy, but how difficult it is to distinguish a good sampling strategy from a bad one given the limited amount of data collected up to any given time. This change of perspective allows us to match the strength of both Fano and change-of-measure techniques, without succumbing to the limitations of either method. Applying our methods to the best-arm and top-k subset selection problems, we prove sharp lower bounds for identifying the best arm when the means are known up to permutations, and the first instance-based lower bounds for the top-k problem which incorporate the appropriate log-factors. Moreover, our lower bounds zero-in on the number of times each individual arm needs to be pulled, uncovering new phenomena which are drowned out in the aggregate sample complexity. Our new analysis inspires a simple and near-optimal algorithm for the best-arm and top-k identification, the first practical algorithm of its kind for the latter problem which removes extraneous log factors, and outperforms the state-of-the-art in experiments. Ultimately, we hope that the tools developed in this paper will prove indispensable for characterizing of limits of adaptive sampling in more complex problems (e.g. active regression, combinatorial bandits [1]), and for developing the next generation of practical algorithms that aggressively exploit the most informative measurements, subject to strong reliability guarantees.
DTA: dihedral transition analysis for characterization of the effects of large main-chain dihedral changes in proteins

MOTIVATION The biological function of proteins is associated with a variety of motions, ranging from global domain motion to local motion of side chain. We propose a method, dihedral transition analysis (DTA), to identify significant dihedral angle changes between two distinct protein conformations and for characterization of the effect of these transitions on both local and global conformation. RESULTS Applying DTA to a comprehensive and non-redundant dataset of 459 high-resolution pairs of protein structures, we found that a dihedral transition occurs in 82% of proteins. Multiple dihedral transitions are shown to occur cooperatively along the sequence, which allows us to separate a polypeptide chain into fragments with and without transitions, namely transition fragments (TFs) and stable fragments (SFs), respectively. By characterizing the magnitude of TF conformational change and the effect of the transition on the neighboring fragments, flap and hinge motions are identified as typical motions. DTA is also useful to detect protein motions, subtle in RMSD but significant in terms of dihedral angle changes, such as the peptide-plane flip, the side-chain flip and path-preserving motions. We conclude that DTA is a useful tool to extract potential functional motions, some of which might have been missed using conventional methods for protein motion analysis. AVAILABILITY http://dynamics.iam. u-tokyo.ac. jp/DTA/
A PDA-Controlled Pico-Satellite, Cute-1.7, and its Radiation Protection

A PDA-controlled picosatellite, named Cute-1.7, is being developed at Laboratory for Space Systems, Tokyo Institute of Technology and looking for a launch opportunity in 2005. PDAs, short for Personal Digital Assistants, and their peripheral devices are used as the primary computer and its interfaces in the satellite. The design of the satellite is based on the CubeSat standard, a 10cm cube of 1kg mass. The goal of our project is to facilitate small satellite development by allowing future small satellites to rely on high performance and easy-to-use commercial components, such as PDAs and Compact Flash card cameras. Secondary purpose of this project is to offer experiment opportunity of advanced magnetic torquers control algorithm in space, taking advantage of well-known operating system running on a PDA. Magnetic torquers is considered suitable for controlling small satellites so there are much work on advanced control algorithm of magnetic torquers, such as three axis stabilization.
An intercellular adhesion molecule‐3 (ICAM‐3) ‐grabbing nonintegrin (DC‐SIGN) efficiently blocks HIV viral budding

Efficient inhibition of the HIV infection life cycle at the stages of viral infection, reverse transcription, and post‐translational processing has been extensively studied. However, efficient inhibition of HIV assembly and budding has not been reported. Here, we report that dendritic cell‐specific intercellular adhesion molecule‐3 (ICAM‐3) ‐grabbing nonintegrin (DC‐SIGN) and its related protein, DC‐SIGNR, effectively block HIV budding from infected cells. Cotrans‐fection of DC‐SIGN or DC‐SIGNR with HIV demonstrated 95–99.5% inhibition of viral production from host cells. DC‐SIGN or DC‐SIGNR can also effectively inhibit 90 ‐95% of HIV generation from infected cells. DC‐SIGN efficiently reduces the amount of gp120 present on the cell plasma membrane, and completely strips off gp120 from the virions produced by the host cells, suggesting that blockage of HIV budding is due to internalization of gp120 by DC‐SIGN. Wang, Q. , Pang, S. An intercellular adhesion molecule‐3 (ICAM‐3) ‐grabbing nonintegrin (DC‐SIGN) efficiently blocks HIV viral budding. FASEB J. 22, 1055–1064 (2008)
Determination of digestible and available amino acids in meat meal using conventional and caecectomized cockerels or chick growth assays

1. The present study was designed to compare true digestible amino acid values for meat meal with available amino acid values. True digestible values were determined with a 48 h excreta collection assay using conventional (CONV) and caecectomized (CEC) cockerels. Available values for lysine, methionine and cystine were estimated by chick growth assays. 2. True digestibilities of all sixteen measured amino acids (expressed as a proportion of the total) were lower for CEC than for CONV cockerels, with the average difference being approximately 0.10. 3. Chick growth assays based on total weight gain indicated that the availabilities of amino acids expressed as a proportion of the total amino acids in meat meal were: 0.70 for lysine, 0.75 for methionine and 0.48 for cystine. Partitioning weight gains to reflect only growth attributable to supplemental crystalline amino acid or meat meal intake consistently yielded higher availability values than when total weight gains were used. 4. True digestibility values determined with CEC cockerels were in better agreement with chick available values than were true digestibility values determined with CONV cockerels. 5. The amounts of amino acids present in the caeca of meat meal-fed CONV cockerels at 48 h after feeding were small when compared with those levels voided in the excreta and those levels consumed in the feed. 6. Multiple regression analyses of excreta and caecal amino acid profiles at 12 and 48 h after feeding suggested that significant amounts of non-digested dietary amino acids flowed into the caeca and were subsequently metabolized by the caecal microflora.
Cytogenetic Findings in Moderate and Severe Mental Retardation A Study of an Institutionalized Population of 1991 Patients

The cytogenetic data of a large scale study in an institutionalized population of 1991 moderately and severely mentally retarded patients are presented. In 21.3% of these patients a chromosomal aberration was diagnosed (14.9% Down syndrome patients and 3.5%“other chromosomal anomalies”). A fragile X screening was performed in 354 males, and was found to be positive in 57 (16.1% positive). Different chromosomal variants were present in another 6% of this population. Detailed results are presented on the different groups of chromosomal aberrations.
Functional characterization of the human hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase gene promoter: evidence for a negative regulatory element

The enzyme hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) catalyzes the metabolic salvage of the purine bases hypoxanthine and guanine. We previously characterized the genomic structure of the human HPRT gene and described its promoter sequence. In this report, we identify cis-acting transcriptional control regions of the human HPRT gene by linking various 5'-flanking sequences to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. The sequence from positions -219 to -122 relative to the translation initiation site is required for maximal expression of this gene, and it functions equally in both normal and reverse orientations. In addition, a cis-acting negative element is present in the region spanning from positions -570 to -388. This negative element can also repress promoters of heterologous genes, such as those of adenosine deaminase and dihydrofolate reductase, which are structurally and functionally similar to the human HPRT promoter. Furthermore, this repressor element functions independently of its orientation but appears to be distance dependent. In vivo competition assays demonstrated that the trans-acting factor(s) that binds to this negative element specifically inhibits human HPRT promoter activity. Taken together, these data localize cis-acting sequences important in the regulation of human HPRT gene expression and should allow the study of protein-DNA interactions which modulate the transcription of this gene.
Recognition of Human Cytomegalovirus by Human Primary Immunoglobulins Identifies an Innate Foundation to an Adaptive Immune Response1

Most primates, including humans, are chronically infected with cospecifically evolved, potentially pathogenic CMV. Abs that bind a 10-aa linear epitope (antigenic determinant 2 site 1) within the extracellular domain of human CMV glycoprotein B neutralize viral infectivity. In this study, we show that genes generated by recombinations involving two well-conserved human germline V elements (IGHV3-30 and IGKV3-11), and IGHJ4, encode primary Ig molecules that bind glycoprotein B at this key epitope. These particular VH, JH, and Vκ genes enable humans to generate through recombination and N nucleotide addition, a useful frequency of primary Igs that efficiently target this critical site on human CMV and thus confer an innate foundation for a specific adaptive response to this pathogen.
Fully Digitalized Implementation of PFC Rectifier in CCM Without ADC

As is generally acknowledged, the main drawback of a fully digitalized power factor correction (PFC) rectifier is that too many analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are used, and hence, the corresponding cost is high. Consequently, in this paper, the information on the desired signal is obtained from two paired saw-toothed waves compared with the sensed signal, without the use of any ADCs. For the PFC rectifier operating in the continuous conduction mode (CCM) under average current mode control, the two proposed formulas used to calculate the average inductor current, together with the strategy for changing sampling points, are applied to accurately sample the average inductor current of the PFC rectifier. At the same time, based on the slope value of the inductor current obtained from the proposed average current calculation formula, another related formula is derived to obtain the input voltage information used to feed the partial feedforward controller. As for the sinusoidal current command, it is generated by a sinusoid table along with a zero-crossing detector. Furthermore, the information on the output voltage is obtained by one simple approximate formula. Therefore, there is no ADC required to realize the full digital control of the PFC rectifier operating in CCM.
A vision based correlator to actively damp vibrations of a coarse-fine manipulator

A novel method for controlling the endpoint position of a coarse-fine manipulator using a fast vision sensor is presented. With the vibrational disturbances caused by both the manipulator and its environment can be attenuated for disturbance frequencies up to 8 Hz using active feedback control. At the same time, the bandwidth of the control response extends to 30 Hz. By visually sampling the workpiece surface within the operating range of the fine manipulator, a relative displacement in x and y can be estimated by correlating successive image frames. Because of the high computational complexity and the speed requirements, a dedicated correlation processor based on three digital signal processors has been developed for each axis. Results of simulations and experiments with the correlation processor are presented. <<ETX>>
A survey on different scheduling algorithms in cloud computing

Cloud computing delivers a computing environment where different resources are delivered as a service to the customer or multiple tenants over the internet. Task scheduling is an essential and most important part in a cloud computing environment. The task scheduling mainly focuses to enhance the efficient utilization of resources and hence reduction in task completion time. Task scheduling is used to allocate certain tasks to particular resources at a particular time instance. Many different techniques have been proposed to solve the problems of task scheduling. Task scheduling improves the efficient utilization of resource and yields less response time so that the execution of submitted tasks takes place within a possible minimum time. This paper discusses about the study of various scheduling algorithms in a cloud computing environment.
Newly isolated Penicillium oxalicum A592-4B secretes enzymes that degrade milled rice straw with high efficiency

An enzyme producing micro-organism, which can directly saccharify rice straw that has only been crushed without undergoing the current acid or alkaline pretreatment, was found. From the homology with the ITS, 28S rDNA sequence, the strain named A592-4B was identified as Penicillium oxalicum. Activities of the A592-4B enzymes and commercial enzyme preparations were compared by Novozymes Cellic CTec2 and Genencore GC220. In the present experimental condition, activity of A592-4B enzymes was 2.6 times higher than that of CTec2 for degrading milled rice straw. Furthermore, even when a quarter amount of A592-4B enzyme was applied to the rice straw, the conversion rate was still higher than that by CTec2. By utilizing A592-4B enzymes, improved lignocellulose degradation yields can be achieved without pre-treatment of the substrates; thus, contributing to cost reduction as well as reducing environmental burden. Even when a quarter amount of A592-4B enzyme was applied to the rice straw, the conversion rate was still higher than that by CTec2.
AES-VCM, AN AES-GCM CONSTRUCTION USING AN INTEGER-BASED UNIVERSAL HASH FUNCTION

We give a framework for construction and composition of universal hash functions. Using this framework, we propose to swap out AES-GCM’s F2128 -based universal hash function for one based on VMAC, which uses integer arithmatic. For architectures having AES acceleration but where either F2128 acceleration is absent or exists on the same execution unit as AES acceleration, an integer-based variant of AES-GCM may offer a performance advantage, while offering identical security.