Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Sialylated Glycan Microarray Reveals Novel Interactions of Modified Sialic Acids with Proteins and Viruses*

Many glycan-binding proteins in animals and pathogens recognize sialic acid or its modified forms, but their molecular recognition is poorly understood. Here we describe studies on sialic acid recognition using a novel sialylated glycan microarray containing modified sialic acids presented on different glycan backbones. Glycans terminating in β-linked galactose at the non-reducing end and with an alkylamine-containing fluorophore at the reducing end were sialylated by a one-pot three-enzyme system to generate α2–3- and α2–6-linked sialyl glycans with 16 modified sialic acids. The resulting 77 sialyl glycans were purified and quantified, characterized by mass spectrometry, covalently printed on activated slides, and interrogated with a number of key sialic acid-binding proteins and viruses. Sialic acid recognition by the sialic acid-binding lectins Sambucus nigra agglutinin and Maackia amurensis lectin-I, which are routinely used for detecting α2–6- and α2–3-linked sialic acids, are affected by sialic acid modifications, and both lectins bind glycans terminating with 2-keto-3-deoxy-d-glycero-d-galactonononic acid (Kdn) and Kdn derivatives stronger than the derivatives of more common N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc). Three human parainfluenza viruses bind to glycans terminating with Neu5Ac or Neu5Gc and some of their derivatives but not to Kdn and its derivatives. Influenza A virus also does not bind glycans terminating in Kdn or Kdn derivatives. An especially novel aspect of human influenza A virus binding is its ability to equivalently recognize glycans terminated with either α2–6-linked Neu5Ac9Lt or α2–6-linked Neu5Ac. Our results demonstrate the utility of this sialylated glycan microarray to investigate the biological importance of modified sialic acids in protein-glycan interactions.
A referenceless PSNR estimator of compressed JPEG images

The paper develops a universal procedure to estimate the level of distortions caused by the JPEG compression of an image of any structural content. To determine the quality, we use the PSNR metric. The procedure allows us to employ different stochastic models to predict the variance of the DCT coefficient quantization noise. A new model for the DCT coefficient distribution is proposed, namely, the double gamma distribution. Experiments show that this model serves well both images rich in detail and those that possess essential regions of monotonicity. Finally, under the hypothesis on the double gamma distribution validity, the paper develops a referenceless PSNR estimator of compressed JPEG images.
DWT based Invisible Watermarking on Images

The imaging technology is being enhanced day by day, there are a lot of possibilities of reproduction and manipulation of digital data such as digital image, digital audio, and digital video, hence a strong digital copyright mechanism must be produced in place. So the protection of digital data content from unauthorized users and the problem of copyright management plays a very vital role. The Digital watermarking is being used to protect and save the data of researchers and to keep secret information inside a signal which cannot be easily detected by unauthorized person or users. The digital watermarking is a field of data hiding which hide the crucial information or data in the original data for protecting illegal duplication and to restrict disturbance of multimedia data. This research paper presents a survey on the digital image watermarking techniques. The outputs of various digital image watermarking methods have been compared on the basis of the results. A digital watermarking can be described as a stream of bits embedded in a digital file that offers features such as IPM (Intellectual Property Management) and proof of authority of ownership. The digital watermarking has two basic ideas - first is content protection and second is the copyright management. There are various methods to hide information inside an image, audio/video, document etc. But the Image Steganography has its own importance and is most popular among the others. This paper gives a review of various techniques such as image domain and transformation domain algorithms available for implementing Image Steganography. In this paper, an overview of some Digital Watermarking methods is discussed such as Discrete Cosine transform (DCT) and Digital Wavelet Transform (DWT) and its purpose, techniques, limitations and applications.
An LMI approach to guaranteed cost PI control of linear uncertain systems

The design problem of robust guaranteed cost PI controller for uncertain linear systems with norm-bounded uncertainties is considered, together with a given quadratic performance index. A sufficient condition is presented for the existence of guaranteed cost PI control laws, and the PI controller parameters can be determined in terms of the feasible solutions to linear matrix inequalities. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the proposed results.
Explorer R 31 C GNRH 1 mutation and congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism

Normosmic congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (nCHH) is a rare reproductive disease leading to lack of puberty and infertility. Loss-of-function mutations of GNRH1 gene are a very rare cause of autosomal recessive nCHH. R31C GNRH1 is the only missense mutation that affects the conserved GnRH decapeptide sequence. This mutation was identified in a CpG islet in nine nCHH subjects from four unrelated families, giving evidence for a putative ‘‘hot spot’’. Interestingly, all the nCHH patients carry this mutation in heterozygosis that strikingly contrasts with the recessive inheritance associated with frame shift and non-sense mutations. Therefore, after exclusion of a second genetic event, a comprehensive functional characterization of the mutant R31C GnRH was undertaken. Using different cellular models, we clearly demonstrate a dramatic reduction of the mutant decapeptide capacity to bind GnRH-receptor, to activate MAPK pathway and to trigger inositol phosphate accumulation and intracellular calcium mobilization. In addition it is less able than wild type to induce lhbeta transcription and LH secretion in gonadotrope cells. Finally, the absence of a negative dominance in vitro offers a unique opportunity to discuss the complex in vivo patho-physiology of this form of nCHH. Citation: Maione L, Albarel F, Bouchard P, Gallant M, Flanagan CA, et al. (2013) R31C GNRH1 Mutation and Congenital Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism. PLoS ONE 8(7): e69616. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0069616 Editor: Andrew Wolfe, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States of America Received February 11, 2013; Accepted June 11, 2013; Published July 25, 2013 Copyright: 2013 Maione et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was supported in part by grants from Paris-Sud 11 University (Bonus Qualité Recherche 2009, Attractivité Univ. Paris Sud 2010), PHRC HYPOPROTEO P081212 and Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: jerome.bouligand@bct.aphp. fr
The Importance of Patient Sex in the Outcomes of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstructions

Background: One of the well-studied epidemiological phenomena of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries is the 2- to 9-fold increase in the relative risk of ACL rupture in female athletes compared with male athletes. However, the influence of patient sex on the outcome after ACL reconstruction remains unclear, with some authors reporting inferior outcomes in females and others noting no significant difference. Purpose: To provide a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the possible association between patient sex and the subjective and objective outcomes after ACL reconstruction. Methods: This study was conducted according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. All studies that reported clinical outcomes after ACL reconstruction in males and females independently were included in the review. A quantitative random-effects meta-analysis was performed to compare outcomes between sexes. For outcomes with considerable heterogeneity, meta-regression was used to identify potential moderators. Articles were evaluated qualitatively when quantitative data were not reported. Results: A total of 135 publications were included in the review. Females had inferior outcomes in instrumented laxity (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.24; 95% CI, 0.11-0.37), revision rate (relative risk [RR], 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02-1.28), Lysholm score (SMD, −0.33; 95% CI, −0.55 to −0.11), Tegner activity scale (SMD, −0.37; 95% CI, −0.49 to −0.24), and incidence of not returning to sports (RR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04-1.21), all of which were statistically significant. Other outcomes were comparable between sexes, including anterior drawer test, Lachman test, pivot-shift test, timed single-legged hop test, single-legged hop test, quadriceps testing, hamstring testing, extension loss, flexion loss, development of cyclops lesion, and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) knee examination score. Females and males were equally likely to develop anterior knee pain and osteoarthritis after ACL reconstruction. The graft rupture and graft failure rates did not differ significantly between sexes. Conclusion: There were comparable or inferior results for females compared with males in all outcomes analyzed. No statistically significant sex difference was identified in most of the objective parameters. However, subjective and functional outcomes, including Lysholm score, Tegner activity scale, and ability to return to sports, have been shown to be poorer in females.
Modified LT coding with systematic connections

Although belief propagation (BP) algorithm can be used to solve the problem of LT decoding on noisy channels, the system performance turns out to be not very good. In this paper, we introduce one method to improve the system performance of LT soft decoding. The method is using different percent of systematic connections of encoded packets. Simulation results reveal the advantage of the proposed modified LT code over the conventional LT code scheme.
Elder Abuse: Global Situation, Risk Factors, and Prevention Strategies.

PURPOSE Elder mistreatment is now recognized internationally as a pervasive and growing problem, urgently requiring the attention of health care systems, social welfare agencies, policymakers, and the general public. In this article, we provide an overview of global issues in the field of elder abuse, with a focus on prevention. DESIGN AND METHODS This article provides a scoping review of key issues in the field from an international perspective. RESULTS By drawing primarily on population-based studies, this scoping review provided a more valid and reliable synthesis of current knowledge about prevalence and risk factors than has been available. Despite the lack of scientifically rigorous intervention research on elder abuse, the review also identified 5 promising strategies for prevention. IMPLICATIONS The findings highlight a growing consensus across studies regarding the extent and causes of elder mistreatment, as well as the urgent need for efforts to make elder mistreatment prevention programs more effective and evidence based.
Fidelity and Resource Sensitive Data Gathering

Sensor networks collect data at multiple distributed nodes and transfer the acquired information to points of interest. The raw data collected by each individual sensor is typically not of interest. Instead, a reduced representation of the measured phenomenon is to be generated. Multiple readings, however, add to the information about the phenomenon by providing its description at multiple points in space for distributed phenomena and multiple perspectives for a localized phenomenon. We also note that sensor readings have noise, and multiple readings can help mitigate the effect of this noise. Thus, while all the sensor readings need not be communicated, enough data must be exchanged to reliably reproduce the phenomenon. Considering the above effects, it becomes important to determine how much data should be transmitted from multiple sensors such that only useful information is exchanged and energy or bandwidth are not wasted on redundant data. We address this question using information theoretic techniques. The effects of sensor noise and correlation in the sensor readings are explicitly modelled.
MULTISCALE EDGE DETECTION USING WAVELET MAXIMA FOR IRIS LOCALIZATION

Automated personal identification based on biometrics has been receiving extensive attention over the past decade. Iris recognition, as an emerging biometric recognition approach, is becoming a very active topic in both research and practical applications and is regarded as the most reliable and accurate biometric identification system available. Common problems include variations in lighting, poor image quality, noise and interference caused by eyelashes while feature extraction and classification steps rely heavily on the rich textural details of the iris to provide a unique digital signature for an individual. As a result, the stability and integrity of a system depends on effective localization of the iris to generate the iris-code. A new localization method is presented in this paper to undertake these problems. Multiscale edge detection using wavelet maxima is discussed as a preprocessing technique that detects a precise and effective edge for localization and which greatly reduces the search space for the Hough transform, thus improving the overall performance. Linear Hough transform has been used for eyelids isolating, and an adaptive thresholding has been used for eyelashes isolating. A large number of experiments on the CASIA iris database demonstrate the validity and the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
The Effects of Loyalty Program Quality on Word -of -Mouth Recommendations Intentions

Literature review revealed the importance of the adoption of marketing Relationship for loyalty and r etaining profitable customer (Customer Relationship Managemen t). LPQ satisfaction will reinforce the loyalty and custome r brand attachment. Customer will communicate the operator t o thers. The focus of this study is to examine the relationship between the LPPQ and the WOM recommendations through: customer satisfaction, loyalty and attachment. The results s how that LPQ affect positively the satisfaction, negatively the loyalty. LPQ has an indirectly effect on WOM recommendations but throug h the satisfaction and attachment. The mediating effect o f satisfaction in the relationship between LPQ and Loyalty is rejecte d. This finding can be explained by the nature of mobile sector in Tu isia. Keywords—Attachment, Loyalty program quality, satisfaction, WOM
Tyrosinase Extract from Agaricus bisporus Mushroom and its in Natura Tissue for Specific Phenol Removal

Phenols are toxic pollutants found in industrial wastes imposing several risks to human health. Tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1) is an oxygenase oxyreductase found in several life forms, like the mushroom Agaricus bisporus. This enzyme is readily available from this fungal tissue leading to high activity extracts without extensive purification, thus suggesting its potential as a biocatalyst for applications involving biomodification of phenols or bioremediation of phenol-polluted waters. The purpose of this work was to employ a crude extract from the Agaricus bisporus mushroom and its biomass for the removal of phenol from polluted water. Experiments were carried out without pH control. The initial phenol concentration in all solutions was 100 mg l−1. Four enzymatic concentrations (50, 100, 200 and 400 U ml−1) were tested. Reactions, with 200 U ml−1 and 400 U ml−1 enzymatic activity, led to 90% of phenol removal. Chitosan was used as a coagulant, but no significant improvement was observed. The in natura fungi was also able to remove 90% of phenol, demostrating its viability as a biocatalyst in bioremediation process.
Simultaneous detection and strain differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in paraffin wax embedded tissues and in stained microscopic preparations.

AIMS: To detect and differentiate Mycobacterium tuberculosis simultaneously by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in clinical samples prepared for histopathological analysis and for microscopic detection of acid fast bacteria. METHODS: Paraffin wax embedded tissue samples and Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) and auramine stained microscopic preparations from culture positive tuberculosis patients were subjected to DNA extraction and amplification by PCR. PCR was performed with primers specific for direct repeats and the product was detected by hybridisation to a set of 43 different oligonucleotides, a procedure designated as "spoligotyping". RESULTS: Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA was detected in all of the 23 paraffin wax embedded tissues analysed. Strain differentiation was possible in 20 of the 23 paraffin wax embedded tissues. Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA was also detected and typed in eight of 10 ZN stained microscopic preparations. The hybridisation patterns obtained from virtually all of these samples were identical to those obtained from DNA extracted from cultures. CONCLUSION: Simultaneous detection and strain differentiation of M. tuberculosis complex bacteria is possible in clinical samples prepared by current methods for microscopic and histopathological analysis, without the need to culture. The methodology described opens the way to rapid disclosure of outbreaks in high risk settings, such as hospitals and prisons, where dissemination of tuberculosis might be very fast as a result of a high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infected patients.
Wealth Heterogeneity and Escape from the Poverty-Environment Trap

A mutual link between poverty and environmental degradation is examined in an overlapping generations model with environmental externality, human capital, and credit constraints. Environmental quality affects labor productivity and thus wealth dynamics, whereas wealth distribution determines the degree to which agents rely upon natural resources and therefore the evolution of environmental quality. This interaction creates a epoverty-environment trap,' where a deteriorated environment lowers income, which in turn accelerates environmental degradation. We show that greater wealth heterogeneity is the key to escaping the poverty-environment trap, although it has negative effects both on the environment and output when not in the trap.
Protective effect of prion protein via the N‐terminal region in mediating a protective effect on paraquat‐induced oxidative injury in neuronal cells

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are a group of neurodegenerative disorders caused by a posttranslational, conformational change in the cellular isoform of the prion protein (PrPC) into an infectious, disease‐associated form (PrPSc). Increasing evidence supports a role for PrPC in the cellular response to oxidative stress. We investigated the effect of oxidative stress mediated by paraquat exposure on SH‐SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. A loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and subsequent reduction in ATP production were demonstrated in untransfected SH‐SY5Y cells, an effect that was ameliorated by the expression of PrPC. Cells expressing either PrP‐ΔOct, which lacks the octapeptide repeats, or PrP‐DA, in which the N‐terminus is tethered to the membrane, showed increased sensitivity to paraquat compared with cells expressing wild‐type PrPC as shown by reduced viability, loss of their membrane integrity, and reduced mitochondrial bioenergetic measurements. Exposure of prion‐infected mouse SMB15S cells to paraquat resulted in a reduction in viability to levels similar to those seen in the untransfected SH‐SY5Y cells. However, “curing” the cells with pentosan sulfate restored the viability to the level observed in the SH‐SY5Y cells expressing PrPC. These data would indicate that the molecular mechanism promoting cellular resistance to oxidative stress had been compromised in the infected SMB15S cells, which could be reinstated upon curing. Our study supports the hypothesis that PrPC expression protects cells against paraquat‐induced oxidative injury, demonstrates the significance of the N‐terminal region of the protein in mediating this protective effect, and also shows that the biochemical consequences of prion infection may be reversed with therapeutic intervention. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
RACE System Description

RACE [3] is a successor of HAM-ALC [5, 2]. Based on sound and complete algorithms RACE currently implements TBox and ABox reasoning for the description logic ALCNHR+ [4] that supports number restrictions, role hierarchies, and transitively closed roles. Note that this DL implies general concept inclusions as a language feature. RACE accepts TBoxes and ABoxes in the KRSS syntax with appropriate extensions for GCIs.
Proliferation , angiogenesis and apoptosis-associated proteins are molecular targets for chemoprevention of MNNG-induced gastric carcinogenesis by ethanolic Ocimum sanctum leaf extract

Introduction: this study was designed to evaluate the chemopreventive effects of ethanolic Ocimum sanctum (Os) leaf extract on cell proliferation, apoptosis and angiogenesis during N-methyl-N’nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG)-induced gastric carcinogenesis. Methods: the rats were divided into four groups of ten each. rats in group one were given MNNG (150 mg/kg body weight) by intragastric intubation three times, with a two-week interval between treatments. rats in group two were administered MNNG as in group one, and in addition, they received intragastric intubation of ethanolic Os extract (300 mg/kg body weight) three times per week, starting on the day following the first exposure to MNNG. the intubation of ethanolic Os extract continued until the end of the experimental period. rats in group three were given ethanolic Os leaf extract only. Group four served as controls. All the rats were killed after an experimental period of 26 weeks. results: Intragastric administration of MNNG-induced well-differentiated squamous cell carcinomas that showed increased cell proliferation, and angiogenesis with evasion of apoptosis, as revealed by the upregulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PcNA), glutathione s-transferasepi (Gst-pi), bcl-2, cytokeratin (cK) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and with downregulation of bax, cytochrome c and caspase 3 protein expression. Administration of ethanolic Os leaf extract reduced the incidence of MNNG-induced gastric carcinomas. this was accompanied by decreased expression of PcNA, Gst-pi, bcl-2, cK and VEGF, and overexpression of bax, cytochrome c, and