Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential Regulation of CaV2.1 Channels by Calcium-Binding Protein 1 and Visinin-Like Protein-2 Requires N-Terminal Myristoylation

P/Q-type Ca2+ currents through presynaptic CaV2.1 channels initiate neurotransmitter release, and differential modulation of these channels by neuronal calcium-binding proteins (nCaBPs) may contribute to synaptic plasticity. The nCaBPs calcium-binding protein 1 (CaBP1) and visinin-like protein-2 (VILIP-2) differ from calmodulin (CaM) in that they have an N-terminal myristoyl moiety and one EF-hand that is inactive in binding Ca2+. To determine whether myristoylation contributes to their distinctive modulatory properties, we studied the regulation of CaV2.1 channels by the myristoyl-deficient mutants CaBP1/G2A and VILIP-2/G2A. CaBP1 positively shifts the voltage dependence of CaV2.1 activation, accelerates inactivation, and prevents paired-pulse facilitation in a Ca2+-independent manner. Block of myristoylation abolished these effects, leaving regulation that is similar to endogenous CaM. CaBP1/G2A binds to CaV2.1 with reduced stability, but in situ protein cross-linking and immunocytochemical studies revealed that it binds CaV2.1 in situ and is localized to the plasma membrane by coexpression with CaV2.1, indicating that it binds effectively in intact cells. In contrast to CaBP1, coexpression of VILIP-2 slows inactivation in a Ca2+-independent manner, but this effect also requires myristoylation. These results suggest a model in which nonmyristoylated CaBP1 and VILIP-2 bind to CaV2.1 channels and regulate them like CaM, whereas myristoylation allows differential, Ca2+-independent regulation by the inactive EF-hands of CaBP1 and VILIP-2, which differ in their positions in the protein structure. Differential, myristoylation-dependent regulation of presynaptic Ca2+ channels by nCaBPs may provide a flexible mechanism for diverse forms of short-term synaptic plasticity.
The location of locoregional recurrence in pathologic T3N0, non-irradiated lower rectal cancer

Purpose To investigate the patterns of locoregional recurrence of pathologic T3N0 (pT3N0) lower rectal cancer omitting postoperative radiotherapy (RT) and explore the potential of modification of a RT field. Materials and Methods From Jan 2003 to Nov 2011, 35 patients omitting preoperative or postoperative RT for pT3N0 lower rectal cancer were included. We defined the lower rectal cancer as the tumor with the inferior margin located below the virtual line-a convergent level between rectal wall and levator ani muscle. All patients had radiologic examinations for recurrence evaluation during the follow-up duration. Results The median follow-up duration was 66.4 months (range, 1.4 to 126.1 months). Eight (22.9%) of the 35 patients had recurrence. Three (8.6%) was local recurrence (LR) only, 3 (8.6%) was distant metastasis (DM) only, and 2 (5.7%) was LR with DM. All LR were located at primary tumor sites. The overall survival rate, LR-free survival rate, and DM-free survival rate at 5 years was 79.8%, 83%, and 87%, respectively. All LR developed from tumors over 5 cm. However, there was no statistical significance (p = 0.065). There was no other risk factor for LR. Conclusion Even though the patients included in this study had pathologically favorable pT3N0 rectal cancer, LR developed in 14.3% of patients. Most of the LR was located at primary tumor sites prior to surgery. Based on these findings, it might seem reasonable to consider postoperative RT with a smaller radiation field to the primary tumor site rather than the conventional whole pelvic irradiation.
The Tight Bound for the Number of Pilots in Channel Estimation for OFDM Systems

Coherent detection in OFDM systems requires accurate channel state information (CSI) at the receiver. Channel estimation based on pilot-symbol-assisted transmissions provides a reliable way to obtain CSI. Use of pilot symbols for channel estimation, introduces overhead and it is desirable to keep the number of pilot symbols as minimum as possible. This paper introduces a new tight bound for the number of pilots in channel estimation using adaptive scheme in OFDM systems. We calculate the minimum number of necessary pilots using two approaches. The first approach for the number of pilots is obtained based on Doppler frequency shift estimation and the second approach is acquired based on channel length estimation using second order statistics of received signal. Finally we obtain the tight bound for the number of pilots using attained values.
Human RECQ5β helicase promotes strand exchange on synthetic DNA structures resembling a stalled replication fork

The role of the human RECQ5β helicase in the maintenance of genomic stability remains elusive. Here we show that RECQ5β promotes strand exchange between arms of synthetic forked DNA structures resembling a stalled replication fork in a reaction dependent on ATP hydrolysis. BLM and WRN can also promote strand exchange on these structures. However, in the presence of human replication protein A (hRPA), the action of these RecQ-type helicases is strongly biased towards unwinding of the parental duplex, an effect not seen with RECQ5β. A domain within the non-conserved portion of RECQ5β is identified as being important for its ability to unwind the lagging-strand arm and to promote strand exchange on hRPA-coated forked structures. We also show that RECQ5β associates with DNA replication factories in S phase nuclei and persists at the sites of stalled replication forks after exposure of cells to UV irradiation. Moreover, RECQ5β is found to physically interact with the polymerase processivity factor proliferating cell nuclear antigen in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, these findings suggest that RECQ5β may promote regression of stalled replication forks to facilitate the bypass of replication-blocking lesions by template-switching. Loss of such activity could explain the elevated level of mitotic crossovers observed in RECQ5β-deficient cells.
Liver Cancer Stem Cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common primary malignancy of the liver in adults. It is also the fifth most common solid cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer-related death. Recent research supports that liver cancer is a disease of adult stem cells. From the models of experimental hepatocarcinogenesis, there may be at least three distinct cell lineages with progenitor properties susceptible to neoplastic transformation. Identification of specific cell surface markers for each of the liver cell types, production of corresponding monoclonal antibodies and cell sorting techniques have together revolutionized the characteristics of normal stem cells. In hepatocarcinogenesis, multiple signaling transduction pathways, important for stem cell proliferation and differentiations, are deregulated. Strategies are being developed to identify and characterize the liver cancer stem cells. Targeting liver cancer stem cells may bring hope to curing hepatocellular carcinoma.
An Improved AES Algorithm Based on Chaos

It is pointed that the key space of AES encryption algorithm is limited, and there is few nonlinear factors in the whole system. In this paper, I use two chaos systems, so I can get two sequences. One is used as key, the other one is used to control the times of row-shift. This encryption algorithm combines the chaos theory with AES, then, a new algorithm is formed. This new method increases the key space and the nonlinear factors of AES system. In this case, the safety of encryption algorithm has been further improved.
PIXEL-BASED SKIN DETECTION FOR PORNOGRAPHY FILTERING

A robust skin detector is the primary need of many fields of computer vision, including face detection, gesture recognition, and pornography filtering. Less than 10 years ago, the first paper on automatic pornography filtering was published. Since then, different researchers claim different color spaces to be the best choice for skin detection in pornography filtering. Unfortunately, no comprehensive work is performed on evaluating different color spaces and their performance for detecting naked persons. As such, researchers usualy refer to the results of skin detection based on the work doen for face detection, which underlies different imaging conditions. In this paper, we examine 21 color spaces in all their possible representations for pixel-based skin detection in pornographic images. Consequently, this paper holds a large investigation in the field of skin detection, and a specific run on the pornographic images.
Polarization response measurement and simulation of rigid endoscopes

Polarized light can reveal diagnostic information about tissue morphology. To promote easy adoption of polarization imaging techniques in the clinic it would be beneficial if they can be used with standard medical imaging instruments such as rigid endoscopes. We have characterized the polarization properties of two commercial laparoscopes and observed birefringence effects that complicate polarization imaging. Possible solutions are discussed that may be of interest to other tissue polarization imaging researchers.
Power Reduction Scheme of Fans in a Blade System by Considering the Imbalance of CPU Temperatures

In order to develop a data center power efficiency index, we built a test bed of a data center and measured power components and environmental variables in some detail, including the power consumption and temperature of each node, rack and air conditioning unit, as well as load on the CPU, Disk I/O and the network. In these measurements we found that there was a significant imbalance of CPU temperatures that caused an imbalance in the power consumption of fans. We clarified the relationship between CPU load and fan speed, and showed that scheduling or rearrangement of nodes could reduce the power consumption of fans. We reduced fan power consumption by a maximum of about 350 W by changing the scheduling of five nodes, changing the nodes used from hot nodes to cool nodes.
Do UI benefit levels or benefi td uration have an impact on perceived job security

We question the relation between the perception of job security held by a worker and the UI benefit level she would received if she was to lose her job. The data set used is the French sample of the ECHP, which interviews from 1994 to 2001 the same group of persons. This data set has the advantage of providing all the information needed to simulate the potential monthly sequence of UI benefits: the duration of contribution payments, the previous before tax labor earnings, and the age of the claimant. Therefore we are able to compute for each employed worker: (i) the maximum benefit duration; (ii) the benefit paid at the beginning of the unemployment spell; (iii) the average benefit. To control for selection bias in contract types, we estimate a bivariate probit model with random effects. We find that workers feel more secure when UI benefit level is more generous. Both the benefit paid at the beginning of the unemployment spell and the average benefi th ave ap ositive effect on perceived job satisfaction. However, workers are more sensitive to the average benefit, which suggest they are well aware of the decreasing sequence of benefits. At the opposite, and quite surprisingly, we find that a longer maximum benefit duration does not improve perceived job security.
Model for Acid-Mediated Tumour Invasion with Chemotherapy Intervention I: Homogeneous Populations

The acid-mediation hypothesis, that is, the hypothesis that acid produced by tumours, as a result of aerobic glycolysis, provides a mechanism for invasion, has so far been considered as a relatively closed system. The focus has mainly been on the dynamics of the tumour, normal-tissue, acid and possibly some other bodily components, without considering the effect of an external intervention such as a cytotoxic treatment. This article aims to examine the effect that a cytotoxic treatment has on a tumour growing under the acid-mediation hypothesis by using a simple set of ordinary differential equations that consider the interaction between normal-tissue, tumour-tissue, acid and chemotherapy drug.
GTP-binding mutants of rab1 and rab2 are potent inhibitors of vesicular transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex

We have examined the role of ras-related rab proteins in transport from the ER to the Golgi complex in vivo using a vaccinia recombinant T7 RNA polymerase virus to express site-directed rab mutants. These mutations are within highly conserved domains involved in guanine nucleotide binding and hydrolysis found in ras and all members of the ras superfamily. Substitutions in the GTP-binding domains of rab1a and rab1b (equivalent to the ras 17N and 116I mutants) resulted in proteins which were potent trans dominant inhibitors of vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G protein) transport between the ER and cis Golgi complex. Immunofluorescence analysis indicated that expression of rab1b121I prevented delivery of VSV-G protein to the Golgi stack, which resulted in VSV-G protein accumulation in pre-Golgi punctate structures. Mutants in guanine nucleotide exchange or hydrolysis of the rab2 protein were also strong trans dominant transport inhibitors. Analogous mutations in rab3a, rab5, rab6, and H-ras did not inhibit processing of VSV-G to the complex, sialic acid containing form diagnostic of transport to the trans Golgi compartment. We suggest that at least three members of the rab family (rab1a, rab1b, and rab2) use GTP hydrolysis to regulate components of the transport machinery involved in vesicle traffic between early compartments of the secretory pathway.
Differences in adiposity trajectories by birth cohort and childhood social class: evidence from cohorts born in the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s in the west of Scotland

Background Since the 1930s, the environment has become increasingly obesogenic, leading to rising rates of adiposity and socioeconomic inequalities in adiposity. Building on studies comparing body mass index (BMI) for cohorts born over a period of 20 years, we examine the social patterning of BMI and central adiposity for three cohorts born over a 40-year period. Methods Using data from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 study (n=4510), we investigate 20-year trajectories of adiposity for three cohorts born in the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s, allowing us to study 60 years of the lifecourse. Stratified by gender, we employed multilevel models to generate trajectories for BMI and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and explored how these trajectories varied by childhood social class. Results Adiposity increased most quickly with age in the youngest cohort, and cohort differences were greater than socioeconomic differences. For example, the smallest cohort difference for BMI, a comparison of men in the 1930s and 1950s cohorts at age 55, was 2.66 (95% CI 2.11 to 3.20) kg/m2, while the largest socioeconomic difference, a comparison of manual and non-manual women at age 64, was 1.18 (95% CI 0.37 to 1.98) kg/m2. Socioeconomic inequalities in adiposity increased with age and were greater for women than for men. The results for WHtR differed in that increases in WHtR accelerated with age while increases in BMI slowed. Conclusions Socioeconomic differences in adiposity accumulate slowly across the lifecourse and are approximately only a third of the adiposity differences between cohorts.
Constructing arrangements of lines and hyperplanes with applications

An optimal algorithm is presented for constructing an arrangement of hyperplanes in arbitrary dimensions. It relies on a combinatorial result that is of interest in its own right. The algorithm is shown to improve known worst-case time complexities for five problems: computing all order-k Voronoi diagrams, computing the λ-matrix, estimating halfspace queries, degeneracy testing, and finding the minimum volume simplex determined by a set of points.
Internet Engineering Task Force (ietf) Interactions between Proxy Mobile Ipv6 (pmipv6) and Mobile Ipv6 (mipv6): Scenarios and Related Issues

The use of Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6) and Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) in the same network requires some care. This document discusses scenarios where such mixed usage is appropriate and points out the need for interaction between the two mechanisms. Solutions and recommendations to enable these scenarios are also described. (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has received public review and has been approved for publication by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Not all documents approved by the IESG are a candidate for any level of Internet Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 5741. Information about the current status of this document, any errata, and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at in effect on the date of publication of this document. Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License. Giaretta Informational [Page 1] RFC 6612 PMIPv6-MIPv6 Interactions May 2012 This document may contain material from IETF Documents or IETF Contributions published or made publicly available before November 10, 2008. The person(s) controlling the copyright in some of this material may not have granted the IETF Trust the right to allow modifications of such material outside the IETF Standards Process. Without obtaining an adequate license from the person(s) controlling the copyright in such materials, this document may not be modified outside the IETF Standards Process, and derivative works of it may not be created outside the IETF Standards Process, except to format it for publication as an RFC or to translate it into languages other than English.
Structural and Functional Aspects of Hetero-oligomers Formed by the Small Heat Shock Proteins αB-Crystallin and HSP27*

Background: αB-crystallin and HSP27 are mammalian intracellular small heat shock proteins. Results: These proteins exchange subunits in a rapid and temperature-dependent manner. Conclusion: This facile subunit exchange suggests that differential expression could be used by the cell to regulate the response to stress. Significance: A robust technique defines parameters for the dynamic interaction between the major mammalian small heat shock proteins. Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) exist as large polydisperse species in which there is constant dynamic subunit exchange between oligomeric and dissociated forms. Their primary role in vivo is to bind destabilized proteins and prevent their misfolding and aggregation. αB-Crystallin (αB) and HSP27 are the two most widely distributed and most studied sHSPs in the human body. They are coexpressed in different tissues, where they are known to associate with each other to form hetero-oligomeric complexes. In this study, we aimed to determine how these two sHSPs interact to form hetero-oligomers in vitro and whether, by doing so, there is an increase in their chaperone activity and stability compared with their homo-oligomeric forms. Our results demonstrate that HSP27 and αB formed polydisperse hetero-oligomers in vitro, which had an average molecular mass that was intermediate of each of the homo-oligomers and which were more thermostable than αB, but less so than HSP27. The hetero-oligomer chaperone function was found to be equivalent to that of αB, with each being significantly better in preventing the amorphous aggregation of α-lactalbumin and the amyloid fibril formation of α-synuclein in comparison with HSP27. Using mass spectrometry to monitor subunit exchange over time, we found that HSP27 and αB exchanged subunits 23% faster than the reported rate for HSP27 and αA and almost twice that for αA and αB. This represents the first quantitative evaluation of αB/HSP27 subunit exchange, and the results are discussed in the broader context of regulation of function and cellular proteostasis.
A method of extracting fuzzy control rules of structural vibration using FCM algorithm

A method of extracting fuzzy control rules from sample data is proposed in this paper, which is based on the FCM algorithm. The sample data is gathered in the process of structural vibration control. Firstly, the input and output spaces of the given sample data are divided into several suitable fuzzy regions using FCM algorithm. Secondly, in order to extract the fuzzy control rules automatically, a special network is designed based on the fuzzy region divisions. Finally, the extracted rules are applied to the structural vibration control and the validity of the rules is verified.
Interactions between malaria and human immunodeficiency virus anno 2014

Possible pathophysiological, clinical and epidemiological interactions between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tropical pathogens, especially malaria parasites, constitute a concern in tropical areas. Two decades of research have shown that HIV-related immunosuppression is correlated with increased malaria infection, burden, and treatment failure, and with complicated malaria, irrespective of immune status. The recent role out of antiretroviral therapies and new antimalarials, such as artemisinin combination therapies, raise additional concerns regarding possible synergistic and antagonistic effects on efficacy and toxicity. Co-trimoxazole, which is used to prevent opportunistic infections, has been shown to have strong antimalarial prophylactic properties, despite its long-term use and increasing antifolate resistance. The administration of efavirenz, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, with amodiaquine–artesunate has been associated with increased toxicity. Recent in vivo observations have confirmed that protease inhibitors have strong antimalarial properties. Ritonavir-boosted lopinavir and artemether–lumefantrine have a synergistic effect in terms of improved malaria treatment outcomes, with no apparent increase in the risk of toxicity. Overall, for the prevention and treatment of malaria in HIV-infected populations, the current standard of care is similar to that in non-HIV-infected populations. The available data show that the wider use of insecticide-treated bed-nets, co-trimoxazole prophylaxis and antiretroviral therapy might substantially reduce the morbidity of malaria in HIV-infected patients. These observations show that those accessing care for HIV infection are now, paradoxically, well protected from malaria. These findings therefore highlight the need for confirmatory diagnosis of malaria in HIV-infected individuals receiving these interventions, and the provision of different artemisinin-based combination therapies to treat malaria only when the diagnosis is confirmed.
Parameter estimation and prediction of a nonlinear storage model: an algebraic approach

Generally, parameters that are nonlinear in system models are estimated by nonlinear least-squares optimization algorithms. In this paper, if a nonlinear discrete-time model with a polynomial quotient structure in input, output, and parameters, a method is proposed to reparameterize the model such that the model becomes linear in its new parameters. The new parameters can then be estimated by ordinary least squares. Finally, the model is rewritten in predictor form. A model of an agricultural storage facility with real data is presented to demonstrate the procedure and show the improved predictive performance. Some technical problems are indicated and solutions are proposed.