Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cutting Edge: H-2Ld Class I Molecule Protects an HIV N-Extended Epitope from In Vitro Trimming by Endoplasmic Reticulum Aminopeptidase Associated with Antigen Processing

In the classical MHC class I Ag presentation pathway, antigenic peptides derived from viral proteins by multiple proteolytic cleavages are transported to the endoplasmic reticulum lumen and are then exposed to ami-nopeptidase activity. In the current study, a long MHC class I natural ligand recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes was used to study the kinetics of degradation by aminopeptidase. The in vitro data indicate that this N-extended peptide is efficiently trimmed to a 9-mer, unless its binding to the MHC molecules protects the full-length peptide.
Antimicrobial capacity of Aloe vera and propolis dentifrice against Streptococcus mutans strains in toothbrushes: an in vitro study

Objectives This study evaluated in vitro the efficiency of Aloe vera and propolis dentifrice on reducing the contamination of toothbrush bristles by a standard strain of Streptococcus mutans (ATCC 25175; SM), after toothbrushing. Material and Methods Fifteen sterile toothbrushes were randomly divided into 5 toothbrushing groups: I (negative control): without dentifrice; II: with fluoridated dentifrice; III: with triclosan and gantrez dentifrice; IV (positive control): without dentifrice and irrigation with 10 mL of 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate; V: with Aloe vera and propolis dentifrice. In each group, 1 sterile bovine tooth was brushed for 1 min, where the toothbrush bristles were contaminated with 25 µL of SM. After toothbrushing, the bristles were stored in individual test tubes with 3 mL of BHI under anaerobiosis of 37ºC for 48 h. Then, they were seeded with sterile swab in triplicate in the Mitis salivarius - Bacitracin culture medium. The samples were kept under anaerobiosis of 37ºC for 48 h. Scores were used to count the number of colony forming units (cfu). The results were submitted to the Mann-Whitney statistical test at 5% significance level. Results There was statistically significant difference (p<0.05) for the reduction of bristle contamination comparing groups II, III, IV and V to group I. Conclusions It may be stated that after toothbrushing, the Aloe vera and propolis dentifrice reduced the contamination of toothbrush bristles by SM, without differentiation from the other chemical agents used.
Implementing highly-available WWW servers based on passive object replication

We investigate issues related to building highly available World Wide Web (WWW) servers on workstation clusters. We present a novel architecture that includes a dynamic Domain Name System (DNS) and a WWW server based on passive object replication. This architecture allows us to reduce the service down-time of a WWW server without impacting on the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol (and thus on the WWW client software). We implement this architecture in our department and we show some experimental results that analyze, given a batch of HTTP requests, the average response time to a request and the average time of WWW service unavailability due to object crashes.
Sentinel node biopsy in gastric cancer.

In the therapeutic strategy of gastric cancer extension of lymphectomy is still controversial. Results of extended lymphadenectomy as reported in the literature by Japanese groups do not find correspondence in the series reported by the Western groups; no study, up to date, has clearly demonstrated the superiority of an extended versus a limited lymphectomy. The former approach results in an increased number of postoperative complications and a higher mortality rate. The surgical oncologist has to face the difficult issue of treating lymph nodes “clinically” which are not affected by the disease. So once more the questions are: elective extended lymphadenectomy or not? Bearing in mind the increase in morbidity, is it advantageous for the surgeon to perform a lymphectomy in a N0 patient; or if regional nodes are negative, should the surgeon approach the lymph nodes anyway? Is it therapeutic to excise negative lymph nodes? If the answer to all these questions is no, then it seems appropriate to explore those procedures that could potentially predict intraoperatively the involvement of lymph nodes; this would lead to a guided lymphectomy where possible. Selective lymphadenectomy has been demonstrated applicable in almost 100% of breast cancer and melanoma thanks to improvements in the sentinel lymph-node techJournal of Chemotherapy Vol. 11 n. 3 (230-231) 1999
The Uncertain Triumph: Federal Education Policy in the Kennedy and Johnson Years

Using the Kennedy and Johnson archives to analyze the evolution of educational policy from the perspective of the executive branch, Graham finds that the central theme was executive planning through presidential task forces. Mission agencies, clientele groups, and congressional committees produced a cascade of education programs in the 1960s as the administration was collapsing under the weight of the Vietnam war, inflation, and collective violence, yet the last two decades have witnessed a decline in test scores and basic literacy.Originally published in 1984.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
Renin release and renal vasomotor changes during stimulation of the brain stem in the cat.

1. Pontine stimulation induces a significant increase in renal venous renin activity, in venous-arterial renin activity difference and in renin release from an intact, innervated kidney, whereas no changes are observed in the contralateral denervated kidney. Renal blood flow markedly decreases in the innervated, and remains unchanged in the denervated, kidney during pontine stimulation. 2. Blockade of the vasomotor response to pontine stimulation in one kidney by close arterial infusion of phenoxybenzamine does not reduce the renin released by that kidney as compared with the contralateral intact one.
Predictors of Emerging Suicide Death Among Military Personnel on Social Media Networks

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States and is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. military. Previous research suggests that data obtained from social media networks may provide important clues for identifying at-risk individuals. To test this possibility, the social media profiles from 315 military personnel who died by suicide (n = 157) or other causes (n = 158) were coded for the presence of stressful life situations (i.e., triggers), somatic complaints or health issues (i.e., physical), maladaptive or avoidant coping strategies (i.e., behaviors), negative mood states (i.e., emotion), and/or negative cognitive appraisals (cognition). Content codes were subsequently analyzed using multilevel models from a dynamical systems perspective to identify temporal change processes characteristic of suicide death. Results identified temporal sequences unique to suicide, notably social media posts about triggers followed by more posts about cognitions, posts about cognitions followed by more posts about triggers, and posts about behaviors followed by fewer posts about cognitions. Results suggest that certain sequences in social media content may predict cause of death and provide an estimate of when a social media user is likely to die by suicide.
Clinical decision support and appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing: a randomized trial.

CONTEXT The impact of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) on antimicrobial prescribing in ambulatory settings has not previously been evaluated. OBJECTIVE To measure the added value of CDSS when coupled with a community intervention to reduce inappropriate prescribing of antimicrobial drugs for acute respiratory tract infections. DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Cluster randomized trial that included 407,460 inhabitants and 334 primary care clinicians in 12 rural communities in Utah and Idaho (6 with 1 shared characteristic and 6 with another), and a third group of 6 communities that served as nonstudy controls. The preintervention period was January to December 2001 and the postintervention period was January 2002 to September 2003. Acute respiratory tract infection diagnoses were classified into groups based on indication for antimicrobial use. Multilevel regression methods were applied to account for the clustered design. INTERVENTION Six communities received a community intervention alone and 6 communities received community intervention plus CDSS that were targeted toward primary care clinicians. The CDSS comprised decision support tools on paper and a handheld computer to guide diagnosis and management of acute respiratory tract infection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Community-wide antimicrobial usage was assessed using retail pharmacy data. Diagnosis-specific antimicrobial use was compared by chart review. RESULTS Within CDSS communities, 71% of primary care clinicians participated in the use of CDSS. The prescribing rate decreased from 84.1 to 75.3 per 100 person-years in the CDSS arm vs 84.3 to 85.2 in community intervention alone, and remained stable in the other communities (P = .03). A total of 13,081 acute respiratory tract infection visits were abstracted. The relative decrease in antimicrobial prescribing for visits in the antibiotics "never-indicated" category during the post-intervention period was 32% in CDSS communities and 5% in community intervention-alone communities (P = .03). Use of macrolides decreased significantly in CDSS communities but not in community intervention-alone communities. CONCLUSION CDSS implemented in rural primary care settings reduced overall antimicrobial use and improved appropriateness of antimicrobial selection for acute respiratory tract infections. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00235703.
Reliability and Minimal Detectable Change for Sit-to-Stand Tests and the Functional Gait Assessment for Individuals With Parkinson Disease

Background and Purpose: This study examined test-retest relative (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]) and absolute (minimum detectable change [MDC]) reliabilities for the 5 times sit-to-stand (5×STS), 30-second sit-to-stand (30sSTS), and the functional gait assessment (FGA) tests in people with Parkinson disease (PD). In addition, correlation of these functional tests with a history of falls was examined over a 6-month period, and the internal consistency of the FGA was established. Methods: Twenty-two patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-3) completed 3 functional tests over 2 test-retest periods of 6 to 8 days. Falls were self-reported for the prior 6 months. Results and Discussion: Moderate-to-excellent test-retest ICC(2,2) and MDC95 values were found for the 30sSTS (0.94, 3 times) and ICC(2,1) and MDC95 values were found for the FGA (0.86, 4 points). The 5×STS demonstrated a lower ICC(2,2) and a high MDC95 value (0.74, 10 seconds). A significant correlation was only found between past falls and the FGA test (r =−0.48, P < .05) during session 1. Cronbach &agr; values for the 10-item FGA during session 1 and session 2 were 0.75 and 0.85, respectively. Conclusions: To assess for change over time, we found the 30sSTS and the FGA tests can be used reliably in patients with PD. A lower FGA score was associated with a higher chance of falls, and good internal consistency of the FGA was found.
An improved shrinkage estimator to infer regulatory networks with Gaussian graphical models

Gaussian graphical models (GGMs) are widely used to tackle the important and challenging problem of inferring genetic regulatory networks from expression data. These models have gained much attention as they encode full conditional relationships between variables, i.e. genes. As a consequence, structure learning of a GGM requires an invertible and well-conditioned covariance matrix. Unfortunately, the usual estimator---the sample covariance matrix---is ill-suited in the "small n, large p" setting characteristic of microarray data. As an alternative, [9] proposed a shrinkage estimator that is both statistically efficient and computationally fast. The effectiveness of this estimator in bioinformatics has been illustrated by [12] who successfully used it to infer genetic regulatory networks from microarray data. Unfortunately, this improved estimator requires the shrinkage intensity to be estimated from the data, which is problematic in the "small n, large p" setting. Indeed, we show that the optimal shrinkage intensity estimator used in [9, 12] is biased. We propose a parametric bootstrap approach to estimate this bias and derive a "bias-corrected" shrinkage estimator. The applicability and usefulness of our estimator are demonstrated on both simulated and real expression data.
Priority Assignment Control of ATM Line Buffers with Multiple QOS Classes

In an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network multimedia environment, the bandwidth efficiency can be improved by defining multiple quality of service (QOS) classes and using a traffic control which manages required QOS of each class individually (QOS control). Priority assignment control is presented as a QOS control method in an ATM switching node. To quantitatively evaluate the control performance, the region determined by the offered load of each class where the QOS requirements of all the classes are satisfied is analytically obtained and various combinations of two classes and related control effects are discussed. When required values of cell loss rate and delay time are both different between the classes, the control effect is large; however, when only either of them is different, the effect is relatively small. The control scheme to enlarge the actual admissible offer load region by adaptively changing the priority assignment ratio is presented and its feasibility is confirmed by the simulation. >
Reliability and Percentiles of a Measure of Spatial Imagery

In a previous study, Campos (2009) assessed the reliability and validity of the Measure of the Ability to Form Spatial Mental Imagery (MASMI). The present study represents a follow-up analysis by reassessing reliability using a larger number of participants, and provided percentiles that can be used as a diagnostic test to measure an individual's ability to form spatial mental imagery. A total of 254 undergraduates participated in the study, the Cronbach alpha was . 93, and no significant sex differences were found.
[Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its components in adult inhabitants of Krakow].

OBJECTIVES There are only few studies on the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in Polish population. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome according to NCEP definition in adult inhabitants of Krakow. MATERIAL AND METHOD The study was conducted in 2004-2005 in 42 Krakow's primary health care units in patients aged over 25, not treated due to the diabetes type 2 and/or coronary artery disease, with no history of myocardial infarction or stroke. In all study participants anthropometric examination, blood pressure, fasting total cholesterol and fasting glucose were measured. In those with total cholesterol > 5.2 mmol/l additional triglicerides and HDL-cholesterol were measured. RESULTS 40989 people (67.2% women and 32.8% men) aged 25 to 97 (54.1 +/- 14.1 years) were examined. In 19,4% of the examined population the MS was diagnosed (20.9% women and 16.2% men). In age group below 55 years the MS was more frequent in men than in women. Impaired glucose tolerance was found in 5394 study participants (3239 women and 2155 men). Mean systolic blood pressure was higher in men than in women (131.5 +/- 16,1 vs 127.0 +/- 17.5, p < 0.0001), the same was found for diastolic blood pressure (81.5 +/- 0.3 vs 78.6 +/- 9.6 p < 0.0001). 33.5% of women and 34.9% of men (p < 0.01) were treated from hypertension. In age group below 55 years men were more frequently treated due to hypertension than women (p < 0.001). In 8.7% of women and 14.1% of men (p < 0.001) newly diagnosed hypertension was found. In all age groups untreated hypertension was more frequent among men than in women. In 26.1% women and 33.5% men hypertriglicrdymia was found. In age group below hypertiglicerydemia was more frequent in men than in women (p < 0.001). Low HDL-cholesterol was found in 20.9% of women and 10.1% of men (p < 0.001). Visceral fat distribution was found in 19.9% of men and 33.3% of women. CONCLUSIONS The MS was found in 20% of examined inhabitants of Krakow. Special attention should be paid to high prevalence of the MS among men younger than 45 years, as well as high prevalence of hypertriglicerydemia and newly diagnosed hypertension present in this group of men. The study results confirm the necessity of implementation of screening and early prevention of cardiovascular disease programs especially focused on younger men.
A low noise buck converter with a fully integrated continuous time ΣΔ modulated feedback controller

A low noise synchronous buck converter with a fully integrated second order single-bit continuous time σ δ modulator (CT-ΣΔM) based controller is presented. The converter is designed and fabricated on a 0.18 μm SiGe process. The feedback CT-SigmaDeltaM is sampled at 10 MHz with a single-bit non-return-to-zero (NRZ) output. Compared to a traditional PWM controller, the CT-ΣΔM controlled converter shapes the out-of-band noise and suppresses the in-band noise at the switching node by 25 dB with 92% efficiency.
Embryonic committed stem cells as a solution to kidney donor shortage

The number of human kidney transplants has increased rapidly in recent years, but the need greatly exceeds organ availability. Induction of appropriate kidney differentiation and growth from stem or progenitor cell populations represents an attractive option to combat chronic kidney donor shortage. In an analogy to haematopoietic stem cells, which are much more efficient in giving rise to blood than to other cell types, if any at all, renal stem cells could afford an unlimited source for regenerating nephrons. While a single nephrogenic stem cell has not been characterised, indirect evidence suggests that a renal stem cell population is contained within the metanephric mesenchyme, which along with a branch of the Wolffian duct represents the direct precursor of the mature kidney. Human tissue fragments derived from these developing precursors can regenerate renal structures when grafted into mice. Moreover, recent data pinpoints a window of time in human and pig kidney development that may be optimal for transplantation into mature recipients. ‘Window’ transplants are defined by their remarkable ability to grow, differentiate and undergo vascularisation, achieving successful organogenesis of urine-producing miniature kidneys with no evidence of transdifferentiation into non-renal cell types, lack of tumourigenicity and reduced immunogenicity compared with adult counterparts. In contrast, ‘non-window’ transplants (earlier or later in gestation) can form teratomas or are more prone to immune rejection and are less suitable for organogenesis. Hopefully, the use of stage-specific early human and porcine kidney precursors to cultivate mature kidney cells in vivo, possibly in conjunction with other modalities of stem cell technology and tissue engineering, will prove valuable to sustain life in patients with failing kidneys.
Functional Characterization of Crp/Fnr-Type Global Transcriptional Regulators in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough

ABSTRACT Crp/Fnr-type global transcriptional regulators regulate various metabolic pathways in bacteria and typically function in response to environmental changes. However, little is known about the function of four annotated Crp/Fnr homologs (DVU0379, DVU2097, DVU2547, and DVU3111) in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough. A systematic study using bioinformatic, transcriptomic, genetic, and physiological approaches was conducted to characterize their roles in stress responses. Similar growth phenotypes were observed for the crp/fnr deletion mutants under multiple stress conditions. Nevertheless, the idea of distinct functions of Crp/Fnr-type regulators in stress responses was supported by phylogeny, gene transcription changes, fitness changes, and physiological differences. The four D. vulgaris Crp/Fnr homologs are localized in three subfamilies (HcpR, CooA, and cc). The crp/fnr knockout mutants were well separated by transcriptional profiling using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and more genes significantly changed in expression in a ΔDVU3111 mutant (JW9013) than in the other three paralogs. In fitness studies, strain JW9013 showed the lowest fitness under standard growth conditions (i.e., sulfate reduction) and the highest fitness under NaCl or chromate stress conditions; better fitness was observed for a ΔDVU2547 mutant (JW9011) under nitrite stress conditions and a ΔDVU2097 mutant (JW9009) under air stress conditions. A higher Cr(VI) reduction rate was observed for strain JW9013 in experiments with washed cells. These results suggested that the four Crp/Fnr-type global regulators play distinct roles in stress responses of D. vulgaris. DVU3111 is implicated in responses to NaCl and chromate stresses, DVU2547 in nitrite stress responses, and DVU2097 in air stress responses.
Interruptible context-dependent executions: a fresh look at programming context-aware applications

Context-aware applications provide end-users with enhanced experiences by continuously sensing their environment and adapting their behaviour to match the current context of use. However, developing true context-aware applications remains notoriously difficult due to the unpredictable nature of context changes. A context change may occur at any moment during a procedure execution, which may require an ongoing execution to be promptly interrupted in order to prevent the procedure from running in a wrong context. Currently, developers have to manually constrain a procedure execution to a particular context and take care of saving and restoring the execution state between context changes. Such manual approaches are error-prone and may lead to incorrect application behaviour. This paper presents a novel programming language model called interruptible context-dependent executions, where a procedure execution is always constrained to happen only under a specified context. In this model, a procedure execution can be seamlessly interrupted or resumed depending on the context. Additionally, the procedure execution state is automatically preserved between interruptions. We present the Flute language that supports interruptible context-dependent executions.
An internal model of self-motion based on inertial signals

The question of how the central nervous system can distinguish tilt with respect to gravity from inertial acceleration due to translation in a horizontal plane using vestibular information has long been debated by the scientific community over the past ten years. Recently, it was hypothesized that such discrimination may be based on the multisensory integration of information provided by the otolith organs and the semicircular canals. Some evidence of such processing was found in the neural activity of cells in the fastigial nuclei and vestibular nuclei. To investigate the ability of the central nervous system to build an internal model of self motion based on vestibular signals, we developed an artificial vestibular sensor composed of accelerometers and gyroscopes providing movement data of the same nature as that transduced by the otoliths and canals, respectively. Here we show that the processing of these signals based on the multisensory integration hypothesis can be successfully used to discriminate tilt from translation and that the internal model based on such processing can successfully track angular and linear displacements over short periods of time