Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of the human α:1,2‐fucosyltransferase in transgenic pigs modifies the cell surface carbohydrate phenotype and confers resistance to human serum‐mediated cytolysis

Hyperacute rejection (HAR) is the first critical immunological hurdle that must be addressed in order to develop xenogeneic organs for human transplantation. In the area of cell‐based xenotransplant therapies, natural antibodies (XNA) and complement have also been considered barriers to successful engraftment. Transgenic expression of human complement inhibitors in donor cells and organs has significantly prolonged the survival of xenografts. However, expression of complement inhibitors without eliminating xenogeneic natural antibody (XNA) reactivity may provide insufficient protection for clinical application. An approach designed to prevent XNA reactivity during HAR is the expression of human α1,2‐fucosyltransferase (H‐transferase, HT). H‐transferase expression modifies the cell surface carbohydrate phenotype of the xe‐nogeneic cell, resulting in the expression of the universal donor O antigen and a concomitant reduction in the expression of the antigenic Galα1,3‐Gal epitope. We have engineered various transgenic pig lines that express HT in different cells and tissues, including the vascular endothelium. We demonstrate that in two different HT transgenic lines containing two different HT promoter constructs, expression can be differentially regulated in a constitutive and cytokine‐inducible manner. The transgenic expression of HT results in a significant reduction in the expression of the Galα1,3‐Gal epitope, reduced XNA reactivity, and an increased resistance to human serum‐mediated cytolysis. Transgenic pigs that express H‐transferase promise to become key components for the development of xenogeneic cells and organs for human transplantation. —Costa, C. , Zhao, L. , Burton, W. V. , Bondioli, K. R. , Williams, B. L. , Hoagland, T. A. , DiTullio, P. A. , Ebert, K. M. , Fodor, W. L. Expression of the human α1,2‐fucosyltrans‐ferase in transgenic pigs modifies the cell surface carbohydrate phenotype and confers resistance to human serum‐mediated cytolysis. FASEB J. 13, 1762–1773 (1999)
African Savanna-Forest Boundary Dynamics: A 20-Year Study

Recent studies show widespread encroachment of forest into savannas with important consequences for the global carbon cycle and land-atmosphere interactions. However, little research has focused on in situ measurements of the successional sequence of savanna to forest in Africa. Using long-term inventory plots we quantify changes in vegetation structure, above-ground biomass (AGB) and biodiversity of trees ≥10 cm diameter over 20 years for five vegetation types: savanna; colonising forest (F1), monodominant Okoume forest (F2); young Marantaceae forest (F3); and mixed Marantaceae forest (F4) in Lopé National Park, central Gabon, plus novel 3D terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) measurements to assess forest structure differences. Over 20 years no plot changed to a new stage in the putative succession, but F1 forests strongly moved towards the structure, AGB and diversity of F2 forests. Overall, savanna plots showed no detectable change in structure, AGB or diversity using this method, with zero trees ≥10 cm diameter in 1993 and 2013. F1 and F2 forests increased in AGB, mainly as a result of adding recruited stems (F1) and increased Basal Area (F2), whereas F3 and F4 forests did not change substantially in structure, AGB or diversity. Critically, the stability of the F3 stage implies that this stage may be maintained for long periods. Soil carbon was low, and did not show a successional gradient as for AGB and diversity. TLS vertical plant profiles showed distinctive differences amongst the vegetation types, indicating that this technique can improve ecological understanding. We highlight two points: (i) as forest colonises, changes in biodiversity are much slower than changes in forest structure or AGB; and (ii) all forest types store substantial quantities of carbon. Multi-decadal monitoring is likely to be required to assess the speed of transition between vegetation types.
Probing the evolution of the dark energy density with future supernova surveys

The time dependence of the dark energy density can be an important clue to the nature of dark energy in the universe. We show that future supernova data from dedicated telescopes (such as SNAP), when combined with data of nearby supernovae, can be used to determine how the dark energy density ρX(z) depends on redshift, if ρX(z) is not too close to a constant. For quantitative comparison, we have done an extensive study of a number of dark energy models. Based on these models we have simulated data sets in order to show that we can indeed reconstruct the correct sign of the time dependence of the dark energy density, outside of a degeneracy region centred on (where zmax is the maximum redshift of the survey; for example, zmax = 1.7 for SNAP).
Organizing Context Information Processing in Dynamic Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper presents the e-SENSE middleware architecture for distributed processing of context information in dynamic wireless sensor networks. At the lower layer, sensor nodes organize into clusters spontaneously based on shared context. These clusters form the basis for the service-oriented processing layer, where the functionality of the sensor network is expressed using service task graphs supporting distributed execution of applications. The higher layer is responsible for complex context inference and recognition. As a concrete example we evaluate the distributed recognition of human activities in a car assembly process.
ASEAN Rising: ASEAN and AEC Beyond 2015

ASEAN RISING: ASEAN and AEC Beyond 2015 puts together ideas, thoughts and papers from more than 30 experts and specialists in the region on various areas relating to ASEAN and AEC beyond 2015. It discusses the challenges for ASEAN and AEC, how to face them and how ASEAN should move forward towards AEC 2015 and beyond. ASEAN is predicted to be highly populated by 2030, with about 720 million people, making the region a huge market. It is likely that by 2030, three or four ASEAN Member States (AMSs) are high income countries, two to four AMSs would become upper middle income countries, and three to four rising towards becoming upper middle income countries themselves. The AMSs should maintain the momentum of reforms, institutional development, and community building towards an integrated and highly contestable ASEAN, competitive and dynamic ASEAN, inclusive and resilient ASEAN, and a global ASEAN. This then translates into an ASEAN RISING indeed. ASEAN RISING: ASEAN and AEC Beyond 2015 is ERIA's latest endeavour to support ASEAN and the regional integration efforts in ASEAN and East Asia. The recommendations made in this project are hoped to help the region move forward confidently into 2015 and beyond.
Walking assistance apparatus using a spatial parallel link mechanism and a weight bearing lift

A prototype for a walking assistance apparatus for the elderly or motor palsy patients was developed as a next-generation vehicle or movable neuro-rehabilitation training appliance, using a novel spatial parallel link mechanism and a bearing lift. The flat steps of the apparatus move in parallel with the ground; the apparatus can support entire leg alignment (including soles) and assist; walking behavior at ankle, knee and hip joints simultaneously. In order to respond the variation of equipped person's walking velocity, the length of stride and walking cycle while walking with wearing the apparatus were compensated by using the relation of walking ratio. Therefore the apparatus can be controlled in response to equipped person's will. Motor palsy and muscle weakness patients can walk by themselves by using the apparatus; patients who have ambulation difficulty can use the apparatus with weight bearing lift that we developed. Using the apparatus with the weight bearing lift prevents stumbling and enables input of walking movement to the brain motor area. It is very effective for rehabilitation to use the apparatus with the weight bearing lift. This newly developed system facilitates motor palsy and muscle weakness patients in the rehabilitation program.
Peroxidase Activity and Involvement in the Oxidative Stress Response of Roseobacter denitrificans Truncated Hemoglobin

Roseobacter denitrificans is a member of the widespread marine Roseobacter genus. We report the first characterization of a truncated hemoglobin from R. denitrificans (Rd. trHb) that was purified in the heme-bound form from heterologous expression of the protein in Escherichia coli. Rd. trHb exhibits predominantly alpha-helical secondary structure and absorbs light at 412, 538 and 572 nm. The phylogenetic classification suggests that Rd. trHb falls into group II trHbs, whereas sequence alignments indicate that it shares certain important heme pocket residues with group I trHbs in addition to those of group II trHbs. The resonance Raman spectra indicate that the isolated Rd. trHb contains a ferric heme that is mostly 6-coordinate low-spin and that the heme of the ferrous form displays a mixture of 5- and 6-coordinate states. Two Fe-His stretching modes were detected, notably one at 248 cm-1, which has been reported in peroxidases and some flavohemoglobins that contain an Fe-His-Asp (or Glu) catalytic triad, but was never reported before in a trHb. We show that Rd. trHb exhibits a significant peroxidase activity with a (k cat/K m) value three orders of magnitude higher than that of bovine Hb and only one order lower than that of horseradish peroxidase. This enzymatic activity is pH-dependent with a pK a value ~6.8. Homology modeling suggests that residues known to be important for interactions with heme-bound ligands in group II trHbs from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Bacillus subtilis are pointing toward to heme in Rd. trHb. Genomic organization and gene expression profiles imply possible functions for detoxification of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in vivo. Altogether, Rd. trHb exhibits some distinctive features and appears equipped to help the bacterium to cope with reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and/or to operate redox biochemistry.
Design and Application for PV Generation System Using a Soft-Switching Boost Converter With SARC

In order to improve the efficiency of energy conversion for a photovoltaic (PV) system, a soft-switching boost converter using a simple auxiliary resonant circuit, which is composed of an auxiliary switch, a diode, a resonant inductor, and a resonant capacitor, is adopted in this paper. The conventional boost converter decreases the efficiency because of hard switching, which generates losses when the switches are turned on/off. During this interval, all switches in the adopted circuit perform zero-current switching by the resonant inductor at turn-on, and zero-voltage switching by the resonant capacitor at turn-off. This switching pattern can reduce the switching losses, voltage and current stress of the switching device. Moreover, it is very easy to control. In this paper, we have analyzed the operational principles of the adopted soft-switching boost converter, and it is designed for PV generation system. Simulation and experimental results are presented to confirm the theoretical analysis.
The Effect of Aging on the Neural Correlates of Phonological Word Retrieval

Age has a differential effect on cognition, with word retrieval being one of the cognitive domains most affected by aging. This study examined the functional and structural neural correlates of phonological word retrieval in younger and older adults using word and picture rhyme judgment tasks. Although the behavioral performance in the fMRI task was similar for the two age groups, the older adults had increased activation in the right pars triangularis across tasks and in the right pars orbitalis for the word task only. Increased activation together with preserved performance in the older participants would suggest that increased activation was related to compensatory processing. We validated this hypothesis by showing that right pars triangularis activation during correct rhyme judgments was highest in participants who made overall more errors, therefore being most error-prone. Our findings demonstrate that the effect of aging differ in adjacent but distinct right inferior frontal regions. The differential effect of age on word and picture tasks also provides new clues to the level of processing that is most affected by age in speech production tasks. Specifically, we suggest that right inferior frontal activation in older participants is needed to inhibit errors.
Strategies Comparison of Test Generation from UML Using SMT Solver

A principal challenge in Model-Based Testing is to generate tests within a reasonable time and without reducing the test coverage when the size and complexity of the model increases. In the last few years, SMT solvers have become able to solve complex first-order logic formulas with acceptable performance. To meet this requirement, we choose to use Satisfiability Modulo Theory (SMT) solvers. In this paper, we suggest three strategies to generate automatically tests from models written in UML4MBT, a subset of UML. These strategies are evaluated through several experimentations. In particular, we study the influence of the characteristics of the model and the use of multi-threading on the test generation time. All experiments are performed on models representing real life systems.
Ecosystem Services – Examples of Their Valuation Methods in Czech Republic and Slovakia

Abstract This literature review deals with the understanding of ecosystem services related to the question of their applicability and appropriate methods for their valuation. We distinguish between ecological valuation methods that aim to assess the significance of landscape characteristics, conventional economic, i.e. monetary valuation and non-monetizing valuation or assessment. Ecological evaluation methods derive values by following a cost of production approach which neglects consumer preferences. Economic valuation methods focus on the exchange value of ecosystem services, i.e. they are based on consumer preferences, but do not adequately take into account the complex internal structure of ecosystems. We conclude that – from the view of implementation of ecosystem services for policy support and consulting – successful valuation approaches should particularly consider the relationships between economic, ecological and social aspects of ecosystem services’ provision.
A Role for the Nucleosome Assembly Proteins TAF-Iβ and NAP1 in the Activation of BZLF1 Expression and Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation

The reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) from latent to lytic infection begins with the expression of the viral BZLF1 gene, leading to a subsequent cascade of viral gene expression and amplification of the EBV genome. Using RNA interference, we show that nucleosome assembly proteins NAP1 and TAF-I positively contribute to EBV reactivation in epithelial cells through the induction of BZLF1 expression. In addition, overexpression of NAP1 or the β isoform of TAF-I (TAF-Iβ) in AGS cells latently infected with EBV was sufficient to induce BZLF1 expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments performed in AGS-EBV cells showed that TAF-I associated with the BZLF1 promoter upon lytic induction and affected local histone modifications by increasing H3K4 dimethylation and H4K8 acetylation. MLL1, the host protein known to dimethylate H3K4, was found to associate with the BZLF1 promoter upon lytic induction in a TAF-I-dependent manner, and MLL1 depletion decreased BZLF1 expression, confirming its contribution to lytic reactivation. The results indicate that TAF-Iβ promotes BZLF1 expression and subsequent lytic infection by affecting chromatin at the BZLF1 promoter.
Towards a mobile solution for predicting illness in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: Development of a prediction model for detecting risk of illness in Type 1 Diabetes prior to symptom onset

Illness in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) patients makes it complicated to perform sufficient self-care, resulting in prolonged episodes of hyperglycemia and fluctuating blood glucose (BG) concentrations. Prolonged episodes of hyperglycemia elevate the risk of the patient developing diabetic complications, which makes infections such as common cold, influenza and influenza like illness more harmful for T1DM patients than the normal population. TTL, NST and AAU are researching a method of predicting illness in T1DM patients, using patient observable parameters. Daily BG measurements are identified as a relevant patient observable parameter, due to early rise when infected and elevated HbA1C during illness. A Smartphone based system is developed that allows patients to monitor BG concentrations and report symptoms of illness and illness. Data gathered by patients through use of this device, will be used to test the hypothesis that changes in daily BG measurements can be used to predict illness in T1DM patients, before symptoms onset. A successful prediction model will enable patients to get early indication of upcoming illness, before they are bedridden. Patients can thus actively take precautions to avoid or shorten illness episodes or make these less severe and/or have healthy BG concentrations during illness. This project is breaking new grounds by detecting illness before the onset of symptoms and illness, and an illness prediction model using patient observable parameters will be an important advance in the field of disease surveillance and prediction.
CASE STUDIES IN THE SHORTCOMINGS OF MAPLE IN TEACHING UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS

In this paper, we will investigate some of the algorithmic inadequacies and limitations of Maple as well as the common misuses of the software when used as a tool in teaching undergraduate mathematics. We will present examples for which Maple produces misleading or inaccurate results. We will also refer to situations where Maple gives accurate, but incomplete, results which are misused or misinterpreted by novice users of the software, specifically the undergraduate students. The authors have over ten years of experience in using Maple as a teaching tool and some examples presented here are based on those classroom experiences. Other cases have been reported by our students, by our colleagues and in various newsgroups devoted to discussions on Computer Algebra Systems (CASs). Many of the previously reported software bugs, observed in the earlier versions of Maple, are now corrected in the most recent release of the software. So, although we have occasionally referred to the older versions, we have presented the actual output only from the latest version of Maple, namely Maple7, in this paper. For the sake of brevity, we have limited our discussions to the topics which are ordinarily covered in the first two years of a typical undergraduate mathematics curriculum such as limits, single and multivariable integration, series, and floating point arithmetic. We have also tried to limit our case studies to the most common features of Maple, specifically those features that are widely used by the undergraduate students who are new to Maple.
A reanalysis of EUV emission in clusters of galaxies

We report a new analysis of diffuse EUV emission in clusters of galaxies. We find the cluster emission is strongly influenced by the variation of the telescope sensitivity over the field of view and upon the details of the subtraction of the EUV emission for the X-ray plasma. We investigate these effects on Abell 1795, Abell 2199, and the Coma cluster. When we use the appropriate correction factors, we find there is no evidence for any excess EUV emission in Abell 1795 or Abell 2199, However, we do find extended EUV emission in the Coma cluster and in the Virgo cluster using our new analysis proceedures, confirming that in these clusters some as yet unidentified process is operative.
Reports Virtual Reality Feedback Cues for Improvement of Gait in Patients with Parkinson ’ s Disease

Background: Our aim was to study the effects of visual feedback cues, responding dynamically to patient’s self-motion and provided through a portable seethrough virtual reality apparatus, on the walking abilities of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Methods: Twenty patients participated. On-line and residual effects on walking speed and stride length were measured. Results: Attaching the visual feedback device to the patient with the display turned off showed a negligible effect of about 2%. With the display turned on, 56% of the patients improved either their walking speed, or their stride length, or both, by over 20%. After device removal, and waiting for 15 minutes, the patients were instructed to walk again: 68% of the patients showed over 20% improvement in either walking speed or stride length or both. One week after participating in the first test, 36% of the patients showed over 20% improvement in baseline performance with respect to the previous test. Some of the patients reported that they still walked on the tiles in their minds. Discussion: Improvements in walking abilities were measured in patients with Parkinson’s disease using virtual reality visual feedback cues. Residual effects suggest the examination of this approach in a comprehensive therapy program.
Coordinated Path Following Control of Multiple Wheeled Robots with Directed Communication Links

The paper addresses the problem of steering a fleet of wheeled robots along a set of given spatial paths, while keeping a desired inter-vehicle formation pattern. This problem arises for example when multiple vehicles are required to scan a given area in cooperation. In a possible mission scenario, one of the vehicles acts as a leader and follows a path accurately, while the other vehicles follow paths that are naturally determined by the formation pattern imposed. The solution adopted for coordinated path following builds on Lyapunov-based techniques and addresses explicitly the constraints imposed by the topology of the inter-vehicle communications network, which is captured in the framework of directed graph theory. With this set-up, path following (in space) and inter-vehicle coordination (in time) are essentially decoupled. Path following for each vehicle amounts to reducing a conveniently defined error variable to zero. Vehicle coordination is achieved by adjusting the speed of each of the vehicles along its path, according to information on the position of the other vehicles, as determined by the communications topology adopted. Simulations illustrate the efficacy of the solution proposed.
Teaching Reform of the Course Electromechanical Control in Independent College Based on Courses Teaching with Engineering Applied Software

As an important role of current higher education, the independent college is training innovative and applied undergraduate students. For the educational aims above, the teaching method of combining electromechanical courses with engineering applied software is discussed in this paper. As an example of the course Electromechanical Control, the application of the system modeling, system analysis and system design with MATLAB is shown, which helped the students understand and master the principle theory and the application methods easily. Meanwhile, the students' practical ability and interests are improved in the field of electromechanical control. This method provides references for teaching reform in electromechanical courses.