Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased Expression of Periplasmic Cu,Zn Superoxide Dismutase Enhances Survival of Escherichia coli Invasive Strains within Nonphagocytic Cells

ABSTRACT We have studied the influence of periplasmic Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase on the intracellular survival of Escherichia colistrains able to invade epithelial cells by the expression of theinv gene from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis but unable to multiply intracellularly. Intracellular viability assays, confirmed by electron microscopy observations, showed that invasive strains of E. coli engineered to increase Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase production are much more resistant to intracellular killing than strains containing only the chromosomalsodC copy. However, we have found only a slight difference in survival within HeLa cells between a sodC-null mutant and its isogenic wild-type strain. Such a small difference in survival correlates with the very low expression of this enzyme in the wild-type strain. We have also observed that acid- and oxidative stress-sensitiveE. coli HB101(pRI203) is more rapidly killed in epithelial cells than E. coli GC4468(pRI203). The high mortality ofE. coli HB101(pRI203), independent of the acidification of the endosome, is abolished by the overexpression of sodC. Our data suggest that oxyradicals are involved in the mechanisms of bacterial killing within epithelial cells and that high-level production of periplasmic Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase provides bacteria with an effective protection against oxidative damage. We propose that Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase could offer an important selective advantage in survival within host cells to bacteria expressing high levels of this enzyme.
A kernelized discriminant analysis algorithm based on modified generalized singular value decomposition

The generalized singular value decomposition based linear discriminant analysis (LDA/GSVD) algorithm has been used to solve the singularity problem faced by the traditional LDA, but it is still computationally intensive in case of high dimensional patterns; and not applicable to the nonlinearly distributed patterns. In this paper, a new kernelized discriminant analysis algorithm based on a modified GSVD is proposed. In the proposed algorithm the original input space is implicitly mapped into a higher dimensional feature space from which features are extracted by using a modified GSVD which circumvents the calculation of the large-dimension singular vectors without losing the discriminative information. The proposed algorithm solves the nonlinear distribution problem and has the advantage of being computational efficient thanks to the new feature extraction method introduced in this paper. It is shown through extensive computer simulations on the typical pattern recognition benchmark databases that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing linear algorithms and the kernelized ones.
Reduction of intersymbolic interference using the eigenanalysis method and linear antenna array

This work presents results of a study concerning joint use of antenna arrays and eigenanalysis method for inter symbolic interference reduction without using a training sequence. The cancellement capacity of the eigenanalysis method is applied to reduce the multipath propagation effect, beamforming the path of the desired signal and attenuating undesirable paths. This equalization is analyzed in frequency and time domain and results show that the method can be used to combat intersymbolic interference. Besides, the curve of the estimated bit error rate (BER) shows that antenna arrays and eigenanalysis method can be utilized to improve the equalization efficiency.
Blockade of the Intermediate-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel as a New Therapeutic Strategy for Restenosis

Background—Angioplasty stimulates proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), leading to neointimal thickening and vascular restenosis. In a rat model of balloon catheter injury (BCI), we investigated whether alterations in expression of Ca2+-activated K+ channels (KCa) contribute to intimal hyperplasia and vascular restenosis. Methods and Results—Function and expression of KCa in mature medial and neointimal VSMC were characterized in situ by combined single-cell RT-PCR and patch-clamp analysis. Mature medial VSMC exclusively expressed large-conductance KCa (BKCa) channels. Two weeks after BCI, expression of BKCa was significantly reduced in neointimal VSMC, whereas expression of intermediate-conductance KCa (IKCa1) channels was upregulated. In the aortic VSMC cell line, A7r5 epidermal growth factor (EGF) induced IKCa1 upregulation and EGF-stimulated proliferation was suppressed by the selective IKCa1 blocker TRAM-34. Daily in vivo administration of TRAM-34 to rats significantly reduced intimal hyperplasia by ≈40% at 1, 2, and 6 weeks after BCI. Two weeks of treatment with the related compound clotrimazole was equally effective. Reduction of intimal hyperplasia was accompanied by decreased neointimal cell content, with no change in the rate of apoptosis or collagen content. Conclusions—The switch toward IKCa1 expression may promote excessive neointimal VSMC proliferation. Blockade of IKCa1 could therefore represent a new therapeutic strategy to prevent restenosis after angioplasty.
Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Quality of life (QoL) for persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and factors associated with QoL are not well understood. Prior literature has relied on parent-report though this is changing. It may be important to consider both parent-reported QoL and self-report. This study explored QoL in 22 Canadian adolescents (3 girls, 19 boys) ages 13 to 18 years (M = 15.2 years). Adolescents completed the 10 subscales of the KIDSCREEN-52, a standardized questionnaire, while their parents completed the proxy form of the measure and the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System–II. Both parents and adolescents reported mean QoL scores in the lower average range. Intra-class correlation coefficients between parent and self-report were similar to adolescents without special needs except for four subscales. Correlations between QoL and the General Adaptive Composite score were remarkably low. Adolescents with ASD respond differently from their parents in some areas and both reports should be considered.
FLSA: Extending Latent Semantic Analysis with Features for Dialogue Act Classification

We discuss Feature Latent Semantic Analysis (FLSA), an extension to Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). LSA is a statistical method that is ordinarily trained on words only; FLSA adds to LSA the richness of the many other linguistic features that a corpus may be labeled with. We applied FLSA to dialogue act classification with excellent results. We report results on three corpora: CallHome Spanish, MapTask, and our own corpus of tutoring dialogues.
Loopy annealing belief propagation for vertex cover and matching: convergence, LP relaxation, correctness and Bethe approximation

For the minimum cardinality vertex cover and maximum cardinality matching problems, the max-product form of belief propagation (BP) is known to perform poorly on general graphs. In this paper, we present an iterative loopy annealing BP (LABP) algorithm which is shown to converge and to solve a Linear Programming relaxation of the vertex cover or matching problem on general graphs. LABP finds (asymptotically) a minimum half-integral vertex cover (hence provides a 2-approximation) and a maximum fractional matching on any graph. We also show that LABP finds (asymptotically) a minimum size vertex cover for any bipartite graph and as a consequence compute the matching number of the graph. Our proof relies on some subtle monotonicity arguments for the local iteration. We also show that the Bethe free entropy is concave and that LABP maximizes it. Using loop calculus, we also give an exact (also intractable for general graphs) expression of the partition function for matching in term of the LABP messages which can be used to improve mean-field approximations.
In Vitro Spectrum of Pexiganan Activity When Tested against Pathogens from Diabetic Foot Infections and with Selected Resistance Mechanisms

ABSTRACT Pexiganan, a 22-amino-acid synthetic cationic peptide, is currently in phase 3 clinical trials as a topical antimicrobial agent for the treatment of mild infections associated with diabetic foot ulcers. Bacterial isolates from the 2013 SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program designated as pathogens from diabetic foot infections (DFI) and Gram-negative and -positive pathogens from various infection types that harbored selected resistance mechanisms/phenotypes were tested against pexiganan in reference cation-adjusted Mueller-Hinton broth. The MIC50 and MIC90 against all organisms tested from DFI were 16 and 32 μg/ml, respectively. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter koseri, Enterobacter cloacae, Acinetobacter species, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa MIC values ranged from 8 to 16 μg/ml. Pexiganan MIC values among Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-resistant S. aureus [MRSA] and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus [MSSA]), beta-hemolytic streptococci, and Enterococcus faecium ranged from 8 to 32 μg/ml. Pexiganan activity was not adversely affected for members of the family Enterobacteriaceae or P. aeruginosa that produced β-lactamases or resistance mechanisms to other commonly used antimicrobial agents. Decreased susceptibility to vancomycin did not affect pexiganan activity against S. aureus or E. faecium. Enterococcus faecalis appears to be intrinsically less susceptible to pexiganan (MIC, 32 to 256 μg/ml). The “all organism” MIC90 of 32 μg/ml for pexiganan in this study was >250-fold below the pexiganan concentration in the cream/delivery vehicle being developed for topical use.
GLOMERULAR HAEMODYNAMICS AND CROSS-TALK BETWEEN GLOMERULUS AND TUBULES

Purinergic molecules: ATP, ADP and adenosine regulate physiological processes through activation of purinoceptors in the plasma membrane. Experimental evidence supports the view that purinergic molecules affect glomerular and tubular functions. Purinergic molecule-induced changes of tension of mesangial cells and/or podocytes may influence GFR by affecting the glomerular ultrafiltration coefficient. On the other hand, purinoceptors are crucial for electrolyte and fluid homeostasis by modulating activity of sodium-potassium-ATPase, voltage-independent or dependent ion channels and cAMP-dependent water channels.
Answering queries using views with arithmetic comparisons

We consider the problem of answering queries using views, where queries and views are conjunctive queries with arithmetic comparisons (CQACs) over dense orders. Previous work only considered limited variants of this problem, without giving a complete solution. We have developed a novel algorithm to obtain maximally-contained rewritings (MCRs) for queries having left (or right) semi-interval-comparison predicates. For semi-interval queries, we show that the language of finite unions of CQAC rewritings is not sufficient to find a maximally-contained solution, and identify cases where datalog is sufficient. Finally, we show that it is decidable to obtain equivalent rewritings for CQAC queries.
Mode-change mechanisms support for hierarchical FreeRTOS implementation

Multi-mode embedded real-time systems exhibit a specific behaviour for each mode, and upon a mode-change request the task-set and timing interfaces of the system need to be changed. This paper presents the implementation of a MultiMode Adaptive Hierarchical Scheduling Framework (MMAHSF) and provides a generic skeleton (framework) for a two-level adaptive hierarchical scheduling supporting multiple modes and multiple mode-change mechanisms on an open source real-time operating system (FreeRTOS). The MMAHSF enable application-specific implementations of mode-change protocols using a set of predefined mode-change mechanisms. The paper addresses different mode-change mechanisms at both global and local scheduling levels. It presents examples of mode-change protocols that are developed by composing together these mechanisms in multiple ways and provide the initial results of executing these protocols in the MMAHSF implementation on an AVR 32-bit board EVK1100.
Informational constraints on interceptive actions of elite football goalkeepers in 1v1 dyads during competitive performance

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine whether perceptual variables can provide informational constraints for the goalkeepers to intercept the ball successfully in 1v1 dyads. Video images of 42 actions (1v1 in direct shots) were selected randomly from different matches and divided into conceded goals (n = 20) and saved actions (n = 22) to investigate interceptive actions of 20 goalkeepers in the English Premier League in season 2013–2014. Time to Contact (TTC) of the closing distance gap between shooter and goalkeeper was obtained by digitising actions in the 18-yard penalty box. Statistical analyses revealed that, in sequences of play resulting in an intercepted shot at goal, goalkeepers closed down outfield players in the X axis, whereas when a goal was conceded, there was a significantly delayed movement by goalkeepers toward the shooters in this plane. The results of canonical correlations showed that a decreasing distance between a shooter and goalkeeper, and accompanied reduction in relative interpersonal velocity followed a temporal pattern. Findings of this study showed how perception of key informational constraints on dyadic system relations, such as TTC, interpersonal distance and relative velocity, constrain elite goalkeepers’ interceptive actions, playing an important role in successful performance.
Gene Delivery and Expression in Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells: Effects of Synthetic Carriers, Serum, Extracellular Matrix and Viral Promoters

Abstract Non-viral gene therapy is a potential treatment to many incurable retinal diseases. To fulfill this promise, plasmid DNA must be delivered to the retinal target cells. We evaluated the efficacy of synthetic DNA complexing compounds in transfecting primary human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in vitro. Fetal human RPE cells were cultured with or without extracellular matrix (ECM), produced using calf corneal endothelial cells. Plasmids encoding nuclear localizing beta galactosidase or luciferase (pRSVLuc, pCLuc4, pSV2Luc) were complexed in water at various ± charge ratios using cationic lipids (Lipofectin, DOTAP, DOGS), polyethylene imines (25 and 750 kDa), and with degraded 6th generation starburst polyamido-amine dendrimers. Luciferase was quantified using a luminometric assay and beta galactosidase with X-gal staining. Toxicities of transfections were evaluated with the MTT-assay. Using beta galactosidase as the reporter gene naked DNA did not transfect RPE cells at measurable levels whereas 1-5% ofthecells expressed histochemically detectable amounts of the gene after transfection with cationic lipid-DNA complexes. In RPE cells, Rous sarcoma virus and cytomegalovirus (CMV) were more efficient promoters than SV40 in driving luciferase expression, and CMV was chosen for further experiments. At optimal complex charge ratios, expression levels of luciferase were > 109 light units/mg protein after transfection using dendrimers and PEI25, while transfection mediated with the other carriers resulted in luciferase expression levels of 107-109 light units/mg protein or less. In general, dendrimers and large molecular weight PEI were less toxic than cationic lipids or PEI25 to RPE cells. Serum and ECM decreased gene expression to the RPE cells with all carriers. Despite low percentage of transfected cells the transgene expression per RPE cell is high, important feature in the retinal tissue with small dimensions, in particular in the case of secreted gene products. Degraded dendrimers and high molecular weight PEI exhibited the best combination of high activity and low toxicity in RPE cell transfection.
ASSESSING THE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES OF SCHOOL TEACHERS REGARDING DYSLEXIA, ATTENTION-DEFICIT/ HYPERACTIVITY AND AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN.

BACKGROUND Learning impairments in children consist of a spectrum of disorders that are under diagnosed in Pakistan. Most learning disorders have long term consequences for a child and early detection is thus imperative. Teachers may be able to play a key role in such identification. The objective of our study was to survey knowledge, attitudes and practices of school teachers regarding dyslexia, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autistic spectrum disorder, and assess their ability to identify learning disabilities. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted with 233 primary school teachers from Karachi using a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS Mean scores for the knowledge test and the ability to identify learning- impaired children were 58.8% and 53.3%, respectively. Better qualified teachers scored significantly more on the knowledge and ability to identify learning impairments sections. Most teachers believed that these students should study in mainstream schools with special educators. Majority of the teachers belonged to schools where children with learning disabilities were detected using teachers' judgment. Most teachers manage these children by involving them in discussions, seating them at the front of the class, and giving them extra time. CONCLUSION Knowledge about learning disabilities is very low amongst school teachers, which may limit their ability to identify learning impairments.
Temporal and Spatial Turnpike-Type Results Under Forward Time-Monotone Performance Criteria

We present turnpike-type results for the risk tolerance function in an incomplete market setting under time-monotone forward performance criteria. We show that, contrary to the classical case, the temporal and spatial limits do not coincide. We also show that they depend directly on the left- and right-end of the support of an underlying measure, which is used to construct the forward performance criterion. We provide examples with discrete and continuous measures, and discuss the asymptotic behavior of the risk tolerance for each case.
Detection and time/frequency analysis of electric fields in the ground

Purpose – This paper sets out to detect and characterize electric fields in the ground (such as stray current fields) using a tandem time/frequency method of signal analysis.Design/methodology/approach – Results were obtained from investigations performed in the presence of a generated electric field with controlled variable characteristics, and in the presence of an electric field generated by a tramline. The analysis of measurement registers was performed using Short‐Time Fourier Transformation. The results were presented in the form of spectrograms, which illustrate changes in the spectral power density of the measured signal versus time.Findings – Tandem time/frequency analysis reveals the random or deterministic character of the electric field, enabling its complete time/frequency characteristics to be obtained. Such information is inaccessible using exclusively the frequency analysis methods that utilize classical Fourier transformations. Moreover, an analysis of the spectral power density distribut.
A cervical cyst in a horse.

Introduction The occurrence of congenital cervical cysts is well documented in man (2, 3, 10, 11). Fluid filled cysts in the neck of dogs are not regarded as rare (1, 4, 8), and branchiogenic mucous cysts in domestic animals, having a cuticular mucous membrane, are referred to by Nieberle and Cohrs (9). This report describes a cyst in the neck of a horse. The cyst has some characteristics of a congenital epithelial cyst while also resembling a salivary mucocele.
Preparation of Dense Ultrafine TiAl Alloys by Spark Plasma Synthesis from Mechanically Activated Powders

Powder of Ti-46at%Al alloy was synthesized through mechanical activation (MA) and then sintered and concurrently consolidated in a short sintering time of 900 s by using spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. The XRD and SEM profiles show that the microstructures of TiAl alloys contained γ TiAl and small amount α-2 Ti3Al phase, whose amount can be controlled by the sintering temperature. The compacts retained the original fine-grained fully densified bodies by avoiding an excessively high sintering temperature. The alloys sintered at higher temperature with this process showed a coarser microstructure. So it is possible to produce dense nanostructured TiAl alloys by mechanically activated spark plasma sintering (MASPS) within a very short period of time.
Location-aware topology matching in P2P systems

Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing has emerged as a popular model aiming at further utilizing Internet information and resources, complementing the available client-server services. However, the mechanism of peers randomly choosing logical neighbors without any knowledge about underlying physical topology can cause a serious topology mismatching between the P2P overlay network and the physical underlying network. The topology mismatching problem brings a great stress in the Internet infrastructure and greatly limits the performance gain from various search or routing techniques. Meanwhile, due to the inefficient overlay topology, the flooding-based search mechanisms cause a large volume of unnecessary traffic. Aiming at alleviating the mismatching problem and reducing the unnecessary traffic, we propose a location-aware topology matching (LTM) technique, an algorithm of building an efficient overlay by disconnecting low productive connections and choosing physically closer nodes as logical neighbors while still retaining the search scope and reducing response time for queries. LTM is scalable and completely distributed in the sense that it does not require any global knowledge of the whole overlay network when each node is optimizing the organization of its logical neighbors. The effectiveness of LTM is demonstrated through simulation studies.
Under Which Conditions Can Older Participants Maintain Information In Working Memory?

ABSTRACT Background/Study Context: Age-related deficits in working memory (WM) are commonly described in the literature. However, age-related deficits in WM maintenance mechanisms have received less attention. Based on recent models of WM, the present study aims at determining the conditions under which older adults are able to maintain information. More precisely, we wondered whether the cognitive load effect, taken as evidence for active maintenance in WM, is observed in normal aging and whether it interacts with the level of interference of a concurrent task. Methods: Young (mean age = 21.62; SD = 2.51) and healthy older (mean age = 71.92; SD = 5.18) participants performed a complex WM task. They had to remember five images while reading three words presented after each image. We compared trials in which every word was new (inducing high interference) with trials where words were repeated (inducing low interference). The pace at which the reading task was performed was either fast or slow, resulting in a high or a low cognitive load. Results: As suggested in the literature, young participants presented better performance at slow pace compared with fast pace but were not influenced by interference. Older participants also performed better at slow pace but only when interference was low. Interestingly, the older population showed negative correlations between slow-pace trials and switching abilities. Finally, although computational simulations with time-based resource sharing* (TBRS*) provide a good fit for young adult performance, several parameters had to be adjusted to fit the older participants’ performance, including duration of trace refreshing. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that a decrease in WM performance with aging can be explained by a difficulty in taking advantage of WM maintenance opportunities, especially in conditions of high interference. The computational investigations are consistent with this interpretation given that the parameters to be adjusted involve maintenance in WM. Finally, the computational approach seems a relevant way to address causes of forgetting in aging.