Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Challenge and opportunities in urban meteorology research and forecast

An international workshop on urban meteorology: observation and modeling, was jointly held by the Institute of Urban Meteorology ( China ) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (US) in Beijing, October, 2004. The workshop was intended to share recent progress in urban meteorological research, discuss issues related to research and development priorities faced by diverse Chinese institutions, and explore collaboration opportunities between Chinese and US research institutions. This article summarizes the major issues discussed at the workshop, including observation on urban boundary layer, urban landuse modeling, socio-economic impacts of weather and climates, and air quality in urban environment. It includes recommendations for future urban meteorology observational and modeling research, and potential collaborative opportunities between China and US.
Tryptophan at the transmembrane–cytosolic junction modulates thrombopoietin receptor dimerization and activation

Dimerization of single-pass membrane receptors is essential for activation. In the human thrombopoietin receptor (TpoR), a unique amphipathic RWQFP motif separates the transmembrane (TM) and intracellular domains. Using a combination of mutagenesis, spectroscopy, and biochemical assays, we show that W515 of this motif impairs dimerization of the upstream TpoR TM helix. TpoR is unusual in that a specific residue is required for this inhibitory function, which prevents receptor self-activation. Mutations as diverse as W515K and W515L cause oncogenic activation of TpoR and lead to human myeloproliferative neoplasms. Two lines of evidence support a general mechanism in which W515 at the intracellular juxtamembrane boundary inhibits dimerization of the TpoR TM helix by increasing the helix tilt angle relative to the membrane bilayer normal, which prevents the formation of stabilizing TM dimer contacts. First, measurements using polarized infrared spectroscopy show that the isolated TM domain of the active W515K mutant has a helix tilt angle closer to the bilayer normal than that of the wild-type receptor. Second, we identify second-site R514W and Q516W mutations that reverse dimerization and tilt angle changes induced by the W515K and W515L mutations. The second-site mutations prevent constitutive activation of TpoR W515K/L, while preserving ligand-induced signaling. The ability of tryptophan to influence the angle and dimerization of the TM helix in wild-type TpoR and in the second-site revertants is likely associated with its strong preference to be buried in the headgroup region of membrane bilayers.
Multimedia multi-device educational presentations preserved as interactive multi-video objects

The capture of lectures or similar presentations is of interest for several reasons. From the attendee's perspective, students may use the recordings when working on homework assignments or preparing for exams, or to watch the contents of a missed class. From the instructor's perspective, a captured lecture may be evaluated, recaptured for improvements, or reused as complementary learning material. Moreover, captured lectures may be a valuable resource for e-learning and distance education courses. In this paper we detail the design rationale associated with the development of a prototype platform for the ubiquitous capture of live presentations and their transformation into a corresponding interactive multi-video object. Our approach includes capturing important context information which, when incorporated into the multimedia object, enables one to interact with the recorded lecture in novel dimensions. We tested our prototype by using case studies involving instructors and students, which allowed us to identify important features and novel uses for the platform.
Administration of Indinavir and Low-Dose Ritonavir (800/100 Mg Twice Daily) with Food Reduces Nephrotoxic Peak Plasma Levels of Indinavir

Background The objective of this study was to compare indinavir peak plasma (Cmax) values after administration of indinavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg on an empty stomach or with food. High indinavir Cmax values have been associated with indinavir-related nephrotoxicity. Methods This was an open-label, randomized, two-treatment, two-period, cross-over pharmacokinetic study performed at steady state. HIV-infected patients who had been using indinavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg twice daily for at least 4 weeks were randomized to take this combination with a light breakfast (two filled rolls and 130 ml of fluid) on a first study day, and without food on a second day, or in the reverse order. The pharmacokinetics of indinavir and ritonavir were assessed after plasma and urine sampling during 12 h. Results Data for nine patients were evaluated. Administration of indinavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg on an empty stomach resulted in a higher indinavir Cmax [geometric mean (GM) ratio – fasting/fed and 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.28 (1.08–1.52), P=0.01] and a trend to a shorter indinavir tmax (P=0.07) compared to administration with food. The mode of administration of indinavir/ritonavir did not affect plasma indinavir Cmin and AUC values, parameters that have been associated with the antiviral efficacy of indinavir, nor the urinary excretion of indinavir. Conclusions Administration of indinavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg on an empty stomach results in a higher indinavir Cmax compared to ingestion with a light meal. Stated the other way round, intake with a light meal reduces indinavir Cmax, which probably reflects a food-induced delay in the absorption of indinavir. It is recommended to administer indinavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg with food, as a possible means to prevent indinavir-related nephrotoxicity in patients who start or continue with this regimen.
Academic Integrity Office: A Proposal

In higher education, the topic of plagiarism and the issues surrounding this topic are ever present.However, the larger umbrella issue of academic integrity, of which plagiarism is encompassed, is notpresent. To formally address the larger umbrella issue, the School of Education (SOE) at a private nonprofitUniversity, located in the Southeastern United States, proposed the creation of an AcademicIntegrity Office. This paper provides background information related to academic integrity gatheredfrom the SOE, a review of literature, summarized data collected from faculty members of the SOE, anda proposal. Sections of this paper are based upon a study conducted by Stewart in 2008.
Nucleolar Factors Direct the 2′-O-Ribose Methylation and Pseudouridylation of U6 Spliceosomal RNA

ABSTRACT The nucleolus has long been known as a functionally highly specialized subnuclear compartment where synthesis, posttranscriptional modification, and processing of cytoplasmic rRNAs take place. In this study, we demonstrate that the nucleolus contains all thetrans-acting factors that are responsible for the accurate and efficient synthesis of the eight 2′-O-methylated nucleotides and three pseudouridine residues carried by the mammalian U6 spliceosomal small nuclear RNA. Factors mediating the formation of pseudouridine residues in the U3 small nucleolar RNA are also present and functionally active in the nucleolus. For selection of the correct target nucleotides in the U6 and U3 RNAs, the nucleolar 2′-O-methylation and pseudouridylation factors rely on short sequences located around the target nucleotide to be modified. This observation further underscores a recently proposed role for small nucleolar guide RNAs in the 2′-O-methylation of the U6 spliceosomal RNA (K. T. Tycowski, Z.-H. You, P. J. Graham, and J. A. Steitz, Mol. Cell 2:629–638, 1998). We demonstrate that a novel 2′-O-methylated nucleotide can be generated in the yeast U6 RNA by use of an artificial 2′-O-methylation small nucleolar guide RNA. We also show that a short fragment of the 5.8S rRNA, when expressed as part of the human U6 RNA, is faithfully 2′-O-methylated and pseudouridylated. These results are most consistent with a trafficking pathway in which the U6 spliceosomal RNA cycles through the nucleolus to undergo nucleolar RNA-directed modifications.
Service description in the NFV revolution: Trends, challenges and a way forward

The telecommunications landscape has been undergoing a major shift in recent years. Initially Software Defined Networking (SDN), and then Network Function Virtualization (NFV) have opened up new ways of looking at the increasingly demanding service provider scenario. The description of the service to be provided will be a key point determining the success in the integration and interoperability of the different proposals. However, the refined understanding of the future scenario and its requirements has recently introduced unique challenges in the path to fully achieve the benefits of the NFV vision. In this paper we review the proposals of service description in the main initiatives related to the NFV arena. Then we elaborate on key novel challenges and evaluate how the different proposals solve them. Finally, we propose a straw man model of service and resource description addressing these challenges and defining the features that would serve as design directions for future initiatives and updates in this topic.
Identification and characterization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from West African sorghum beer

The occurrence and characterization of yeasts isolated from sorghum beer produced in Ghana and Burkina Faso, West Africa, were investigated. The yeasts involved in the fermentations were found to consist of Saccharomyces spp. almost exclusively. Of the isolates investigated, 45% were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, whereas more than half of the isolates (53%) had physiological properties atypical of S. cerevisiae or any other member of the complex sensu strictu, as they were able to assimilate only glucose, maltose and ethanol as carbon sources. Both ITS–PCR RFLP and PFGE strongly indicated that these isolates were related to S. cerevisiae, regardless of their phenotypic characteristics. Sequencing of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rDNA confirmed the close relatedness to S. cerevisiae with 0.5% nucleotide differences. The MAL1 and MAL3 loci were found for all isolates as the only recognized MAL loci. Besides, for 40% of the isolates the MAL61 probe hybridized to a position of about 950 kbp, which has not formerly been described as a MAL locus. The results showed that the spontaneous fermentation of West African sorghum beer is dominated by a variety of strains of S.cerevisiae not previously described, among which starter cultures should be selected. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Combination of C-X-C motif chemokine 9 and C-X-C motif chemokine 10 antibodies with FTY720 prolongs the survival of cardiac retransplantation allografts in a mouse model

The upregulation of chemokine genes and the subsequent T-lymphocyte recruitment to the graft are early events in the development of acute cardiac transplant rejection or cardiac allograft vasculopathy. In the present study, a combined immunosuppressive regimen of C-X-C motif chemokine 9 (CXCL9) antibody (Ab), CXCL10 Ab and FTY720 was used in order to reduce the infiltration of memory T lymphocytes and prolong graft survival in a retransplantation murine model. BALB/c donor hearts were transplanted heterotopically into C57BL/6 mice at day 28 after skin transplantation. The mice were divided into four groups: i) Control (normal saline), ii) CXCL9 Ab and CXCL10 Ab [150 μg; once daily (qd); intraperitoneal (ip)], iii) FTY720 (0.2 mg/day; qd; ip) and iv) combined (2 mg/kg/day; qd; ip). Measurements of the median survival time of the cardiac grafts, histological examination, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and a mixed lymphocyte reaction were performed. The median graft survival time of the combined group was prolonged (9.3 days) compared with that of the control group (3.5 days) (P<0.001). Histological examination revealed that the combined treatment group graft rejection pathological score was 0.50, while the control group score was 3.62 (P<0.001). In addition, the gene expression level of interleukin (IL)-2 was significantly lower and the levels of IL-10 and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) were significantly higher in the combined group compared with those in the control group (P<0.001). Furthermore, the serum concentration levels of IL-2 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were significantly lower (P<0.001) and the concentration of IL-10 was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the combined group compared with those in the control group. In the mixed lymphocyte reaction, T-cell proliferation was found to be significantly lower in the combined treatment group than that in the control group (P<0.001). In conclusion, treatment with CXCL9 Ab and CXCL10 Ab or FTY720 reduced the graft infiltration of inflammatory cells, inhibited T-cell proliferation and prolonged graft survival. The combined treatment regimen of CXCL9 Ab, CXCL10 Ab and FTY720 was found to significantly reduce the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the graft and prolong graft survival.
Rapid and Efficient Purification Method for Small, Hydrophobic, Cationic Bacteriocins: Purification of Lactococcin B and Pediocin PA-1

The bacteriocins lactococcin B and pediocin PA-1 were purified by ethanol precipitation, preparative isoelectric focusing, and ultrafiltration. The procedure reproducibly leads to high final yields in comparison to the generally low yields obtained by column chromatography. Specifically, during isoelectric focusing no loss of activity occurs. The method, in general, should be applicable to small, hydrophobic, cationic bacteriocins.
Simulation in physically-based animation

Simulation has been used in many contexts in computer science, ranging from simulation for physically-based animation, to probabilistic simulation, to simulated planning for learning Markov Decision Processes (MDPs). These areas of computer science have developed algorithms that I believe can play key roles in cognitive modeling, particularly in the framework of resource-rational analysis (Griffiths, Lieder, & Goodman, 2015). First, I will describe how notions of simulation in physically-based animation are themselves approximating a computational-level solution, and that they are inherently biased towards a compatibility with human perception. Second, I will discuss how simulation in control theory applies to motor control, and how it relates to the idea of analysis-by-synthesis (Halle & Stevens, 1959, 1962) in cognitive science. Third, I will argue that contrary to recent claims, simulation is not incompatible with planning; and, that recent planning methods are an intriguing class of approximate algorithms that should be explored in resource-rational analysis, particularly in concert with metacognition. Finally, I will describe how simulation is used to approximate probabilistic inference.
The Effect of Region of ’ Activity ’ Measures on Automatic Audio-Visual Speech Recognition

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) has made tremendous progress in the last few decades. Even so, audio-only speech recognition (A-ASR) does not work well in noisy environments. The standard approach to dealing with this shortcoming is to use visual information along with the audio. Many approaches to using the visual modality have been devised. In this paper, I propose a method that will try to mimic human perception of visual speech by measuring activity in regions of the lower face and applying the measures to train Hidden Markov Models.
Availability and Accessibility of Student-Specific Weight Loss Programs and Other Risk Prevention Health Services on College Campuses

Background More than one third of college students who are overweight or obese are in need of weight loss programs tailored to college students. However, the availability and accessibility of these programs is unknown. Objective The aim of this study is to examine the availability and ease of access to weight loss programs for students at 10 universities with the largest undergraduate enrollment. Methods The 10 public universities with the largest student bodies with a mean (SD) undergraduate enrollment of 41,122 (7657) students were examined. The websites of the universities were assessed to determine the availability of weight loss programs. Services for high-risk health needs common to university campuses (ie, alcohol and other drugs, victim services, sexual health, and eating disorders) were searched. Results Of the universities searched, 3 (30%, 3/10) offered weight loss programming, however, none met the predetermined criteria. Comparatively, all schools (100%, 10/10) offered no-cost and continual enrollment programming for the other high-risk health needs. Conclusions There are limited weight loss services available to undergraduate students compared with other university services. Collaboration between existing college health service providers is suggested for the delivery of appropriate programming for overweight and obese undergraduates wanting to lose weight.
IKK-i and TBK-1 are Enzymatically Distinct from the Homologous Enzyme IKK-2

NF-κB is sequestered in the cytoplasm by the inhibitory IκB proteins. Stimulation of cells by agonists leads to the rapid phosphorylation of IκBs leading to their degradation that results in NF-κB activation. IKK-1 and IKK-2 are two direct IκB kinases. Two recently identified novel IKKs are IKK-i and TBK-1. We have cloned, expressed, and purified to homogeneity recombinant human (rh)IKK-i and rhTBK-1 and compared their enzymatic properties with those of rhIKK-2. We show that rhIKK-i and rhTBK-1 are enzymatically similar to each other. We demonstrate by phosphopeptide mapping and site-specific mutagenesis that rhIKK-i and rhTBK-1 are phosphorylated on serine 172 in the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase activation loop and that this phosphorylation is necessary for kinase activity. Also, rhIKK-i and rhTBK-1 have differential peptide substrate specificities compared with rhIKK-2, the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase activation loop of IKK-2 being a more favorable substrate than the IκBα peptide. Finally, using analogs of ATP, we demonstrate unique differences in the ATP-binding sites of rhIKK-i, rhTBK-1, and rhIKK-2. Thus, although these IKKs are structurally similar, their enzymatic properties may provide insights into their unique functions.
Psychological, Physical, and Sensory Correlates of Fear of Falling and Consequent Activity Restriction in the Elderly: The InCHIANTI Study

Deshpande N, Metter EJ, Bandinelli S, Lauretani F, Windham BG, Ferrucci L: Psychological, physical, and sensory correlates of fear of falling and consequent activity restriction in the elderly: the InCHIANTI study. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2008;87:354–362. Objective:To identify psychological, physical, and sensory function parameters that are specifically associated with fear of falling (FF) and fear-induced activity restriction in a population-based sample of older adults. Design:FF, fear-induced activity restriction, cognition, depression, personal mastery, chair-stand performance, standing balance, lower-limb and grip strength, visual acuity and contrast sensitivity, and vibrotactile sensitivity were evaluated in the population-based, older cohort (n = 926, age ≥ 65) enrolled in the InCHIANTI study. Results:Nearly 50% participants reported FF. Of these, 65% reported some activity restriction. Personal mastery (P < 0.001) and chair-standing performance (P = 0.001) were independently associated with FF. In those who did not have depression, personal mastery, standing balance, lower-limb strength, and visual contrast sensitivity were associated with activity restriction (P < 0.001–0.011). In those who were depressed, total FF was the major factor strongly associated with activity restriction (P < 0.001), with marginal but significant associations for cognition (P = 0.027) and standing balance (P = 0.015). Conclusion:Psychological and physical factors are independently associated with FF. Presence of depression possibly modulates which factors, in addition to fear of falling, affect fear-induced activity restriction. A longitudinal study is warranted to substantiate causal relationships.
On Fast Decoding of High-Dimensional Signals from One-Bit Measurements

In the problem of one-bit compressed sensing, the goal is to find a $\delta$-close estimation of a $k$-sparse vector $x \in \mathbb{R}^n$ given the signs of the entries of $y = \Phi x$, where $\Phi$ is called the measurement matrix. For the one-bit compressed sensing problem, previous work \cite{Plan-robust,support} achieved $\Theta (\delta^{-2} k \log(n/k))$ and $\tilde{ \Oh} ( \frac{1}{ \delta } k \log (n/k))$ measurements, respectively, but the decoding time was $\Omega ( n k \log (n / k ))$. \ In this paper, using tools and techniques developed in the context of two-stage group testing and streaming algorithms, we contribute towards the direction of very fast decoding time. We give a variety of schemes for the different versions of one-bit compressed sensing, such as the for-each and for-all version, support recovery; all these have $poly(k, \log n)$ decoding time, which is an exponential improvement over previous work, in terms of the dependence of $n$.
Comparing Performance and Usability Evaluation : New Methods for Automated Usability Assessment

To gain insight about new methods for automated usability assessment, we systematically compare methods for usability evaluation to those of performance evaluation. We find that the major challenges include automatically generating high-level usage traces, mapping these high-level traces into UI operations, and simulating UI behavior across a range of tasks. We describe solutions to these challenges for two example tasks and suggest future directions for automated usability methods.
Worms and germs: the population dynamic consequences of microparasite-macroparasite co-infection

SUMMARY Hosts are typically simultaneously co-infected by a variety of microparasites (e.g. viruses and bacteria) and macroparasites (e.g. parasitic helminths). However, the population dynamical consequences of such co-infections and the implications for the effectiveness of imposed control programmes have yet to be fully realised. Mathematical models may provide an important framework for exploring such issues and have proved invaluable in helping to understand the factors affecting the epidemiology of single parasitic infections. Here the first population dynamic model of microparasite-macroparasite co-infection is presented and used to explore how co-infection alters the predictions of the existing single-species models. It is shown that incorporating an additional parasite species into existing models can greatly stabilise them, due to the combined density-dependent impacts on the host population, but co-infection can also restrict the region of parameter space where each species could persist alone. Overall it is concluded that the dynamic feedback between host, microparasite and macroparasite means that it is difficult to appreciate the factors affecting parasite persistence and predict the effectiveness of control by just studying one component in isolation.