Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Direct characterization of amyloidogenic oligomers by single-molecule fluorescence

A key issue in understanding the pathogenic conditions associated with the aberrant aggregation of misfolded proteins is the identification and characterization of species formed during the aggregation process. Probing the nature of such species has, however, proved to be extremely challenging to conventional techniques because of their transient and heterogeneous character. We describe here the application of a two-color single-molecule fluorescence technique to examine the assembly of oligomeric species formed during the aggregation of the SH3 domain of PI3 kinase. The single-molecule experiments show that the species formed at the stage of the reaction where aggregates have previously been found to be maximally cytotoxic are a heterogeneous ensemble of oligomers with a median size of 38 ± 10 molecules. This number is remarkably similar to estimates from bulk measurements of the critical size of species observed to seed ordered fibril formation and of the most infective form of prion particles. Moreover, although the size distribution of the SH3 oligomers remains virtually constant as the time of aggregation increases, their stability increases substantially. These findings together provide direct evidence for a general mechanism of amyloid aggregation in which the stable cross-β structure emerges via internal reorganization of disordered oligomers formed during the lag phase of the self-assembly reaction.
Abnormal Baseline Brain Activity in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis With Simple Spinal Cord Involvement Detected by Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Objective The aim of this study was to assess the baseline brain activity in patients with multiple sclerosis with simple spinal cord involvement (MS-SSCI) using regional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) as indexes. Methods Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from 24 patients with MS-SSCI and 24 healthy controls and were processed using the Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data Analysis Toolkit. The relationships between expanded disability status scale scores, abnormal baseline brain activity, and disease duration were explored. Results Compared with the controls, patients with MS-SSCI showed decreased ALFF in the right middle temporal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, lingual gyrus, and cuneus and increased ALFF in the right insula and bilateral supramarginal gyrus. Regions of abnormal fALFF were similar with those of ALFF. A significant correlation between expanded disability status scale scores and ALFF/fALFF was noted only in the right supramarginal gyrus. Conclusions Abnormal regional brain activity was detected in patients with MS-SSCI, which is probably due to spinal cord damage or potential brain damage.
A compact common-mode noise suppression filter for high speed differential signals using defected ground structure

A wideband and compact microstrip filter for common-mode electromagnetic (EM) noise suppression in high speed circuit well beyond GHz is presented in this paper. The noise reduction is realized by using specific etched slots in ground metallic plane as defected ground structure (DGS). The effect of the DGS on the characteristics of the investigated filter is examined. It is proved that the common-mode noise can be reduced by more than 15dB at center frequency of 8.4 GHz with a bandwidth from 5.4 GHz to 11.4 GHz. The differential signal is unaffected. The filter size is comparably small to the wavelength interested and the fractional bandwidth of the stop band is 71%. It is also proved the proposed approach is more efficient and effective for the EM noise reduction after comparison with other conventional filters. The proposed simple method for increasing microstrip line insertion loss for the sake of EM noise suppression can be used extensively in microwave filter design.
Interaction of whole cottonseed and supplemental fat on digestive function in cattle.

Four Holstein steers (155 kg) with "T" cannulas in the rumen and proximal duodenum were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square design experiment to evaluate the interaction of whole cottonseed (WC) and yellow grease (YG) on digestive function. Four treatments were compared: 1) 0% YG, 0% WC; 2) 5% YG, 0% WC; 3) 0% YG, 20% WC, and 4) 5% YG, 20% WC. The YG and WC were substituted for steam-flaked corn in an 80% concentrate growing-finishing diet. Both YG and WC decreased ruminal OM digestion (P < .01). However, the effects were not additive (interaction, P < .05). When YG was added to the control diet ruminal OM digestion was decreased by 6.9%. In contrast, when YG and WC were added to the control diet the decrease was 24.0%. This interaction was also apparent (P < .05) in ruminal digestion of feed N and starch. Total tract digestion of OM was decreased (P < .01) with WC and YG supplementation, although, like ruminal digestion, the effects were nonadditive (P < .05). In the absence of WC, YG had little influence (.8%) on OM digestion. However, in the presence of WC, YG decreased total tract OM digestion 5.7%. This interaction was also manifest (P < .05) in total tract digestion of ADF and GE. Although there was some compensation with respect to methane energy loss, the ME (megacalories/kilogram) of WC was 20% lower when fed in combination with YG. The degree of ruminal biohydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids was high for both WC and YG. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Jumping with Expandable Trunk of a Metamorphic Quadruped Robot—The Origaker II

Most of the traditional quadruped robots are assembled with rigid trunks that make no active contributions to their locomotion performances. However, in the natural world, some quadrupeds expand their trunks when jumping. This paper proposes a metamorphic quadruped robot, named the Origaker II, with an expandable trunk that can implement the motion of contracting-stretching. Benefitting from the expandable trunk, this robot achieves a longer jumping distance than that of the traditional quadruped robots. The structure of the robot is introduced. Its jumping motion is designed based on the observation of a frog. The effect of the expandable trunk on this robot will be mathematically analyzed. At last, contrast simulations are conducted to verify the benefits of the expandable trunk to the robot.
Can the current behavior of faulty and fault-free ICs and the impact on diagnosis

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current behavior of faulty and fault free integrated circuits (ICs) and its impact on diagnosis. More specifically, we first show that normal sub-threshold current can be modeled by a Gaussian distribution. Then, we investigate faulty IC current variations caused to the load connected to nodes involved in bridging faults. Finally, we propose some modifications to a diagnosis method based on maximum likelihood estimation to deal with these behaviors.
Association of antinucleosome antibodies with disease flare in serologically active clinically quiescent patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE To identify the prevalence of serologically active clinically quiescent (SACQ) patients in a cohort of 290 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We investigated if the presence of anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) or antinucleosome (anti-NCS) antibodies during the SACQ period was associated with future flares. METHODS SACQ patients defined as clinically inactive for 6 months (global British Isles Lupus Activity Group index [BILAG] scores <6) and serologically active (anti-dsDNA antibodies >50 units/ml on at least 2 occasions by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]) were identified. Patient sera collected during the defined SACQ period were also tested for anti-NCS antibodies (ELISA). We retrospectively reviewed patient clinical details and episodes of flare using the BILAG activity index. RESULTS Twenty-seven (9%) patients were SACQ. Seventeen (81%) patients experienced a flare (total of 91 flares, up to 12 flares per person) in the next 5 years. Median duration to first flare was 15 months (range 2-46). Time to first flare after SACQ period was significantly correlated with the presence of anti-NCS (P = 0.0012), high anti-NCS antibody titers (P = 0.0006), and anti-dsDNA titers 5 times above the normal limit (P = 0.02). Patients with higher absolute anti-NCS antibody titers showed a significant correlation with the number of flares (r = 0.57, P = 0.007). CONCLUSION A minority of patients with SLE are SACQ. The majority of these patients experience a flare in the next 5 years and close followup is recommended. Anti-NCS antibodies may be a better predictor than anti-dsDNA antibodies for future flares.
Balancing an accurate representation of the molecular surface in generalized born formalisms with integrator stability in molecular dynamics simulations

Different integrator time steps in NVT and NVE simulations of protein and nucleic acid systems are tested with the GBMV (Generalized Born using Molecular Volume) and GBSW (Generalized Born with simple SWitching) methods. The simulation stability and energy conservation is investigated in relation to the agreement with the Poisson theory. It is found that very close agreement between generalized Born methods and the Poisson theory based on the commonly used sharp molecular surface definition results in energy drift and simulation artifacts in molecular dynamics simulation protocols with standard 2‐fs time steps. New parameters are proposed for the GBMV method, which maintains very good agreement with the Poisson theory while providing energy conservation and stable simulations at time steps of 1 to 1.5 fs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 27: 719–729, 2006
Significance of utterance partitioning in GMM-SVM based speaker verification in varying background environment

This paper explores the GMM-SVM combined approach for text-independent speaker verification in rapidly varying environmental noise. For mitigating the effect of mismatched training and test utterance length and countering the impact of data-imbalance in SVM scoring, we partition each full-length enrollment utterance into a number of sub-utterances and derive a GMM supervector from each of them prior to SVM training. Experiments conducted on the NIST-SRE-2003 database demonstrate that the GMM-SVM system with partitioned utterances outperform the conventional GMM-SVM based speaker verification system. The noisy background is simulated by degrading non-overlapping segments of each training and test utterance of the NIST-SRE-2003 by additive noises (car, factory, pink & white) collected from the NOISEX-92 database, at OdB, 5dB, 7dB & 10dB SNRs respectively. An average performance improvement of 6.41% and 10.56% EER across all SNRs is observed in comparison to the traditional GMM-SVM and GMM-UBM based systems, respectively.
Compressive Sensing-Based Adaptive Top-k Query over Compression Domain in Wireless Sensor Networks

Data query and energy saving in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are crucial and have been widely studied. The compressive sensing (CS) technique is a candidate for reserving energy in communications and prolonging the lifetime of WSNs. However, the decompression of CS makes sensor nodes computationally inefficient. An intuitive approach to resolving this problem is to preserve sensing data in the compression domain, but this would limit the utility of stored data, such as data queries in WSNs. In this paper, we introduce the CS theory on sensing nodes to compress sensing data and store compressed data on storage nodes so that the communication and space overhead can be significantly reduced. More importantly, we allow querists to launch Top-k queries to the storage nodes, which can apply adaptive compressed data reduction (ACDR) to derive required data from the compression domain in accordance with the k ranks and return query results to the querists. ACDR enables storage nodes to dynamically change the size of compressed data according to the k ranks launched by querists so that the communication overhead is lower than that of other methods in literature.
A Fatty Acid—Induced Decrease in Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Activity Is an Important Determinant of β-Cell Dysfunction in the Obese Diabetic db/db Mouse

We studied the effects of fatty acid oxidation on insulin secretion of db/db mice and underlying molecular mechanisms of these effects. At 2–3 months of age, db/db mice were markedly obese, hyperglycemic, and hyperinsulinemic. Serum free fatty acid (FFA) levels were increased in 2-month-old (1.5 ± 0.1 vs. 1.1 ± 0.1 mmol/l, P < 0.05) and 3-month-old (1.9 ± 0.1 vs. 1.2 ± 0.1 mmol/l, P < 0.01) mice compared with the age and sex-matched db/+ mice serving as controls. Glucose-induced insulin release from db/db islets was markedly decreased compared with that from db/+ islets and was specifically ameliorated (by 54% in 2-month-old and 38% in 3-month-old mice) by exposure to a carnitine palmitoyltransferase I inhibitor, etomoxir (1 μmol/l). Etomoxir failed to affect the insulin response to α-ketoisocaproate. The effect of etomoxir on glucose-induced insulin release was lost after culturing db/db islets in RPMI medium containing 22 mmol/l glucose but no fatty acid. Culture of db/+ islets with 0.125 mmol/l palmitate led to a decrease in glucose-induced insulin secretion, which was partially reversible by etomoxir. Both islet glucose oxidation and the ratio of glucose oxidation to utilization were decreased in db/db islets. Etomoxir significantly enhanced glucose oxidation by 60% and also the ratio of oxidation to glucose utilization (from 27 ± 2.5 to 37 ±3.0%, P < 0.05). Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activity was decreased in islets of db/db mice (75 ±4.2 vs. 91 ± 2.9 nU/ng DNA, P < 0.01), whereas PDH kinase activity was increased (rate of PDH inactivation −0.25 ± 0.02 vs. −0.11 ± 0.02/min, P < 0.01). These abnormalities were partly but not wholly reversed by a 2-h preexposure to etomoxir. In conclusion, elevated FFA levels in the db/db mouse diminish glucose-induced insulin secretion by a glucose–fatty acid cycle in which fatty acid oxidation inhibits glucose oxidation by decreasing PDH activity and increasing PDH kinase activities.
Decoupled indirect current control of DFIG for wind energy applications

Doubly Fed Induction Generators (DFIG) has emerged as a suitable alternative for conversion of wind energy to grid quality energy under varying wind conditions. Often the control mechanism use large number of sensors and employ complex computations. Moreover, the reported control schemes for DFIG employing grid side converter (GSC) do not ensure a drawl of unity power factor (upf) sinusoidal current from a.c. source for maintaining the dc bus, and PWM voltage control and often employed for the rotor side converter (RSC) to inject/draw current in/from the rotor as per wind speed to keep the frequency and voltage constant at stator terminals. The paper deals with the control of DFIG for wind energy applications using indirect current control to control RSC for regulating power flow in the rotor circuit of DFIG and to ensure upf operation of GSC. A grid connected DFIG has been considered for present study. The GSC injects the required power into the DC bus to maintain the voltage constant. The simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed technique is more effective, faster, energy efficient and utilizes lesser number of components.
ISSUES IN THE APPLICATION OF COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS TO ENERGY PROJECTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES*

THE THEORY behind cost-benefit analysis is relatively well developed [see Little and Mirrlees (1968), (1974); Dasgupta, Marglin and Sen (1972); Mason and Merton (1984)], but its application to real world problems is not always easy. This paper considers the application of cost-benefit analysis to energy problems in oil-importing developing countries (OIDCs). The results are divided into four parts: Section 2 presents a methodology for handling uncertainty; Section 3 studies the implications of exhaustibility; Section 4 examines the externalities associated with exploration; Section 5 applies these tools in an analysis of the costs associated with importing oil. In Section 2 we begin with a discussion of the theoretical issues involved in cost-benefit analysis in the presence of uncertainty. Problems arise when there are conflicting estimates of a project's chance of success. The analysis must consider how the range of possible outcomes affects both the total risk borne in the economy and the income distribution. Uncertain future returns have to be appropriately discounted to the present. Projects which deplete exhaustible resources are irreversible and therefore the cost-benefit analysis must take into account the value of current reserves. In Section 3 Hotelling's rule is presented as the starting point for forming expectations about the price path of oil and other exhaustible energy resources. All project appraisals for programs ranging from new energy development to conservation or stockpiling are strongly influenced by the expected future price of energy, and oil in particular. Energy prices today and in the future depend on estimates of total world hydrocarbon reserves, their extraction costs, and the predicted availability of backstop technologies. Uncertainty about future reserves leads to variability in supplies and price, and causes an inefficiency in the intertemporal allocation of oil; depletion takes place more slowly in order to maintain flexibility in the event of worse-case scenarios. The gains from developing new energy supplies (and conservation) include lower prices, reduced vulnerability, and
Biochemical and biophysical characteristics of diarrhea viruses of human and calf origin

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis of purified preparations of human and calf diarrhea viruses indicated eight polypeptide components, or possibly nine in the case of the calf diarrhea virus. Thermal denaturation and analytical studies of the calf diarrhea virus genome showed it to consist of 11 double-stranded segments of RNA. The placing of the human and calf diarrhea viruses together with other similar viruses into a genus separate from reovirus and orbivirus, but within the family Reoviridae, is discussed.
Enhancement of wound healing by curcumin in animals

Tissue repair and wound healing are complex processes that involve inflammation, granulation, and remodeling of the tissue. In this study, we evaluated the in vivo effects of curcumin (difeurloylmethane), a natural product obtained from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa on wound healing in rats and guinea pigs. We observed faster wound closure of punch wounds in curcumin‐treated animals in comparison with untreated controls. Biopsies of the wound showed reepithelialization of the epidermis and increased migration of various cells including myofibroblasts, fibroblasts, and macrophages in the wound bed. Multiple areas within the dermis showed extensive neovascularization, and Masson's Trichrome staining showed greater collagen deposition in curcumin‐treated wounds. Immunohistochemical localization of transforming growth factor‐β1 showed an increase in curcumin‐treated wounds as compared with untreated wounds. In situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction analysis also showed an increase in the mRNA transcripts of transforming growth factor‐β1 and fibronectin in curcumin‐treated wounds. Because transforming growth factor‐β1 is known to enhance wound healing, it may be possible that transforming growth factor‐β1 plays an important role in the enhancement of wound healing by curcumin.
Thoracolumbar “Burst” Fractures Treated Conservatively: A Long-Term Follow-up

This report addresses the long-term results of nonoperative treatment for fractures of the thoracolumbar spine. Forty-two patients meeting specified inclusion criteria were contacted and completed questionnaires. In all cases, nonoperative treatment was the only treatment received. The average time from injury to follow-up was 20.2 years (range, 11 to 55 years). The average age at follow-up was 43 years (range, 28 to 70 years). There were 31 men and 11 women in this series. Seventy-one percent of the injuries were the result of motor vehicle accidents. The most common sites of injury were T12–L2, which accounted for 64% of the injuries. Seventy-eight percent of the patients had no neurologic deficits at the time of injury. At follow-up, the average back pain score was 3.5, with 0 being no pain at all and 10 being very severe pain. No patient demonstrated a decrease in their neurologic status at follow-up, and no patient required narcotic medication for pain control. Eighty-eight percent of patients were able to work at their usual level of activity. Follow-up radiographs revealed an average kyphosis angle of 26.4° in flexion and 16.8° in extension. The degree of kyphosis did not correlate with pain or function at follow-up. Based on this review, nonoperative treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures remains as a viable alternative in patients without neurologic deficit and can lead to acceptable long-term results.
Limitation of leaf carbon gain by stomatal and photochemical processes in the top canopy of Macaranga conifera, a tropical pioneer tree.

Diurnal changes in gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured in the top canopy leaves of the tropical rainforest tree species, Macaranga conifera (Zoll.) Muell. Arg. during a drought year. Maximum values of net photosynthetic rate (P(n), 10 &mgr;mol m(-2) s(-1)) and stomatal conductance (g(s), 0.2 mol m(-2) s(-1)) were found in east-facing leaves in early morning. After 1000 h, both P(n) and g(s) decreased. Minimum daytime values of P(n), g(s), and photosystem II (PSII) quantum yield (DeltaF/F(m)') were found in horizontally fixed leaves. At a given electron transport rate through PSII (ETR), P(n) was higher in early morning than at midday, suggesting a high rate of photorespiration at midday. We tested the hypothesis that the effect of low leaf temperature (T(leaf)) on P(n) is significant in the early morning, whereas the effect of low g(s) on P(n) predominates at midday. In the early morning, when T(leaf) was increased from 32 to 38 degrees C by artificial heating, P(n) at a given ETR decreased 29%, suggesting that the low T(leaf) was associated with a high P(n). When T(leaf) at midday was decreased from 37 to 32 degrees C by artificial cooling, P(n) increased 22%, but P(n) at a given ETR was higher in early morning than at midday, even at the same low T(leaf) (32 degrees C). This suggests that the rate of photorespiration was higher at midday than in early morning because low g(s) at midday caused a reduction in leaf intercellular CO(2) concentration. We conclude that low P(n) at midday was the result of both a reduction in the photochemical process and an increase in stomatal limitation.