Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HIV1 Vpr Arrests the Cell Cycle by Recruiting DCAF1/VprBP, a Receptor of the Cul4-DDB1 Ubiquitin Ligase

How the HIV1 Vpr protein initiates the host cell response leading to cell cycle arrest in G2 has remained unknown. Here, we show that recruitment of DCAF1/VprBP by Vpr is essential for its cytostatic activity, which can be abolished either by single mutations of Vpr that impair DCAF1 binding, or by siRNA‑mediated silencing of DCAF1. Furthermore, DCAF1 bridges Vpr to DDB1, a core subunit of Cul4 ubiquitin ligases. Altogether these results point to a mechanism where Vpr triggers G2 arrest by hijacking the Cul4/DDB1DCAF1 ubiquitin ligase. We further show that, Vpx, a non-cytostatic Vpr-related protein acquired by HIV2 and SIV, also binds DCAF1 through a conserved motif. Thus, Vpr from HIV1 and Vpx from SIV recruit DCAF1 with different physiological outcomes for the host cell. This in turn suggests that both proteins have evolved to preserve interaction with the same Cul4 ubiquitin ligase while diverging in the recognition of host substrates targeted for proteasomal degradation.
Structural basis for potent antibody-mediated neutralization of human cytomegalovirus

Structures of HCMV Pentamer in complex with neutralizing antibodies reveal immunogenic surfaces important for viral entry. Function follows form Congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most common infectious cause of disabilities in newborn infants and the leading cause of deafness in children, highlighting the need for a vaccine that induces neutralizing antibodies to block maternal-fetal transmission of HCMV. Now, Chandramouli et al. report crystal structures of neutralizing antibodies bound to the HCMV pentameric complex (Pentamer), a key determinant of viral entry. These structural and functional studies identify potential entry receptor–binding sites on Pentamer as well as other functional sites that may serve as targets for vaccine development and antibody and small-molecule therapeutics. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the leading viral cause of birth defects and organ transplant rejection. The HCMV gH/gL/UL128/UL130/UL131A complex (Pentamer) is the main target of humoral responses and thus a key vaccine candidate. We report two structures of Pentamer bound to human neutralizing antibodies, 8I21 and 9I6, at 3.0 and 5.9 Å resolution, respectively. The HCMV gH/gL architecture is similar to that of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) except for amino-terminal extensions on both subunits. The extension of gL forms a subdomain composed of a three-helix bundle and a β hairpin that acts as a docking site for UL128/UL130/UL131A. Structural analysis reveals that Pentamer is a flexible molecule, and suggests sites for engineering stabilizing mutations. We also identify immunogenic surfaces important for cellular interactions by epitope mapping and functional assays. These results can guide the development of effective vaccines and immunotherapeutics against HCMV.
Physiological Response of the Hard Coral Pocillopora verrucosa from Lombok, Indonesia, to Two Common Pollutants in Combination with High Temperature

Knowledge on interactive effects of global (e.g. ocean warming) and local stressors (e.g. pollution) is needed to develop appropriate management strategies for coral reefs. Surfactants and diesel are common coastal pollutants, but knowledge of their effects on hard corals as key reef ecosystem engineers is scarce. This study thus investigated the physiological reaction of Pocillopora verrucosa from Lombok, Indonesia, to exposure with a) the water-soluble fraction of diesel (determined by total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); 0.69 ± 0.14 mg L-1), b) the surfactant linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS; 0.95 ± 0.02 mg L-1) and c) combinations of each pollutant with high temperature (+3°C). To determine effects on metabolism, respiration, photosynthetic efficiency and coral tissue health were measured. Findings revealed no significant effects of diesel, while LAS resulted in severe coral tissue losses (16–95% after 84 h). High temperature led to an increase in photosynthetic yield of corals after 48 h compared to the control treatment, but no difference was detected thereafter. In combination, diesel and high temperature significantly increased coral dark respiration, whereas LAS and high temperature caused higher tissue losses (81–100% after 84 h) and indicated a severe decline in maximum quantum yield. These results confirm the hypothesized combined effects of high temperature with either of the two investigated pollutants. Our study demonstrates the importance of reducing import of these pollutants in coastal areas in future adaptive reef management, particularly in the context of ocean warming.
Unilateral testicular tuberculosis: case report

Genitourinary tuberculosis (GT) includes 8–15% of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB), which is more frequent in men. Epididymides, seminal vesicles, prostate and testis are the most common sites of GT. Although testicular TB is uncommon, we report 2 patients with unilateral testicular TB. The main treatment of urogenital tuberculosis is anti‐tuberculosis pharmacotherapy, sometimes combined with surgery.
Laminin alpha1-chain shows a restricted distribution in epithelial basement membranes of fetal and adult human tissues.

Two novel monoclonal antibodies were raised and used to study the expression of laminin (Ln) alpha1-chain in developing and adult human tissues. In both fetal and adult kidney, a distinct immunoreactivity was seen in basement membranes (BM) of most proximal tubules but not in the distal tubular or glomerular BM or in the basal laminae of blood vessels. Immunoprecipitation of metabolically labeled cultured human renal proximal tubular cells showed an abundant production and deposition of Ln alpha1-chain to the extracellular matrix, suggestive of an epithelial origin of kidney Ln-1. Quantitative cell adhesion experiments with JAR choriocarcinoma cells showed that purified human Ln-1 is a good substrate for cell adhesion that it is differently recognized by integrin receptors when compared to mouse Ln-1. In fetal and adult testes immunoreactivity was solely confined to BM of the seminiferous epithelium. In the airways BM-confined reaction was only seen in fetal budding bronchial tubules (16-19 weeks) at the pseudoglandular stage of development. In the skin a distinct immunoreactivity was confined to BM of developing hair buds but not in epithelial BMs of adult epidermis or of epidermal appendages. In other adult tissues, immunoreactivity was found in BMs of thyroid, salivary, and mammary glands as well as in BMs of endometrium and endocervix, but not of ectocervix or vagina. No immunoreactivity was found in BMs of most of the digestive tract, including the liver and pancreas, except for BMs of esophageal submucosal glands and duodenal Brunner's glands. In fetal specimens, BMs of the bottoms of the intestinal and gastric glands were positive. Basal laminae of blood vessels were generally negative for Ln alpha1 chain with the exception of specimens of both fetal and adult central nervous system in which immunoreactivity for Ln alpha1 chain was prominently confined to capillary walls. The results suggest that outside the central nervous system, Ln alpha1 chain shows a restricted and developmentally regulated expression in BMs of distinct epithelial tissues.
Power control for cooperative dynamic spectrum access networks with diverse QoS constraints

Dynamic spectrum access (DSA) is an integral part of cognitive radio technology aiming at efficient management of the available power and bandwidth resources. The present paper deals with cooperative DSA networks, where collaborating terminals adhere to diverse (maximum and minimum) quality-of-service (QoS) constraints in order to not only effect hierarchies between primary and secondary users but also prevent abusive utilization of the available spectrum. Peer-to-peer networks with co-channel interference are considered in both single- and multi-channel settings. Utilities that are functions of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) are employed as QoS metrics. By adjusting their transmit power, users can mitigate the generated interference and also meet the QoS requirements. A novel formulation accounting for heterogeneous QoS requirements is obtained after introducing a suitable relaxation and recasting a constrained sum-utility maximization as a convex optimization problem. The optimality of the relaxation is established under general conditions. Based on this relaxation, an algorithm for optimal power control that is amenable to distributed implementation is developed, and its convergence is established. Numerical tests verify the analytical claims and demonstrate performance gains relative to existing schemes.
„Ist die Kirche eigentlich ein Kirche?“ Empirische Erforschung kulturbezogenen Lernens bei Lernenden des Deutschen als Fremdsprache

Der Beitrag widmet sich der Fragestellung, inwieweit kulturbezogene Lernprozesse bei Lernenden des Deutschen als Fremdsprache in der Auseinandersetzung mit einem Diskurs stattfinden, wobei Diskurs als inhaltlich-thematisch zusammenhangendes Netz von Texten begriffen wird. Als thematische Grundlage dient dabei der Diskurs uber den Neubau der Leipziger Universitat. Die kulturbezogenen Lernprozesse der Fremdsprachenlernenden werden mittels diskursiver Interviews, die gleichzeitig als ‚Lernort’ dienen, erhoben und in einer qualitativen Fallstudie explorativ-interpretativ beschrieben. In einem zirkularen Erkenntnisprozess, der in der Auseinandersetzung mit den empirischen Daten und theoretischen Vorannahmen stattfindet, kommen wir zu Forschungsergebnissen, die eine erweiterte Gegenstandsbestimmung kulturbezogenen Lernens nahe legen. The article addresses the question of how culture-related learning takes place when learners of German as a foreign language study discourse, i.e. a network of texts linked by content and meaning. The thematic basis of this discourse is the discussion about the construction of the new University of Leipzig building. The culture-related learning processes of foreign language learners are described in an exploratory-descriptive manner in a qualitative case study by means of discursive interviews that serve as ‚learning venues’. In a circular process of analysis, which takes place in the confrontation between the empirical data and the theoretical assumptions, we arrive at research results that suggest an expanded interpretation of culture-related learning. Schlagworter: Deutsch als Fremdsprache, kulturelles Lernen, kulturbezogenes Lernen, Fremdsprachenlernen, Lernprozess, Diskurs, explorativ-interpretative Forschung, qualitative Forschung
Silybum marianum: Beyond Hepatoprotection

Silybum marianum is a medicinal plant that has long been used as hepatoprotective remedy. It has been used for the treatment of numerous liver disorders characterized by functional impairment or degenerative necrosis. Its hepatoprotective activity is unique and acts in different ways, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, cell permeability regulator and membrane stabilizer, stimulation of liver regeneration and inhibition of deposition in collagen fibers, which may lead to cirrhosis. Most of documented data with Silybum marianum are about liver disorders; however, recently several beneficial properties on a wide variety of other disorders such as renal protection, hypolipidemic and anti-atherosclerosis activities, cardiovascular protection, prevention of insulin resistance, especially in cirrhotic patients, cancer, and Alzheimer prevention. It is also used as a food remedy. This review article aims to present different aspects of Silybum marianum, especially the data in recently published articles about its effects on different diseases, apart from presenting the aspects of its hepatoprotection.
Metabolic Genes within Cyanophage Genomes: Implications for Diversity and Evolution

Cyanophages, a group of viruses specifically infecting cyanobacteria, are genetically diverse and extensively abundant in water environments. As a result of selective pressure, cyanophages often acquire a range of metabolic genes from host genomes. The host-derived genes make a significant contribution to the ecological success of cyanophages. In this review, we summarize the host-derived metabolic genes, as well as their origin and roles in cyanophage evolution and important host metabolic pathways, such as the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis, the pentose phosphate pathway, nutrient acquisition and nucleotide biosynthesis. We also discuss the suitability of the host-derived metabolic genes as potential diagnostic markers for the detection of genetic diversity of cyanophages in natural environments.
Radiolabeled Cyclic RGD Peptides as Radiotracers for Imaging Tumors and Thrombosis by SPECT

The integrin family is a group of transmembrane glycoprotein comprised of 19 α- and 8 β-subunits that are expressed in 25 different α/β heterodimeric combinations on the cell surface. Integrins play critical roles in many physiological processes, including cell attachment, proliferation, bone remodeling, and wound healing. Integrins also contribute to pathological events such as thrombosis, atherosclerosis, tumor invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis, infection by pathogenic microorganisms, and immune dysfunction. Among 25 members of the integrin family, the αvβ3 is studied most extensively for its role of tumor growth, progression and angiogenesis. In contrast, the αIIbβ3 is expressed exclusively on platelets, facilitates the intercellular bidirectional signaling (“inside-out” and “outside-in”) and allows the aggregation of platelets during vascular injury. The αIIbβ3 plays an important role in thrombosis by its activation and binding to fibrinogen especially in arterial thrombosis due to the high blood flow rate. In the resting state, the αIIbβ3 on platelets does not bind to fibrinogen; on activation, the conformation of platelet is altered and the binding sites of αIIbβ3 are exposed for fibrinogen to crosslink platelets. Over the last two decades, integrins have been proposed as the molecular targets for diagnosis and therapy of cancer, thrombosis and other diseases. Several excellent review articles have appeared recently to cover a broad range of topics related to the integrin-targeted radiotracers and their nuclear medicine applications in tumor imaging by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or a positron-emitting radionuclide for positron emission tomography (PET). This review will focus on recent developments of αvβ3-targeted radiotracers for imaging tumors and the use of αIIbβ3-targeted radiotracers for thrombosis imaging, and discuss different approaches to maximize the targeting capability of cyclic RGD peptides and improve the radiotracer excretion kinetics from non-cancerous organs. Improvement of target uptake and target-to-background ratios is critically important for target-specific radiotracers.
Performance, development, and analysis of tactile vs. visual receptive fields in texture tasks

Performance, Development, and Analysis of Tactile vs. Visual Receptive Field in Texture Tasks. (August 2009) Choon Seog Park, B.S, Korea Military Academy, Seoul, Korea; M.S., Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea Co–Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Yoonsuck Choe Dr. Dezhen Song Texture segmentation is an effortless process in scene analysis, yet its neural mechanisms are not sufficiently understood. A common assumption in most current approaches is that texture segmentation is a vision problem. However, considering that texture is basically a surface property, this assumption can at times be misleading. One interesting possibility is that texture may be more intimately related with touch than with vision. Recent neurophysiological findings showed that receptive fields (RFs) for touch resemble that of vision, albeit with some subtle differences. To leverage on this, here I propose three ways to investigate the tactile receptive fields in the context of texture processing: (1) performance, (2) development, and (3) analysis. For performance, I tested how such distinct properties in tactile receptive fields can affect texture segmentation performance, as compared to that of visual receptive fields. Preliminary results suggest that touch has an advantage over vision in texture segmentation. These results support the idea that texture is fundamentally a tactile (surface) property. The next question is what drives the two types of RFs, visual and tactile, to become different during cortical development? I investigated the possibility that tactile RF and visual RF emerge based on the same cortical learning process, where the only difference is in the input type, natural-scene-like vs. texture-like. The main
Multispectral image restoration with multisensors

A procedure is advanced to restore a single color image, which has been degraded by a linear shift-invariant blur in the presence of additive noise. Four sensors are needed, followed by the application of the RGB-YIQ transformation. Subsequently, one 3-D Wiener filtration is required on a sequence of two luminance components and a 2-D Wiener filter is needed on each of the two chrominance components. For the procedure to be successful, the imposition of a strongly coprime condition on the wavenumber response of two distinct sensor blur functions is necessary. The resulting well-conditioned problem is shown to provide high-quality color images.
Learning Adjectives in the Real World: How Learning Nouns Impedes Learning Adjectives

Previous studies have documented that children are slow to acquire adjectives into their productive vocabulary. Yet in laboratory studies, even very young children can extend novel adjectives to new instances. Two studies examined the relation between children's acquisition of adjectives and children's emerging knowledge about nouns. In Study 1, the input parents provide to children when talking about properties was examined. The results indicate that the type of input provided in laboratory experiments is infrequent in parent speech to children, and that parents often talk about adjectives using syntax that is ambiguous as to the adjectival status of the words and confusable with nouns. In Study 2 children participated in a training study designed to teach children color words without strong syntactic cues. In Study 3 children participated in a training study designed to teach children color words with syntactic cues that strongly indicated the adjectival status of the word. The results show that younger children who had fewer nouns in their productive vocabulary learned more without strong syntactic cues whereas the older children who had more nouns in their productive vocabulary were more likely to benefit from hearing strong syntactic cues.
Nonlinear dimensionality reduction viewed as information retrieval

Nonlinear dimensionality reduction methods are commonly used for two purposes: (i) as preprocessing methods to reduce the number of input variables or to represent the inputs in terms of more natural variables describing the embedded data manifold, or (ii) for making the data set more understandable, by making the similarity relationships between data points explicit through visualizations. The visualizations are commonly needed in exploratory data analysis, and in interfaces to high-dimensional data. In this abstract we will focus on the latter types of applications and call them information visualization, with the understanding that the goal is to visualize neighborhood or proximity relationships within a set of high-dimensional data samples. The introduced methods are expected to be useful for other kinds of dimensionality reduction tasks as well, however.
The Living Room: Exploring the Haunted and Paranormal to Transform Design and Interaction

Within this work, a novel metaphor, haunted design, is explored to challenge the definitions of "display" used today. Haunted design draws inspiration and vision from some of the most multi-modal and sensory diverse experiences that have been reported, the paranormal and hauntings. By synthesizing and deconstructing such phenomena, four novel opportunities to direct display design were uncovered, e.g., intensity, familiarly, tangibility, and shareability. A large-scale design probe, The Living Room, guided the ideation and prototyping of design concepts that exemplify facets of haunted design. By combining the opportunities, design concepts, and survey responses, a framework highlighting the importance of objects, their behavior, and the resulting phenomena to haunted design was developed. Given its emphasis on the odd and unusual, the haunted design metaphor should great spur conversation and alternative directions for future display-based user experiences.
Electrical Bioimpedance-Controlled Surgical Instrumentation

A bioimpedance-controlled concept for bone cement milling during revision total hip replacement is presented. Normally, the surgeon manually removes bone cement using a hammer and chisel. However, this procedure is relatively rough and unintended harm may occur to tissue at any time. The proposed bioimpedance-controlled surgical instrumentation improves this process because, for example, most risks associated with bone cement removal are avoided. The electrical bioimpedance measurements enable online process-control by using the milling head as both a cutting tool and measurement electrode at the same time. Furthermore, a novel integrated surgical milling tool is introduced, which allows acquisition of electrical bioimpedance data for online control; these data are used as a process variable. Process identification is based on finite element method simulation and on experimental studies with a rapid control prototyping system. The control loop design includes the identified process model, the characterization of noise as being normally distributed and the filtering, which is necessary for sufficient accuracy ( ±0.5 mm). Also, in a comparative study, noise suppression is investigated in silico with a moving average filter and a Kalman filter. Finally, performance analysis shows that the bioimpedance-controlled surgical instrumentation may also performs effectively at a higher feed rate (e.g., 5 mm/s).
The Effects of Commensal Bacteria on Innate Immune Responses in the Female Genital Tract

Citation Mirmonsef P, Gilbert D, Zariffard MR, Hamaker BR, Kaur A, Landay AL, Spear GT. The effects of commensal bacteria on innate immune responses in the female genital tract. Am J Reprod Immunol 2011; 65: 190–195
Supplement schemes to 3GGP ARQ for reducing occupancy and sojourn at re-ordering buffer

3GPP RLC protocol specification adopted an error control scheme based on window-controlled selective-repeat ARQ. As a member of selective-repeat clan, the 3GPP ARQ inherently possesses the problem of re-ordering at the receiving station. In this paper, aiming at suppressing the occupancy and sojourn time at the re-ordering buffer while maintaining the level of delay and throughput performance, we propose two schemes (identified as confined selective-repeat and extended go-back-N schemes) as a supplement to the 3GPP ARQ. For the performance evaluation of the proposed schemes, we first develop an approximation method to calculate the maximum throughput of a window-controlled ARQ. Secondly, using a simulation method, we investigate the peak occupancy, mean sojourn time, mean delay time, and maximum throughput exhibited by the schemes in various environments. From numerical examples, we confirm the validity of our approximation method and conclude that the proposed schemes are able to improve the delay and throughput performance of the 3GPP ARQ without inflating the occupancy and sojourn time at the re-ordering buffer.