Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nicotinamide Ribosyl Uptake Mutants in Haemophilus influenzae

ABSTRACT The gene for the nicotinamide riboside (NR) transporter (pnuC) was identified in Haemophilus influenzae. A pnuC mutant had only residual NR uptake and could survive in vitro with high concentrations of NR, but could not survive in vivo. PnuC may represent a target for the development of inhibitors for preventing H. influenzae disease.
Assessing Validity of the Basel Ii Model in Measuring Risk of Credit Portfolios

The paper assesses validity of credit loss distributions of client portfolios calculated by means of the Basel II model. The assessment method consists in parallel calculations the same distributions by means of exact probabilistic formulae. We found that Basel II model ensures correct assessments of credit loss distributions for medium and large portfolios of thirty or more one-period credits (credits without intermediate interest etc. payments). For small portfolios and individual one-period credits assessments of Basel II model are rough or extremely rough. Basel II model undervalues credit risk of portfolios of multi-period credits (credits with active period covering several years and intermediate payments). Exact models are more complex that Base ll model, but perfectly available for quick computer calculations. They can be used in bank practice ensuring flexible assessments of credit risk.
The Impact of State Party Organization on the Voting Experience

Nowhere in the U.S. is federalism more evident than in the administration of elections, as the Constitution and historical practice leave this largely in the hands of the states (and even counties within states). Consequently, voters across jurisdictions are likely to have different experiences at the polls. We examine the impact of state party organization, as described by Mayhew, on the frequency of partisan vs. non-partisan elections, the number of ballot propositions, and other election characteristics; on administrative issues such as ballot layout, voting system type, and voting method; and on public evaluations of the voting experience and election reform. Using a national survey of 2,000 individuals combined with information about ballots and voting systems, we find that state party organizations and cultures have a significant impact on numerous aspects of voting.
Latent structure analysis in the pharmaceutical process of tablets prepared by wet granulation

Abstract Background: Granule characteristics are some of the important intermediate qualities that determine tablet properties. However, the relationships between granule and tablet characteristics are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to elucidate relationships among formulation factors, granule characteristics, and tablet properties using a non-linear response surface method (RSM) incorporating a thin-plate spline interpolation (RSM-S) and a Bayesian network (BN). Method: Tablets containing lactose (Lac), cornstarch (CS), and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) were prepared by wet granulation. Ten formulations were prepared by an extreme vertices design. The angle of repose (Y1), compressibility (Y2), cohesion force (Y3), internal friction angle (Y4), and mean particle size (Y5) were measured as granule characteristics. Tensile strength (TS) and disintegration time (DT) were measured as tablet properties. Results: RSM-S results showed that TS increased with increasing amounts of MCC and Lac. DT decreased with increasing amounts of MCC and CS. The optimal BN models were predicted using four evaluation indices –Y3 was shown to be the most important factor for TS, whereas Y2, Y3, and Y4 were relatively important for predicting DT. Moreover, tablets with excellent tablet properties (i.e. high TS and low DT) were produced by relatively high Y1, low Y2, high Y3, high Y4, and middle Y5 values, and resulted from the middle of MCC, middle-to-low CS, low Lac, and middle-to-low magnesium stearate (Mg-St) amounts. Conclusion: The RSM-S and BN techniques are useful for revealing complex relationships among formulation factors, granule characteristics, and tablet properties.
Zinc decreases C-reactive protein, lipid peroxidation, and inflammatory cytokines in elderly subjects: a potential implication of zinc as an atheroprotective agent.

BACKGROUND Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress are common risk factors for atherosclerosis. Zinc is an essential micronutrient that can function as an antiinflammatory and antioxidative agent, and as such, it may have atheroprotective properties. OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that zinc down-regulates the production of atherosclerosis-related cytokines/molecules in humans. DESIGN To examine these effects, we conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo trial of zinc supplementation in elderly subjects. We recruited 40 healthy elderly subjects (aged 56-83 y) and randomly assigned them to 2 groups. One group was given an oral dose of 45 mg zinc/d as a gluconate for 6 mo. The other group was given a placebo. Cell culture models were conducted to study the mechanism of zinc as an atheroprotective agent. RESULTS After 6 mo of supplementation, the intake of zinc, compared with intake of placebo, increased the concentrations of plasma zinc and decreased the concentrations of plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin (IL)-6, macrophage chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), secretory phospholipase A2, and malondialdehyde and hydroxyalkenals (MDA+HAE) in elderly subjects. Regression analysis showed that changes in concentrations of plasma zinc were inversely associated with changes in concentrations of plasma hsCRP, MCP-1, VCAM-1, and MDA+HAE after 6 mo of supplementation. In cell culture studies, we showed that zinc decreased the generation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-1beta, VCAM-1, and MDA+HAE and the activation of nuclear transcription factor kappaB and increased antiinflammatory proteins A20 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha in human monocytic leukemia THP-1 cells and human aortic endothelial cells compared with zinc-deficient cells. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that zinc may have a protective effect in atherosclerosis because of its antiinflammatory and antioxidant functions.
Pulsed methylprednisolone induces a reversible impairment of memory in patients with relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis

Objective – Chronic administration of corticosteroids has been reported to selectively impair explicit memory in systemic diseases without central nervous system involvement. Our aim was to verify that a short course of pulsed intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) administered for the treatment of a relapse impairs cognitive functions in relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients and to determine whether this impairment is reversible. Material and methods – Neuropsychological evaluations were made before the start of treatment, and 7 and 60 days after the end of treatment in 14 RRMS patients. The neuropsychological battery was also administered to 12 controls matched for age, sex and years of education. Results – RRMS patients performed worse than the controls at their baseline evaluation for a variety of neuropsychological tasks. IVMP administration induced a selective impairment of explicit memory which completely recovered 60 days after treatment. Conclusions – In RRMS patients, IVMP induces a selective and reversible impairment of explicit memory.
Immunization with Attenuated Equine Herpesvirus 1 Strain KyA Induces Innate Immune Responses That Protect Mice from Lethal Challenge

ABSTRACT Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is a major pathogen affecting equines worldwide. The virus causes respiratory disease, abortion, and, in some cases, neurological disease. EHV-1 strain KyA is attenuated in the mouse and equine, whereas wild-type strain RacL11 induces severe inflammation of the lung, causing infected mice to succumb at 4 to 6 days postinfection. Our previous results showed that KyA immunization protected CBA mice from pathogenic RacL11 challenge at 2 and 4 weeks postimmunization and that KyA infection elicited protective humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. To investigate the protective mechanisms of innate immune responses to KyA, KyA-immunized mice were challenged with RacL11 at various times postvaccination. KyA immunization protected mice from RacL11 challenge at 1 to 7 days postimmunization. Immunized mice lost less than 10% of their body weight and rapidly regained weight. Virus titers in the lungs of KyA-immunized mice were 1,000-fold lower at 2 days post-RacL11 challenge than virus titers in the lungs of nonimmunized mice, indicating accelerated virus clearance. Affymetrix microarray analysis revealed that gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and 16 antiviral interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) were upregulated 3.1- to 48.2-fold at 8 h postchallenge in the lungs of RacL11-challenged mice that had been immunized with KyA. Murine IFN-γ inhibited EHV-1 infection of murine alveolar macrophages and protected mice against lethal EHV-1 challenge, suggesting that IFN-γ expression is important in mediating the protection elicited by KyA immunization. These results suggest that EHV-1 KyA may be used as a live attenuated EHV-1 vaccine as well as a prophylactic agent in horses. IMPORTANCE Viral infection of cells initiates a signal cascade of events that ultimately attempts to limit viral replication and prevent infection through the expression of host antiviral proteins. In this study, we show that EHV-1 KyA immunization effectively protected CBA mice from pathogenic RacL11 challenge at 1 to 7 days postvaccination and increased the expression of IFN-γ and 16 antiviral interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). The administration of IFN-γ blocked EHV-1 replication in murine alveolar macrophages and mouse lungs and protected mice from lethal challenge. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an attenuated EHV-1 vaccine that protects the animal at 1 to 7 days postimmunization by innate immune responses. Our findings suggested that IFN-γ serves as a novel prophylactic agent and may offer new strategies for the development of anti-EHV-1 agents in the equine.
Comparative studies on the thermostability of five strains of transmissible‐spongiform‐encephalopathy agent

The causal infectious agents of TSEs (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or prion diseases) are renowned for their resistance to complete inactivation. Survival of TSE infectivity after autoclaving potentially compromises many procedures where TSE infectivity may be present, including surgical instrument sterilization. In the present study, the heat inactivation properties of five different TSE agents were tested in a variety of experiments by exposing them to a range of heat inactivation conditions. Although TSE infectivity was reduced after heating to 200 °C in a hot air oven, substantial amounts of infectivity remained. Unlike wet heat inactivation, no TSE strain‐dependent differences were observed in the reduction in the amounts of infectivity produced by dry heat inactivation. However, the incubation periods of mice infected with one dry heated TSE strain, ME7, were substantially prolonged, whereas there was little or no effect for two other TSE models. Varying autoclaving conditions for three TSE strains between 132 and 138 °C, and times of exposure between 30 and 120 min, had little or no effect on the recovery of TSE infectivity. The results illustrate the limitations of TSE agent inactivation using heat‐based methods. The results support the hypothesis that the structures of TSE agents are stabilized during heat‐inactivation procedures, rendering them much more refractory to inactivation. This may occur through dehydration of the causal agents, specifically through the removal of the water of solvation from agent structures and hence stabilize interactions between prion protein and TSE agent‐specific ligands.
Precise and Robust crane boom tip localization using a 24 GHz radar tachymeter

This paper presents a novel radar tachymeter for safety-critical applications, using the ISM 24 GHz band for distance and angular measurements to an active target. The demonstrator system localizes the boom tip of a mobile crane during operation. This is used to determine the current working radius, in order to prevent the crane from tipping. Applying a frequency-modulated continuous-wave secondary radar concept ensures operation in the severe multipath environment typical for this type of crane. The angle of arrival is estimated using 8 receive channels in a single-input multiple-output (SIMO) configuration. Mounted at the heel section of the long telescopic boom, the tachymeter measures distance and angle with a rootmean- square error of 2.2 cm and 0.16°, respectively - showing the outstanding reliability and precision of the presented system.
Characterization of Exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam Veterans as a Basis for Epidemiological Studies

Between 1961 and 1970, the U.S. military engaged in massive chemical defoliation and crop destruction operations in Southeast Asia. In 1985, nearly two decades after the spraying had ceased, a landmark tort settlement was reached between a class of Vietnam veterans and the chemical manufacturers that had supplied the Agent Orange and other military herbicides to the U.S. Department of Defense. It is notable that, at the time of the settlement, there
Chromosome Nondisjunction and Loss Induced by Protons and X Rays in Primary Human Fibroblasts: Role of Centromeres in Aneuploidy

Abstract Sgura, A. , Cherubini, A. R. and Tanzarella, C. Chromosome Nondisjunction and Loss Induced by Protons and X Rays in Primary Human Fibroblasts: Role of Centromeres in Aneuploidy. Radiat. Res. 156, 225–231 (2001). To study the origin of micronuclei induced in human primary fibroblasts by low-energy protons (7.7 and 28.5 keV/μm) and X rays, we have developed a combined antikinetochore-antibody (CREST) and FISH staining with pancentromeric probes. This technique allowed us to analyze the integrity of the kinetochore and centromeric DNA structures and to assess their role in induced aneuploidy. The effect of LET on radiation-induced chromosome nondisjunction was studied in binucleated cells with centromeric-specific DNA probes for chromosomes 7 and 11. Our results indicate that, though more than 90% of radiation-induced micronuclei were CREST−/FISH−, 28.5 keV/μm protons and X rays were also able to induce statistically significant increases in the number of micronuclei that were CREST−/FISH+ and CREST+/FISH+, respectively. One interpretation of these results could be that the protons induced chromosome loss by kinetochore detachment or by breakage in the centromeric DNA region, whereas X rays induced aneuploidy through a non-DNA damage mechanism. Nondisjunction appears to be a far more important mechanism leading to radiation-induced aneuploidy. Irrespective of the higher frequency of micronuclei induced by 28.5 keV/μm protons, the frequency of chromosome loss was markedly higher for X rays than for 28.5 keV/μm protons, strengthening the hypothesis that non-DNA targets, such as components of the mitotic spindle apparatus, may be involved in aberrations in chromosome segregation after X irradiation.
The impact of smoking status on radiologic tumor progression patterns and response to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors in lung adenocarcinoma with activating EGFR mutations.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of smoking on the treatment outcome of epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) in patients with EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma, with consideration of other factors including radiologic tumor progression pattern according to patient smoking status. METHODS A total of 224 patients with EGFR mutant lung adenocarcinomas that were treated with EGFR-TKIs were retrospectively reviewed. Radiologic tumor progression pattern and treatment outcomes were evaluated according to smoking history. RESULTS There were no significant differences in radiologic tumor progression pattern based on smoking status. There were no significant differences in survival between never-smokers and smokers or among never-, former-, and current-smokers, but there was a trend of shorter progression free survival (PFS) and poorer overall survival (OS) in smokers compared with never-smokers. In multivariate analysis, long-term smokers had shorter PFS and poorer OS than those who had never smoked. CONCLUSIONS A history of smoking had no significant effect on radiologic tumor progression pattern; however, smoking history is a negative predictive factor of survival in patients with EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma undergoing EGFR-TKI therapy.
Dynamic balance control of biped robot using optimized SLFNs

This paper proposes a dynamic balance control scheme for controlling biped robot to achieve better locomotion stability and energy efficiency. After analyzing the moment equilibrium conditions, a optimized control scheme is proposed to improve the control performance, which differs from those previously proposed schemes in that it additionally contains an optimized learning mechanism. Using optimized SLFNs to approximate the nonlinear relationship between ZMP error and CoM(Center of Mass) position and an online algorithm to correct ZMP error, the proposed control scheme exhibits a good control performance. The simulation results are provided to validate the proposed method.
Insulin resistance in HIV protease inhibitor-associated diabetes.

BACKGROUND Fasting hyperglycemia has been associated with HIV protease inhibitor (PI) therapy. OBJECTIVE To determine whether absolute insulin deficiency or insulin resistance with relative insulin deficiency and an elevated body mass index (BMI) contribute to HIV PI-associated diabetes. DESIGN Cross-sectional evaluation. PATIENTS 8 healthy seronegative men, 10 nondiabetic HIV-positive patients naive to PI, 15 nondiabetic HIV-positive patients receiving PI (BMI = 26 kg/m2), 6 nondiabetic HIV-positive patients receiving PI (BMI = 31 kg/m2), and 8 HIV-positive patients with diabetes receiving PI (BMI = 34 kg/m2). All patients on PI received indinavir. MEASUREMENTS Fasting concentrations of glucoregulatory hormones. Direct effects of indinavir (20 microM) on rat pancreatic beta-cell function in vitro. RESULTS In hyperglycemic HIV-positive subjects, circulating concentrations of insulin, C-peptide, proinsulin, glucagon, and the proinsulin/insulin ratio were increased when compared with those of the other 4 groups (p < .05). Morning fasting serum cortisol concentrations were not different among the 5 groups. Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibody titers were uncommon in all groups. High BMI was not always associated with diabetes. In vitro, indinavir did not inhibit proinsulin to insulin conversion or impair glucose-induced secretion of insulin and C-peptide from rat beta-cells. CONCLUSIONS The pathogenesis of HIV PI-associated diabetes involves peripheral insulin resistance with insulin deficiency relative to hyperglucagonemia and a high BMI. Pancreatic beta-cell function was not impaired by indinavir. HIV PI-associated diabetes mirrors that of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and impaired insulin action in the periphery.
The copy number of rice CACTA DNA transposons carrying MIR820 does not correlate with MIR820 expression

miR820 is a small RNA species (22 and 24 nucleotides), produced from transcripts originated from a region inside CACTA DNA transposons in rice. Because MIR820 is a transposon gene, its expression may depend on the transposon copy number. Here, we investigated the copy number of MIR820 and its expression levels in various cultivars and wild species of rice. We found no correlation between copy number and expression level, suggesting that MIR820 transcription is regulated not by the copy dosage but by the epigenetic state of each copy.
EMOEEG: A new multimodal dataset for dynamic EEG-based emotion recognition with audiovisual elicitation

EMOEEG is a multimodal dataset where physiological responses to both visual and audiovisual stimuli were recorded, along with videos of the subjects, with a view to developing affective computing systems, especially automatic emotion recognition systems. The experimental setup involves various physiological sensors, among which electroencephalographic sensors. The experiment is performed with 8 participants, 4 from both genders. The stimuli include both sequences of static images from the IAPS dataset, and short video excerpts focusing on negative fear-type emotions. The annotation is obtained by participant self assessment, after a calibration phase. In the case of video stimuli, a novel simplified dynamic annotation strategy is used to enhance the quality and consistency of the self-assessments. This paper also analyses the annotation results and provides a statistical study of inter-annotator agreement. The dataset will continue to grow and will be made publicly available.
Genetic Requirements for Klebsiella pneumoniae-Induced Liver Abscess in an Oral Infection Model

ABSTRACT Klebsiella pneumoniae is the predominant pathogen of primary liver abscess. However, our knowledge regarding the molecular basis of how K. pneumoniae causes primary infection in the liver is limited. We established an oral infection model that recapitulated the characteristics of liver abscess and conducted a genetic screen to identify the K. pneumoniae genes required for the development of liver abscess in mice. Twenty-eight mutants with attenuated growth in liver or spleen samples out of 2,880 signature-tagged mutants that produced the wild-type capsule were identified, and genetic loci which were disrupted in these mutants were identified to encode products with roles in cellular metabolism, adhesion, transportation, gene regulation, and unknown functions. We further evaluated the virulence attenuation of these mutants in independent infection experiments and categorized them accordingly into three classes. In particular, the class I and II mutant strains exhibited significantly reduced virulence in mice, and most of these strains were not detected in extraintestinal tissues at 48 h after oral inoculation. Interestingly, the mutated loci of about one-third of the class I and II mutant strains encode proteins with regulatory functions, and the transcript abundances of many other genes identified in the same screen were markedly changed in these regulatory mutant strains, suggesting a requirement for genetic regulatory networks for translocation of K. pneumoniae across the intestinal barrier. Furthermore, our finding that preimmunization with certain class I mutant strains protected mice against challenge with the wild-type strain implied a potential application for these strains in prophylaxis against K. pneumoniae infections.