Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Self-Replicating Chimeric Lentivirus-Like Particle

ABSTRACT Successful live attenuated vaccines mimic natural exposure to pathogens without causing disease and have been successful against several viruses. However, safety concerns prevent the development of attenuated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as a vaccine candidate. If a safe, replicating virus vaccine could be developed, it might have the potential to offer significant protection against HIV infection and disease. Described here is the development of a novel self-replicating chimeric virus vaccine candidate that is designed to provide natural exposure to a lentivirus-like particle and to incorporate the properties of a live attenuated virus vaccine without the inherent safety issues associated with attenuated lentiviruses. The genome from the alphavirus Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEE) was modified to express SHIV89.6P genes encoding the structural proteins Gag and Env. Expression of Gag and Env from VEE RNA in primate cells led to the assembly of particles that morphologically and functionally resembled lentivirus virions and that incorporated alphavirus RNA. Infection of CD4+ cells with chimeric lentivirus-like particles was specific and productive, resulting in RNA replication, expression of Gag and Env, and generation of progeny chimeric particles. Further genome modifications designed to enhance encapsidation of the chimeric virus genome and to express an attenuated simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) protease for particle maturation improved the ability of chimeric lentivirus-like particles to propagate in cell culture. This study provides proof of concept for the feasibility of creating chimeric virus genomes that express lentivirus structural proteins and assemble into infectious particles for presentation of lentivirus immunogens in their native and functional conformation.
Fibrin degradation products.

SIR,-It was with great interest that I read the article by Drs. J. S. McKinnell and M. S. Kearney on haemorrhagic necrosis of the intestine (25 November, p. 460). Their report once again emphasizes what we had noted earlier in a comprehensive review of the subject,' that not only is this a distinct clinicopathological entity but also it had a fatal termination in the vast majority of cases reported in the literature, including our series. It is for these reasons that we suggested a distinct name for this entity-that is, " terminal haemorrhagic necrotizing enteropathy " -be substituted for various confusing titles used in the literature, such as haemorrhagic enterocolitis, intestinal gangrene,' ' and infarction without occlusion. ' We believe that by emphasizing the fatal termination of the disease it would excite enough interest of the clinicians to be diagnosed antemortem. Not infrequently it is mistaken for various acute surgical diseases of the intestines. We defined terminal haemorrhagic necrotizing enteropathy as a distinct clinicopathological entity characterized by: (1) Its almost exclusive occurrence in elderly persons with significant heart disease, often complicated by heart failure or various cardiac arrhythmias; (2) Extensive haemorrhagic necrosis of the gastrointestinal tract, usually within the distribution range of the superior mesenteric artery and unassociated with mesenteric vascular occlusion or significant stenosis, mechanical interference with mesenteric vasculature, or primary arterial disease; (3) Most frequent association clinically with an episode of persistent hypotension and varied acute abdominal symptoms; (4) Rather characteristic gross and microscopic appearance of the affected part of the gastrointestinal tract; (5) Probable functional vascular aetiologic basis influenced by poorly understood mechanisms leading to self-perpetuating vicious circles ; and (6) Usual fatal termination. -I am, etc.,
The current status of 3D bioprinting for neural tissue models

Neurological disease is one of the devastating diseases worldwide. Limited regeneration capability of central nervous system has greatly hindered the functional recovery of neural tissues. Bioprinting, offers a promising method to deposit cells, materials and instructive biomolecules in a precise arrangement simultaneously, which is possible to achieve the construction of multicellular functional neural tissues. In this review, we have 1) identified the essential design parameters of neural tissue constructs based on native tissue contexts 2) reviewed the updated studies of bioprinting for neural tissue applications 3) discussed the challenges and prospects of bioprinting for neural tissue development.
A Formal Model for Component-Based Software

In an effort to manage increasing complexity and to maximise the reuse of code, the software engineering community has in recent years put considerable effort into the design and development of component-based software development systems and methodologies. The concept of building software from existing components arose by analogy with the way that hardware is now designed and built, using cheap, reliable standard " off-the-shelf " modules. Because of the analogy with wiring hardware components , component-based software development is a natural candidate for visual expression. Various component software technologies have emerged as a result of this attention, but their evolution has been rather ad hoc. In fact, some systems are defined purely by their implementation with little or no precise definition. In an attempt to address this shortcoming, we propose a well-defined syntax and semantics for a component software model that captures the essential concepts.
Graphene films synthesized on electroplated Cu by chemical vapor deposition

In this paper, electroplated Cu was used as substrate to grow graphene by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with a mixture gas of methane, hydrogen and argon. The different electroplated Cu grain size after annealing was studied. We present the growth temperature, growth time and methane concentration are key parameters that affect the structural perfection of graphene.
Rapid Identification of Bacteria from Positive Blood Culture Bottles by Use of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry Fingerprinting

ABSTRACT Early and adequate antimicrobial therapy has been shown to improve the clinical outcome in bloodstream infections (BSI). To provide rapid pathogen identification for targeted treatment, we applied matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry fingerprinting to bacteria directly recovered from blood culture bottles. A total of 304 aerobic and anaerobic blood cultures, reported positive by a Bactec 9240 system, were subjected in parallel to differential centrifugation with subsequent mass spectrometry fingerprinting and reference identification using established microbiological methods. A representative spectrum of bloodstream pathogens was recovered from 277 samples that grew a single bacterial isolate. Species identification by direct mass spectrometry fingerprinting matched reference identification in 95% of these samples and worked equally well for aerobic and anaerobic culture bottles. Application of commonly used score cutoffs to classify the fingerprinting results led to an identification rate of 87%. Mismatching mostly resulted from insufficient bacterial numbers and preferentially occurred with Gram-positive samples. The respective spectra showed low concordance to database references and were effectively rejected by score thresholds. Spiking experiments and examination of the respective study samples even suggested applicability of the method to mixed cultures. With turnaround times around 100 min, the approach allowed for reliable pathogen identification at the day of blood culture positivity, providing treatment-relevant information within the critical phase of septic illness.
Upregulation of long non-coding RNA HIF 1α-anti-sense 1 induced by transforming growth factor-β-mediated targeting of sirtuin 1 promotes osteoblastic differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells

The present study aimed to investigate the regulatory mechanism of long non-coding RNA hypoxia-inducible factor 1α-anti-sense 1 (lncRNA HIF1α-AS1) in osteoblast differentiation as well as its targeting by sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), which may be inhibited by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β in bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), western blot analysis, lncRNA PCR arrays and chromatin immunoprecipitation were performed in order to examine the interference of SIRT1 expression by TGF-β, the effects of SIRT1 overexpression on lncRNA HIF1α-AS1 and the regulation of the expression of homeobox (HOX)D10, which promotes BMSC differentiation, by lncRNA HIF1α-AS1. The results showed that TGF-β interfered with SIRT1 expression. Furthermore, lncRNA HIF1α-AS1 was significantly downregulated following overexpression of SIRT1. In addition, low expression of HIF1α-AS1 was sufficient to block the expression of HOXD10. The present study further demonstrated that downregulation of HOXD10 by HIF1α-AS1 interfered with acetylation, and subsequently resulted in the inhibition of osteoblast differentiation. These results suggested that HIF1α-AS1 is an essential mediator of osteoblast differentiation, and may thus represent a gene-therapeutic agent for the treatment of human bone diseases.
Tissue Barriers to Arbovirus Infection in Mosquitoes

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) circulate in nature between arthropod vectors and vertebrate hosts. Arboviruses often cause devastating diseases in vertebrate hosts, but they typically do not cause significant pathology in their arthropod vectors. Following oral acquisition of a viremic bloodmeal from a vertebrate host, the arbovirus disease cycle requires replication in the cellular environment of the arthropod vector. Once the vector has become systemically and persistently infected, the vector is able to transmit the virus to an uninfected vertebrate host. In order to systemically infect the vector, the virus must cope with innate immune responses and overcome several tissue barriers associated with the midgut and the salivary glands. In this review we describe, in detail, the typical arbovirus infection route in competent mosquito vectors. Based on what is known from the literature, we explain the nature of the tissue barriers that arboviruses are confronted with in a mosquito vector and how arboviruses might surmount these barriers. We also point out controversial findings to highlight particular areas that are not well understood and require further research efforts.
CATEGORY LEARNING IN PARKINSON ' S DISEASE

An understanding of the early cognitive deficits in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) could provide better insight into the nature of the disease as well as its future course. One area of study that holds considerable promise is the study of category learning. Much research has examined the neurobiological basis of category learning and it is now well-established that multiple cognitive and brain systems are involved in learning different types of categorization tasks. One broad class of category learning tasks that have been examined include those that are learned using an explicit, verbalizable strategy, whereas another broad class includes tasks that are learned using some form of implicit learning that occurs outside of conscious awareness. This chapter reviews past research examining both explicit and implicit category learning in nondemented patients with PD. It is demonstrated that PD patients can be impaired on both explicit and implicit category learning tasks, but for very different reasons: impairment on explicit tasks appears to be related to deficits in attentional processes, whereas impairments on implicit tasks occur when the rule theoretically requires a greater degree of representation within the striatum. It is also shown that PD patients' impairment on certain implicit tasks is highly predictive of future global cognitive decline, a finding that highlights the utility of studying category learning in this disease. ∗ Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: J. Vincent Filoteo, UCSD, VASDHS 116-B, 3350 La Jolla Village Dr. San Diego, CA 92161. email: vfiloteo@ucsd.edu; phone: 858-642-1122. J. Vincent Filoteo and W. Todd Maddox 2
Multimorbidity and polypharmacy: Which betablocker to use in relation to the pharmacokinetic profile and interaction potential

Abstract Betablockers still represent widely prescribed drugs as they cover a wide spectrum of cardiovascular indications. Obviously, it is not trivial which betablocker to choose as they differ both with regard to their pharmacodynamic (e. g. selective vs. nonselective, beta vs. beta + alpha blocking activities) and pharmacokinetic profiles. Latter is largely governed by the metabolic properties, and, thus, their excretion route (renal or biliary route in unchanged or metabolized form). In the elderly population, the stability of plasma concentrations is particularly essential as this population has smaller compensatory tolerance to concentration variations than younger patients. The interaction potential of betablockers with regard to drug-drug, gene polymorphism-drug, excreting organ-drug interactions varies widely between individual substances. Compounds predominantly metabolized by polymorphic cytochromes such as CYP 2D6 are affected by the metabolizer status and competing compounds utilizing the same metabolic pathways can strongly influence plasma levels (examples metoprolol [CAS 37350-58-6], carvedilol [CAS 72956-09-3]). On the other hand, metabolically stable compounds which are predominantly excreted renally may be unfavourable as their plasma concentrations largely depend on renal function which may be blunted in elderly patients. The prototype of this category, atenolol (CAS 29122-68-7), has been associated with inferior results in mortality trials in hypertension treatment. Thus, a favourable compound should be partially stable in regard to metabolismto depend less on drug-drug and gene-drug interactions, but also utilize more than one routes of excretion, meaning both the direct renal and the metabolic routes. The prototype for this type of betablocker is bisoprolol (CAS 66722-44-9).
Raman spectroscopic characterization of interlayer coupling in twisted (2+2) and (3+3) layered graphenes

Multilayer graphene (MLG) produced by micro-mechanical exfoliation can usually be stacked layer by layer in a Bernal way through van der Waals coupling. During the exfoliation, a partial bilayer graphene (BLG) is folded onto the BLG flake itself to form the exfoliated twisted (2+2)LG. In this paper, we measured Raman spectra of a few pieces of twisted (2+2)LGs with different twisted angles in back-scattering at room temperature with a HR Evolution micro-Raman system. The modes on both sides of G mode were measured to be a signature to distinguish the twisted angle and determine the layer number in twisted (2+2)LGs. The further research was extended to a twisted (3+3)LG and some results obtained in the twisted (2+2)LGs were confirmed. These results provide an applicable approach to probe the interlayer coupling in twisted graphenes and thus benefit the future research studies on their fundamental physics and potential applications.
Real-time dynamic rate shaping and control for Internet video applications

We propose an architecture which can support video services in networks which have no Quality of Services (QoS) guarantees. We demonstrate that there is a need for such services today and also in the future, when QoS will be built into most networks. We then describe our current Internet-based system, which combines both image processing and networking techniques in order to provide good quality video without harming the performance of the Internet. These techniques are shown to be superior to previous work for the environment of video services operating in the Internet.
Clay Flower Creation Based on Homotopy Type Theory

Homotopy type theory, which generalizes equivalence relations at the most abstract level, is a leading edge science in mathematics and computer science. We have revised our design and modeling method using homotopy type theory. The previously proposed method, which is called the incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy (IMAH), has been applied in many fields of computer science and information technologies. IMAH uses set theory on the second highest abstraction level to clarify sets and their components in a developing system. The clarification of sets and components is more accurately accomplished using homotopy type theory because equivalence relations among components are defined more formally and specifically using the homotopy type. The revised IMAH is applied to clay flower creation. Descending the abstraction hierarchy, the process of clay flower creation is embodied by adding additional concrete properties. Functorial databases are generated in conjunction with defining the clay flower creation processes at each abstraction level.
Influenza virus and cell signaling pathways

Summary Influenza viruses comprise a major class of human respiratory pathogens, responsible for causing morbidity and mortality worldwide. Influenza A virus, due to its segmented RNA genome, is highly subject to mutation, resulting in rapid formation of variants. During influenza infection, viral proteins interact with host proteins and exploit a variety of cellular pathways for their own benefit. Influenza virus inhibits the synthesis of these cellular proteins and facilitates expression of its own proteins for viral transcription and replication. Infected cell pathways are hijacked by an array of intracellular signaling cascades such as NF-κB signaling, PI3K/Akt pathway, MAPK pathway, PKC/PKR signaling and TLR/RIG-I signaling cascades. This review presents a research update on the subject and discusses the impact of influenza viral infection on these cell signaling pathways.
A Novel Framework for Intelligent Information Retrieval in Wireless Sensor Networks

Recent advances in the development of the low-cost, power-efficient embedded devices, coupled with the rising need for support of new information processing paradigms such as smart spaces and military surveillance systems, have led to active research in large-scale, highly distributed sensor networks of small, wireless, low-power, unattended sensors and actuators. While applications keep diversifying, one common property they share is the need for an efficient network architecture tailored towards information retrieval in sensor networks. Previous solutions designed for traditional networks serve as good references; however, due to the vast differences between previous paradigms and needs of sensor networks, a framework is required to gather and impart only the required information . To achieve this goal in this paper we have proposed a framework for intelligent information retrieval and dissemination to desired destination node. The proposed frame work combines three major concern areas in WSNs i.e. data aggregation, information retrieval and data dissemination in a single scenario. In the proposed framework data aggregation is responsible for combining information from all nodes and removing the redundant data. Information retrieval filters the processed data to obtain final information termed as intelligent data to be disseminated to the required destination node.
Plasma Antioxidant Activity as a Marker for a Favourable Outcome in Acute Ischemic Stroke

© 2012 Sapojnikova et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Plasma Antioxidant Activity as a Marker for a Favourable Outcome in Acute Ischemic Stroke
Detection of a changepoint, a mean-shift accompanied with a trend change, in short time-series with autocorrelation

ABSTRACT In this study, a changepoint model, which can detect either a mean shift or a trend change when accounting for autocorrelation in short time-series, was investigated with simulations and a new method is proposed. The changepoint hypotheses were tested using a likelihood ratio test. The test statistic does not follow a known distribution and depends on the length of the time-series and the autocorrelation. The results imply that it is not possible to detect autocorrelation and that the estimate of the autocorrelation parameter is biased. It is therefore recommended to use critical values from the empirical distribution for a fixed autocorrelation.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors Important to Manual Therapy Competency Development: A Delphi Investigation

Abstract A learner's development of orthopaedic manual physical therapy (OMPT) psychomotor skills may be influenced by selected intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The purposes of this study were to identify the factors that influence learners' development of manual physical therapy competencies and to define each factor as intrinsic or extrinsic. A 3-round Delphi method survey and a retrospective review of the data were used to develop composite scores and rankings. Eighty manual physical therapy educators participated in the 3 rounds. Thirty-six factor descriptor statements associated with manual physical therapy competency were established and further categorized as intrinsic (19 total), extrinsic (10 total), or conceptual outliers (7 total). Cognitive Processing ranked as the most important factor influencing manual physical therapy competency development. Adaptation ranked second, followed by Science Knowledge. This study is the first to establish manual physical therapy educational factors associated with attainment of competency. The majority of the factors distill into the theory of extrinsic and intrinsic factors identified by Schmidt and Lee. The outcomes of this study identify the factors to which OMPT educators should give particular attention when developing and executing the learning experiences for their learners.