Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SPK1 is an essential S-phase-specific gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that encodes a nuclear serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase

SPK1 was originally discovered in an immunoscreen for tyrosine-protein kinases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We have used biochemical and genetic techniques to investigate the function of this gene and its encoded protein. Hybridization of an SPK1 probe to an ordered genomic library showed that SPK1 is adjacent to PEP4 (chromosome XVI L). Sporulation of spk1/+ heterozygotes gave rise to spk1 spores that grew into microcolonies but could not be further propagated. These colonies were greatly enriched for budded cells, especially those with large buds. Similarly, eviction of CEN plasmids bearing SPK1 from cells with a chromosomal SPK1 disruption yielded viable cells with only low frequency. Spk1 protein was identified by immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting. It was associated with protein-Ser, Thr, and Tyr kinase activity in immune complex kinase assays. Spk1 was localized to the nucleus by immunofluorescence. The nucleotide sequence of the SPK1 5' noncoding region revealed that SPK1 contains two MluI cell cycle box elements. These elements confer S-phase-specific transcription to many genes involved in DNA synthesis. Northern (RNA) blotting of synchronized cells verified that the SPK1 transcript is coregulated with other MluI box-regulated genes. The SPK1 upstream region also includes a domain highly homologous to sequences involved in induction of RAD2 and other excision repair genes by agents that induce DNA damage. spk1 strains were hypersensitive to UV irradiation. Taken together, these findings indicate that SPK1 is a dual-specificity (Ser/Thr and Tyr) protein kinase that is essential for viability. The cell cycle-dependent transcription, presence of DNA damage-related sequences, requirement for UV resistance, and nuclear localization of Spk1 all link this gene to a crucial S-phase-specific role, probably as a positive regulator of DNA synthesis.
Heterogeneous Behavior, Obesity, and Storability in the Demand for Soft Drinks

&NA; We apply a dynamic estimation procedure to investigate the effect of obesity on the demand for soda. The dynamic model accounts for consumers’ storing behavior, and allows us to study soda consumers’ price sensitivity (how responsive consumers are to the overall price) and sale sensitivity (the fraction of consumers that store soda during temporary price reductions). By matching store‐level purchase data to county‐level data on obesity incidence, we find higher sale sensitivity in populations with higher obesity rates. Conversely, we find that storers are less price sensitive than non‐storers, and that their price sensitivity decreases with the obesity rate. Our results suggest that policies aimed at increasing soda prices might be less effective than previously thought, especially in areas where consumers can counteract that price increase by stockpiling during sale periods; according to our results, this dampening effect would be more pronounced precisely in those areas with higher obesity rates.
Reliability assessment of a wind integrated hydro-thermal power system

Wind energy has received widespread public support, and as a result, wind power penetration in electric power systems is increasing rapidly. The risks associated with maintaining the short-term power balance as well as long-term supply continuity can increase significantly with increase in wind power penetration due to the uncertainty in power fluctuations from wind sources. The operation of different types of generating units requires proper coordination to minimize the operating risks and to increase the utilization of wind energy. Such coordination can however significantly affect the long-term system adequacy. This paper presents reliability models in Monte Carlo simulation that incorporate coordination between thermal, hydro and wind energy sources, and can be used to evaluate renewable energy usage and the long-term system reliability. The method is applied to the IEEE Reliability Test System to assess the impact of generating unit coordination on the system adequacy and the amount of wind and hydro energy utilization. The impact of coordination on system reliability and water usage are investigated considering reservoir limitations, varying wind penetration, and wind regimes.
Distributed coding for OFDM-based transmission in cooperative broadcast networks

In this paper, we propose a distributed turbo-like coding scheme for wireless broadcast networks with relays. We first consider a scenario where a base station communicates with a mobile station with the help of a relay. The relay decodes the information from the base station and it re-encodes it to generate some extra redundancy, which is transmitted to the mobile station. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission is considered where the available bandwidth is divided into a total number of subcarriers allocated between the base station and the relays. The proposed scheme achieves a significant gain with respect to the non-cooperation case. Furthermore, we extend the proposed system to a two-relay scenario where two relays assist the transmission between the base station and the mobile station. Single frequency network (SFN)-like transmission is used at the relays, i.e., the relays are allocated the same subcarriers, in order to efficiently exploit the radio spectrum.
Biodegradable vs non-biodegradable antibiotic delivery devices in the treatment of osteomyelitis

Introduction: Chronic osteomyelitis, or bone infection, is a major worldwide cause of morbidity and mortality, as it is exceptionally hard to treat due to patient and pathogen-associated factors. Successful treatment requires surgical debridement together with long-term, high antibiotic concentrations that are best achieved by local delivery devices, either made of degradable or non-degradable materials. Areas covered: Non-degradable delivery devices are frequently constituted by polymethylmethacrylate-based carriers. Drawbacks are the need to remove the carrier (as the carrier itself may provide a substratum for bacterial colonization), inefficient release kinetics and incompatibility with certain antibiotics. These drawbacks have led to the quest for degradable alternatives, but also devices made of biodegradable calcium sulphate, collagen sponges, calcium phosphate or polylactic acids have their specific disadvantages. Expert opinion: Antibiotic treatment of osteomyelitis with the current degradable and non-degradable delivery devices is effective in the majority of cases. Degradable carriers have an advantage over non-degradable carriers that they do not require surgical removal. Synthetic poly(trimethylene carbonate) may be preferred in the future over currently approved lactic/glycolic acids, because it does not yield acidic degradation products. Moreover, degradable poly(trimethylene carbonate) yields a zero-order release kinetics that may not stimulate development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains due to the absence of long-term, low-concentration tail-release.
Neuronal Locus Specificity: Altered Pattern of Spatial Deployment in Fused Fragments of Embryonic Xenopus Eyes

Before optic nerve outgrowth in Xenopus laevis embryos, a change of state occurs in the differentiating retinal cell population which renders the cells refractory to information about subsequent changes in their positions, and commits individual ganglion cells to develop specific position-dependent properties (locus specificities) which subserve the formation of orderly retinotopic connections in the optic tectum. When different parts of eye primordia from stages before optic nerve outgrowth are fused, each piece in such a reconstructed eye does not generate ganglion cells with the partial-set of locus specificities normally arising from that region of the intact eye. It is inferred that separate parts of the early embryonic retina do not contain stable programs for spatial deployment of locus specificity, and that development of definitive locus specificities in retinal ganglion cells requires additional cellular interactions among the retinal cells later in development.
Bax and Bak proteins require caspase activity to trigger apoptosis in sympathetic neurons

WE show that the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and Bak trigger apoptosis when over-expressed in sympathetic neurons cultured in the presence of NGF. This effect can be blocked with z-VAD-fmk, a peptide inhibitor of caspases, but not with anti-apoptotic chemical compounds such as antioxidants or proteasome inhibitors. These results demonstrate that in sympathetic neurons Bax and Bak are sufficient to induce apoptosis in the absence of any other apparent cell death stimulus and that their effect is mediated by caspases but does not require reactive oxygen species nor activity of the proteasome.
Implementation of enhanced recovery after surgery ( ERAS ) in laparoscopic left lateral hepatectomy on hepatocellular carcinoma patients : necessary or not ?

In this study, we aim to determine the application of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in single incision and multiple ports laparoscopic hepatectomy. Ninety-five patients undergoing laparoscopic left lateral hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were included and divided into three groups: pre-MPH group (n=35), received pre-ERAS multiple ports procedures; SPE group (n=27), received single port ERAS procedures; MPE group (n=33) received multiple ports ERAS procedures. Outcomes were compared in terms of operative related outcomes, liver functional recovery, postoperative complications, hospital stay, hospitalization expense and readmissions. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of complication (P=0.601), hospital stay (P=0.645) and total cost (P=0.297) between pre-MPH group and MPE group. No readmission was noticed within 30 days after surgery in each group. No significant differences were observed in blood loss (P=0.086), resection margin (P=1.000) and mobility rate (P=0.425) between SPE group and MPE group. The operation time was shorter in the patients received single port surgery compared to these received multiple ports surgery (P=0.032). The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were increased on day 1 after surgery, and decreased to normal level on day 5 in the three groups. ERAS programs might be not necessary for patients underwent laparoscopic left lateral hepatectomy. The perioperative outcomes are similar between multiple ports and single port laparoscopic left lateral hepatectomy.
Tat-Vaccinated Macaques Do Not Control Simian Immunodeficiency Virus SIVmac239 Replication

ABSTRACT The regulatory proteins of human immunodeficiency virus may represent important vaccine targets. Here we assessed the role of Tat-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in controlling pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmac239 replication after using a DNA-prime, vaccinia virus Ankara-boost vaccine regimen. Despite the induction of Tat-specific CTL, there was no significant reduction in either peak or viral set point compared to that of controls.
A compact low-power 3D I/O in 45nm CMOS

Three-dimensional (3D) silicon integration technology, featuring thinned die-to die bonding and through-silicon-via (TSV) interconnections, enables dense local chip-to-chip interconnect. With potentially thousands of multi-Gb/s I/O, sup port for tens of Tb/s data bandwidth between local chips can be enabled by 3D integration technology, but this ultra-high bandwidth will only be achieved if area and power efficiency challenges for 3D I/O are met. Because 3D interconnect offers reduced loading and hence improved signal integrity as compared to tra ditional inter-chip channels, 3D cross-chip I/O does not require complex, power hungry equalization schemes. Reduced swing approaches offer a path to further power reduction for 3D I/O, but the receivers for low-swing schemes are typically complex and consume large area and power. This paper addresses this problem, presenting a compact, low-power 3D cross-chip I/O composed of a low-swing Tx and a gated-diode sense-amplifier-based Rx.
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coliO157:H7 Produces Tir, Which Is Translocated to the Host Cell Membrane but Is Not Tyrosine Phosphorylated

ABSTRACT Intimate attachment to the host cell leading to the formation of attaching and effacing (A/E) lesions is an essential feature of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 pathogenesis. In a related pathogen, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), this activity is dependent upon translocation of the intimin receptor, Tir, which becomes tyrosine phosphorylated within the host cell membrane. In contrast, the accumulation of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins beneath adherent EHEC bacteria does not occur, leading to questions about whether EHEC uses a Tir-based mechanism for adherence and A/E lesion formation. In this report, we demonstrate that EHEC produces a functional Tir that is inserted into host cell membranes, where it serves as an intimin receptor. However, unlike in EPEC, in EHEC Tir is not tyrosine phosphorylated yet plays a key role in both bacterial adherence to epithelial cells and pedestal formation. EHEC, but not EPEC, was unable to synthesize Tir in Luria-Bertani medium but was able to secrete Tir into M9 medium, suggesting that Tir synthesis and secretion may be regulated differently in these two pathogens. EHEC Tir and EPEC Tir both bind intimin and focus cytoskeletal rearrangements, indicating that tyrosine phosphorylation is not needed for pedestal formation. EHEC and EPEC intimins are functionally interchangeable, but EHEC Tir shows a much greater affinity for EHEC intimin than for EPEC intimin. These findings highlight some of the differences and similarities between EHEC and EPEC virulence mechanisms, which can be exploited to further define the molecular basis of pedestal formation.
Chemokines in autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and insulin-dependent diabetes (IDD) are believed to be mediated by pathogenic CD4+ autoreactive T cells which mediate selective destruction of specific host cells. Interrupting the trafficking of such T cells from host circulation to the sites of pathology, such as the central nervous system in the case of MS and the pancreas in the case of IDD, potentially offers a novel opportunity for therapeutic intervention in these diseases. The following summarizes our evolving thoughts on the role of the chemokine network in MS and IDD, and focuses on the chemokine receptor CXCR3 as a potential target for impeding T-cell-mediated destruction in these disease settings.
The Polysialyltransferases Interact with Sequences in Two Domains of the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule to Allow Its Polysialylation*

Background: Recognition of the protein substrate is the first step in polysialylation of its glycans. Results: Residues in the OCAM Ig5 domain are non-permissive for its polysialylation. Conclusion: The polysialyltransferases interact with residues in both the Ig5 and FN1 domains of NCAM to allow its polysialylation. Significance: A two-domain polysialyltransferase recognition site may be required for all polysialylated proteins. The neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is the major substrate for the polysialyltransferases (polySTs), ST8SiaII/STX and ST8SiaIV/PST. The polysialylation of NCAM N-glycans decreases cell adhesion and alters signaling. Previous work demonstrated that the first fibronectin type III repeat (FN1) of NCAM is required for polyST recognition and the polysialylation of the N-glycans on the adjacent Ig5 domain. In this work, we highlight the importance of an FN1 acidic patch in polyST recognition and also reveal that the polySTs are required to interact with sequences in the Ig5 domain for polysialylation to occur. We find that features of the Ig5 domain of the olfactory cell adhesion molecule (OCAM) are responsible for its lack of polysialylation. Specifically, two basic OCAM Ig5 residues (Lys and Arg) found near asparagines equivalent to those carrying the polysialylated N-glycans in NCAM substantially decrease or eliminate polysialylation when used to replace the smaller and more neutral residues (Ser and Asn) in analogous positions in NCAM Ig5. This decrease in polysialylation does not reflect altered glycosylation but instead is correlated with a decrease in polyST-NCAM binding. In addition, inserting non-conserved OCAM sequences into NCAM Ig5, including an “extra” N-glycosylation site, decreases or completely blocks NCAM polysialylation. Taken together, these results indicate that the polySTs not only recognize an acidic patch in the FN1 domain of NCAM but also must contact sequences in the Ig5 domain for polysialylation of Ig5 N-glycans to occur.
Stem cells for repair of the heart

Purpose of review Stem cell therapy for treatment of cardiac disease has shown therapeutic potential. Recent findings A number of stem and progenitor populations have been identified for potential use in cardiac repair. Each possesses a unique potency that justifies consideration for use. Autologous, unfractionated bone marrow cells or skeletal myoblasts were used in early clinical trails to evaluate reparative effects on recent or record infarcts. In each case, evidence of limited improvement in cardiac function was obtained. Myoblast grafts were unexpectedly correlated with arrhythmias, thereby identifying a safety issue. The small number of patients and the lack of randomized control groups preclude conclusions regarding efficacy. Randomized controlled, intermediate-sized, double-blind clinical trials must be undertaken to this end. Summary Cellular therapy may be useful in the treatment of cardiac disease in adults. Appropriate adaptations to meet unique requirements for treatment of pediatric cardiovascular disease may be required. Bone marrow and skeletal myoblasts do not promote true tissue regeneration in spite of observed functional improvement. Trials using cells possessing true potential for (trans)differentiation may elucidate the potential and value of this therapy as a reparative modality. Development of optimal strategies for targeted delivery consistent with pathobiology is of exception clinical relevance.
Earthquake Response and Psychosocial Health Outcomes: Applying Lessons From Integrating Systems of Care and Recovery to Haiti

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Haiti, affecting approximately 3.5 million people. As of this writing, information about casualty figures is provisional; however, reports indicate potentially more than 100 000 have died, and an even greater number are homeless with destruction of critical infrastructure, including basic utilities, transportation, communication, and health.1 The psychological consequences of this event will be significant, and perhaps by examining previous disasters we can apply evidence-based interventions to ensure a comprehensive and integrated response to Haiti.
A CDN-P2P hybrid architecture with content/location awareness for live streaming service networks

Hybrid architecture of content delivery network (CDN) and peer-to-peer (P2P) is a promising network technology enabling effective real-time streaming services. It complements the advantages of quality control and reliability in CDN and the scalability in the P2P system. With real-time streaming services, however, high connection setup and media delivery latency are becoming the critical issues to deploy the CDN-P2P system. These issues result from biased peer selection without location awareness and content awareness and lead to significant service disruption. To reduce service disruption latency, we propose a group-based CDN-P2P hybrid architecture (G-CP2P), which is a location/content-aware peer selection. Specifically, a SuperPeer performs a location-aware peer selection by employing a content addressable network (CAN) to distribute channel information. It also manages peers with content awareness, forming a group of peers with the same channel as the sub-overlay. Through the performance evaluation, we prove that the proposed architecture has better performance than the original CDNP2P hybrid architecture in terms of connection setup delay and media delivery time.
Financial Sector Reforms and Economic Growth in Ghana: A Dynamic ARDL Model

This paper examines the relationship between financial sector reforms and sustainable economic growth in Ghana. Employing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach and using GDP per capita as a growth indicator, this paper establishes a long-run relationship between economic growth and financial reforms, which is represented by an index calculated using principal component analysis (PCA). The paper finds that in the long run, financial sector reforms have an insignificant impact on economic growth in Ghana. This supports numerous past studies that have reported mixed or inconclusive results on the effects of financial reforms on economic growth. The paper concludes that increase in capital stock, not financial sector policy reforms, affects economic growth in Ghana. This paper therefore recommends an increase and modernization of capital stock in order to promote real sector growth in Ghana.
Text2arff: A text representation library

Which features are the most important for the text classification tasks? In the automatic text categorization area, several studies seek answers to this question. In this paper, new version of Text2arff (a library for text representation) and its new features (word2vec, Word trajectories, etc.) are presented. Also, the software is now a java library which can be used in the user's own projects. In the experiments, the library is run on two sample datasets. The results show that the effect of text representation method is bigger than the classification method. This result also emphasizes the importance of developing new test representation methods.
Arp2/3 complex-independent actin regulatory function of WAVE.

We report that WAVE1/Scar1, a WASP-family protein that functions downstream of Rac in membrane ruffling, can induce part of the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton without Arp2/3 complex. WAVE1 has been reported to associate and activate Arp2/3 complex at its C-terminal region that is rich in acidic residues. The deletion of the acidic residues abolished the interaction with and the activation ability of Arp2/3 complex. The expression of the mutant WAVE1 lacking the acidic residues (DeltaA), however, induced actin-clustering in cells as the wild-type WAVE1 did. In addition, this actin-clustering could not be suppressed by the coexpression of the Arp2/3 complex-sequestering fragment (CA-region) derived from N-WASP, which clearly inhibits Rac-induced membrane ruffling. This study therefore demonstrates that WAVE1 reorganizes the actin cytoskeleton not only through Arp2/3 complex but also through another unidentified mechanism that may be important but has been neglected thus far.
Simultaneous echo refocusing in EPI

A method to encode multiple two‐dimensional Fourier transform (2D FT) images within a single echo train is presented. This new method, simultaneous echo refocusing (SER), is a departure from prior echo planar image (EPI) sequences which use repeated single‐shot echo trains for multislice imaging. SER simultaneously acquires multiple slices in a single‐shot echo train utilizing a shared refocusing process. The SER technique acquires data faster than conventional multislice EPI since it uses fewer gradient switchings and fewer preparation pulses such as diffusion gradients. SER introduces a new capability to simultaneously record multiple spatially separated sources of physiologic information in subsecond image acquisitions, which enables several applications that are dependent on temporal coherence in MRI data including velocity vector field mapping and brain activation mapping. Magn Reson Med 48:1–5, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.