Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gamma Irradiation Can Be Used To Inactivate Bacillus anthracis Spores without Compromising the Sensitivity of Diagnostic Assays

ABSTRACT The use of Bacillus anthracis as a biological weapon in 2001 heightened awareness of the need for validated methods for the inactivation of B. anthracis spores. This study determined the gamma irradiation dose for inactivating virulent B. anthracis spores in suspension and its effects on real-time PCR and antigen detection assays. Strains representing eight genetic groups of B. anthracis were exposed to gamma radiation, and it was found that subjecting spores at a concentration of 107 CFU/ml to a dose of 2.5 × 106 rads resulted in a 6-log-unit reduction of spore viability. TaqMan real-time PCR analysis of untreated versus irradiated Ames strain (K1694) spores showed that treatment significantly enhanced the detection of B. anthracis chromosomal DNA targets but had no significant effect on the ability to detect targets on the pXO1 and pXO2 plasmids of B. anthracis. When analyzed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), irradiation affected the detection of B. anthracis spores in a direct ELISA but had no effect on the limit of detection in a sandwich ELISA. The results of this study showed that gamma irradiation-inactivated spores can be tested by real-time PCR or sandwich ELISA without decreasing the sensitivity of either type of assay. Furthermore, the results suggest that clinical and public health laboratories which test specimens for B. anthracis could potentially incorporate gamma irradiation into sample processing protocols without compromising the sensitivity of the B. anthracis assays.
GLUCOCORTICOIDS REGULATE ADRENAL OPIATE PEPTIDES

Glucocorticoids regulate sympathoadrenal catecholamine (CA) biosynthesis. We determined whether co-localized adrenal opiate peptides are also subject to hormonal control. Adrenal cortical destruction (mitotane) decreased baseline leuenkephalin (LEU) levels in vivo by 38% (p<0.05). To examine cellular mechanisms, rat medullae were grown as explants in glucocorticoid deficient medium. LEU levels start low then increase in a dose-dependent fashion following corticosterone replacement (zero to 10−5 M) . Effects of glucocorticoids could be blocked by alkylating (CM-21, DM-21) or non-alkylating (cortexolone) receptor antagonists added to corticosterene containing medium. Moreover, inhibition of glucocorticoid receptor translocation to the nucleus ( cytochalasin B) also blocked the hormone effect. In addition, a 13 out of 17 nucleic acid match for a putative glucocorticoid receptor binding site was identified in intron A of the rat preproenkephalin genome. These observations are consistent with dual hormonal, and transsynaptic regulation (La Gamma, et al PNAS 82:8252, 1985) of opiate biosynthetic processes. Therefore, similar to CA, LEU exhibits significant transmitter plasticity which may serve an adaptive role in modulating complex biochemical and behavioral responses (eg. during stress or development) with exquisite precision. Supported in part by the American Heart Association.
Purification and characterization of protein kinase C epsilon from rabbit brain.

Protein kinase C epsilon was chromatographically purified from rabbit brain to electrophoretic homogeneity. We identified the enzyme as the epsilon species of novel-type protein kinase C (nPKC epsilon), originally discovered and defined by cDNA cloning [Ohno, S. , et al. (1988) Cell 53, 731-741], on the basis of the following observations: (i) the enzyme reacts specifically with an antipeptidic antiserum to nPKC epsilon but not with antisera to any of the other molecular species of PKC thus far known; (ii) it exhibits enzymatic behavior essentially identical to that of a recombinant nPKC epsilon purified from transfected COS cells [Konno, Y. , et al. (1989) J. Biochem. 106, 673-678] and distinct from that of conventional PKC (alpha, beta I/II, and gamma) in its dependence on magnesium concentration and cofactors such as phospholipids, calcium, and phorbol ester; and (iii) it has an apparent molecular weight of 95.7K +/- 0.4K on SDS-PAGE, significantly greater than the other conventional and novel PKCs thus far identified. Notably, calcium exhibits a complex effect, both positive and negative, on the kinase activity of epsilon depending on the kind of substrate and the coexisting phospholipid, calling for a modification of the current notion that epsilon is a kinase unresponsive to calcium. The amount of epsilon species in the brain was estimated to be comparable to that of each conventional species, indicating that epsilon stands as one of the major PKC family members in brain. Furthermore, the enzyme shows a broader substrate spectrum than conventional PKC when examined with endogenous substrates, implying that it may cover a wider or different range of physiological functions. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Protective effect of CRHR1 gene variants on the development of adult depression following childhood maltreatment: replication and extension.

CONTEXT A previous study reported a gene x environment interaction in which a haplotype in the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 gene (CRHR1) was associated with protection against adult depressive symptoms in individuals who were maltreated as children (as assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire [CTQ]). OBJECTIVE To replicate the interaction between childhood maltreatment and a TAT haplotype formed by rs7209436, rs110402, and rs242924 in CRHR1, predicting adult depression. DESIGN Two prospective longitudinal cohort studies. SETTING England and New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS Participants in the first sample were women in the E-Risk Study (N = 1116), followed up to age 40 years with 96% retention. Participants in the second sample were men and women in the Dunedin Study (N = 1037), followed up to age 32 years with 96% retention. Main Outcome Measure Research diagnoses of past-year and recurrent major depressive disorder. RESULTS In the E-Risk Study, the TAT haplotype was associated with a significant protective effect. In this effect, women who reported childhood maltreatment on the CTQ were protected against depression. In the Dunedin Study, which used a different type of measure of maltreatment, this finding was not replicated. CONCLUSIONS A haplotype in CRHR1 has been suggested to exert a protective effect against adult depression among research participants who reported maltreatment on the CTQ, a measure that elicits emotional memories. This suggests the hypothesis that CRHR1's protective effect may relate to its function in the consolidation of memories of emotionally arousing experiences.
Structural, Kinetic and Proteomic Characterization of Acetyl Phosphate-Dependent Bacterial Protein Acetylation

The emerging view of Nε-lysine acetylation in eukaryotes is of a relatively abundant post-translational modification (PTM) that has a major impact on the function, structure, stability and/or location of thousands of proteins involved in diverse cellular processes. This PTM is typically considered to arise by the donation of the acetyl group from acetyl-coenzyme A (acCoA) to the ε-amino group of a lysine residue that is reversibly catalyzed by lysine acetyltransferases and deacetylases. Here, we provide genetic, mass spectrometric, biochemical and structural evidence that Nε-lysine acetylation is an equally abundant and important PTM in bacteria. Applying a recently developed, label-free and global mass spectrometric approach to an isogenic set of mutants, we detected acetylation of thousands of lysine residues on hundreds of Escherichia coli proteins that participate in diverse and often essential cellular processes, including translation, transcription and central metabolism. Many of these acetylations were regulated in an acetyl phosphate (acP)-dependent manner, providing compelling evidence for a recently reported mechanism of bacterial Nε-lysine acetylation. These mass spectrometric data, coupled with observations made by crystallography, biochemistry, and additional mass spectrometry showed that this acP-dependent acetylation is both non-enzymatic and specific, with specificity determined by the accessibility, reactivity and three-dimensional microenvironment of the target lysine. Crystallographic evidence shows acP can bind to proteins in active sites and cofactor binding sites, but also potentially anywhere molecules with a phosphate moiety could bind. Finally, we provide evidence that acP-dependent acetylation can impact the function of critical enzymes, including glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, triosephosphate isomerase, and RNA polymerase.
Dynamics effects within a regional system : an empirical approach 1

This paper focuses on the dynamic effects under which the regional economic growth processes are accomplished, breaking them down into two broad types: neighborhood and economy-wide effects. By means of a proposed dynamic space-time empirical model, the competition structure within a multi-regional economic system is developed. Co-integration/error correction modeling techniques are used to support the existence of this competition structure over both the shortand long-term. As an application, we show the dynamic effects on the evolution of the regional performance of Spanish regions over the period 1972-2000. Our results indicate that some macroeconomic forces are operating through time into this Spanish system since positive and negative effects are detected at both economy-wide and neighborhood levels. Further, the findings show that a new taxonomy of the Spanish regions could provide some guidance for the development of appropriate measures for regional economic policy.
Risk Factors for Injury Among Japanese Collegiate Players of American Football Based on Performance Test Results

Abstract Iguchi, J, Watanabe, Y, Kimura, M, Fujisawa, Y, Hojo, T, Yuasa, Y, Higashi, S, and Kuzuhara, K. Risk factors for injury among Japanese collegiate players of American football based on performance test results. J Strength Cond Res 30(12): 3405–3411, 2016—The purpose of this study was to identify how risk factors for injury during American football are related to players' physical strength as determined using typical performance tests. One hundred 53 Japanese collegiate players of American football were recruited for this study. Eight potential risk factors were evaluated: position (skill vs. lineman), body mass index, back squat one-repetition maximum, vertical jump height, power, height, body weight, and previous injury. Using multivariate Cox regression, we examined how these factors were associated with knee sprain, ankle sprain, and hamstring strain. We recorded 63 injuries (17 knee sprains, 23 ankle sprains, and 23 hamstring strains). Players with higher power were at significantly greater risk for knee sprains (p = 0.04), those with low power had a significantly higher incidence of ankle sprain (p = 0.01), and vertical jump height was a significant predictor of hamstring strain (p = 0.02). We identified several independent predictors of injuries associated with American football. Our findings may contribute to the development of effective screening tests and prevention exercises.
Statistical Traffic Properties and Model Inference for Shared Cache Interface in Multi-Core CPUs

The general-purpose networks-on-chip (GP-NoC) has recently attracted the attention of the research and industry as a way to support the growing demands of computing systems. The design and the development of the communications and networking functions for such a large-scale versatile systems require knowledge of the traffic exchanged between the computing nodes. The object of the study in this paper is the last-level shared cache interface that is likely to be a traffic bottleneck in future GP-NoC architectures. First, using the direct measurements, we report on the stochastic traffic properties at large-scales, provide first two moments and distribution functions. Complementing measurements with fine-grained cycle-accurate CPU simulations, we then analyze the small-scale traffic behavior. We show that even for the simplest applications such as reading or writing of data, the nature of the traffic is stochastic, depends on the number of active cores, and irrespective of the application type, has an explicit batch structure. We further reveal that the batch sizes and inter-batch intervals can be well approximated by geometric distribution and the approximation becomes better when the number of active cores increases. These properties identify a simple arrival model that can be used in the analytical or simulation-based performance evaluation studies of the shared interface technologies in prospective NoCs.
Bats: Important Reservoir Hosts of Emerging Viruses

SUMMARY Bats (order Chiroptera, suborders Megachiroptera [“flying foxes”] and Microchiroptera) are abundant, diverse, and geographically widespread. These mammals provide us with resources, but their importance is minimized and many of their populations and species are at risk, even threatened or endangered. Some of their characteristics (food choices, colonial or solitary nature, population structure, ability to fly, seasonal migration and daily movement patterns, torpor and hibernation, life span, roosting behaviors, ability to echolocate, virus susceptibility) make them exquisitely suitable hosts of viruses and other disease agents. Bats of certain species are well recognized as being capable of transmitting rabies virus, but recent observations of outbreaks and epidemics of newly recognized human and livestock diseases caused by viruses transmitted by various megachiropteran and microchiropteran bats have drawn attention anew to these remarkable mammals. This paper summarizes information regarding chiropteran characteristics and information regarding 66 viruses that have been isolated from bats. From these summaries, it is clear that we do not know enough about bat biology; we are doing too little in terms of bat conservation; and there remain a multitude of questions regarding the role of bats in disease emergence.
Vision-based computation of three-finger grasps on unknown planar objects

This paper presents an implemented vision-based strategy for computing three-finger stable grasps on unknown planar objects. Its only input is an image of a real unknown curved object instead of synthetic polygonal models. Grasp regions are identified for achieving tolerance around contact points so that errors in finger positioning as well as a finite finger size are considered. It can find expanding and squeezing grasps involving internal and external regions, including holes. Theoretical constraints for force-closure are met while assuring robustness and real-time performance under real-world conditions.
Affinity of the interaction between Fc gamma receptor type III (Fc gammaRIII) and monomeric human IgG subclasses. Role of Fc gammaRIII glycosylation.

Binding of the Fc region of IgG antibodies to low affinity Fc gamma receptors (Fc gammaR) triggers important effector functions in the immune system. The type IIIb Fc gammaR (Fc gammaRIIIb or CD16) is a heavily glycosylated protein anchored to the membrane of neutrophils by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol link. This receptor contributes to cell activation by IgG immune complexes. To better understand the nature of the ligand-receptor association, we have studied the affinity and kinetics of the interaction between human IgG subclasses and two soluble forms of Fc gammaRIIIb (sFc gammaRIIIb or sCD16) corresponding to the 188 N-terminal amino acids of the extracellular region of the receptor, a glycosylated one made in eucaryotic cells (euc.sCD16) and a non-glycosylated one (proc.sCD16) made in Escherichia coli. Experiments using a BIAcore instrument, to measure protein binding in real time, showed that monomeric human IgG1 and IgG3, but not IgG2, IgG4, IgA and divalent antigen-binding fragments (F(ab')2) of IgG1, bound to immobilized euc.sCD16 with an affinity constant (K(A)) of 1.3 +/- 0.6 x 10(6) M(-1) and 2.6 +/- 0.4 x 10(5) M(-1), respectively. The affinity constant of proc.sCD16 for human IgG1 was in the same range (1.1 +/- 0.2 x 10(6) M(-1)), whereas that for human IgG3 was twofold higher (4.2 +/- 0.4 x 10(5) M(-1)). The specificity of the non-glycosylated receptor for human IgG subclasses bound to Sepharose was IgG1 > IgG3 >> IgG4 >>> IgG2. Thus, the extracellular polypeptide of Fc gammaRIIIb dictates the interaction of the receptor with IgG subclasses although glycosylation plays an inhibitory role in the interaction with human IgG3.
Pediatric tuberculosis in Alberta: epidemiology and case characteristics (1990-2004).

BACKGROUND Pediatric tuberculosis (TB) is important medically and indicative of a public health problem. An understanding of the epidemiology and case characteristics of pediatric TB, in a province that accepts large numbers of immigrants, can inform TB elimination strategy. METHODS All cases of pediatric TB notified in Alberta between 1990 and 2004 were identified in the TB Registry. Individual diagnostic criteria were reviewed and case patients were related to a population grid derived from Statistics Canada censuses and population estimates of Status Indians from the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, Canada. Incidence rates were determined by ethnic group and gender. Clinical/mycobacteriologic case characteristics were compared by ethnic group and birth country. RESULTS Among 124 notified cases, 95 (96 episodes) met strict diagnostic criteria: 45 Status Indians, 30 Canadian-born 'other' and 21 foreign-born. Incidence rates were much higher in Status Indians and the foreign-born compared to the Canadian-born 'other'; 10.7, 5.4, and 0.4 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Among Canadian-born 'other' cases, 12 were Métis and 11 were Canadian-born children of foreign-born parents. Compared to foreign-born cases, Canadian-born cases were more likely to have a source case in Alberta, to be detected through contact tracing, to have primary pulmonary TB, and to have a rural address. CONCLUSION Pediatric TB in Alberta is mainly the result of ongoing transmission in Aboriginal peoples and immigration to Canada of persons with latent TB infection. The elimination of pediatric TB will require interruption of transmission in Aboriginal peoples and prevention of disease in immigrants.
SWEBoK Evolution: A CSEE&T 2017 Panel Session

The IEEE Computer Society's Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBoK) has been an authoritative basis for software engineering since 2004. It also has served as a foundation for other developments including curriculum development, training, software engineering competence definitions, and licensing and certification. SWEBoK is current being updated through the SWEBoK Evolution effort. This panel session will provide an update and status of the SWEBoK Evolution and its related efforts.
Self-Directed Creativity in Web 2.0-Based Online Communities： Research Model and Exploratory Study

Web 2.0-based online communities and social networking platforms in particular are enabling users to create their own content, share this content with anyone they invite and organize connections with existing or new online contacts. The underlying processes are selfdirected and represent a valuable source for creativity and innovation – especially outside firms‟ boundaries. The basis for our research in progress is a framework which focuses on the relations between intrinsic motivation, creativity and Web 2.0-based online communities or social networking platforms. First results of our exploratory empirical investigation of a specific social networking platform suggest that our two propositions are valid.
Larger foraminifera of the Devil's Den and Blue Hole sinkholes, Florida

Abstract. Shallow-water carbonate deposits are well-known from the Eocene of the US Gulf Coast and Caribbean. These deposits frequently contain abundant larger benthic foraminifera (LBF). However, whilst integrated stratigraphic studies have helped to refine the timing of LBF overturning events within the Tethys and Indo-Pacific regions with respect to global bio- and chemo-stratigraphic records, little recent work has been carried out in the Americas. The American LBF assemblages are distinctly different from those of Europe and the Indo-Pacific. It is therefore essential that the American bio-province is included in studies of LBF evolution, biodiversity and climate events to understand these processes on a global scale. Here we present the LBF ranges from two previously unpublished sections spanning 35 and 29 m of the upper Eocene Ocala limestone, as the early stages of a larger project addressing the taxonomy and biostratigraphy of the LBF of Florida. The study indicates that the lower member of the Ocala limestone may be Bartonian rather than Priabonian in age, with implications for the biostratigraphy of the region. In addition, the study highlights the need for multiple sites to assess the LBF assemblages and fully constrain ranges across Florida and the US Gulf and suggests potential LBF events for future integrated stratigraphic study.
Optimization of transconjugation and characterization of attB integration site for Streptomyces cinnamoneus producing transglutaminase

An effective transformation method for molecular genetic studies of Streptomyces cinnamoneus producing transglutaminase was established using intergeneric conjugal transfer based on the bacteriophage ϕC31 att/int system. The high efficiency of S. cinnamoneus transconjugation was obtained on mannitol soya flour medium containing 50 mM MgCl2, using 2.5 × 108Escherichia coli as donor and spores treated with heat treatment at 35°C for 10 min as host. By cloning and sequencing the attB integration site, a single attB site within an open reading frame coding for a pirin homologue was located in S. cinnamoneus genome. Its sequence exhibited the highest degree of sequence similarity with that of Streptomyces clavuligerus. These results provide sufficient efficiency to enable conjugal transfer of genetic elements for S. cinnamoneus, and also should facilitate molecular genetic studies for improvement in production ability of transglutaminase used in food industry.
Solid-State Power Systems for Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Processing

Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing disinfects liquid foods and water. The process kills pathogenic cells by rupturing their cell membranes with short, high voltage pulses. PEF processing can also improve the performance of industrial processes such as the removal of water from sludge, or the extraction of sugars and starches from plants, because the ruptured cells release their intracellular liquids more easily into their surroundings. Though PEF systems are based on conventional pulsed power technology, they present a very different set of challenges in meeting the requirements of specific biological applications. For example, while most pulsed power specifications are based on voltage, current, and power requirements, PEF systems typically start with a desired field strength, flow rate, and range of fluid conductivities. Translating these parameters into a pulsed power system design can be a challenging process. In this paper, DTI will discuss the interrelationships between pulsed power and PEF processing, and present examples of system designs and configurations.