Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A cowpox virus gene required for multiplication in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Cowpox virus, in contrast to vaccinia virus, can multiply in Chinese hamster ovary cells. To study the genetic basis for this difference in host range, recombinants between vaccinia and cowpox viruses were isolated and their DNA restriction patterns were examined. The ability to multiply in Chinese hamster ovary cells could be correlated with the conservation of cowpox virus sequences mapping at the left end of the genome. This was further demonstrated by marker rescue of the host range phenotype with restricted cowpox virus DNA. Marker rescue with cloned restriction fragments of decreasing size enabled the fine localization of the host range function to a 2.3-kilobase-pair fragment. Nucleotide sequencing revealed that the fragment encoded a single major polypeptide of approximately 77,000 daltons. It is suggested that the role of the host range gene from cowpox virus is to prevent the early and extensive shutoff of protein synthesis that normally occurs in Chinese hamster ovary cells infected by vaccinia virus.
Fiber supplements and clinically proven health benefits: How to recognize and recommend an effective fiber therapy

Abstract Background Only 5% of adults consume the recommended level of dietary fiber. Fiber supplements appear to be a convenient and concentrated source of fiber, but most do not provide the health benefits associated with dietary fiber. Purpose This review will summarize the physical effects of isolated fibers in small and large intestines, which drive clinically meaningful health benefits. Data sources A comprehensive literature review was conducted (Scopus and PubMed) without limits to year of publication (latest date included: October 31, 2016). Conclusions The physical effects of fiber in the small intestine drive metabolic health effects (e.g., cholesterol lowering, improved glycemic control), and efficacy is a function of the viscosity of gel‐forming fibers (e.g., psyllium, β‐glucan). In the large intestine, fiber can provide a laxative effect if (a) it resists fermentation to remain intact throughout the large intestine, and (b) it increases percentage of water content to soften/bulk stool (e.g., wheat bran and psyllium). Implications for practice It is important for nurse practitioners to understand the underlying mechanisms that drive specific fiber‐related health benefits, and which fiber supplements have rigorous clinical data to support a recommendation. Clinical pearl For most fiber‐related beneficial effects, “Fiber needs to gel to keep your patients well. ”
Définition d'un protocole d'application STEP pour la simulation en électromagnétisme

L'usage de systemes de Conception Assistee par Ordinateur de plus en plus diversifies s'est generalise dans l'entreprise depuis le debut des annees 1970. Les echanges de donnees sont depuis lors devenus indispensables. La norme ISO 10303, dite STEP, est actuellement un pivot essentiel dans le-rapprochement de tels systemes. Ses ambitions sont de donner non seulement un modele de produit mais egalement une methodologie de modelisation, independante de l'evolution de l'informatique, de l'architecture des machines, et de l'evolution du produit lui-meme. Elle est constituee d'un ensemble de textes normalises, encore en cours de developpement pour la plupart, mais dont certains ont deja obtenu le statut de norme internationale et donc recu l'approbation d'un tres grand nombre de pays et d'industries. Le domaine de la simulation en Electromagnetisme ne figure pas encore parmi ceux couverts par STEP. Le but de ce travail est d'etudier l'interet et la possibilite d'utiliser cette methodologie pour definir une structure de donnees capable de decrire ce domaine. Le present document propose ainsi un modele de donnees relatif a la simulation par les elements finis en Magnetostatique et sa generalisation en Electromagnetisme ainsi que des applications logicielles developpees pour la mise en oeuvre du modele propose.
A simple elastic membrane‐based microfluidic chip for the proliferation and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells under tensile stress

This work presents a simple membrane‐based microfluidic chip for the investigation of proliferation and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) under mechanical stimuli. The cyclic tensile stress was generated by the deformation of elastic PDMS membrane sandwiched between the two layer microfluidic chip via actuated negative pressure, and the cultured MSCs on membrane were subjected to different orders of tensile stress. The results suggest that mechanical stimuli are attributed to the different phenomena of MSCs in cell proliferation and differentiation. The higher tensile stress (>3.5) promoted obvious proliferation, osteogenesis and reduced adipogenesis in MSCs, indicating the possible regulative role of tensile stress in modifying the osteogenesis/adipogenesis balance in the development of tissue organ.
Teachers’ Knowledge and Misconceptions of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Teachers can play a key role in identifying and supporting students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In order to fulfill this important role, it is imperative for teachers to have explicit knowledge about ADHD. The overall aim of this study is to investigate teachers’ knowledge and misconceptions of ADHD. Four hundred and twenty-nine (429) teachers participated. The Knowledge of Attention Deficit Disorder Scale (KADDS) along with a demographic questionnaire was used as the survey instruments to collect data. Descriptive statistics and correlation test were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that teachers’ knowledge of ADHD was insufficient. Teachers’ level of knowledge of ADHD was positively related to their prior training and experience with ADHD (i.e., the number of ADHD courses taken in college or graduate level, and the number of workshops pertaining to ADHD). Teachers’ level of knowledge of ADHD also correlated positively with their level of confidence in teaching a student with ADHD. In spite of a few limitations, the results of this study are valuable for identifying areas where there is a misperception or lack of knowledge among teachers.
Thyroid storm treated with intravenous methimazole in patients with gastrointestinal dysfunction.

A 27-year-old man, who had type 1 diabetes, presented with agitation, confusion, vomiting and faecal incontinence. There was an abscess on his right upper arm at an insulin injection site (temperature 38.5°C, pulse 140 per minute, and blood pressure 125/85 mmHg). Investigations included neutrophil count 13.6 ×109/litre, glucose 26 mmol/litre, pH 7.4, free thyroxine (T4)>77 pmol/litre (normal range (NR) 9–22.7), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) <0.01 mu/litre (NR 0.35–5). After sedation with haloperidol 15 mg intramuscularly, he was rehydrated with physiological saline and treated with intravenous (IV) cefotaxime 3 g three times daily, IV dexamethazone 2 mg twice daily, IV methimazole 15 mg two doses 8 hours apart (Favistan injection solution, Temmler Pharma, Marburg, Germany), labetolol 120 mg (infused over 1 hour twice daily), and an insulin infusion using up to 4 u/hour. After 24 hours there was a marked clinical improvement with resolution of his agitation and confusion and his pulse rate was normal (.
Olive Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) Ovipositional Preference and Larval Performance in Several Commercially Important Olive Varieties in California

Abstract The olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is an invasive pest of olives (Olea spp.) in the United States. The objectives of this study were to determine whether B. oleae exhibits ovipositional preference under California field conditions similar to that demonstrated in European populations and whether the resulting larvae fare better in preferred varieties. Female B. oleae exhibited strong ovipositional preference for certain varieties of the domesticated olive, Olea europaea L, and the resulting larvae performed better by some measures in preferred varieties than in lesser preferred varieties. Ovipositional preference was observed in the field from 2003 to 2005, and laboratory assays were conducted to evaluate larval performance in 2005 and 2006. Among the olive varieties tested, Sevillano, Manzanillo, and Mission olives were the most heavily infested during three consecutive years. The larval performance measurements used were pupal yield, pupal weight, larval developmental time, and pupal emergence time. Ovipositional preference and pupal yield do not seem associated. There were significant differences in pupal emergence time, but these also measures did not reflect ovipositional preference. Two measures on performance did seem related to ovipositional preference; there were significant effects of variety on pupal weight and larval developmental time. Pupae developing in Manzanillo and Sevillano olives were heavier than those developing in less preferred varieties, and larval developmental time was significantly shorter in Sevillano olives relative to the other varieties. Oviposition preference and enhanced larval performance has implications for the pest status of this invasive insect in California.
Constructing partnerships for protected area tourism planning in an era of change and messiness

Management of sustainable tourism in protected areas requires trade-offs between two goals: (1) protection of the key values that form the basis for preservation and (2) allowing access to visitors to enjoy and appreciate those values. These trade-offs occur within a context of lack of societal agreement on goals and lack of scientific agreement on the relationships between causes and effects; two conditions needed to identify and implement effective tourism management actions. While much tourism protected area planning has been dominated by a rational–comprehensive model, this approach is increasingly unsuccessful. In such “messy” contexts, partnerships are important tools in constructing the public interest, because they can provide the consensus and learning needed to develop and implement informed actions. Such partnerships do not just happen, they must be carefully engineered. Protected area tourism planning partnerships are characterized by certain attributes: representativeness, a sense of ownership, a learning focus and attention to relationships. However, these attributes are not easily attained, for they are facilitated by several contextual factors and processes such as trust, political and economic power and equitable access to knowledge.
Linearly Constrained Non-Lipschitz Optimization for Image Restoration

Nonsmooth nonconvex optimization models have been widely used in the restoration and reconstruction of real images. In this paper, we consider a linearly constrained optimization problem with a non-Lipschitz regularization term in the objective function which includes the $l_p$ norm ($0<p<1$) of the gradient of the underlying image in the $l_2$-$l_p$ problem as a special case. We prove that any cluster point of $\epsilon$ scaled first order stationary points satisfies a first order necessary condition for a local minimizer of the optimization problem as $\epsilon $ goes to $0$. We propose a smoothing quadratic regularization (SQR) method for solving the problem. At each iteration of the SQR algorithm, a new iterate is generated by solving a strongly convex quadratic problem with linear constraints. Moreover, we show that the SQR algorithm can find an $\epsilon$ scaled first order stationary point in at most $O(\epsilon^{-2})$ iterations from any starting point. Numerical examples are given to show good pe.
Una Generalización del Clasificador Naive Bayes para Usarse en Bases de Datos con Dependencia de Variables

Resumen. A pesar de la suposicion que hace sobre la independencia de variables, el Clasificador Naive Bayes es muy utilizado en Mineria de Datos y Aprendizaje Automatico debido principalmente a su relativa simpleza y robustez mostrados frente a gran cantidad de problemas. Al suponer una independencia de variables, el modelo de NB proporciona un modelo no representativo cuando la base de datos tiene variables dependientes. Ante esta situacion, se han propuesto varias aproximaciones que mejoran el desempeno del NB pero requieren mayores recursos y resultan complicados de implementar. Aqui se propone una nueva aproximacion que puede ser usada cuando exista dependencia de variables conservando una sencillez de implementacion. Tambien se propone una metrica para determinar a priori si utilizar la aproximacion mas simple del clasificador NB o no. Los resultados obtenidos en cuatro bases de UCI mostraron que el modelo propuesto mejora el desempeno del NB cuando existe dependencia de variables.
Structure and Receptor binding properties of a pandemic H1N1 virus hemagglutinin

The 3D-structure of the major surface viral antigen from the recent H1N1 pandemic influenza virus (A/Darwin/2001/2009) was determined to 2.8 Å resolution. The structure was used to analyze changes in the HA that have emerged during the first 11 months of the pandemic and have raised public health concerns. Receptor binding properties of this protein reveals a strict preference for human-type receptors.
Beyond-one-cycle loop delay CT ΔΣ modulators with proper rational NTF synthesis and time-interleaved quantizers

Currently, less-than-one-cycle loop delay is the key factor to impede higher clock rate and wide bandwidth continuous-time oversampling modulators. In this paper, a new method to develop a beyond-one-cycle delay CTDSM based on the proper rational NTF synthesis is proposed without an extra fast path . Also, further loop delay extending will be implemented by a fully s-domain deviation. Compared with the traditional impulse invariant way in DT-CT mapping, this new method shows a much simpler work. In the end, the paper discusses time-interleaved implementations in the proposed beyond-one-cycle delay modulators, including offset, gain and sampling time error mismatches between channels.
Oxidative stress and bone markers in plasma of patients with long-bone fixative surgery: Role of antioxidants

It is well known that bone markers (e.g. osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase) play a significant role in healing of bone fractures, whereas oxidative stress delay such healing. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of a mixture of antioxidants (vitamins A, C, E, and selenium) on oxidative stress parameters, and the levels of bone healing markers in the plasma of male patients following fixative surgery of long bones. Antioxidant tablets (300 µg vitamin A, 10 mg vitamin E, 60 mg vitamin C, and 75 µg selenium) were administered to groups 3 and 4 (10 patients in each) for 1 and 2 weeks, respectively, in addition to the regular postoperative treatment. Groups 1 (25 patients) and 2 (10 patients) received the regular post-operative treatment consisting of intravenous (I.V.) second generation of cephalosporin 1000 mg/day for 3 days, oral diclofenac 50 mg, and paracetamol 500 mg twice daily for 15 days. Osteocalcin level and alkaline phosphatase activity as well as antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), as well as glutathione (GSH), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as indices of oxidative stress, were determined in the plasma of all patients after 1 or 2 weeks of long-bone fixative surgery. The results revealed that osteocalcin level and the activity of alkaline phosphatase were markedly increased in the plasma of patients who received antioxidants for 2 weeks. In addition, after 1 and/or 2 weeks, the levels of TBARS were significantly lower in the antioxidant-treated patients compared with those who did not receive antioxidants. On the other hand, the activities of SOD and GR were markedly elevated in plasma of patients who received antioxidants after 1 or 2 weeks compared with patients who received regular therapy. Moreover, the level of plasma GSH was markedly increased only after 2 weeks in patients who received antioxidants. It is concluded that administration of antioxidant vitamins A, E, and C in addition to selenium could accelerate bone healing after long-bone fixative surgery. Therefore, antioxidants should be considered in designing therapeutic protocols in post-operative bone surgery.
Risk Factors Associated with Group B Streptococcus Colonization and Their Effect on Pregnancy Outcome

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an important cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in many parts of the world. It has been implicated in adverse pregnancy outcomes. Maternal colonization has been found to be a major risk factor for invasive neonatal GBS disease. The main objective of this study was to identify the risk factors of Group B streptococcus colonization and its effect on pregnancy outcome. Methods: This was a prospective study in which pregnant women attending antenatal clinic (ANC) at Dr George Mukhari Hospital (DGMH) were recruited. These were at least18 years old and were at 16 weeks gestation. Vaginal and rectal swabs were taken at recruitment. Follow up of mothers until six weeks post-delivery and babies until three months of age was done. Results: A total of 340 pregnant women were then investigated for GBS colonization. Out of this number, 164 (48.2%) were GBS positive. The majority of the women (62.1%) were parity 1 and 2. Group B Streptococcus colonization was significant in women who had no matric education and who were unemployed. There was a significantly higher GBS colonization in women with previous history of miscarriages and stillbirths. The proportion of HIV positive, GBS colonized women was significant at 41.5% as compared to HIV negative GBS colonized (34.7%). Eight women (4.9%) presented with premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and the duration ranged from 0.5 to 72 hours. Ten (6.1%) women had preterm deliveries. Three (1.8%) women had wound sepsis post caesarean section and one (0.6%) had endometritis post vaginal delivery. A total of 7 (24.1%) babies were GBS positive. The number of live babies delivered was 167, with 1 case of miscarriage due to severe preeclampsia. There were 2 cases of early neonatal deaths which included 1 case of sepsis whereas the other one had multiple congenital abnormalities. Conclusion: Colonization by GBS in pregnant women at DGMH was high. Maternal risk factors identified were previous history of stillbirths/miscarriages, lack of education and being HIV positive. Overall pregnancy outcome both maternal and foetal was good.
Identification of AAS genes and their regulatory role in general control of amino acid biosynthesis in yeast.

In yeast, most amino acid biosynthetic pathways are coregulated: starvation for a single amino acid results in derepression of enzyme activities for many different biosynthetic pathways. This phenomenon is referred to as "general control of amino acid biosynthesis. " In this paper we describe the isolation and characterization of 43 amino acid analog-sensitive (aas-) mutants that are perturbed in this general regulatory system. These 43 mutations define four unlinked complementation groups, AAS101, AAS102, AAS103, and AAS104, two of which identify previously unreported genes involved in general control. These aas mutants are unable to derepress a number of amino acid biosynthetic genes, resulting in increased sensitivity to amino acid analogs, reduced growth rates, and reduced enzyme activity levels under amino acid starvation conditions. Thus, the AAS+ gene products function as positive regulatory elements for this system. We show that the AAS genes mediate these effects by regulating the mRNA levels of genes under their control.
Regional Quantification of White Matter Hyperintensity in Normal Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer’s Disease

Background/Aims: A quantitative method was applied to measure the volume of white matter hyperintensity (WMH) in different brain regions of subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and normal healthy age-matched controls, and the relationship between regional WMH and age and cognitive function was investigated. Methods: Fifty-six subjects were included in this study, 27 AD, 15 MCI and 14 normal age-matched controls. A user-friendly software was developed for WMH quantification in frontal, temporal, and parieto-occipital lobes. Mini-Mental State Examination and cognitive scores in performing naming, language fluency, and memory tasks were obtained for correlation analysis. Results: AD patients had the greatest total WMH volume, followed by MCI, then controls. However, there was a large variation within each group, and the difference did not reach a significant level. There was a positive linear correlation between the total WMH (p = 0.031) and the frontal WMH (p = 0.006) vs. age. After age correction the Boston Naming Test scores were negatively correlated with the total WMH volume in the AD (p = 0.03) and the control (p = 0.03) groups, and with the frontal WMH in controls (p = 0.01). Conclusion: We demonstrated a quantitative analysis method to measure regional WMH. Although WMH was not strongly associated with disease severity or cognition, it may provide a characteristic neuroimaging parameter in the study of AD development.
Jagged1 in the portal vein mesenchyme regulates intrahepatic bile duct development: insights into Alagille syndrome

Mutations in the human Notch ligand jagged 1 (JAG1) result in a multi-system disorder called Alagille syndrome (AGS). AGS is chiefly characterized by a paucity of intrahepatic bile ducts (IHBD), but also includes cardiac, ocular, skeletal, craniofacial and renal defects. The disease penetration and severity of the affected organs can vary significantly and the molecular basis for this broad spectrum of pathology is unclear. Here, we report that Jag1 inactivation in the portal vein mesenchyme (PVM), but not in the endothelium of mice, leads to the hepatic defects associated with AGS. Loss of Jag1 expression in SM22α-positive cells of the PVM leads to defective bile duct development beyond the initial formation of the ductal plate. Cytokeratin 19-positive cells are detected surrounding the portal vein, yet they are unable to form biliary tubes, revealing an instructive role of the vasculature in liver development. These findings uncover the cellular basis for the defining feature of AGS, identify mesenchymal Jag1-dependent and -independent stages of duct development, and provide mechanistic information for the role of Jag1 in IHBD formation.
Socially-Aware Design: The 'Slanty' Approach

In this article we discuss â€˜slanty designâ€™, which incorporate three new principles into a conventional user-centered design process. These are designing for non-goals (things you wish the user not to be able to do); creating anti-usability (designing so that it is difficult to achieve the non-goals); and clean design (solutions without unwanted side-effects that then have to have solutions designed for them). Slanty design incorporates many of the concepts of socio-technical approaches, and is explained using a variety of examples, including an airport baggage carousel, and the remaining challenges outstanding are described.