Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growth Factor-dependent Phosphorylation of the Actin-binding Protein Cortactin Is Mediated by the Cytoplasmic Tyrosine Kinase FER*

Previous characterization of the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase FER identified a tight physical association with the catenin pp120 and led to the suggestion that FER may be involved in cell-cell signaling. To further understand the function of FER, we have continued our analyses of the interaction of FER with pp120 and other proteins. The majority of FER is localized to the cytoplasmic fraction where it forms a complex with the actin-binding protein cortactin. The Src homology 2 sequence of FER is required for directly binding cortactin, and phosphorylation of the FER-cortactin complex is up-regulated in cells treated with peptide growth factors. Using a dominant-negative mutant of FER, we provided evidence that FER kinase activity is required for the growth factor-dependent phosphorylation of cortactin. These data suggest that cortactin is likely to be a direct substrate of FER. Our observations provide additional support for a role of FER in mediating signaling from the cell surface, via growth factor receptors, to the cytoskeleton. The nature of the FER-cortactin interaction, and their putative enzyme-substrate relationship, support the previous proposal that one of the functions of the Src homology 2 sequences of nonreceptor tyrosine kinases is to provide a binding site for their preferred substrates.
Designing mobile interfaces using activity theory

Mobile interfaces should be able to adapt to the context in which they are used. It is important to consider context when designing usable mobile applications. Context confusions can be avoided by recognising and considering situations where there are likely to be problems. The traditional approach to designing interfaces has been increasingly criticised because of the gaps between research results and practical design, especially concerning requirements. Activity theory incorporates the notions of intentionality, history, mediation, motivation, understanding, culture and community into design. In particular, it provides a framework in which the critical issue of context can be taken into account. This paper describes the use of activity theory for the design of a mobile interface for a diet advisory application for hospital staff.
Use of T 2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the optic nerve sheath to detect raised intracranial pressure

Introduction The dural sheath surrounding the optic nerve communicates with the subarachnoid space, and distends when intracranial pressure is elevated. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often performed in patients at risk for raised intracranial pressure (ICP) and can be used to measure precisely the diameter of optic nerve and its sheath. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), as measured using MRI, and ICP. Methods We conducted a retrospective blinded analysis of brain MRI images in a prospective cohort of 38 patients requiring ICP monitoring after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), and in 36 healthy volunteers. ONSD was measured on T2weighted turbo spin-echo fat-suppressed sequence obtained at 3 Tesla MRI. ICP was measured invasively during the MRI scan via a parenchymal sensor in the TBI patients. Results Measurement of ONSD was possible in 95% of cases. The ONSD was significantly greater in TBI patients with raised ICP (>20 mmHg; 6.31 ± 0.50 mm, 19 measures) than in those with ICP of 20 mmHg or less (5.29 ± 0.48 mm, 26 measures; P < 0.0001) or in healthy volunteers (5.08 ± 0.52 mm; P < 0.0001). There was a significant relationship between ONSD and ICP (r = 0.71, P < 0.0001). Enlarged ONSD was a robust predictor of raised ICP (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.94), with a best cut-off of 5.82 mm, corresponding to a negative predictive value of 92%, and to a value of 100% when ONSD was less than 5.30 mm. Conclusions When brain MRI is indicated, ONSD measurement on images obtained using routine sequences can provide a quantitative estimate of the likelihood of significant intracranial hypertension. Introduction Raised intracranial pressure (ICP) is frequent in conditions such as stroke, liver failure, meningitis, meningoencephalitis and postresuscitation syndrome [1-6]. In such diseases, raised ICP may be associated with increased mortality and poor neurological outcomes as a result of ischaemic insults to the brain [4,7]. Early detection and treatment of raised ICP is therefore critical but often challenging, because invasive ICP monitoring is not routinely undertaken in these settings. However, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often undertaken in such patients, and may provide a noninvasive method of estimating ICP. The optic nerve, as a part of the central nervous system, is surrounded by a subarachnoid space and experiences the same pressure changes as the intracranial compartment [8-11]. The intraorbital part of the sheath, and particularly its retrobulbar segment, can distend when ICP (and hence cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] pressure) is elevated. MRI can be used to measure precisely the diameter optic nerve and its surrounding sheath, by using a fat-suppressed T2-weighted sequence [12,13]. In cases of idiopathic intracranial hypertension or papilloedema, the retrobulbar optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), measured using MRI, has been reported to be
Predictive control of eye movements in parkinson disease

Four parkinsonian patients who had shown evidence of an impairment of predictive manual control and 4 age‐matched normal subjects were tested for the predictive control of eye movements. Subjects tracked a target with their eyes as it moved in either irregular “noise” or regular (predictable) linear ramp or sine waveforms. Eye movements were monitored by electrooculograpy, and the overall tracking time lag for each condition was determined by cross‐correlation. Both normal and parkinsonian subjects showed prediction in eye tracking on the regular waveforms (zero time lag or anticipation of the target track), indicating that (1) the parkinsonian loss of predictive control in manual tasks is not due to defective control of eye movements, and (2) there may be separate predictor mechanisms in the brain for eyes and hands.
Die Integration von Online-Elementen in kommunalen Beteiligungsverfah- ren - Bürgerbeteiligung im Medienmix

Das Internet ist langst Thema geworden, wenn es um die Einbeziehung von Burgerinnen und Burgern in Prozesse der demokratischen Meinungsund Willensbildung geht. Auch die Liste der Beteiligungsprojekte, die das Internet und verstarkt auch Web 2.0-Anwendungen in der Burgerbeteiligung nutzen wird immer langer (vgl. Stiftung Mitarbeit & Initiative eParticipation 2007, www.e-participation.net). Doch wird auch ofter darauf hingewiesen, dass E-Partizipation, also Beteiligung unter Einsatz von Informationsund Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT) allein, kein Patentrezept fur mehr und eine bessere Beteiligung darstellt.
Perceived similarity between complex sounds : the contribution of acoustic, descriptive and categorical features.

The thesis identifies some of the most salient acoustic and descriptive features employed in listeners' representations of sounds focussing on similarity judgements. A range of descriptive data (including word pair and imagery/word use) was collected alongside acoustic measures for the sound stimuli employed. The sounds employed were initially all abstract in nature but environmental sounds were included in later experiments. A painwise comparison task and a grouping task were employed to collect (dis)similarity data for multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analyses. These provided visual output that represented the sounds' perceived similarities. Following participants' similarity judgements correlational techniques identified which of the acoustic and descriptive features helped to explain the dimensions identified by the MDS. Results across all nine experiments indicated that both acoustic and descriptive features contributed to listeners' similarity judgements and that the influence of these varied for the different sound sets employed. Familiarity with the sounds was identified as an additional feature that played a key role in the way participants used the available information in their grouping decisions. There was also a clear indication that the category to which a sounds source object belonged was making an important contribution to the similarity judgements for sounds rated as familiar. The work highlights a complex and variable relationship in the use of descriptive and acoustic features. Further the work has investigated the similarities and differences in participants' judgements depending on the data collection technique used i.e. pairwise comparison or grouping task. These findings have implications for the development of future models of auditory cognition. The thesis suggests that the perception of sound with particular reference to similarity is a complex interplay of features that goes far beyond understanding acoustic features alone.
Spherical-projection-model-based self-calibration of rotation cameras

A novel spherical-projection-based self-calibration scheme for a pure rotation camera is proposed in the paper. Specifically, firstly, the property is analyzed that the distance between spherical projection points that relate to space static ones are unvaried when the camera in the state of pure rotation motion; then, using this property, the constraint equations set that with respect to camera intrinsic parameters is constructed, and solved by the nonlinear least squares algorithm. Compared with the existing self-calibration methods, the proposed scheme can obtain 4 intrinsic parameters by straightly utilizing the correspondence points that on only two images. Then this method can avoid complex matrix computation, and 4 matching points is sufficient for accomplishment the 4-parameter calibration task as while as online and offline requirements are both satisfied. Experiments results verify that this method has a good robustness both for the image noise and the presence of the translation.
PMN-PT high frequency ultrasonic needle transducers for pulsed wave Doppler in the eye

The purpose of this study is to develop miniature intraocular transducers for pulsed wave Doppler. The intended use of this device is for in-vivo high frequency pulsed wave Doppler detection of blood flow in the posterior portion of the eye. High frequency ultrasonic needle transducers were fabricated using lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN- 33%PT) as the active piezoelectric material. The measured center frequency and bandwidth of the device was 44 MHz and 36 % respectively. The electrical impedance magnitude and phase were 74 Ω and - 58° respectively. A custom high frequency pulsed wave Doppler system has been developed based on the coherent demodulation and sample and hold techniques. An intial in-vivo Doppler measurement was performed on the retinal arterial blood flow of a New England Cottontail rabbit. A pulse repetition frequency of 44 kHz has shown a Doppler shift frequency of 2 kHz corresponding to an approximate velocity of 38.5 mm/s for a vessel diameter of less than 1 mm in the retina.
Nitric Oxide Increases the Decay of Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 mRNA by Inhibiting the Expression of mRNA-Stabilizing Factor HuR

ABSTRACT Dysregulation of extracellular matrix turnover is an important feature of many inflammatory processes. Rat renal mesangial cells express high levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) in response to inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 beta. We demonstrate that NO does strongly destabilize MMP-9 mRNA, since different luciferase reporter gene constructs containing the MMP-9 3′ untranslated region (UTR) displayed significant reduced luciferase activity in response to the presence of NO. Moreover, by use of an in vitro degradation assay we found that the cytoplasmic fractions of NO-treated cells contained a higher capacity to degrade MMP-9 transcripts than those obtained from control cells. An RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated that three of four putative AU-rich elements present in the 3′ UTR of MMP-9 were constitutively occupied by the mRNA-stabilizing factor HuR and that the RNA binding was strongly attenuated by the presence of NO. The addition of recombinant glutathione transferase-HuR prevented the rapid decay of MMP-9 mRNA, whereas the addition of a neutralizing anti-HuR antibody caused an acceleration of MMP-9 mRNA degradation. Furthermore, the expression of HuR mRNA and protein was significantly reduced by exogenously and endogenously produced NO. These inhibitory effects were mimicked by the cGMP analog 8-bromo-cGMP and reversed by LY-83583, an inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase. These results demonstrate that NO acts in a cGMP-dependent mechanism to inhibit the expression level of HuR, thereby reducing the stability of MMP-9 mRNA.
In vivo infection of ramified microglia from adult cat central nervous system by feline immunodeficiency virus.

Infection of microglial cells by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is supposed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of AIDS-related central nervous system (CNS) complications. So far, however, experimental data about interactions between HIV and ramified microglia from the adult CNS were only occasionally reported, making it difficult to understand the exact nature of pathogenic events contributing to HIV-encephalopathy. Therefore, we used the animal model of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection of domestic cats to establish an experimental system which is suitable for studying the relationships between an immunodeficiency virus and the mature ramified microglia of the central nervous system. By means of density gradient centrifugation approximately 95% pure microglial cells could be isolated from adult feline brain that were characterized by their CD45(low) phenotype. Resident microglia extracted from the CNS of experimentally infected cats harbored FIV-specific DNA and cocultivation with mitogen-activated, but uninfected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) resulted in recovery of high-titered infectious virus. Double labeling of brain cell monocultures explanted from persistently infected animals for both microglia and FIV markers disclosed less than 1% of viral antigen expressing microglial cells. This suggests that during the subclinical phase of the infection only a small number of brain-resident macrophages are productively infected. However, interaction of FIV-infected microglia and inflammatory lymphocytes may promote viral replication, thus supporting viral spread in brain tissue.
Regulation of RNA polymerase II activity by CTD phosphorylation and cell cycle control

The carboxyl‐terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of mammalian RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) consists of 52 repeats of a consensus heptapeptide and is subject to phosphorylation and dephosphorylation events during each round of transcription. RNAP II activity is regulated during the cell cycle and cell cycle‐dependend changes in RNAP II activity correlate well with CTD phosphorylation. In addition, global changes in the CTD phosphorylation status are observed in response to mitogenic or cytostatic signals such as growth factors, mitogens and DNA‐damaging agents. Several CTD kinases are members of the cyclin‐dependent kinase (CDK) superfamily and associate with transcription initiation complexes. Other CTD kinases implicated in cell cycle regulation include the mitogen‐activated protein kinases ERK‐1/2 and the c‐Abl tyrosine kinase. These observations suggest that reversible RNAP II CTD phosphorylation may play a key role in linking cell cycle regulatory events to coordinated changes in transcription. J. Cell. Physiol. 190: 160–169, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
BD Veritor System Respiratory Syncytial Virus Rapid Antigen Detection Test: Point-of-Care Results in Primary Care Pediatric Offices Compared With Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction and Viral Culture Methods

Background During respiratory syncytial virus season, many children present to pediatric offices and urgent care medical facilities with cough, tachypnea, intercostal retraction, wheezing, as well as disturbed appetite and sleep. Identification of the responsible viral pathogen is quite difficult because several pathogens can produce similar signs and symptoms. Methods Nasopharyngeal specimens were collected from symptomatic sick children younger than 6 years, in 8 geographically representative primary care pediatric practices during a 4-month RSV season. Institutional review board approval and signed parental consent were obtained. The primary objective of the study was the estimation of the sensitivity and specificity of the Becton Dickinson (BD) Veritor RSV point-of-care (POC) assay as compared with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results Of 523 specimens, 58.3% (n = 305) were from patients younger than 2 years. The BD Veritor RSV POC assay sensitivity and specificity are 81.6% (146/179) and 99.1% (341/344), respectively. When compared with RT-PCR, the BD Veritor RSV POC assay false positive was 0.9% (3/344, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.3%–2.5%) and the false negative was 18.4% (33/179, with a 95% confidence interval of 13.4%–24.5%). The BD Veritor RSV POC assay identified more true positive specimens (n = 146) than viral cell culture (n = 134 positive specimens). Conclusions In 8 participating primary care pediatric offices with 523 evaluable subjects, POC BD Veritor RSV tests performed better than viral cell culture results when RT-PCR was the reference standard.
Design and development of an 8 bit microcontroller based space vector PWM inverter fed volt/Hz induction motor drive

Space vector PWM Inverter fed volt/Hz induction motor drives are well accepted for many industrial applications. There are numbers of work, reported in literature on implementation of space vector PWM technique using DSP, FPGA and high-end 16-bit microcontrollers. But the use of costly resources restricts their application in industrial fan, blower, air-condition & ventilation system etc. In this work a state-of-the-art algorithm has been developed to implement Space vector PWM technique for Volt/Hz induction motor drive using a popular 8-bit microcontroller to reduce the overall cost and complexity of the drive. The possible limitations of the controller have been conquered by implementing innovative ideas and techniques for calculation of switching time and selection of switching states. The execution time of the program is also reduced by developing a special algorithm for division, multiplication and `sin' function involved in the calculations. A prototype has been developed to test the effectiveness of the algorithm and satisfactory responses are found.
A novel ZVS step-up push-pull type isolated LLC series resonant dc-dc converter for UPS systems and its topology variations

High dc gain step-up dc-dc converter continues drawing lots of interests in on-line UPS systems to interface the battery power to unity. Conventional methods, in which using non-isolated converters including cascade converters, can achieve high dc gain but compromise efficiency, while the situation of employing isolated converters is just opposite. To combine the merits of these two type converters and overcome the disadvantages, a novel step-up push-pull type isolated LLC series resonant dc-dc converter was proposed. This converter, besides possessing all advantages of conventional LLC converters, emerges as a higher efficiency can be achieved for the operation is under boost mode, thus the transformer turn-ratio reduces and primary side current decreases. Then the low side gate driving merit of the conventional push-pull converter endows simplification of circuit and ability of cost-effective. Therefore the proposed converter is very suitable for step-up conversion in UPS systems. The detail operation principles and converter's characteristics were presented, topology variations were shown and the validity and applicability were also verified by a 600 W dual outputs prototype.
Optimal sidelobe reduction of symmetric linear antenna array using Genetic Algorithm

In this paper synthesis of symmetric linear antenna arrays is described using Genetic Algorithm (GA). Genetic Algorithm has many advantages over other conventional optimization techniques. Real coded GA (RGA) is a high performance evolutionary optimization algorithm. It is used in this paper to find optimum inter-element spacing and excitation coefficients for the symmetric linear antenna array in order to minimize the maximum relative sidelobe level (SLL) in the radiation pattern of the array for minimum possible First Null Beamwidth (BWFN) increment.
The background and chemistry of MDMA.

This article will present the factual material that up to 1972, MDMA was entered with the phenethylamine exists in the literature representing the results of laboraname. Since then, the heterocyclic term benzodioxole-5i tory studies and scientific experimentation with ethanamine has been the root name. The common abbremethylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA, the comviation MDMA is based on the consideration of the stmcmon name applied to an organic compound, a secondary ture as a substituted methamphetamine. Other terms that amine. As a free base it is a white, musty smelling oil with have been used to refer to this drug include MDM, Ec_, a searing taste, insoluble in water but soluble in most stasy, XTC, Adam, and EA-1475 (the last, by the Edgeorganic solvents. It forms salts with several acids, and wood Arsenal). The computer searching of Chemical these are white solids or oils that are readily water soluble Abstracts employs the following registry numbers: _' and bitter to the taste. It has an empirical formula S-MDMA (+) 66142-89-0 Cl iHlsNO2, and its structural formula is given in Figure S-MDMA (+) HCI 69558-32-3
Rapid Ganciclovir Susceptibility Assay Using Flow Cytometry for Human Cytomegalovirus Clinical Isolates

ABSTRACT Rapid, quantitative, and objective determination of the susceptibilities of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) clinical isolates to ganciclovir has been assessed by an assay that uses a fluorochrome-labeled monoclonal antibody to an HCMV immediate-early antigen and flow cytometry. Analysis of the ganciclovir susceptibilities of 25 phenotypically characterized clinical isolates by flow cytometry demonstrated that the 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) of ganciclovir for 19 of the isolates were between 1.14 and 6.66 μM, with a mean of 4.32 μM (±1.93) (sensitive; IC50 less than 7 μM), the IC50s for 2 isolates were 8.48 and 9.79 μM (partially resistant), and the IC50s for 4 isolates were greater than 96 μM (resistant). Comparative analysis of the drug susceptibilities of these clinical isolates by the plaque reduction assay gave IC50s of less than 6 μM, with a mean of 2.88 μM (±1.40) for the 19 drug-sensitive isolates, IC50s of 6 to 8 μM for the partially resistant isolates, and IC50s of greater than 12 μM for the four resistant clinical isolates. Comparison of the IC50s for the drug-susceptible and partially resistant clinical isolates obtained by the flow cytometry assay with the IC50s obtained by the plaque reduction assay showed an acceptable correlation (r2 = 0.473; P = 0.001), suggesting that the flow cytometry assay could substitute for the more labor-intensive, subjective, and time-consuming plaque reduction assay.