Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exercise, Heat, Hydration and the Brain

The performance of both physical and mental tasks can be adversely affected by heat and by dehydration. There are well-recognized effects of heat and hydration status on the cardiovascular and thermoregulatory systems that can account for the decreased performance and increased sensation of effort that are experienced in the heat. Provision of fluids of appropriate composition in appropriate amounts can prevent dehydration and can greatly reduce the adverse effects of heat stress. There is growing evidence that the effects of high ambient temperature and dehydration on exercise performance may be mediated by effects on the central nervous system. This seems to involve serotonergic and dopaminergic functions. Recent evidence suggests that the integrity of the blood brain barrier may be compromised by combined heat stress and dehydration, and this may play a role in limiting performance in the heat.
A Semantics-Based User Model for the Support of Personalized, Context-Aware Navigational Services

The ambient intelligence paradigm has evolved significantly during the last few years and aims at developing context-aware and adaptive systems that enable people to use personalized services. Context-awareness, semantics enriched services and adaptivity are among the features that characterize ambient intelligence systems. In this paper, we describe an ontology-based user model that captures and formally describes profile and context information, and enables rule-based reasoning on the available data to support personalized context-aware navigation services. We also describe how the proposed model is used as a basic building block for the development of a contextual guide for users in indoor environments, C-NGINE (contextual navigation guide for indoor environments).
Dynamics of giant mass transport in deep submarine environments: the Matakaoa Debris Flow, New Zealand

The Matakaoa Debris Flow (MDF) is a 200‐km‐long mass‐transport deposit resulting from the failure of the Matakaoa continental margin, northeast New Zealand, ca. 38–100 ky ago. In this study, high‐quality bathymetric and seismic reflection data are used to identify the morpho‐structural characters that reflect the kinematics of the MDF, as well as its interactions with basin sediments. We demonstrate how the transport energy, together with the local topography led to the present geometry and complex structure of the MDF deposits. The remarkable transport energy of the MDF is demonstrated by its dynamic impact on adjacent sedimentary series, including erosion of the substratum, shearing and compressional deformation. In the proximal zone of transport, momentous substratum erosion, demonstrated by giant tool marks and truncated sediments at the base of the debrite, triggered the excavation of a large volume (>200 km3) of basin sediments. The size of transported blocks (up to 3‐km long) is used to estimate the matrix yield strength in an early stage of transport. In the distal zone of transport, 100 km north of the source, seismic profiles show the propagation of thrust structures from the MDF into adjacent basin sediments. This study highlights that the remarkable volume of 2000 km3 of deposits partly resulted from the propagation of compressive structures within the basin sedimentary series to the front of the debrite.
The Ubiquity and Impressive Genomic Diversity of Human Skin Papillomaviruses Suggest a Commensalic Nature of These Viruses

ABSTRACT Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are epitheliotropic viruses, with some types suggested to be associated with skin cancer. In this study, swab samples collected from five different sites on the skin of renal transplant recipients, dialysis patients, and age- and sex-matched healthy controls were analyzed for HPV DNA by a newly designed PCR test. Most individuals were found to have asymptomatic HPV infections; more specifically, 94% of the renal transplant patients, 82% of the dialysis patients, and 80% of the healthy controls were positive for HPV DNA. The multiplicity of the HPVs detected was astounding: 20 previously described and 30 putatively new types were identified by cloning and sequencing of 33 samples from 13 individuals. These results demonstrate that normal human skin harbors an array of papillomaviruses, most of them previously unknown.
Efficiently suppressed thermal conductivity in ZnO thin films via periodic introduction of organic layers

A combination of atomic and molecular layer deposition techniques is used to fabricate thin films of hybrid inorganic–organic superlattice structures with periodically repeating single layers of hydroquinone within a ZnO or (Zn0.98Al0.02)O framework. A significant reduction of up to one magnitude in the thermal conductivity of the films as evaluated with the time-domain thermoreflectance technique is observed upon introduction of the organic layers, resulting in a greatly improved thermoelectric performance.
High throughput protein characterization by automated reverse‐phase chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

We describe an integrated workstation for the automated, high‐throughput, and conclusive identification of proteins by reverse‐phase chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The instrumentation consists of a refrigerated autosampler, a submicrobore reverse‐phase liquid chromatograph, and an electrospray triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. For protein identification, enzymatic digests of either homogeneous polypeptides or simple protein mixtures were generated and loaded into the autosampler. Samples were sequentially injected every 32 min. Ions of eluting peptides were automatically selected by the mass spectrometer and subjected to collision‐induced dissociation. Following each run, the resulting tandem mass spectra were automatically analyzed by SEQUEST, a program that correlates uninterpreted peptide fragmentation patterns with amino acid sequences contained in databases. Protein identification was established by SEQUEST_SUMMARY a program that combines the SEQUEST scores of peptides originating from the same protein and ranks the cumulative results in a short summary.
Moist Olive Husks Addition to a Silty Clay Soil: Influence on Microbial and Biochemical Parameters

To investigate the effects of moist olive husks (MOH-residues) on soil respiration, microbial biomass, and enzymatic (o-diphenoloxidase, β-glucosidase, dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase) activities, a silty clay soil was incubated with 0 (control), 8 × 103 (D), 16 × 103 (2D) and 80 × 103 (10D) kg ha−1 of MOH-residues on a dry weight basis. Soil respiration and microbial biomass data indicated that the addition of MOH-residues strongly increased microbial activity proportionally to the amounts added. Data of qCO2 suggested that the respiration to biomass ratio of the microbial population was strongly modified by MOH-residues additions during the first 90 days of incubation. The qCO2 data suggested a low efficiency in energy yields from C oxidation during the first 2 months of soil incubation. qFDA seemed to be relatively unaffected for treatments D and 2D as compared to the control, but was significantly lowered by the application of 10D, showing the lowest hydrolytic activity of microbial biomass in this treatment up to 360 days of incubation. o-Diphenoloxidase activity was delayed, and this delay was extended with the addition of larger quantities of MOH-residues. Alkaline phosphatase, β-glucosidase and dehydrogenase activities were in line with the findings on microbial biomass changes and activities. The biological and biochemical data suggest that the addition of a large quantity of MOH-residues (80 × 103 kg ha−1) strongly modifies the soil characteristics affecting the r- and K-strategist populations, and that these changes last for at least the 360 days of incubation. The data also suggest that application rates exceeding 16 × 103 kg ha−1 are not recommended until the agro-chemical and -physical functions of the soil are further studied.
Action Categories in Lateral Occipitotemporal Cortex Are Organized Along Sociality and Transitivity

How neural specificity for distinct conceptual knowledge categories arises is central for understanding the organization of semantic memory in the human brain. Although there is a large body of research on the neural processing of distinct object categories, the organization of action categories remains largely unknown. In particular, it is unknown whether different action categories follow a specific topographical organization on the cortical surface analogously to the category-specific organization of object knowledge. Here, we tested whether the neural representation of action knowledge is organized in terms of nonsocial versus social and object-unrelated versus object-related actions (sociality and transitivity, respectively, hereafter). We hypothesized a major distinction of sociality and transitivity along dorsal and ventral lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC), respectively. Using fMRI-based multivoxel pattern analysis, we identified neural representations of action information associated with sociality and transitivity in bilateral LOTC. Representational similarity analysis revealed a dissociation between dorsal and ventral LOTC. We found that action representations in dorsal LOTC are segregated along features of sociality, whereas action representations in ventral LOTC are segregated along features of transitivity. In addition, representations of sociality and transitivity features were found more anteriorly in LOTC than representations of specific subtypes of actions, suggesting a posterior–anterior gradient from concrete to abstract action features. These findings elucidate how the neural representations of perceptually and conceptually diverse actions are organized in distinct subsystems in the LOTC. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC) is critically involved in the recognition of objects and actions, but our knowledge about the underlying organizing principles is limited. Here, we discovered a dorsal–ventral distinction of actions in LOTC: dorsal LOTC represents actions based on sociality (how much an action is directed to another person) in proximity to person knowledge. In contrast, ventral LOTC represents actions based on transitivity (how much an action involves the interaction with inanimate objects) in proximity to tools/artifacts in ventral LOTC, suggesting a mutually dependent organization of actions and objects. In addition, we found a posterior-to-anterior organization of the LOTC for concrete and abstract representations, respectively. Our findings provide important insights about the organization of actions in LOTC.
Histone Deacetylase--A Regulator of Transcription

Histones are DNA binding proteins that bind without regard to the sequence of the DNA and help determine the three-dimensional organization of the chromatin into chromosomes. A paper in this week's issue (Taunton et al., p. 408) reports the cloning of histone deacetylase, an ezyme that modifies histones by removing an acetyl group. In his Perspective, Wolffe explains how the action of this enzyme can lead to the regulation of the transcription of certain genes.
Creating of a Crowdsourcing Application to determine the Semantics of Shapes

This paper describes the creation of an online crowdsourcing application to determine the semantics of shapes by making a game. The game is played by two players who are both presented with the same image of a shape and the same question about that shape. The players have to answer the questions and get points based on the similarity of the answers. The questions have multiple types. The answers submitted are stored and can be analysed using statistical methods. This research can be used as a framework to making similar applications.
DNA Strand Break-Sensing Molecule Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Cooperates with p53 in Telomere Function, Chromosome Stability, and Tumor Suppression

ABSTRACT Genomic instability is often caused by mutations in genes that are involved in DNA repair and/or cell cycle checkpoints, and it plays an important role in tumorigenesis. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a DNA strand break-sensing molecule that is involved in the response to DNA damage and the maintenance of telomere function and genomic stability. We report here that, compared to single-mutant cells, PARP and p53 double-mutant cells exhibit many severe chromosome aberrations, including a high degree of aneuploidy, fragmentations, and end-to-end fusions, which may be attributable to telomere dysfunction. While PARP−/− cells showed telomere shortening and p53−/− cells showed normal telomere length, inactivation of PARP in p53−/− cells surprisingly resulted in very long and heterogeneous telomeres, suggesting a functional interplay between PARP and p53 at the telomeres. Strikingly, PARP deficiency widens the tumor spectrum in mice deficient in p53, resulting in a high frequency of carcinomas in the mammary gland, lung, prostate, and skin, as well as brain tumors, reminiscent of Li-Fraumeni syndrome in humans. The enhanced tumorigenesis is likely to be caused by PARP deficiency, which facilitates the loss of function of tumor suppressor genes as demonstrated by a high rate of loss of heterozygosity at the p53 locus in these tumors. These results indicate that PARP and p53 interact to maintain genome integrity and identify PARP as a cofactor for suppressing tumorigenesis.
Evaluación del estado nutricional en pacientes pediátricos institucionalizados con VIH/SIDA: Assessment of Nutritional Status in Institutionalized Pediatric Patients with HIV/AIDS

Introduccion. La inmunosupresion progresiva y profunda generada por el VIH/SIDA hace que el organismo sea mas vulnerable a las infecciones oportunistas, asi como tambien a los episodios clinicos y complicaciones asociadas, que con frecuencia tienen un enorme efecto en el estado nutricional del individuo. Nuestro objetivo fue determinar el estado nutricional de los pacientes pediatricos con VIH/SIDA. Metodologia. El estudio fue descriptivo y transversal, donde participaron 60 pacientes con edades comprendidas entre 1-13 anos, de ambos sexos, atendidos por la Fundacion Innocens de Maracaibo. Se realizo una evaluacion nutricional con la toma de medidas antropometricas, y se registraron los valores de hematologia, bioquimica sanguinea y evaluacion dietetica. Resultados. El analisis nutricional antropometrico segun el IMC arrojo que el 60% de los ninos tiene un diagnostico normal, con mayor prevalencia en los varones. Los niveles plasmaticos de triacilgliceridos (134,43 ± 66,04mg/dl) fueron mas altos que los valores deseables para los grupos etarios, mientras que los valores de HDL-c (34,12 ± 12,22 mg/dl) fueron mas bajos. Asi mismo los valores de hemoglobina fueron bajos en todos los grupos de edades (11,25 ± 1,26, g/dL). El estudio dietetico evidencio una baja adecuacion de calorias y de nutrientes para todos los grupos etarios. Conclusion. Un importante numero de los pacientes pediatricos con SIDA atendidos por la Fundacion Innocens tienen un deterioro del estado nutricional, lo que amerita la implementacion de un programa de atencion nutricional integral, a fin de contribuir con el mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de estos pacientes
A diversity technique of anti-multipath based on STBC for pseudolite systems

In the design of indoor high-precision positioning systems, the multipath effect is the main problem impacting the performance of the pseudolite positioning system. For the indoor propagate environment, multipath fading serious, signal losing frequently, signal to noise ratio cutting down. In order to reduce the multipath effect and improve the relevant capture characteristics of the receiving loop, we presents a technical scheme adding STBC (Space-time Block Coding) to conventional pseudolite systems. Therefore the dual-transmitting and single-receiving antenna (2Tx, 1Rx) is adopted in this scheme. Meanwhile the space-time encoding based on STBC is used at the transmitter, and channel frequency estimating, space time decoding based on MLD (Maximum Likelihood Decoding) and EGC (Equal-Gain Combining) are used at the receiver. The simulation results show that the scheme can reduce the impacts of multipath effect and increase the SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) of received signals, so as to improve the positioning accuracy of the pseudolite receiver.
The Pathology of Otitis Media

Knowledge of the pathology of otitis media is conflicting in spite of the vast amount of relevant literature. One of the objects of the present investigation has been to re-examine this field in relation to the question as to whether the pathology of otitis media and maistoiditis has changed since the advent of the antibiotics as often suggested. For this purpose bone-chips removed at recent mastoidectomy operations have been studied.
Inelastic-tunneling model for the linear conductance background in the high-Tc superconductors.

The linear conductance background observed in tunneling into the high-{Tc} superconductors has often been interpreted as a density-of-states effect. Here we argue that it may be due instead to strong inelastic electron tunneling from a broad, flat continuum of states. We provide a specific model for such a continuum of states in the high-{ital T}{sub {ital c}} superconductors based upon a form for the spin-fluctuation spectral weight which fits NMR data, and compare the predictions of this model with experiment.
Spectrum Sensing Techniques for 2-hop Cooperative Cognitive Radio Networks : Comparative Analysis

Spectrum sensing is an important aspect of cognitive radio systems. In order to efficiently utilize the spectrum, the role of spectrum sensing is essential in cognitive radio networks. The transmitter detection based techniques: energy detection, cyclostationary feature detection, and matched filter detection, is most commonly used for the spectrum sensing. The Energy detection technique is implemented in the 2-hop cooperative cognitive radio network in which Orthogonal Space Time Block Coding (OSTBC) is applied with the Decode and Forward (DF) protocol at the cognitive relays. The Energy detection technique is simplest and gives good results at the higher Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) values. However, at the low SNR values its performance degrades. Moreover, each transmitter detection technique has a SNR threshold, below which it fails to work robustly. This thesis aims to find the most reliable and accurate spectrum sensing technique in the 2-hop cooperative cognitive radio network. Using Matlab simulations, a comparative analysis of three transmitter detection techniques has been made in terms of higher probability of detection. In order to remove the shortcomings faced by all the three techniques, the Fuzzy-combined logic sensing approach is also implemented and compared with transmitter detection techniques.
Effects of denaturants on amide proton exchange rates: a test for structure in protein fragments and folding intermediates.

A method for detecting structure in marginally stable forms of a protein is described. The principle is to measure amide proton exchange rates in the absence and presence of varying concentrations of a denaturant. Unfolding of structure by the denaturant is reflected by an acceleration of amide proton exchange rates, after correction for the effects of the denaturant on the intrinsic rate of exchange. This exchange-rate test for structure makes no assumptions about the rate of exchange in the unfolded state. The effects of 0-8 M urea and 0-6 M guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) on acid- and base-catalyzed exchange from model compounds have been calibrated. GdmCl does not appear to be well-suited for use in the exchange-rate test; model compound studies show that the effects of GdmCl on intrinsic exchange rates are complicated. In contrast, the effects of urea are a more uniform function of denaturant concentration. Urea increases acid-catalyzed, and decreases base-catalyzed, rates in model compounds. The exchange-rate test is used here to study structure formation in the S-protein (residues 21-124 of ribonuclease A). In conditions where an equilibrium folding intermediate of S-protein (I3) is known to be populated (pH 1.7, 0 degree C), the exchange-rate test for structure is positive. At higher temperatures (greater than 32 degrees C) I3 is unfolded, but circular dichroism data suggest that residual structure remains [Labhardt, A. M. (1982) J. Mol. Biol. 157, 357-371]. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Repetitive model predictive control for precise control of complex trajectory tracking in dual-stage actuator systems

This article presents a predictive control methodology for the precise tracking of complex reference commands in dual-stage actuator systems. To improve synchronized motion control performance, a cost function was applied to account for dual-stage actuator tracking error as well as tracking error in the first-stage actuator. The dual-stage actuator control system uses repetitive model predictive control with two repetitive controllers to reduce the occurrence of periodic errors. As in precision machining, a complex reference trajectory containing two dynamic tracking signals with non-trivial magnitude and frequency orders in a motor/piezoelectric-driven dual-stage actuator system was used to evaluate the practicability of the proposed repetitive model predictive control method. Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed repetitive model predictive control system in enhancing the periodic tracking control of dual-stage actuator systems, even when subjected to persistent short pulse disturbance.
Recurrent patterns of DNA methylation in the ZNF154, CASP8, and VHL promoters across a wide spectrum of human solid epithelial tumors and cancer cell lines

The study of aberrant DNA methylation in cancer holds the key to the discovery of novel biological markers for diagnostics and can help to delineate important mechanisms of disease. We have identified 12 loci that are differentially methylated in serous ovarian cancers and endometrioid ovarian and endometrial cancers with respect to normal control samples. The strongest signal showed hypermethylation in tumors at a CpG island within the ZNF154 promoter. We show that hypermethylation of this locus is recurrent across solid human epithelial tumor samples for 15 of 16 distinct cancer types from TCGA. Furthermore, ZNF154 hypermethylation is strikingly present across a diverse panel of ENCODE cell lines, but only in those derived from tumor cells. By extending our analysis from the Illumina 27K Infinium platform to the 450K platform, to sequencing of PCR amplicons from bisulfite treated DNA, we demonstrate that hypermethylation extends across the breadth of the ZNF154 CpG island. We have also identified recurrent hypomethylation in two genomic regions associated with CASP8 and VHL. These three genes exhibit significant negative correlation between methylation and gene expression across many cancer types, as well as patterns of DNaseI hypersensitivity and histone marks that reflect different chromatin accessibility in cancer vs. normal cell lines. Our findings emphasize hypermethylation of ZNF154 as a biological marker of relevance for tumor identification. Epigenetic modifications affecting the promoters of ZNF154, CASP8, and VHL are shared across a vast array of tumor types and may therefore be important for understanding the genomic landscape of cancer.