Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
p80/85 Cortactin Associates with the Src SH2 Domain and Colocalizes with v-Src in Transformed Cells (*)

Expression of oncogenic variants of pp60 leads to dramatic changes in cytoskeletal organization characteristic of transformation. Activated Src associates with the cytoskeletal matrix, resulting in tyrosine phosphorylation of specific cytoskeletal substrates. We have previously shown that stable association of Src with the cytoskeletal matrix is mediated by the Src SH2 domain in a phosphotyrosine-dependent interaction. In this report, we demonstrate that one of the cytoskeletal binding partners of Src is p80/85 cortactin. The association was observed in lysates of transformed cells but was not seen in normal fibroblasts. The interaction could be reconstituted in vitro using transformed cell extracts and a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein containing the Src SH2 domain but not with GST-Src SH3 or with GST-Src SH2 containing a point mutation in the FLVRES sequence. Confocal microscopy revealed that cortactin redistributed and colocalized with v-Src and a Src SH3 deletion mutant in transformed cells. However, in cells expressing a Src SH2 deletion mutant, the redistribution of cortactin and colocalization with Src did not occur. Furthermore, biochemical fractionation of transformed cells indicated that a significant increase in cortactin distribution to the cytoskeletal fraction occurred, which correlated with a shift in the tyrosine-phosphorylated form of the protein. Cortactin fractionated from cells expressing kinase-defective or myristylation-defective Src mutants did not exhibit this shift. These data suggest a molecular mechanism by which tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin and association with the Src SH2 domain influence the cytoskeletal reorganization induced in Src-transformed cells.
The role of telomerase activity in hepatocellular carcinoma

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to clarify the role of telomerase activity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS:Specimens from both HCC and noncancerous liver were obtained from 39 patients with HCC using a 14-gauge biopsy needle immediately after laparotomy. Telomerase activity was determined using a telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay. The 3+ of telomerase activity in HCC was defined as a high telomerase group, and 2+ or less of HCC telomerase activity was defined as a low telomerase group. In noncancerous liver, 2+ or more of telomerase activity was defined as an increased telomerase group, and 1+ or less of telomerase activity was defined as a nonincreased telomerase group. The correlation between telomerase activity in HCC or noncancerous liver and clinicopathological factors, including prognosis, was investigated.RESULTS:Telomerase activities in HCCs were 0 in one patient, 1+ in two, 2+ in seven, and 3+ in 29 patients. The disease-free survival rate in the high telomerase group was significantly worse than that in the low telomerase group. The des-γ-carboxy prothrombin level in a high telomerase group (median, 330 mAU/ml) was significantly higher than that in the low telomerase group (median, 150 mAU/ml). A multivariate analysis revealed that higher TNM stage, high telomerase activity in HCC, female gender, and high α-fetoprotein value were independent significant factors related to be early recurrence. The incidence of multicentric HCC occurrence in the increased telomerase group (53.3%) tended to be higher than that in the nonincreased telomerase group (27.3%). CONCLUSION:A high telomerase activity in HCC correlated with the potential of HCC to be more malignant, which was expressed as both a high level of des-γ-carboxy prothrombin and an earlier recurrence after hepatectomy than that of HCC with a low telomerase activity.
The Perception of Social Bots by Human and Machine

In this work, we investigate how humans and machine learning algorithms may detect social (inﬂuence) bots (as opposed to human created ones). We concentrate on two primary questions of interest: (1) What features do humans attend to in order to decide whether a social media account is human? ; (2) How do those features compare with those most useful in classiﬁcation algorithms trained to identify social bot accounts? Our study uses a dataset that was collected as a part of a social bot discovery competition. We discuss the predictive value of a variety of structural-and content-derived features and how these qualities may be utilized to inform social bot detectors that operate optimally, relevant to both human-and machine-based perception.
Soliton-based optical communications: an overview

Multiterabit/s, ultrahigh-speed optical transmissions over several thousands of kilometers on fibers are becoming reality. Most use return-to-zero (RZ) format, only stable waveform in the presence of fiber Kerr nonlinearity and dispersion in an all-optical transmission line with loss compensated by periodic amplifications. The nonlinear Schrodinger equation, assisted by the split-step numerical solutions, is commonly used as the master equation to describe the information transfer in optical fibers. All these facts are the outcome of research on optical solitons in fibers in spite of the fact that the commonly used RZ format is not always called a soliton format. The overview presented here attempts to incorporate the role of soliton-based communications research on present-day ultrahigh-speed communications.
Reactive navigation of a nonholonomic mobile robot for autonomous sweep coverage of a surface embedded in a 3D workspace

An under-actuated nonholonomic robot travels in a 3D workspace with a constant surge speed and is controlled by upper bounded pitching and yawing rates. The objective is to approach an unknown 2D surface embedded in the workspace and subsequently ensure its sweep coverage with following in a pre-specified close range. The robot is perceptually deficient and has access only to a certain direction (typically, vertical) in the space, its own coordinate (typically, altitude) in this direction, and the “horizontal” distance to the surface. A novel strategy is presented that achieves the navigation objective in an autonomous fashion, in particular, ensures full scan of the surface within a desired range of “altitudes”. This strategy is computationally non-demanding, is confined to the lowest control level, and generates the current control as a refiex-like reaction to the current observation. Mathematically rigorous analysis and justification of the proposed navigation approach are provided; its applicability and performance are confirmed by computer simulation tests.
Acupuncture for adults with overactive bladder: a systematic review protocol

Introduction Overactive bladder (OAB) is a symptom syndrome defined by the International Continence Society (ICS) as ‘the presence of urinary urgency (both daytime and nighttime), usually accompanied by increased frequency and nocturia with or without urge urinary incontinence in the absence of a urinary tract infection or other obvious pathology’. Clinical studies indicate that acupuncture could reduce micturition over 24 h, urgency episodes over 24 h, and improve quality of life among people with OAB. This systematic review protocol details the proposed methods for evaluating the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for OAB. Methods and analysis The following databases will be searched for relevant studies: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Cochrane Incontinence Group Trials Register, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese Medical Current Content (CMCC), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database), Wan-Fang Data, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and will hand search a list of medical journals as a supplement. Any randomised controlled trials in English or Chinese without restriction of publication status will be included with treatment of OAB. Outcomes will mainly include number of micturition episodes over 24 h, number of urgency episodes over 24 h and number of incontinence episodes over 24 h. Two reviewers will independently screen the titles, abstracts or even full texts, and extract data. Two other reviewers will assess study quality. Revman 5.1 software will be used to conduct meta-analysis and calculate the risk ratio for dichotomous data. Weighted mean difference or standard mean difference will be calculated for continuous data. The Cochrane collaboration's tool will be used to assess the risk of bias. Dissemination This systematic review protocol will provide information on acupuncture therapy for OAB. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication or conference presentations. Protocol registration PROSPERO CRD42014010181.
Selección de carteras: una mirada a las metodologías estudiadas y aplicadas en Colombia

La meta principal de los inversionistas en los mercados financieros es lograr maximizar los rendimientos de su portafolio pero bajo el escenario de un minimo de riesgos. Este documento presenta una resena bibliografica sobre algunas de las metodologias estudiadas para conformar portafolios optimos de inversion en Colombia bajo un criterio de diversificacion de los activos. Como resultado de esta investigacion, se concluye que la Teoria Moderna de Seleccion de carteras de Harry Markowitz, es la mas utilizada en las investigaciones, a traves de simulaciones basadas en la herramienta tecnologica Microsoft Excel.
Semi-Automatic Online Tagging with K-Medoid Clustering

Online tagging is crucial for the acquisition and organization of web knowledge. We present TYG (Tag-as-You-Go) in this paper, a web browser extension for online tagging of personal knowledge on standard web pages. We investigate an approach to combine a K-Medoid-style clustering algorithm with the user input to achieve semi-automatic web page annotation. The annotation process supports user-defined tagging schema and comprises an automatic mechanism that is built upon clustering techniques, which can automatically group similar HTML DOM nodes into clusters corresponding to the user specification. TYG is a prototype system illustrating the proposed approach. Experiments with TYG show that our approach can achieve both efficiency and effectiveness in real world annotation scenarios.
Comparison of Immunoglobulin G Responses to the Spike and Nucleocapsid Proteins of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus in Patients with SARS

ABSTRACT Both the nucleocapsid (N) and the spike (S) proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) are able to induce strong humoral responses in humans following an infection. To compare the immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses to the S and N proteins of SARS-CoV in SARS patients during the manifestation/convalescent period with those during the postinfection period, serum samples were collected from hospitalized SARS patients within 6 weeks after the onset of illness (set 1; 57 sequential samples from 19 patients) or 2 to 3 months after their recovery (set 2; 33 postinfection samples from 33 subjects). Serum samples from 100 healthy blood donors (set 3), collected in 2002, were also included. The specific IgG response to whole virus, the fragment from positions 450 to 650 of the S protein (S450-650), and the full-length N protein of SARS-CoV were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Western blot assays were carried out to confirm the ELISA results. Fifty-one of the serum samples in set 1 (89%) bound to the N protein, a proportion similar to that which recognized whole virus (79%) and the S-protein fragment (77%). All 33 serum samples from set 2 were strongly positive for N-protein-specific IgG, while 27 (82%) were positive for anti-S450-650 IgG. Two of the serum samples from set 3 were strongly positive for anti-N-protein IgG but not anti-S450-650 IgG. Similar levels of IgG responses to the S and N proteins were observed in SARS patients during the manifestation and convalescent stages. In the postinfection period, however, a number of patients had much lower serum IgG levels against S450-650 than against the N protein.
HLA-DQ8-Associated T Cell Responses to the Diabetes Autoantigen Phogrin (IA-2β) in Human Prediabetes1

Susceptibility to type 1A autoimmune diabetes is linked to expression of particular MHC class II molecules, notably HLA-DQ8 in man and the orthologous I-Ag7 in the nonobese diabetic mouse. In the present study, we analyzed two peptide epitopes (peptides 2 and 7) from the diabetes autoantigen phogrin (IA-2β), in the context of their presentation by the I-Ag7 and HLA-DQ8 molecules and their role as potential T cell antigenic epitopes in human diabetes. Both of these peptides are targets of diabetogenic CD4+ T cell clones in the nonobese diabetic mouse. Transgenic mice expressing HLA-DQ8 as the sole class II molecule generated a robust T cell-proliferative response when primed with peptide 2 or peptide 7 in CFA. Analysis of the IL-2 secretion from peptide 2-reactive T cell hybridomas stimulated with alanine-substituted peptides identified three residues that were crucial to the response. Among 41 islet cell Ag-positive prediabetic human subjects, 36.5% showed PBMC-proliferative responses to peptide 7, 17.1% to peptide 2, and 17.1% to both peptides; no response was seen among 20 matched healthy controls. Stratification of the data based upon HLA haplotype suggested that peptide 7 could be presented by at least one HLA-DR molecule in addition to HLA-DQ8, a finding that was supported by blocking studies with monomorphic mAbs. The results indicate that common phogrin peptides are targeted by autoreactive T cells in human and murine type 1A diabetes, and that the responses may in part be associated with the similar peptide-binding specificities of I-Ag7 and HLA-DQ8.
Magnetic Source Imaging of Cortical Dysfunction in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Boyajian RA, Amo C, Otis SM, Romine JS, Smith RA: Magnetic source imaging of cortical dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2008;87:427–437. Objective:The goal was to determine whether magnetic source imaging could identify a signature for cortical involvement in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and to determine whether the method might provide insight into functional abnormalities associated with the disease process. Design:Spontaneous brain activity recordings from whole-head 148-channel magnetoencephalography (MEG) were employed to look for localized dipolar sources of focal delta-theta (1–7 Hz) discharges in patients with ALS without dementia. Localized slow wave dipoles were mapped and counted by anatomic brain region, defined by MRI, and correlated against the revised ALS functional rating scale (a functional measure of ALS disability). In a substudy, defects in cortical activations mediating purposeful movement were investigated in an ALS patient with probable motor apraxia of an upper limb. Results:MEG revealed localized slow wave dipole sources in 7/7 ALS patients, including two recently diagnosed patients (0/8 age-similar controls). Systematic brain mapping of dipole source generators was possible in all seven ALS patients. The slow wave bursts were being generated from frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices, but not from occipital areas. The density of slow wave dipoles in cingulate gyrus correlated with the severity of upper-extremity disability as judged by the functional ALS measure. Further magnetic source imaging in the substudy patient with unilateral limb apraxia revealed abnormal central processing of purposeful movement with absent M2 in the contralateral secondary motor areas generating slow waves. Conclusions:This exploratory study documents widespread cortical dysfunction in patients with ALS, including those with recent onset of their disease. MEG is likely to be a powerful new tool for researching the contribution of cortical dysfunction to the motor disability that characterizes the disease process.
Antibiotic resistance among enterococci causing endocarditis in the UK: analysis of isolates referred to a reference laboratory

Enterococci account for 5-15% of cases of bacterial endocarditis.1 They are the most resistant bacteria commonly encountered in this type of infection, which is still associated with a mortality of 20-30%. 2 The treatment regimen for enterococcal endocarditis recommended by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and the American Heart Association is a synergistic bactericidal combination of a penicillin or glycopeptide with an aminoglycoside, usually gentamicin or streptomycin. 3 4 However, enterococci can acquire high level resistance to aminoglycosides, which abolishes this synergy.1 Enterococci can also exhibit high level resistance to penicillin or to glycopeptides.1 Our laboratory undertakes testing of bacteria from cases of endocarditis as a routine service; we analysed resistance among isolates from 120 cases of enterococcal endocarditis, received over 27 months. Results of tests for antibiotic susceptibility were analysed for enterococci referred from patients with a clinical diagnosis of endocarditis between January 1995 and March 1998. Isolates exhibiting high …
Towards frequency control with large scale Virtual Power Plants

The ongoing substitution of conventional power plants by renewable energy resources (RES) in Europe leads to new challenges for the operation of future power systems. Grid auxiliary services like frequency control which are traditionally provided by a few dedicated large power plants may in the future be realized by smaller generation units or loads. This paper discusses the applicability of small loads and generation units to participate to system frequency stabilization, by introducing a novel distributed coordination algorithm, that uses the concept of direct control to enable small generation units or loads to provide secondary control reserve. First we point out how the algorithm can be applied to classical Virtual Power Plants (VPP) control concepts using the example of price controlled VPPs. We analyse the aggregated ramping behaviour as well as the communication complexity and investigate the impact of particular (communication) parameters on the overall activation costs. First simulation studies will demonstrate a first prove of concept.
A brute force postgenome approach to identify temperature‐sensitive mutations that negatively interact with separase and securin plasmids

Background: The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe separase/Cut1 and securin/Cut2 are required for anaphase‐specific activation of proteolysis that leads to proper sister chromatid separation. We intended to identify ts (temperature sensitive) strains whose growth was inhibited by multicopy plasmid pCUT1 or pCUT2 at the permissive temperature.
Cancer stem cells and autophagy: Facts and Perspectives

Themodulation ofautophagyisnowrecognizedasoneofthehallmarksof cancercells. Dependingonthecontextand the type of cancer, autophagy may suppress tumor growth or may allow cancer cells to overcome metabolic stress and the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy. Recent studies have shed light on the role of autophagy in normal stem cells and in cancer stem cells(CSC). TheCSCconcepthasbeenacompellingbutcontroversialideaformanyyears.Recentlyseveralindependentgroups reportedtheinvivoexistenceofCSCsinbrain,intestinal,andskintumors.SpecifictargetingofCSCsmayimprovetheefficacyof cancer therapy. In this review, we will first summarize briefly our current understanding of the CSC concept, regulation of tumor heterogeneity, and CSC plasticity. We will then provide an update on the role of autophagy and signaling pathways in CSC maintenance and plasticity and, finally, will discuss the potential of targeting pathways involved in autophagy in CSCs for treatment of cancer.
Atlas of Medieval Jewish History

A comprehensive visual introduction to the history of the Jewish people in the Middle Ages. The Atlas includes more than one hundred maps, with accompanying text, that give an in-depth review of Jewish history throughout the world from the 5th to the 17th centuries. It covers milestone events of Jewish history during this period: the dispersion of the Jews in the 4th and 5th centuries up to the Crusades; the Black Death; the expulsion from Spain; the persecutions of 1648 in eastern Europe and the Sabbatean movement. The maps and text illustrate the sequence of persecution, expulsion, migration, and destruction, on the one hand, and a spiritual, religious, and cultural flowering, on the other. ,
Gouvernance et performance des pôles de PME

Si la litterature a largement traite du role des determinants structurels de la performance des formes agglomerees territorialisees, le lien entre gouvernance et performance n'a ete que peu apprehende. Nous tentons de combler ce vide en cernant les caracteristiques de la gouvernance des poles de competitivite francais. L'enquete qualitative sur Arve-Industries, pole a forte dominante PME, fait ressortir l'importance de l'implication des membres de la gouvernance comme determinant cle des performances collective et individuelle. Par ailleurs, la gouvernance doit s'adapter a l'evolution du pole, notamment passer par une formalisation lorsque le pole se situe en phase de croissance. (Centre Europeen d'Entreprise et d'Innovation), les membres de la gouvernance du pole Arve-Industries et les deux evaluateurs pour leurs commentaires constructifs.
The Role the Type of Vascular Access Plays in the Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus in a High Prevalence Hemodialysis Unit

Background The necessity of having a vascular access site as well as extracorporeal blood circulation, may add to the risk for patients being dialyzed in units with high HCV prevalence of acquiring hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. This study endeavors to determine the role the type of vascular access plays in the transmission of HCV infection in the hemodialysis (HD) unit of a Middle Eastern country. Methods The records of 198 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) enrolled on maintenance HD from November 1995 to November 2000 at this tertiary care center, were retrospectively reviewed to match the HCV prevalence and seroconversion rates among patients groups being dialyzed through various types of vascular accesses. Factors such as, number of units of blood transfused and dialytic age (time-span since the initiation of the HD treatment), implicated in transmission of HCV infection in HD units, were also recorded, and compared among these cohorts. Results The overall, high HCV seroprevalence of 43.4% (86/198) and annual seroconversion rate of 8.6% per year were recorded. Patients with arteriovenous fistula (AVF) documented peak anti-HCV prevalence [61.7% (63/102)] and annual seroconversion rates (12.3%) as compared to lowest prevalence of 12.9% (4/34) and seroconversion rate of 2.5%, observed among patients with permanent Catheters (PC). Patients dialyzed through polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts recorded the next highest HCV prevalence of 47.8% (11/23) with seroconversion rate of 9.5% but temporary catheter (TC) group had HCV prevalence of 19% (8/42) and seroconversion rate of 3.8% [Odd Ratio (OR)-1.58, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) (0.37–7.12), p-NS]. Conclusions Considerably higher annual seroconversion rates in AVF [OR-10.90, 95% CI (3.2–40.0), p<0.0001] and PTFE [OR-5.71, 95% CI (1.31–26.79), p<0.016)] groups, appear to suggest that the patients being dialyzed through AVF and PTFE, carried significantly higher risk of acquisition of HCV infection compared to those dialyzed through TC and PC (reference group). This could possibly be attributed to likely accessibility of HCV to blood circulation due to possible breakdown of standard infection control precautions during repeated punctures and cannulations of AVF and PTFE to perform a HD, in a unit with high baseline HCV prevalence.