Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human cytomegalovirus contains a tegument protein that enhances transcription from promoters with upstream ATF and AP-1 cis-acting elements

The tegument proteins of human cytomegalovirus are introduced into cells as components of infectious virus. The tegument proteins may affect viral and cellular transcription prior to the synthesis of the immediate-early viral regulatory proteins. The phosphorylated tegument protein of 71 kDa (pp71) is reported to be encoded by the UL82 gene. The UL82 gene products transactivated promoters containing upstream ATF or AP-1 binding sites. In contrast, the phosphorylated tegument protein of 65 kDa (pp65), encoded by the UL83 gene, had no detectable effect on these promoters. Enhancement by UL82 of downstream transcription was directly proportional to the number of upstream ATF sites. Response to UL82 transactivation was abolished by mutation of the ATF site. Mutation in the carboxy-terminal region of UL82 also eliminated transactivation. Even though the major immediate-early promoter of human cytomegalovirus is a strong enhancer-containing promoter, UL82 further enhanced its transcription as much as 20-fold. The mechanism of UL82 enhancement of transcription from viral or cellular promoters is not known, but the enhancement may be mediated by triggering one of the protein kinase signaling pathways, increasing the affinity of ATF or AP-1 for the target sequence, or stabilizing the complex between the eucaryotic transcription factor and the target sequence.
A study of the optimal allocation of shunt capacitor based on modified loss sensitivity algorithm

Minimization of active power losses is one of the essential aims for any electric utility, due to its importance in improvement of system properties towards minimum production cost and to support increase load requirement. In this paper we have studied the possibility of reducing the value of real power losses for (IEEE-14- Bus bar) global system transmission lines by choosing the best location to install shunt capacitor depending on new algorithm for calculate the optimal allocation, which considering the value of real power losses derivative with injection reactive power as an indicator of the ability of reducing losses at load buses. The results show the validity of this method for application in electric power transmission lines.
Lymphotropic Virions Affect Chemokine Receptor-Mediated Neural Signaling and Apoptosis: Implications for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Associated Dementia

ABSTRACT Chemokine receptors pivotal for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in lymphocytes and macrophages (CCR3, CCR5, and CXCR4) are expressed on neural cells (microglia, astrocytes, and/or neurons). It is these cells which are damaged during progressive HIV-1 infection of the central nervous system. We theorize that viral coreceptors could effect neural cell damage during HIV-1-associated dementia (HAD) without simultaneously affecting viral replication. To these ends, we studied the ability of diverse viral strains to affect intracellular signaling and apoptosis of neurons, astrocytes, and monocyte-derived macrophages. Inhibition of cyclic AMP, activation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, and apoptosis were induced by diverse HIV-1 strains, principally in neurons. Virions from T-cell-tropic (T-tropic) strains (MN, IIIB, and Lai) produced the most significant alterations in signaling of neurons and astrocytes. The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein, gp120, induced markedly less neural damage than purified virions. Macrophage-tropic (M-tropic) strains (ADA, JR-FL, Bal, MS-CSF, and DJV) produced the least neural damage, while 89.6, a dual-tropic HIV-1 strain, elicited intermediate neural cell damage. All T-tropic strain-mediated neuronal impairments were blocked by the CXCR4 antibody, 12G5. In contrast, the M-tropic strains were only partially blocked by 12G5. CXCR4-mediated neuronal apoptosis was confirmed in pure populations of rat cerebellar granule neurons and was blocked by HA1004, an inhibitor of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, protein kinase A, and protein kinase C. Taken together, these results suggest that progeny HIV-1 virions can influence neuronal signal transduction and apoptosis. This process occurs, in part, through CXCR4 and is independent of CD4 binding. T-tropic viruses that traffic in and out of the brain during progressive HIV-1 disease may play an important role in HAD neuropathogenesis.
A Low Voltage Mixer With Improved Noise Figure

A 5.2 GHz low voltage mixer with improved noise figure using TSMC 0.18 mum CMOS technology is presented in this letter. This mixer utilizes current reuse and ac-coupled folded switching to achieve low supply voltage. The noise figure of the mixer is strongly influenced by flicker noise. A resonating inductor is implemented for tuning out the parasitic components, which not only can improve noise figure but also enhance conversion gain. A low voltage mixer without resonating technique has also been fabricated and measured for comparison. Simulated results reveal that flicker corner frequency is lowered. The measured results show 4.5 dB conversion gain enhancement and 4 dB reduction of noise figure. The down-conversion mixer with resonating inductor achieves 5.8 dB conversion gain, -16 dBm P1dB, -6 dBm IIP3 at power consumption of 3.8 mW and 1 V supply voltage.
A Theoretical Study of Epidural Electrical Stimulation of the Spinal Cord - Part II: Effects on Long Myelinated Fibers

This second paper, of two, draws upon earlier finite element solutions for electrical fields generated within the spinal cord by epidural electrodes. Given those fields, a lumped network model of the myelinated nerve axon is used to predict stimulation thresholds for afferent fiber pathways in the dorsal columns and dorsal roots. Threshold predictions for dorsal column fibers of 5 and 10 , im diameters correspond closely with sensory thresholds reported experimentally. Descending fibers in the lateral corticospinal tracts are also considered. Comparisons are made to other possible targets of stimulation, and the theoretical indications are discussed in the context of clinical findings.
Critical thinking for engineers and engineering critical thinking

Design decisions for a critical thinking curriculum for engineering students serve as a point of departure to briefly describe an under-appreciated reason to emphasize critical thinking in engineering programs. An increasing focus on the role of context, environment and systems in shaping human judgement means that engineers should be especially aware of the propensity for designs and implementations to affect the reasoning of people for whom they function as lived experience. Preparing engineers to recognize and work responsibly around these issues is a secondary reason to teach critical thinking in those programs.
GPU-Accelerated Single Image Depth Estimation with Color-Filtered Aperture

There are two major ways to implement depth estimation, multiple image depth estimation and single image depth estimation, respectively. The former has a high hardware cost because it uses multiple cameras but it has a simple software algorithm. Conversely, the latter has a low hardware cost but the software algorithm is complex. One of the recent trends in this field is to make a system compact, or even portable, and to simplify the optical elements to be attached to the conventional camera. In this paper, we present an implementation of depth estimation with a single image using a graphics processing unit (GPU) in a desktop PC, and achieve real-time application via our evolutional algorithm and parallel processing technique, employing a compute shader. The methods greatly accelerate the compute-intensive implementation of depth estimation with a single view image from 0.003 frames per second (fps) (implemented in MATLAB) to 53 fps, which is almost twice the real-time standard of 30 fps. In the previous literature, to the best of our knowledge, no paper discusses the optimization of depth estimation using a single image, and the frame rate of our final result is better than that of previous studies using multiple images, whose frame rate is about 20fps.
Distributed data mining on the grid

Distributed data mining (DDM) is widely used in industrial, scientific and commercial applications to analyze large data sets maintained over geographically distributed sites, which makes DDM a major research issue on today's data mining system. As a latest member in distributed computing technology family, the grid computing can play an increasingly important role with the progress of the DDM technology in recent years. This paper analyzed the drawback of existing DDM systems and put forward a service-oriented architecture of DDM on the grid. The mining algorithm and distributed data sets in the proposed framework are abstracted as Web service resource (WS-resource), which can cooperate to perform DDM as required dynamically. Finally, a grid based on local area network was built with Globus Toolkit 4.0Beta and the algorithm of WS-resource, dataset WS-resource for data mining on the grid are developed.
Algorithm engineering for large data sets

Massive data sets arise naturally in many domains: database and geographic information systems, telecommunication, enterprise software, Internet, and scientific computing. Recently, the development of I/O-efficient algorithms and data structures for large data sets has received considerable attention. However, much less has been done to evaluate their performance. We present the software library Stxxl that enables practice-oriented experimentation with huge data. Stxxl is an implementation of the C++ standard template library STL for external memory computations. It supports parallel disks, overlapping between I/O and computation and it is the first external memory algorithm library that supports the pipelining technique that can save many I/Os. We engineer practical I/O-efficient algorithms and their Stxxl implementations for a number of graph and text processing problems. The performance of the Stxxl is evaluated on many synthetic and real-world inputs. This book is written for students, researchers and software developers who want to learn how the interplay of hardware, software, and state-of-the-art algorithms helps to achieve high-performance processing of massive data.
Leptomyxid ameba, a new agent of amebic meningoencephalitis in humans and animals

Amebae belonging to the order Leptomyxida are regarded as innocuous soil organisms incapable of infecting mammals. We report here the isolation of a leptomyxid ameba from the brain of a pregnant baboon (Papio sphinx) that died of meningoencephalitis at the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park. By using rabbit anti-leptomyxid serum in the immunofluorescence assay, we have identified the leptomyxid ameba in the brain sections of a number of human encephalitic cases from around the world as well as a few cases of meningoencephalitis in animals in the United States, which suggests that the leptomyxid amebae are potential etiologic agents of fatal meningoencephalitis in humans and animals.
PLANTS-THE NEXT GENERATION TREATMENT OF LEUKEMIA

Discovery of the medicine or drug is time consuming and labour intensive process. Natural products have vast chemical diversity and it has ability to act on various biological systems. Plants and its products are the important elements in the plant medicine system. Many of the plant extracts currently used in the treatment of cancer therapy and those agents were also isolated from plants. Here the main objective of this review is to introduce the plants and its products used in the treatment of the leukemia effectively.
A DNA Damage Response Screen Identifies RHINO, a 9-1-1 and TopBP1 Interacting Protein Required for ATR Signaling

A screen identifies proteins not previously known to function in protecting cells from DNA damage. The DNA damage response (DDR) is brought about by a protein kinase cascade that orchestrates DNA repair through transcriptional and posttranslational mechanisms. Cell cycle arrest is a hallmark of the DDR. We screened for cells that lacked damage-induced cell cycle arrest and uncovered a critical role for Fanconi anemia and homologous recombination proteins in ATR (ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related) signaling. Three DDR candidates, the RNA processing protein INTS7, the circadian transcription factor CLOCK, and a previously uncharacterized protein RHINO, were recruited to sites of DNA damage. RHINO independently bound the Rad9-Rad1-Hus1 complex (9-1-1) and the ATR activator TopBP1. RHINO was recruited to sites of DNA damage by the 9-1-1 complex to promote Chk1 activation. We suggest that RHINO functions together with the 9-1-1 complex and TopBP1 to fully activate ATR.
A Fractional Dickey–Fuller Test for Unit Roots

This paper presents a new test for fractionally integrated ("FI") processes. In particular, we propose a testing procedure in the time domain that extends the well-known Dickey-Fuller approach, originally designed for the "I"(1) versus "I"(0) case, to the more general setup of "FI"("d"-sub-0) versus "FI"("d"-sub-1), with "d"-sub-1<"d"-sub-0. When "d"-sub-0=1, the proposed test statistics are based on the OLS estimator, or its "t"-ratio, of the coefficient on Δ-super-"d"-sub-1"y"-sub-"t" - 1 in a regression of Δ"y-sub-t" on Δ-super-"d"-sub-1"y"-sub-"t" - 1 and, possibly, some lags of Δ"y-sub-t". When "d"-sub-1 is not taken to be known a priori, a pre-estimation of "d"-sub-1 is needed to implement the test. We show that the choice of any "T"-super-1s2-consistent estimator of "d"-sub-1 is an element of [0 ,1) suffices to make the test feasible, while achieving asymptotic normality. Monte-Carlo simulations support the analytical results derived in the paper and show that proposed tests fare very well, both in terms of power and size, when compared with others available in the literature. The paper ends with two empirical applications. Copyright The Econometric Society 2002.
Cluster-enhanced sparse approximation of overlapping ultrasonic echoes

Ultrasonic pulse-echo methods have been used extensively in non-destructive testing of layered structures. In acoustic measurements on thin layers, the resulting echoes from two successive interfaces overlap in time, making it difficult to assess the individual echo parameters. Over the last decade sparse approximation methods have been extensively used to address this issue. These methods employ a large dictionary of elementary functions (atoms) and attempt to select the smallest subset of atoms (sparsest approximation) that represent the ultrasonic signal accurately. In this paper we propose the cluster-enhanced sparse approximation (CESA) method for estimating overlapping ultrasonic echoes. CESA is specifically adapted to deal with a large number of signals acquired during an ultrasonic scan. It incorporates two principal algorithms. The first is a clustering algorithm, which divides a set of signals comprising an ultrasonic scan into groups of signals that can be approximated by the same set of atoms. The second is a two-stage iterative algorithm, which alternates between update of the atoms associated with each cluster, and re-clustering of the signals according to the updated atoms. Because CESA operates on clusters of signals, it achieves improved results in terms of approximation error and computation time compared with conventional sparse methods, which operate on each signal separately. The superior ability of CESA to approximate highly overlapping ultrasonic echoes is demonstrated through simulation and experiments on adhesively bonded structures.
Cerebellar lesions impair rapid saccade amplitude adaptation

This study investigated whether the cerebellum is essential for rapid saccade adaptation. Saccade adaptation was elicited by 30% backward target steps during the primary saccade. Patients with cerebellar lesions adapted less than normal subjects, but saccade adaptation was most impaired in the group of patients with cerebellar degeneration. As the variability of the saccade gain in patients with cerebellar degeneration did not significantly differ from that in the other patients, the increased variability in motor performance due to a cerebellar lesion cannot alone explain this impaired adaptation.
A statistical model based on spatio-temporal features for action recognition

Local spatio-temporal features have recently become a popular video representation for action recognition. In this paper, we propose a statistical model based on sparse representation of space-time features. The Harris3D detector, which extends the Harris detector for images to image sequences, is used as a feature detector, and histograms of gradient orientations (HOG) is used as a feature descriptor. The statistical distribution of the local spatio-temporal features for each action category is obtained using the independent component analysis (ICA). Finally, we test our model on public action database KTH, and the recognition results demonstrate the effectiveness of our model.
A randomised controlled trial to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of Hickman line insertions in adult cancer patients by nurses.

OBJECTIVES To examine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of image-guided Hickman line insertions versus blind Hickman line insertions undertaken by nurses in adult cancer patients. DESIGN A cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out alongside a randomised controlled trial. SETTING A large acute cancer centre in Manchester, UK. PARTICIPANTS Cancer patients due to have a Hickman line insertion who were over 18 years of age and were clinically and physically compliant with specified protocols. INTERVENTIONS In order to obtain central venous access for the patient, two interventions were investigated: (i) blind insertion of a Hickman line and (ii) image-guided insertion of a Hickman line. Both interventions involved blind venipuncture of the subclavian vein. In the blind arm, the Hickman line was routinely inserted without the use of image guidance at any point in the procedure. Transfer to the interventional X-ray suite and use of image guidance were options immediately available to the operator during the procedure if required. In the image-guided arm, the position of the guidewire was checked before the Hickman line was introduced and later the Hickman line was positioned with the use of X-ray fluoroscopy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary clinical outcome measure was catheter-tip misplacement and this was expected to be higher in the blind arm. When comparing the skill level of the trainer and the trainees, pneumothorax was the primary clinical outcome measure. Other outcomes measures included arterial puncture, haematoma, infection, failed insertion and assistance from other healthcare professionals. RESULTS No statistically significant difference was found between the mean cost per patient in the two arms of the trial. The only statistically significant difference in clinical outcomes was the frequency of catheter-tip misplacement, which was higher in the blind arm of the trial. At very low costs, the image-guided approach dominates the blind approach as fewer costs and greater benefits are incurred. It is evident that nurses previously inexperienced in the procedure can be trained to insert Hickman lines successfully both at the bedside and under image guidance within a 3-month period. CONCLUSIONS This report indicates that nurse insertion of Hickman lines in the majority of adult cancer patients is both safe and effective. However, there are a select group of patients for whom image-guided insertion may be preferred. The results reveal that skills and expertise can be transferred from trainer to trainee through a relatively short, but intensive, training course. It is also evident that patients support nurse insertion. Further research is suggested to compare the safety and efficacy of nurse versus doctor insertions in particular subgroups of patients and also to assess the quantity and quality of current service provision in order to inform NHS decision-making in this area.
Changes in gene expression induced by aromatic amine drugs: Testing the danger hypothesis

Virtually all drugs that contain a primary aromatic amine are associated with a high incidence of idiosyncratic drug reactions (IDRs), suggesting that this functional group has biological effects that may be used as biomarkers to predict IDR risk. Most IDRs exhibit evidence of immune involvement and the ability of aromatic amines to form reactive metabolites and redox cycle may be responsible for initiation of an immune response through induction of cell stress, as postulated by the Danger Hypothesis. If true, danger signals could be biomarkers of IDR risk. A previous attempt to test the Danger Hypothesis found that sulfamethoxazole (SMX), the only aromatic amine tested, was also the only drug not associated with an increase of cell stress genes in mice. To ensure that these observations were not species-specific, and to determine biomarkers of IDR risk common to aromatic amines, rats were treated with SMX and two other aromatic amine drugs, dapsone (DDS) and aminoglutethimide (AMG), and hepatic gene expression was determined using microarrays. As in mice, SMX induced minimal gene changes in the rat, and none indicated cell stress, whereas DDS and AMG induced several changes including up-regulation of enzymes such as aldo-keto reductase, glutathione-S-transferase, and aldehyde dehydrogenase, which may represent danger signals. Early insulin-induced hepatic gene (Eiih) was up-regulated by all three drugs. Some mRNA changes were observed in the Keap-1-Nrf2-ARE pathway; however, the pattern was significantly different for each drug. Overall, the most salient finding was that the changes in the liver were minimal, even though aromatic amines cause a high incidence of IDRs. The liver generates a large number of reactive species; however, the ability of aromatic amines to be bioactivated by cells of the immune system may be why they cause a high incidence of IDRs.
A mitochondrial lesion in experimental spinal cord trauma.

✓ Cytochrome oxidase activities were determined by a microspectrophotometric method on microdissected samples of gray and white matter from frozen-dried sections of dog spinal cord. Experimental animals received 400 gm-cm impact at the T-3 to T-4 level. Sections for enzyme analysis and histological study were taken at the center of the trauma site, at successive 1-mm distances from the center, and at non-traumatized segments. A drop in cytochrome oxidase activities to approximately 50% of normal value was found as early as 15 minutes post-trauma, with greatest decrease at the trauma center and lesser effects at successive distances. This effect was related to known morphological defects in mitochondrial cristae and inner membranes. The enzyme change was significantly correlated with histological estimates of gray matter and neuronal damage, but was also partially independent of these processes. A small but significant increase of enzyme activity in white matter at the trauma site was considered most likel.
B Vitamins and Homocysteine in Cardiovascular Disease and Aging

ABSTRACT: The sulfur‐containing amino acid, homocysteine, is formed from the essential amino acid methionine, and a number of B vitamins are involved in methionine metabolism. Pyridoxine, vitamin B6, is a cofactor for cystathionine β synthase, which mediates the transformation of homocysteine to cystathionine, the initial step in the transsulfuration pathway and the urinary excretion of sulfur. In a normal diet there is conservation of the carbon skeleton, and about 50% of the homocysteine formed is remethylated to methionine via steps that require folic acid and vitamin B12. A deficiency of any of these three vitamins leads to modest homocyst(e)ine elevation, as does diminished renal function, both of which are common in the elderly. It is also established that homocyst(e)ine elevation of this order is associated with increased cardiovascular risk but is also associated with most established risk factors, although it is thought to be an independent contributor.