Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rac1/p21‐activated kinase pathway controls retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation and E2F transcription factor activation in B lymphocytes

Small GTPases of the Ras superfamily are capable of activating E2F‐dependent transcription leading to cell proliferation, but the molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, using immortalized chicken DT40 B cell lines to investigate the role of the Vav/Rac signalling cascade on B cell proliferation, it is shown that the proliferative response triggered by B cell receptor activation is dramatically reduced in the absence of Vav3 expression. Analysis of this proliferative defect shows that in the absence of Vav3 expression, retinoblastoma protein (RB) phosphorylation and the subsequent E2F activation do not take place. By combining pharmacological and genetic approaches, phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase and phospholipase Cγ2 (PLCγ2) were identified as the key regulatory signalling molecules upstream of the Vav3/Rac pathway leading to RB phosphorylation and E2F transcription factor activation. Additionally, vav3−/− and plcγ2−/− DT40 B cells were not able to activate the RB–E2F complex wild‐type phenotype when these genetically modified cells were transfected with constitutively active forms of RhoA or Cdc42. However, when these knockout cells were transfected with different constitutively active versions of PLCγ, Vav or Rac1, not only activation of the RB–E2F complex wild‐type phenotype was recovered but also the cellular proliferation. Furthermore, by evaluating the effect of two known effector mutants of Rac1 (Rac1Q61L/F37A and Rac1Q61L/Y40C), the RB–E2F complex activation dependency on p21‐activated kinase (PAK) and protein kinase Cε (PKCε) activities was established, being independent of both actin cytoskeleton reorganization and Ras activity. These results suggest that PAK1 and PKCε may be potential therapeutic targets to stop uncontrolled B cell proliferation mediated by the Vav/Rac pathway.
Mutil-slice computed tomography in coronary artery disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the developing world. Invasive coronary angiography is considered the golden standard of diagnosis for CAD. As invasive procedures have an associated mortality (0.15%) and morbidity (1.5%), cardiologists desired to find accurate noninvasive diagnostic tests. More recently, cardiac MDCT has gained popularity for the detection and quantification of coronary artery disease. Cardiac MDCT is the fastest growing noninvasive diagnostic cardiac imaging modality in the China, with dedicated cardiovascular systems available now in most large hospital and outpatient cardiology practices. In addition to coronary angiography, MDCT is commonly utilized for 3-dimensional planning of electrophysiological and surgical procedures, such as radiofrequency ablation, redo-myocardial revascularization and aortic aneurysm and dissection repair. In our paper we will review the current and developing clinical applications in CAD of cardiac MDCT.
Design and evaluation of a kW-class SMES-BES DVR system for mitigation of power quality disturbances

A dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) integrated with superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) and battery energy storage (BES) systems is proposed and its performance is evaluated in this study. Detailed model is built and verified in PSCAD/EMTDC. The dynamic performance evaluations of the SMES-BES-based DVR applied in power quality improvements are presented. Simulation results show that the SMES-BES-based DVR has good dynamic response under different kinds of voltage sag, voltage swell and voltage harmonics. Relationships obtained from different voltage sag depths and sag phase angle are explored to suit various practical sensitive load protections with the SMES-BES-based DVR.
A preliminary assessment of sweet potato cultivars for sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV)

Four cultivars of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) at the Gatton Research Station (Queensland) were screened for sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV). Both mother stock and field grown material were indexed by grafting to the indicator plant Ipomoea setosa. Within the limitations of our testing procedures, virus was not detected in mother stock of cw. Rojo Blanco (27 grafts), Resisto (20 grafts), LO-323 (22 grafts) and Red Abundance (23 grafts). Four of 35 grafts made with field-grown material were positive suggesting that virus infection of commercial planting material is more likely to occur by infection during field multiplication than from infected mother stock. Virus infection was detected by symptoms on and the presence of flexuous, filamentous particles in sap extracts of I. setosa. The virus was identified as sweet potato feathery mottle potyvirus by serology.
Mixture-Rank Matrix Approximation for Collaborative Filtering

Low-rank matrix approximation (LRMA) methods have achieved excellent accuracy among today's collaborative filtering (CF) methods. In existing LRMA methods, the rank of user/item feature matrices is typically fixed, i.e., the same rank is adopted to describe all users/items. However, our studies show that submatrices with different ranks could coexist in the same user-item rating matrix, so that approximations with fixed ranks cannot perfectly describe the internal structures of the rating matrix, therefore leading to inferior recommendation accuracy. In this paper, a mixture-rank matrix approximation (MRMA) method is proposed, in which user-item ratings can be characterized by a mixture of LRMA models with different ranks. Meanwhile, a learning algorithm capitalizing on iterated condition modes is proposed to tackle the non-convex optimization problem pertaining to MRMA. Experimental studies on MovieLens and Netflix datasets demonstrate that MRMA can outperform six state-of-the-art LRMA-based CF methods in terms of recommendation accuracy.
[Association of yeasts of the Cryptococcus genus with Eucalyptus species in Santafé de Bogotá].

Environmental isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii was first made in Australia in 1989 by ELLIS. He established a specific association with the tree species Eucalyptus camaldulensis and E. tereticornis. Based on his findings, ELLIS proposed that the fungus could be exported from Australia to others regions, including Colombia, by means of infected seeds. The purpose of this study was to isolate and identify Cryptococcus sp. , associated with Eucalyptus trees; this is the first ecological evaluation of C. neoformans var. gattii in our country. A total of 100 Eucalyptus trees, distributed among 13 zones, located in the center, northeast, east and west of Santafé de Bogotá, were studied. Flowers, fruits, leaves, barks and Eucalyptus debris were collected. The samples were processed by extraction with saline solution containing antibiotics, cultured in selective media and the isolates were identified by morphological and biochemical characterístics. Twenty-seven isolates of 9 Cryptococcus sp. were recovered from 21 Eucalyptus trees, from 5 zones. One C. neoformans var. neoformans serotype A was recovered. The Cryptococcus associated with Eucalyptus is important because this is the first study done in our country.
Possibilities of the Cross-Entropy Method Usage in the Control Theory

Abstract This paper deals with the Cross-Entropy method application in the control theory. The method is a the combinatorial optimization technique that is mostly used in the networks theory and could be used in deterministic optimization problems as well. The paper shows the possibiliy of the Cross-Entropy usage in the control parameter tuning. Similar to genetics algorithms, this method minimizes a given performance function in order to find optimal parameters. The appropirate conclusions about relability and the convergence rate of the method were experimentaly supported. The first two experiments used PI controller with different performance functions, where the optimal controller values have been obtained through the simulation. The third experiment used LQR controller to control a complex system. The tunining of four parameters of a LQR control matrix and obtained values were compared with the ones generated by LQR algorithm.
Institutional Investors in Germany: Insurance Companies and Investment Funds

This chapter focuses on institutional investors in the German financial markets. Institutional investors are specialized financial intermediaries who collect and manage funds on behalf of small investors toward specific objectives in terms of risk, return and maturity. The major types of institutional investors in Germany are insurance companies and investment funds. We will examine the nature of their businesses, their size and role in the financial sector, the size and the composition of the assets under their management, aspects of financ ial regulation, and features of their asset-liability-management.
Resonance in Ploče Harbor (Adriatic Sea)

In this paper, we extract and validate high-frequency oscillations in the port of Ploce, based on sea level data from one year (March 2002-March 2003) measured at a tide gauge in the harbor. Frequency was analyzed by applying stationary (spectral) and non-stationary (wavelet and filtering) analyses of the data to extract temporal characteristics of the fundamental seiches with a period of 30 min. Seiches are pertinent throughout the year, but their maximum amplitude doubles (up to 25 cm) during the summer. Modeling studies showed that seiches are primarily a result of incoming waves from the open sea, generated by resonant coupling with air pressure traveling waves. In contrast, direct wind forcing has a minor influence on seiche generation. Seiches endanger ferries and small moored boats as well as large cargo ships in harbors where strong currents (greater than 50 cm s -1 ) appear during extreme events.
Trappin‐2/Elafin: a novel innate anti‐human immunodeficiency virus‐1 molecule of the human female reproductive tract

Trappin‐2/Elafin is a serine protease inhibitor that plays a major role as an anti‐inflammatory mediator at mucosal surfaces. In addition, Trappin‐2/Elafin has antibacterial activity against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacterial and fungal pathogens. In this study we examined the production of Trappin‐2/Elafin by epithelial cells from the human upper and lower female reproductive tract as well as its activity as an anti‐human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐1 molecule. We found that primary uterine, Fallopian tube, cervical and ectocervical epithelial cells produce Trappin‐2/Elafin constitutively and that production of Trappin‐2/Elafin is enhanced following stimulation with Poly(I:C), especially by the uterine cells. Given the presence of Trappin‐2/Elafin in the reproductive tract, we tested the ability of recombinant Trappin‐2/Elafin to inhibit HIV‐1, an important sexually transmitted pathogen. We found that recombinant Trappin‐2/Elafin was able to inhibit both T‐cell‐tropic X4/IIIB and macrophage‐tropic R5/BaL HIV‐1 in a dose‐dependent manner. The inhibitory activity was observed when virus was incubated with Trappin‐2/Elafin but not when Trappin‐2/Elafin was added to cells either before infection or after infection. This suggests that the mechanism of inhibition is likely to be a direct interaction between HIV‐1 and Trappin‐2/Elafin. Additionally, we measured the levels of secreted Trappin‐2/Elafin in cervico‐vaginal lavages (CVL) from both HIV‐positive and HIV‐negative women and found that average levels of secreted Trappin‐2/Elafin were higher in the CVL from HIV‐negative women, although the values did not reach statistical significance. We also found that women at the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle produced more Trappin‐2/Elafin in CVL relative to women at the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle. Our data suggest that Trappin‐2/Elafin might be an important endogenous microbicide of the female reproductive tract that is protective against HIV‐1.
On the energy increase in space-collapse models

A typical feature of spontaneous collapse models which aim at localizing wavefunctions in space is the violation of the principle of energy conservation. In the models proposed in the literature, the stochastic field which is responsible for the localization mechanism causes the momentum to behave like a Brownian motion, whose larger and larger fluctuations show up as a steady increase of the energy of the system. In spite of the fact that, in all situations, such an increase is small and practically undetectable, it is an undesirable feature that the energy of physical systems is not conserved but increases constantly in time, diverging for t → ∞. In this paper, we show that this property of collapse models can be modified:. we propose a model of spontaneous wavefunction collapse sharing all most important features of usual models but such that the energy of isolated systems reaches an asymptotic finite value instead of increasing with a steady rate.
Prognostic factors for children and adolescents with surgically resected nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma: an analysis of 121 patients treated at St Jude Children's Research Hospital.

PURPOSE The rarity and heterogeneity of pediatric nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS) has precluded meaningful analysis of prognostic factors associated with surgically resected disease. To define a population of patients at high risk of treatment failure who might benefit from adjuvant therapies, we evaluated the relationship between various clinicopathologic factors and clinical outcome of children and adolescents with resected NRSTS over a 27-year period at our institution. PATIENTS AND METHODS We analyzed the records of 121 consecutive patients with NRSTS who underwent surgical resection between August 1969 and December 1996. Demographic data, tumor characteristics, treatment, and outcomes were recorded. Univariate and multivariate analyses of prognostic factors for survival, event-free survival (EFS), and local and distant recurrence were performed. RESULTS At a median follow-up of 9.2 years, 5-year survival and EFS rates for the entire cohort were 89% +/- 3% and 77% +/- 4%, respectively. In univariate models, positive surgical margins (P =.004), tumor size > or = 5 cm (P <.001), invasivene (P =.002), high grade (P =.028), and intra-abdominal primary tumor site (P =.055) adversely affected EFS. All of these factors except invasiveness remained prognostic of EFS and survival in multivariate models. Positive surgical margins (P =.003), intra-abdominal primary tumor site (P =.028), and the omission of radiation therapy (P =.043) predicted local recurrence, whereas tumor size > or = 5 cm (P <.001), invasiveness (P <.001), and high grade (P =.004) predicted distant recurrence. CONCLUSION In this largest single-institution analysis of pediatric patients with surgically resected NRSTS, we identified clinicopathologic features predictive of poor outcome. These variables should be prospectively evaluated as risk-adapted therapies are developed.
Piezoresistivity Study in  ${\rm Al}_{\rm x}{\rm Ga}_{1-{\rm x}}{\rm As}$ Thin Film for Sensor Application at Room Temperature

In this letter, we report the piezoresistive effect at room temperature of a AlxGa1-xAs thin film, which has been integrated on the beams of an accelerometer as sensing elements to detect the external strain. The AlxGa1-xAs piezoresistive thin film was grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on a semi-insulating (001) GaAs substrate. And the GaAs-based piezoresistive accelerometer has been processed with advanced surface micromachining processes and GaAs bulk micromachining processes. The measurements of piezoresistive properties were performed for tensile strains by static experiments. The measured maximum gauge factor G (ΔR/R = Gε) for the AlGaAs thin film can be estimated to 70. Meanwhile, the dynamic experiments showed the sensor response.
Identification of CD4+ T Cell-Specific Epitopes of Islet-Specific Glucose-6-Phosphatase Catalytic Subunit-Related Protein: A Novel β Cell Autoantigen in Type 1 Diabetes1

Islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit-related protein (IGRP) has been identified as a novel CD8+ T cell-specific autoantigen in NOD mice. This study was undertaken to identify MHC class II-specific CD4+ T cell epitopes of IGRP. Peptides named P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, and P7 were synthesized by aligning the IGRP protein amino acid sequence with peptide-binding motifs of the NOD MHC class II (I-Ag7) molecule. Peptides P1, P2, P3, and P7 were immunogenic and induced both spontaneous and primed responses. IGRP peptides P1-, P2-, P3-, and P7-induced responses were inhibited by the addition of anti-MHC class II (I-Ag7) Ab, confirming that the response is indeed I-Ag7 restricted. Experiments using purified CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from IGRP peptide-primed mice also showed a predominant CD4+ T cell response with no significant activation of CD8+ T cells. T cells from P1-, P3-, and P7-primed mice secreted both IFN-γ and IL-10 cytokines, whereas P2-primed cells secreted only IFN-γ. Peptides P3 and P7 prevented the development of spontaneous diabetes and delayed adoptive transfer of diabetes. Peptides P1 and P2 delayed the onset of diabetes in both these models. In summary, we have identified two I-Ag7-restricted CD4+ T cell epitopes of IGRP that can modulate and prevent the development of diabetes in NOD mice. These results provide the first evidence on the role of IGRP-specific, MHC class II-restricted CD4+ T cells in disease protection and may help in the development of novel therapies for type 1 diabetes.
Signaling Scaffold Protein IQGAP1 Interacts with Microtubule Plus-end Tracking Protein SKAP and Links Dynamic Microtubule Plus-end to Steer Cell Migration*

Background: IQGAP1 is a scaffold protein essential for cellular signaling in response to external cues. Results: Perturbation of the IQGAP1-SKAP interaction results in inhibition of directional cell migration. Conclusion: The IQGAP1-SKAP interaction links to dynamic microtubules at the leading edge to steer cell migration. Significance: IQGAP1 serves as a signaling hub for dynamic interaction between microtubule plus-ends and the cell cortex. Cell migration is orchestrated by dynamic interaction of microtubules with the plasma membrane cortex. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the cortical actin cytoskeleton and microtubule dynamics are less characterized. Our earlier study showed that small GTPase-activating proteins, IQGAPs, regulate polarized secretion in epithelial cells (1). Here, we show that IQGAP1 links dynamic microtubules to steer cell migration via interacting with the plus-end tracking protein, SKAP. Biochemical characterizations revealed that IQGAP1 and SKAP form a cognate complex and that their binding interfaces map to the WWIQ motif and the C-terminal of SKAP, respectively. The WWIQ peptide disrupts the biochemical interaction between IQGAP1 and SKAP in vitro, and perturbation of the IQGAP1-SKAP interaction in vivo using a membrane-permeable TAT-WWIQ peptide results in inhibition of directional cell migration elicited by EGF. Mechanistically, the N-terminal of SKAP binds to EB1, and its C terminus binds to IQGAP1 in migrating cells. Thus, we reason that a novel IQGAP1 complex orchestrates directional cell migration via coupling dynamic microtubule plus-ends to the cell cortex.
Polynomial expansion based fast iterative multiuser detection algorithm for synchronous DS-CDMA systems

Multiuser detection algorithms usually have very high computational complexity, which greatly limits their usage. Polynomial expansion (PE) multiuser detector can be viewed as an iterative approach to approximate the linear multiuser detectors with low complexity (O(N/sup 2/)). In this paper, we propose a new PE detector, which exhibits both faster convergence (fewer iterations) and higher performance (comparable to the MMSE multiuser detector). Analysis and simulation results for the third generation mobile communication system TD-SCDMA have shown the viability of this new detector. Even under high mobility circumstance, the proposed PE detector can still sustain its good performance.
Psychiatric outcomes at age seven for very preterm children: rates and predictors.

BACKGROUND Uncertainty remains about the rate of specific psychiatric disorders and associated predictive factors for very preterm (VPT) children. The aims of this study were to document rates of psychiatric disorders in VPT children aged 7 years compared with term born children, and to examine potential predictive factors for psychiatric diagnoses in VPT children. METHODS Participants were 177 VPT and 65 term born children. Perinatal medical data were collected, which included brain abnormalities detected using magnetic resonance imaging. The Infant-Toddler Social-Emotional Assessment (ITSEA) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were administered at 2 and 5 years respectively. At 7 years of age, the Developmental and Well-being Assessment (DAWBA) was used to indicate psychiatric diagnoses. RESULTS Compared with term born children, VPT children had three times the odds of meeting criteria for any psychiatric diagnosis at age 7 years (odds ratio 3.03; 95% confidence interval 1.23, 7.47, p = .02). The most common diagnoses were anxiety disorders (11% VPT, 8% term), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (10% VPT, 3% term) and autism spectrum disorder (4.5% VPT, 0% term). For VPT children, those with severe global brain abnormalities (p = .02), those who displayed social-emotional problems at age 5 (p = .000) and those with higher social risk at age 7 (p = .001) were more likely to meet criteria for a psychiatric illness at age 7. CONCLUSIONS Compared with term born children, VPT children have higher rates of psychiatric diagnoses at early school age, predicted by neonatal brain abnormalities, prior social-emotional problems and social factors.
Health intelligence: discovering the process model using process mining by constructing start-to-end patient journeys

Australian Public Hospitals are continually engaged in various process improvement activities to improve patient care and to improve hospital efficiency as the demand for service intensifies. As a consequence there are many initiatives within the health sector focusing on gaining insight into the underlying health processes which are assessed for compliance with specified Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Process Mining is classified as a Business Intelligence (BI) tool. The aim of process mining activities is to gain insight into the underlying process or processes. The fundamental element needed for process mining is a historical event log of a process. Generally, these event logs are easily sourced from Process Aware Information Systems (PAIS). Simulation is widely used by hospitals as a tool to study the complex hospital setting and for prediction. Generally, simulation models are constructed by 'hand'. This paper presents a novel way of deriving event logs for health data in the absence of PAIS. The constructed event log is then used as an input for process mining activities taking advantage of existing process mining algorithms aiding the discovery of knowledge of the underlying processes which leads to Health Intelligence (HI). One such output of process mining activity, presented in this paper, is the discovery of process model for simulation using the derived event log as an input for process mining by constructing start-to-end patient journey. The study was undertaken using data from Flinders Medical Centre to gain insight into patient journeys from the point of admission to the Emergency Department (ED) until the patient is discharged from the hospital.