Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 ICP27 Regulates Expression of a Variant, Secreted Form of Glycoprotein C by an Intron Retention Mechanism

ABSTRACT We previously showed that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) immediate-early (IE) protein ICP27 can posttranscriptionally stimulate mRNA accumulation from a transfected viral late gene encoding glycoprotein C (gC) (K. D. Perkins, J. Gregonis, S. Borge, and S. A. Rice, J. Virol. 77:9872-9884, 2003). We began this study by asking whether ICP27 homologs from other herpesviruses can also mediate this activity. Although the homologs from varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) were inactive, the homolog from bovine herpesvirus 4 (BHV-4), termed HORF1/2, was a very efficient transactivator. Surprisingly, most of the mRNA produced via HORF1/2 transactivation was 225 nucleotides shorter than expected due to the removal of a previously undescribed intron from the gC transcript. We found that the gC mRNA produced in the absence of transactivation was also mostly spliced. In contrast, gC mRNA produced by ICP27 transactivation was predominantly unspliced. Based on these results, we conclude that ICP27 has two distinct effects on the transfected gC gene: it (i) stimulates mRNA accumulation and (ii) promotes the retention of an intron. Interestingly, the spliced transcript encodes a variant of gC that lacks its transmembrane domain and is secreted from transfected cells. As the gC splicing signals are conserved among several HSV-1 strains, we investigated whether the variant gC is expressed during viral infection. We report here that both the spliced transcript and its encoded protein are readily detected in Vero cells infected with three different laboratory strains of wild-type HSV-1. Moreover, the variant gC is efficiently secreted from infected cells. We have designated this alternate form of the protein as gCsec. As the extracellular domain of gC is known to bind heparan sulfate-containing proteoglycans and to inhibit the complement cascade via an interaction with complement component C3b, we speculate that gCsec could function as a secreted virulence factor.
Block‐based fine granularity scalable video coding with optimized rate allocation for content‐aware streaming

This article proposes a novel block‐based fine granularity scalable (FGS) video coding structure with optimized rate allocation for content‐aware streaming, which is more flexible than MPEG‐4 FGS specified in the streaming profile of MPEG‐4 standard (IS‐14496). In MPEG‐4 FGS streaming, rate allocation can only be based on frame because MBs' compressed data are interlaced between bit‐planes. However in the proposed coding structure, every MB's data are independent; therefore, streaming server can allocate bits according to content's importance, and the quality of those regions of interest is enhanced selectively with more bits allocated. In this way, the streaming server can have a differentiated delivery strategy to support a personalized streaming service considering user's preference. But the uniform rate allocation of proposed block‐based FGS coding will result in a greater loss of coding efficiency than that of MPEG‐4 FGS within a quite wide bit‐rate range. An optimized and fast rate allocation method according to block's rate‐distortion is proposed to solve this critical issue. And the coding efficiency is improved successfully, which can be comparable with MPEG‐4 FGS coding and is even better up to 0.5 dB, with some sequences at medium bit‐rates. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol 13, 322–330, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ima.10066
Acute Effects of a Therapeutic Mobility Device on Physical Activity and Heart Rate in Children With Down Syndrome

Purpose: The purpose of this feasibility study was to provide an opportunity to increase physical activity (PA) and heart rate (HR) for children with Down syndrome (DS) during unstructured group exercise utilizing a riding device called the Power Pumper®. Method: Twenty-four children aged 5 to 7 years old participated in this case-control study, including 12 children with DS and 12 children without DS. Those without DS participated as age-matched controls. A 30-min unstructured PA session utilizing the Power Pumper was provided to both groups on 2 occasions. HR and PA were measured at baseline and during both sessions. Results: For children with DS, findings revealed a statistically significant increase in time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), F(1, 15) = 16.503, p < . 010, ES = 0.76, and a nonsignificant increase in HR (ES = 0.41) when comparing exercise session performance to baseline. For children without DS, findings revealed statistically significant increases in time spent in MVPA, F(1, 15) = 73.604, p < . 010, ES = 0.94, and HR, F(1, 22) = 34.634, p < . 010, ES = 0.69, between exercise and baseline. Total MVPA approached the recommended 60 min following device use. PA and HR differences between baseline and exercise were greater in magnitude for children without DS. Conclusion: By participating in unstructured exercise in a social environment using the Power Pumper, children with DS engaged in higher-intensity PA accompanied by a nonsignificant physiological response in HR. These outcomes support PA guidelines recommended by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. This device supports 1 option for achieving 60 min of MVPA daily.
A cheap and simple passive sampler using silicone rubber for the analysis of surface water by gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry

Water pollution events may arise rapidly, requiring a methodology that is easy to implement, fast to deploy, and sufficiently sensitive to detect the trace presence of hazardous contaminants. A cheap and easy to use silicone rubber (polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)) miniature passive sampler is described. In order to test the methodology, pollutants were concentrated, in situ, from surface water in and around Pretoria, South Africa. The versatile sampler allowed for conventional and enhanced sensitivity, solvent-free analysis by comprehensive gas chromatography - time of flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS) and high resolution TOFMS (GC-HRT). Contaminants detected in surface water include caffeine, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Evaluación de resultados clínicos I: Entre la significación estadística y la relevancia clínica

Resulta frecuente encontrar en las publicaciones biomedicas y psicosociales estudios orientados a valorar efectos entre tratamientos o intervenciones que presentan el grado de significacion p como el principal argumento cientifico sobre la existencia o ausencia de tales efectos. Esta tendencia a centrar las conclusiones estadisticas en el grado de significacion conlleva un grave problema: confundir la ‘significacion o importancia clinica o cientifica’ con la ‘significacion estadistica’. Inicialmente, a partir de datos simulados, se presenta evidencia de que ambas significaciones corresponden a procesos diferentes, los cuales han de considerarse en conjunto y no de manera excluyente. Se repasan los conceptos de significacion estadistica, el proceso de investigacion e inferencia estadistica y, finalmente, el concepto de significacion o importancia clinica.
Chromosomal variation and genome size support existence of cryptic species of Triatoma dimidiata with different epidemiological importance as Chagas disease vectors

The wide geographical distribution of Triatoma dimidiata, one of the three major vectors of Chagas disease, ranges from Mexico to northern Peru. Since this species occupies a great diversity of artificial and natural ecotopes, its eradication is extremely difficult. In order to assist control efforts, we used chromosome analyses and DNA amount as taxonomic markers to study genetic variability in populations of T. dimidiata from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia. We differentiated three groups or cytotypes defined by characteristic chromosome C‐banding patterns and genome size measured by flow cytometry. The three cytotypes are restricted to different geographic locations. Cytotype 1 occurs in Mexico (excluding Yucatán), Guatemala (excluding Petén), El Salvador and Colombia. Cytotype 2 occurs in Yucatán and cytotype 3 occurs in Petén. Cytotype 1, commonly associated with domestic and peridomestic environments but also inhabiting sylvatic ecotopes, is the most widespread and with major epidemiological significance. In contrast, the Yucatán cytotype inhabits wild ecotopes but increasingly enters houses, while the Petén cytotype appears exclusively sylvatic. We suggest that these cytotypes represent cryptic species of T. dimidiata with different epidemiological relevance as Chagas disease vectors. Poor ability to colonize human dwellings, together with their restricted geographic distribution, indicate that the Yucatán and Petén putative species probably have much less epidemiological significance than cytotype 1. Thus, the genetic markers we describe are powerful tools to differentiate cryptic species in T. dimidiata with different epidemiological significance, contributing to planning the most effective control measures.
Mechanisms of tonic, graded release: lessons from the vertebrate photoreceptor

The release of neurotransmitter via exocytosis is a highly conserved, fundamental feature of nervous system function. At conventional synapses, neurotransmitter release occurs as a brief burst of exocytosis triggered by an action potential. By contrast, at the first synapse of the vertebrate visual pathway, not only is the calcium‐dependent release of neurotransmitter typically graded with respect to the presynaptic membrane potential, but release can be maintained throughout the duration of a sustained stimulus. The specializations that provide for graded and sustained release are not well‐defined. However, recent advances in our understanding of basic synaptic vesicle dynamics and the calcium sensitivity of the release process at these and other central, glutamatergic neurons have shed some light on the photoreceptor's extraordinary abilities.
Thermoelastic quality-factor enhanced disk resonator gyroscope

This paper proposes and demonstrates a novel method to greatly enhance the thermoelastic quality-factor (QTED) of disk resonator gyroscope (DRG) which is hanging lumped mass on the frame structure. This method could greatly reduce the resonant frequency f0 whereas rarely affect the relaxation rate fRelax. Simulations and experiments have been implemented to verify this technique. The fabricated enhanced DRG shows a two-fold improvement in quality-factor (Q) and five-fold improvement in decay time constant (τ) compared with the conventional pure frame DRG.
A novel theory for dielectric inset waveguide leaky-wave antennas

An accurate analysis and detailed characterization of a leaky-wave antenna based on a metal-strip-loaded dielectric inset waveguide are presented. A detailed parametric analysis is presented, illustrating how the various parameters can affect its characteristics. In addition, an example of how the insight gained through this analysis permits one to design structures with a prescribed behavior is given. The analysis performed and the results obtained indicate that this class of antennas exhibits a significant degree of flexibility in terms of achievable electric characteristics. This feature and its inherent mechanical simplicity make the structure analyzed a very promising candidate for millimeter-wave antenna applications. <<ETX>>
Wine, Resveratrol and Health: A Review

Several studies have cited the Mediterranean diet as an example of healthy eating. In fact, the Mediterranean diet has become the reference diet for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Red wine seems to be an essential component of the diet, since moderate consumption of wine is associated with lower risk and mortality from cardiovascular disease. Evidence is also accumulating that wine helps prevent the development of certain cancers. Of all the many components of wine, resveratrol, which is a natural component specifically present in wine, has been identified as being mainly responsible for these health-promoting properties. Many valuable properties such as cardioprotective and anticarcinogenic activity have been attributed to resveratrol; however, its bioavailability is quite low. The bioactivity of metabolites derived from resveratrol, and the accumulation of resveratrol in vital organs are still under study, but there are high expectations of positive results. Other stilbene compounds are also considered in this review, despite being present in undetectable or very small quantities in wine. The present paper reviews all aspects of the health properties of wine, bioactive compounds found in wine, and their concentrations, bioavailability and possible synergistic effects.
Vascular smooth muscle myosin light chain diphosphorylation: Mechanism, function, and pathological implications

Smooth muscle contraction is activated primarily by phosphorylation at S19 of the 20‐kDa regulatory light chain subunits of myosin II (LC20) catalyzed by Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent myosin light chain kinase. Other kinases, for example, integrin‐linked kinase (ILK), Rho‐associated kinase (ROCK), and zipper‐interacting protein kinase (ZIPK), can phosphorylate T18 in addition to S19, which increases the actin‐activated myosin MgATPase activity at subsaturating actin concentrations ∼3‐fold. These phosphorylatable residues and the amino acid sequence surrounding them are highly conserved throughout the animal kingdom; they are also found in an LC20 homolog within the genome of Monosiga brevicollis, the closest living relative of metazoans. LC20 diphosphorylation has been detected in mammalian vascular smooth muscle tissues in response to specific contractile stimuli and in pathophysiological situations associated with hypercontractility. LC20 diphosphorylation has also been observed frequently in cultured cells where it activates force generation. Kinases such as ILK, ROCK, and ZIPK, therefore, are potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of, for example, cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage and atherosclerosis. © 2011 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 63(11): 987–1000, 2011
Activity‐dependent control of bulk endocytosis by protein dephosphorylation in central nerve terminals

Bulk endocytosis is the process by which nerve terminals retrieve large amounts of synaptic vesicle membrane during periods of strong stimulation intensity. The process is rapidly activated and is most probably calcium dependent in a similar manner to synaptic vesicle exocytosis. This article briefly summarizes the current knowledge of bulk endocytosis with respect to its activation, kinetics and molecular mechanism. It also presents recent data from our laboratory showing that the dephosphorylation of a group of endocytosis proteins called the dephosphins by the Ca2+‐dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin is key to the activity‐dependent stimulation of the process. Possible downstream effectors of calcineurin are discussed such as the large GTPase dynamin I and its phosphorylation‐dependent interaction partner syndapin I.
A patient with stent thrombosis, clopidogrel-resistance and failure to metabolize clopidogrel to its active metabolite

Clopidogrel has become the most widely used antiplatelet drug second to aspirin. Clopidogrel itself is a prodrug that is absorbed in the intestine and partially converted into 2-oxo-clopidogrel by a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase-dependent metabolism. The intermediate metabolite 2-oxoclopidogrel is further hydrolyzed to the active thiol metabolite of clopidogrel that irreversibly binds to the platelet Gi-coupled adenosine diphosphate (ADP) P2Y12 receptor. Recent studies have reported a considerable variability in clopidogrel-response
Enhanced IL-6 Production in Aquaporin-4 Antibody Positive Neuromyelitis Optica Patients

ABSTRACT Anti-aquaporin-4 (Aqp-4) antibody and complement system have emerged as major pathogenic factors in neuromyelitis optica (NMO). To test the significance of interleukin-6 (IL-6), another important humoral immunity factor, in NMO pathogenesis, we measured serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) IL-6 levels of 23 NMO, 11 transverse myelitis, 16 optic neuritis, 27 relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients, and 20 neurologically normal controls. NMO and transverse myelitis patients had higher serum and CSF IL-6 levels than other groups. Particularly, anti-Aqp-4 positive NMO patients (n == 12) had higher serum/CSF IL-6 levels than anti-Aqp-4 negative patients (n == 11) and CSF IL-6 levels correlated with anti-Aqp-4 levels and disease severity of the NMO patients. Our results suggest that IL-6 is involved in NMO pathogenesis presumably via anti-Aqp-4 associated mechanisms.
Striatal calcium channel antagonist receptors in huntington's disease and parkinson's disease

The density of calcium channel antagonist receptors labeled by (+)‐[3H]PN 200‐110 was reduced by 75% in striata from patients with Huntington's disease, but unchanged in patients with Parkinson's disease, compared with control subjects. These receptors are therefore likely to be localized to neurons with cell bodies in striatum, rather than nigrostriatal nerve terminals or glia, and their loss may contribute to the pathophysiology of basal ganglia disorders.
The importance of diversity in the application of evolutionary algorithms to the Sudoku problem

The past few years have seen several variants of Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) applied to solving Sudoku puzzles. Given that EAs with simple components do not work properly, considerable efforts have gone into designing ad-hoc evolutionary operators that profit from a knowledge of the problem. In this paper, we show that one of the main reasons for the improper behavior of EAs when dealing with difficult Sudoku puzzles is the appearance of premature convergence. Memetic algorithms with readily available genetic operators can be used to solve the hardest known Sudoku puzzles when general and well-known methods for avoiding premature convergence are incorporated. Among the approaches tested, a recently proposed method that is based on adopting multi-objective concepts for the solution of single-objective problems has shown remarkable performance. To our knowledge, the methods presented in this paper are the first EAs capable of solving the three Sudoku puzzles that are regarded as the most difficult ones known to date.
The clinical implications of hypophosphatemia following major hepatic resection or cryosurgery.

OBJECTIVES To determine the incidence and predisposing factors leading to postoperative hypophosphatemia after major hepatic surgery and the consequences of this electrolyte abnormality. DESIGN A retrospective study. SETTING A university tertiary care referral center. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty-five consecutive patients undergoing either major hepatic resections or cryosurgery from July 1994 through January 1997 were retrospectively reviewed for the occurrence of hypophosphatemia and postoperative complications. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Prolonged ventilatory support, intensive care unit and hospital stays, and the incidence of postoperative complications. RESULTS The overall incidence of hypophosphatemia in our series was 21 (67%) of 35 with a mortality rate of 1 (2.8%) in 35. Mean operative time, estimated blood loss, partial vascular occlusion time, and transfusion requirements were similar between the hypophosphatemic and the nonhypophosphatemic groups. The presence of postoperative complications was significantly greater in the hypophosphatemic group (17 [80%] of 21) vs the nonhypophosphatemic group (4 [28%] of 14) (P<.05). The incidence of antacid use in the hypophosphatemic group (14 [66%] of 21) was significantly higher than the use in the nonhypophosphatemic group (2 [14%] of 14) (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS Hypophosphatemia commonly occurs in major hepatic procedures. The presence of moderate hypophosphatemia is associated with the use of antacid therapy but no other perioperative or operative variables. The occurrence of hypophosphatemia correlates with an increased incidence of postoperative complications. Awareness of this entity can direct aggressive replacement of phosphates and avert the occurrence of severe hypophosphatemia and associated complications.
Optical thickness identification of transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets on transparent substrates

Transparent and flexible devices based on two-dimensional (2D) materials hold great potential for many electronic/optoelectronic applications. The direct and fast thickness identification of 2D materials on transparent substrates is therefore an essential step in such applications, but remains challenging. Here, we present a simple, rapid and reliable optical method to identify the thickness of 2D nanosheets on transparent substrates, such as polydimethylsiloxane, glass, and coverslip. Under reflection and transmission light, 1-20L MoS2 and 1-14L WSe2 nanosheets can be reliably identified by measuring the optical contrast difference between the 2D nanosheets and substrates in color, red, green or blue channels. Meanwhile, the values of all the measured contrast differences as a function of layer number can be well fitted with the Boltzmann function, indicating the generalizability and reliability of our optical method. Our method will not only facilitate the fundamental study of the thickness-dependent properties of 2D nanosheets, but will also expand their potential applications in the field of flexible/transparent electronics and optoelectronics.
Cultural and physiological characteristics of Clostridium botulinum type G and the susceptibility of certain animals to its toxin

Strain 89 of Clostridium botulinum type G, isolated by Gimenez and Ciccarelli in 1969, was characterized culturally, biochemically, and toxigenically. It was motile, hemolytic asaccharolytic, weakly proteolytic, lipase and lecithinase negative, and it produced acetic, isobutyric, butyric, and isovaleric acids in peptone-yeast extract-glucose broth. No spores were seen in smears from solid or liquid media. Very low levels of toxin were produced in regular broth cultures, but dialysis cultures yielded 30,000 mouse 50% mean lethal doses (LD50 per kg, orally and subcutaneously, respectively; and for guinea pigs, 10,000 to 20,000 and 100 mouse LD50 per kig, intragastrically and intraperitoneally, respectively.
Fast local obstacle avoidance under kinematic and dynamic constraints for a mobile robot

This paper presents an efficient approach for reactive collision avoidance taking into account both vehicle dynamics and nonholonomic constraints of a mobile robot. Motion commands are generated by searching the space of actuating variables. Vehicle dynamics are considered by restricting the search space to values which are reachable within the next time step. The final selection among admissible configurations is done by an objective function which trades off speed, goal-directedness and remaining distance until an obstacle is hit when moving along the chosen path. The presented approach differs from previous ones in the selective use of precalculated lookup tables. These are the key to efficiency, and they especially allow the use of any-shaped robot contours. Furthermore, obstacle information from different sources can easily be considered without preprocessing. Extensive experiments on different robots have shown robust operation in dynamic and unprepared indoor environments with speed up to 1 m/s.