Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Minimum audible movement angle as a function of signal frequency and the velocity of the source.

Thresholds for the detection of the direction of travel of a moving sound source were determined in a single-interval, forced-choice paradigm. Both the rate at which the sound source is displaced (8 degrees-128 degrees/s) and the frequency of the signal to be localized (500-3700 Hz) affect dynamic spatial resolution. There is an inverse relationship between spatial resolution and the rate of travel, a finding that replicates an earlier observation on performance with sources displaced at high velocities [Perrott and Musicant, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 62, 1463-1466 (1977)]. However, the magnitude of this effect depends on the actual velocities employed. Relatively small changes in spatial resolution are apparent for velocities below approximately 32 degrees/s. The significant frequency effect can be summarized as follows: Dynamic spatial resolution is better for signals below 1000 Hz than for signals above this value (within the range tested). Particularly poor resolution is evident for signals between 1300-2000 Hz. The present results indicate that signal frequency affects dynamic spatial resolution in a fashion similar to that which has been observed in the more common "static" localization test situation. There is no indication of an interaction between these two variables. These results provide additional support for the hypothesis that both static and dynamic spatial discrimination functions are dependent upon the same underlying mechanisms. The effects of velocity upon the spatial resolution problem, a unique aspect of the dynamic paradigm, can probably be explained without the necessity of additional hypothetical mechanisms in the auditory system (e.g., a specialized motion detector).
HIGH-ALTITUDE RETINOPATHY AFTER CLIMBING MOUNT ACONCAGUA IN A GROUP OF EXPERIENCED CLIMBERS

Background: Visual disturbances after high-altitude exposure were first reported in 1969. Manifestations may include retinal hemorrhage, papilledema, and vitreous hemorrhage. Methods: We observed a group of 6 experienced climbers who ascended Mt Aconcagua to an altitude of 6,962 m in February 2007. Visual acuity study, intraocular pressure study, visual field study, nerve fiber layer analysis, eye Doppler, laboratory studies, fundus photography, and intravenous fluorescein angiography were performed on the climbers before and after their exposures to high altitude. Results: In all six study subjects, retinal vascular engorgement and tortuosity were present in varying degrees in both eyes. One of the climbers had both retinal hemorrhage and pulmonary edema. Of the two subjects who had visual field defects, one had severe nerve fiber layer defects of both eyes. Furthermore, laboratory studies of this climber showed a high level of antiphospholipid antibody. Significant reduction of the left ocular blood flow was also noted on this subject's eye Doppler examination after the Mt Aconcagua expedition. Conclusion: Various high-altitude retinopathies were observed in the experienced climbers of this study. As high-altitude pursuits become more popular, attention should be paid to the increasing prevalence of high-altitude retinopathy.
Manipulation of Alternative Splicing by a Newly Developed Inhibitor of Clks*

The regulation of splice site usage provides a versatile mechanism for controlling gene expression and for the generation of proteome diversity, playing an essential role in many biological processes. The importance of alternative splicing is further illustrated by the increasing number of human diseases that have been attributed to mis-splicing events. Appropriate spatial and temporal generation of splicing variants demands that alternative splicing be subjected to extensive regulation, similar to transcriptional control. The Clk (Cdc2-like kinase) family has been implicated in splicing control and consists of at least four members. Through extensive screening of a chemical library, we found that a benzothiazole compound, TG003, had a potent inhibitory effect on the activity of Clk1/Sty. TG003 inhibited SF2/ASF-dependent splicing of β-globin pre-mRNA in vitro by suppression of Clk-mediated phosphorylation. This drug also suppressed serine/arginine-rich protein phosphorylation, dissociation of nuclear speckles, and Clk1/Sty-dependent alternative splicing in mammalian cells. Consistently, administration of TG003 rescued the embryonic defects induced by excessive Clk activity in Xenopus. Thus, TG003, a novel inhibitor of Clk family will be a valuable tool to dissect the regulatory mechanisms involving serine/arginine-rich protein phosphorylation signaling pathways in vivo, and may be applicable for the therapeutic manipulation of abnormal splicing.
Novel Dual Rail High Voltage Generators for Embedded Flash Memories

Novel high voltage generator for embedded flash memories are presented, employing dual rail architecture. Two cross-coupled charge transfer paths are employed in this circuit to reduce capacitance sizes and to achieve faster rising time. This generator produces a high voltage above 20V within 9¿s using a 2V external power supply, which provides faster high voltage response than conventional methods and yields a high circuit density.
Cleft Lip and Palate: An Objective Measure Outcome Study

Background: Cleft lip and/or palate is a debilitating condition if left unrepaired, resulting in significant speech, hearing, swallowing, feeding, and psychosocial impairments. The authors' objective was to determine the potential impact of being born with cleft lip and/or palate by using previously validated health state utility assessment measures. Methods: A utility assessment using the visual analogue scale, time trade-off, and standard gamble was used to obtain utilities for cleft lip and/or palate, monocular blindness, and binocular blindness from a prospective sample of the general population and medical students. Average utility scores were compared using paired t test. Linear regression was performed using age, race, and education as independent predictors of each of the utility scores. Results: Over a 1-year prospective enrollment period, 110 participants were included in our utility analysis. The utility outcome scores for cleft lip and/or palate (visual analogue scale, time trade-off, and standard gamble, 0.69 ± 0.18, 0.85 ± 016, and 0.84 ± 0.18, respectively) were statistically different from those of binocular blindness (visual analogue scale, time trade-off, and standard gamble: 0.38 ± 0.17, 0.70 ± 0.24, and 0.66 ± 0.25, respectively; p < 0.001) but not statistically different from those of monocular blindness (visual analogue scale, time trade-off, and standard gamble, 0.67 ± 0.15, 0.86 ± 0.15, and 0.84 ± 0.18, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in utility scores between male and female participants. Conclusion: The results of the study demonstrate objectively via health state utility scores that the perceived burden of being born with cleft lip and/or palate is comparable to living with monocular blindness.
obitools: a unix‐inspired software package for DNA metabarcoding

DNA metabarcoding offers new perspectives in biodiversity research. This recently developed approach to ecosystem study relies heavily on the use of next‐generation sequencing (NGS) and thus calls upon the ability to deal with huge sequence data sets. The obitools package satisfies this requirement thanks to a set of programs specifically designed for analysing NGS data in a DNA metabarcoding context. Their capacity to filter and edit sequences while taking into account taxonomic annotation helps to set up tailor‐made analysis pipelines for a broad range of DNA metabarcoding applications, including biodiversity surveys or diet analyses. The obitools package is distributed as an open source software available on the following website: http://metabarcoding.org/obitools. A Galaxy wrapper is available on the GenOuest core facility toolshed: http://toolshed.genouest. org.
Pasteurella multocida Heddleston Serovar 3 and 4 Strains Share a Common Lipopolysaccharide Biosynthesis Locus but Display both Inter- and Intrastrain Lipopolysaccharide Heterogeneity

ABSTRACT Pasteurella multocida is a Gram-negative multispecies pathogen and the causative agent of fowl cholera, a serious disease of poultry which can present in both acute and chronic forms. The major outer membrane component lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is both an important virulence factor and a major immunogen. Our previous studies determined the LPS structures expressed by different P. multocida strains and revealed that a number of strains belonging to different serovars contain the same LPS biosynthesis locus but express different LPS structures due to mutations within glycosyltransferase genes. In this study, we report the full LPS structure of the serovar 4 type strain, P1662, and reveal that it shares the same LPS outer core biosynthesis locus, L3, with the serovar 3 strains P1059 and Pm70. Using directed mutagenesis, the role of each glycosyltransferase gene in LPS outer core assembly was determined. LPS structural analysis of 23 Australian field isolates that contain the L3 locus revealed that at least six different LPS outer core structures can be produced as a result of mutations within the LPS glycosyltransferase genes. Moreover, some field isolates produce multiple but related LPS glycoforms simultaneously, and three LPS outer core structures are remarkably similar to the globo series of vertebrate glycosphingolipids. Our in-depth analysis showing the genetics and full range of P. multocida lipopolysaccharide structures will facilitate the improvement of typing systems and the prediction of the protective efficacy of vaccines.
Tissue spreading on implantable substrates is a competitive outcome of cell–cell vs. cell–substratum adhesivity

While the interactions of cells with polymeric substrata are widely studied, the influence of cell–cell cohesivity on tissue spreading has not been rigorously investigated. Here we demonstrate that the rate of tissue spreading over a two-dimensional substratum reflects a competition or “tug-of-war” between cell–cell and cell–substratum adhesions. We have generated both a “library” of structurally related copolymeric substrata varying in their adhesivity to cells and a library of genetically engineered cell populations varying only in cohesivity. Cell–substratum adhesivity was varied through the poly(ethylene glycol) content of a series of copolymeric substrata, whereas cell–cell cohesivity was varied through the expression of the homophilic cohesion molecules N- and R-cadherin by otherwise noncohesive L929 cells. In the key experiment, multicellular aggregates containing about 600 cells were allowed to spread onto copolymeric surfaces. We compared the spreading behavior of aggregates having different levels of cell–cell cohesivity on a series of copolymeric substrata having different levels of cell–substratum adhesivity. In these experiments, cell–cell cohesivity was measured by tissue surface tensiometry, and cell–substratum adhesivity was assessed by a distractive method. Tissue spreading was assayed by confocal microscopy as the rate of cell emigration from similar-sized, fluorescence-labeled, multicellular aggregates deposited on each of the substrata. We demonstrate that either decreasing substratum adhesivity or increasing cell–cell cohesivity dramatically slowed the spreading rate of cell aggregates.
Geographies of Risk in Studies Linking Chronic Air Pollution Exposure to Health Outcomes

This article addresses the question of how to incorporate spatial processes into the assessment of chronic health effects from air pollution exposure. An analytic framework is developed around three related concepts: (1) the geography of susceptibility; (2) the geography of exposure; and (3) points of intersection between these two, termed the geography of risk. The article discusses how each concept encompasses many lower level issues such as meteorological dispersion of pollutants, time–space activity patterns, and population distributions of susceptible individuals in time and space. A key premise is that researchers should target studies with high degrees of overlap between geographies of exposure and susceptibility. Instances where the overlap remains incomplete, or systematically biased, usually produce attenuated or unreliable risk estimates, and some of this discordance may find expression in spatially autocorrelated residuals.
Mesure non symétrique pour l'évaluation de modèles, utilisation pour les jeux de données déséquilibrés

Résumé. Les critères servant à l’évaluation de modèles d’apprentis sage supervisé ainsi que ceux utilisés pour bâtir des arbres de décisio n sont, pour la plupart, symétriques. De manière pragmatique, cela signifie que chac une des modalités de la variable endogène se voit assigner une importance i dentique. Or, dans nombre de cas pratiques cela n’est pas le cas. Ainsi, on peut n otamment prendre l’exemple de jeux de données fortement déséquilibrés pour l esquels l’objectif principal est l’identification des objets représentati fs de la modalité minoritaire (Aide au diagnostic, identification de phénomènes i nhabituels : fraudes, pannes.). Dans ce type de situation il apparaît clairemen t qu’assigner une importance identique aux erreurs de prédiction ne constitue p as la meilleure des solutions. Nous proposons dans cet article un critère (pouvan t servir à la fois pour l’évaluation de modèles d’apprentissage supervisé ou enco r de critère utilisé pour bâtir des arbres de décision) prenant en compte cet aspe ct non symétrique de l’importance associée à chacune des modalités de la varia ble endogène. Nous proposons ensuite une évolution des modèles de type forêts a léatoires utilisant ce critère pour les jeux de données fortement déséquilibrés .
Binding of the Streptococcus gordonii surface glycoproteins GspB and Hsa to specific carbohydrate structures on platelet membrane glycoprotein Ibα

GspB and Hsa are homologous serine‐rich surface glycoproteins of Streptococcus gordonii strains M99 and Challis, respectively, that mediate the binding of these organisms to platelet membrane glycoprotein (GP) Ibα. Both GspB and Hsa consist of an N‐terminal putative signal peptide, a short serine‐rich region, a region (BR) that is rich in basic amino acids, a longer serine‐rich region and a C‐terminal cell wall anchoring domain. To further assess the mechanisms for GspB and Hsa binding, we investigated the binding of the BRs of GspB and Hsa (expressed as glutathione S‐tranferase fusion proteins) to sialylated glycoproteins in vitro. Both fusion proteins showed significant levels of binding to sialylated moieties on fetuin and GPIbα. In contrast, the corresponding region of a GspB homologue of Streptococcus agalactiae, which is acidic rather than basic, showed no binding to either fetuin or GPIbα. As measured by surface plasmon resonance kinetic analysis, GspB‐ and Hsa‐derived fusion proteins had high affinity for GPIbα, but with somewhat different dissociation constants. Dot blot analysis using a panel of synthesized oligosaccharides revealed that the BR of Hsa can bind both α(2‐3) sialyllactosamine [NeuAcα(2‐3)Galβ(1‐4)GlcNAc] and sialyl‐T antigen [NeuAcα(2‐3)Galβ(1‐3)GalNAc], whereas the BR of GspB only bound sialyl‐T antigen. Moreover, far Western blotting using platelet membrane proteins revealed that GPIbα is the principal receptor for GspB and Hsa on human platelets. The combined results indicate that the BRs of GspB and Hsa are the binding domains of these adhesins. However, the subsets of carbohydrate structures on GPIbα recognized by the binding domains appear to be different between the two proteins.
Upper extremity amputations after motor vehicle rollovers.

BACKGROUND The upper extremity is vulnerable to injury during a rollover motor vehicle crash (MVC). There is some concern that positioning one's arm on a vehicle door/window eliminates the benefit of maintaining containment within a protective structure. Mangled extremities with associated vascular injuries have an amputation rate exceeding 40%. The primary goal was to describe the care process and outcome of patients requiring an emergent upper extremity amputation after a rollover MVC. METHODS All patients requiring an upper extremity amputation after a rollover MVC (2000-2008) were included. Patient demographics, injuries, and outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS Seventeen patients required an upper extremity amputation after a rollover MVC (mean injury severity score = 23; hemodynamic instability at presentation = 29%). Injuries occurred on the side ipsilateral to the occupant vehicle position in 88% of cases. Most (76%) amputations occurred between May 1 and August 1 of their respective years, with 11 (65%) in the past 24 months. All amputations except one (replantation attempt) were completed within 24 hours. Concurrent operative procedures were performed in six (35%) patients, including three diagnostic peritoneal lavages, two laparotomies (splenectomies), one craniotomy, and one thoracotomy (atrial rupture). Mortality (12%) was a direct result of traumatic brain injuries. Temporary intravascular shunts were used before amputation in four (24%) patients. The majority (65%) of amputations were above the elbow joint. CONCLUSIONS Blunt mangled upper extremities requiring completion amputations are most often caused by MVC rollovers. The risk of this injury is strongly associated with summer days and seems to be increasing in frequency.
Nasogastric feeding at the end of life: A virtue ethics approach

The use of Nasogastric (NG) feeding in the provision of artificial nutrition and hydration at the end of life has, for the most part, been regarded as futile by the medical community. This position has been led chiefly by prevailing medical data. In Singapore, however, there has been an increase in its utilization supported primarily by social, religious and cultural factors expressly to prolong life of the terminally ill patient. Here this article will seek to review the ethical and clinical impact of this treatment and provide some understanding for such decisions in the light of the Duty of Palliative Care [DoPC]. Complemented by virtue ethics theory, the DoPC highlights and seeks to realize the individual case specific goals of care that maximize comfort and quality of life of the patient in the face of rapid attenuation of treatment options and the eminence of the final outcome by considering each of these factors individually in order to provide the best outcome for the patient and the family.
Human Herpesvirus 8 Investigations: A Role in the Clinical Management of Kaposi’s Sarcoma?

Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is a vascular tumour associated with infection by human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8). Most of the recent studies on KS have focused on the epidemiology and molecular biology of HHV-8. However, the contribution of virological investigations into HHV-8 to the clinical management of KS has been poorly evaluated so far. From a diagnostic point of view, HHV-8 currently appears as a useful tool for distinguishing KS from its mimics. Seroconversion to antibodies against HHV-8 may predict the development of KS in susceptible individuals, and reduction of HHV-8 viraemia is associated with therapies effective against KS. Further prospective studies are still required to determine the role of serological or genotypic investigations into HHV-8 in the prevention of KS and in KS response to therapy.
Energy balanced design and control for converters with natural trajectory tracking

Energy balanced control method for converters with natural trajectory tracking is presented in this paper, and is visualized to show converters' energy conversion inside converters. This paper specially designs and analyzes a single-phase full-bridge inverter based on energy balance with natural trajectory tracking. Natural trajectory tracking introduces a better dynamic response than the conventional PI and PR control with the same circuit. A design method based on energy balance is proposed for the inverter with the natural trajectory tracking as well. It helps to optimize the inverter's both steady and dynamic performance. Theoretical analysis and simulation results confirm the conclusions.
Regulation of tryptophan biosynthesis: Trp‐ing the TRAP or how Bacillus subtilis reinvented the wheel

The Bacillus subtilis tryptophan biosynthetic genes are regulated by TRAP. Radiographic crystallography indicates that the TRAP complex contains 11 identical subunits arranged in a doughnut‐like structure termed the β‐wheel. The trpEDCFBA operon is regulated by an attenuation mechanism in which tryptophan‐activated TRAP binds to 11 (G/U)AG repeats in the trp leader transcript. TRAP binding blocks formation of an anti‐terminator structure, thereby promoting the formation of an overlapping terminator, resulting in transcription termination preceding the structural genes. When TRAP is not activated, it is unable to bind to the transcript, which allows anti‐terminator formation and, hence, transcription of the operon. TRAP is also responsible for regulating translation of trpE and trpG. TRAP binding to trp operon readthrough transcripts promotes refolding of the RNA such that the trpE Shine–Dalgarno sequence is sequestered in a hairpin, thus inhibiting TrpE synthesis. In the case of trpG, TRAP binds to nine repeats that overlap the ribosome‐binding site, thereby blocking translation.
A hybrid and linear registration method utilizing inclination constraint

This paper describes a new hybrid vision-based registration method with an inclination sensor. In the method, a camera is tracked by solving linear equations under inclination constraint. Linear operations are faster than the nonlinear optimization process, but the output does not usually satisfy the orthonormality constraint. On the contrary, the proposed method calculates the camera position and azimuth directly, thus the result satisfies the orthonormality constraint. Many hybrid approaches using inertia sensors have been proposed for AR/MR. However, such methods still depend on vision-based methods in initialization processes. On the other hand, the proposed method is totally hybrid in that the inclination measured by the sensor is always incorporated in pose calculation process as well as vision information. The method can be used in initialization process of conventional hybrid methods as well as it can be used as an independent registration method. The proposed method can be applied to not only inside-out-style camera tracking but also outside-in-style object tracking.