Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigating fundamental physics and the space environment with a dedicated Earth-orbiting spacecraft

We propose a dedicated mission in low Earth orbit to test the gravitational interaction and place improved limits on the atmospheric density at the altitudes of interest. A very simple spacecraft would be placed in a dawn-dusk eccentric orbit between 500 and 1200 km. It should be tracked with high precision, and an on-board accelerometer would measure the non-gravitational accelerations acting on it. The precise orbit determination is expected to provide estimates of general relativistic predictions and of geophysical parameters, while the accelerometer data are fundamental in constraining the atmospheric density. Along with the scientific objectives, a basic mission configuration is described and discussed, highlighting the main issues to be explored.
Proteomics of mouse BRCA 1-deficient mammary tumors identifies DNA repair proteins with diagnostic and prognostic value in human breast cancer

Abbreviations: BRCA1, breast cancer antigen 1; BRCA2, breast cancer antigen 2; PARP1, Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1; 1D, one dimensional; MS/MS, tandem mass spectrometry; STRING, Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins; COFECO, composite function annotation enriched by protein complex data; p53, tumor protein p53; IPA, Ingenuity Pathways Analysis; LOOCV, leave-one-out cross validation; CV, coefficient of variance MCP Papers in Press. Published on February 24, 2012 as Manuscript M111.013334
Macroinvertebrates functional feeding groups as indices of biological assessment in a tropical aquatic ecosystem: implications for ecosystem functions

The composition and abundance of functional feeding groups of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities were investigated along the stretch of Epe lagoon in south-west Nigeria, between September, 2004 and August, 2006. The hypothesis being tested was that functional feeding groups of benthic macroinvertebrates can be used as surrogate for biological assessment. Quantitative benthic samples were collected monthly at 8 sites. Total dissolved solids of the overlying water, total organic, sand and mud contents of sediment were assessed. The amount of dissolved solids recorded in this study ranged between 18 and 15,200mg/L. There was significant difference (P<0.05) in total dissolved solids at the study stations. The total dissolved solids at stations 1 to 3 were similar and significantly lower (P<0.05) than those at stations 4 to 8.The study area was predominantly sandy (range = 54.4 to 93.6%) intermixed with varying proportions of mud (range = 1.01 to 44.6%). A comparatively higher proportion of mud in sediment was recorded in station 3. Total organic content ranged between 1.01 and 10.45%. In terms of relative abundance, collector-filterers and shredders were the predominant groups at most sites. They contributed 77 and 15% respectively to the total benthic macroinvertebrate population. Predators had low abundance in all the study sites and were absent in sites 6 and 8. Correlation between Total organic content and density of collector filterers at the study sites was significant (P < 0.01). Although there was a marked variation in the density of the observed functional feeding groups in the stations used for this study and sequential downstream changes in species composition, most functional feeding groups (apart from predators) were represented down the whole length of the study stretch. The implications of the observed pattern of variation in the density of functional feeding groups, for water quality assessment and ecosystem functions are discussed. (New York Science Journal 2010;3(8):6-15). (ISSN: 1554-0200).
Crystal size and oxygen segregation for polycrystalline GaN

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of a U. S. NICOP Contract, No. N00014-99-1-GO17 sponsored through the U. S. Office of Naval Research. One of the authors (K.S.A.B.) would like to further acknowledge the support of a Macquarie University Research Fellowship.
Phases of diabetes in children and adolescents

Islet autoimmunity can be transient and one raised islet antibody alone has little prognostic value. (1–3) If an individual is under 45 years and does not have HLA DR2—DQA1∗0102—DQB1∗ 0602 then: • Impaired first phase insulin release on IVGTT (defined as an insulin response less than the 10th percentile for age and sex-matched controls) confers a 60% risk over the next 5 years (4). • Two or more islet antibodies raised without impaired first phase insulin release confer a 25-50% risk over the next 5 years (5, 6).
Some galE mutants of Salmonella choleraesuis retain virulence

galE mutants were isolated from three mouse-virulent strains of Salmonella choleraesuis (of group C1, O antigen 6,7) by selection for resistance to 2-deoxygalactose. The galE derivative of strain 381 comprised two components: galactose sensitive, thought to be the original mutant; and galactose resistant, presumably by a second mutation reducing galK or galT function or both. The galactose-sensitive component had an intraperitoneal 50% lethal dose for BALB/c mice of ca. 4 X 10(6) CFU, whereas the galactose-resistant component was about as virulent as its gal+ parent, with a 50% lethal dose of ca. 100 CFU. The galE mutant of strain 110 was somewhat sensitive to galactose, as shown by retardation of growth; its 50% lethal dose, ca. 500 CFU, was not much greater than the ca. 200 CFU value for its parent. The galE mutant of strain 117 showed the same partial sensitivity to galactose as strain 110 galE, but was nonvirulent (50% lethal dose of ca. 10(6) CFU versus ca. 400 CFU for its parent). Growth on galactose-supplemented medium restored the smooth phenotype, as indicated by phage sensitivity to three of the four galE strains, but only partially so for the strain 117 galE mutant. The retention of parental virulence by galE mutants of S. choleraesuis which are galactose resistant or somewhat galactose sensitive contrasts with the greatly reduced virulence of galactose-resistant galE mutants of Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella typhi; this difference may result from the absence of galactose from the O repeat unit in the lipopolysaccharide of group C1 salmonellae.
Acid-Resistant Bovine Pestivirus Requires Activation for pH-Triggered Fusion during Entry

ABSTRACT The route of internalization of the pestivirus bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) was studied by using different chemical and biophysical inhibitors of endocytosis. Expression of the dominant-negative mutant DynK44A of the GTPase dynamin in MDBK cells, as well as the treatment of the cells with chlorpromazine and β-methyl-cyclodextrin inhibited BVDV entry. BVDV infection was also abolished by potassium (K+) depletion, hyperosmolarity, and different inhibitors of endosomal acidification. We conclude that BVDV likely enters the cell by clathrin-dependent endocytosis and that acidification initiates fusion with the endosomal membrane. Further studies revealed that BVDV was unable to undergo “fusion from without” at low pH. The finding that low pH is not sufficient to force adsorbed BVDV into fusion with the plasma membrane is compatible with the remarkable resistance of pestiviruses to inactivation by low pH. The importance of the abundant intra- and intermolecular disulfide bonds in BVDV glycoproteins for virus stability was studied by the use of reducing agents. The combination of dithiothreitol and acidic pH led to partial inactivation of BVDV and allowed fusion from without at low efficiency. Evidence is provided here that acid-resistant BVDV is destabilized during endocytosis to become fusogenic at an endosomal acidic pH. We suggest that destabilization of the virion occurs by breakage of disulfide bonds in the glycoproteins by an unknown mechanism.
Region-based graph cut using hierarchical structure with application to ground-glass opacity pulmonary nodules segmentation

Image segmentation for the demarcation of pulmonary nodules in CT images is intrinsically an arduous task. The difficulty can be summarized into two aspects. Firstly, lung tumor can be various in terms of physical densities in pulmonary regions, implying the different interpretation as a mixture of GGO and solid nodules. Hence, processing of lung CT images may generally encounter tissue inhomogeneous problem. The second factor that complicates the task of nodule demarcation is the irregular shapes that most nodules are directly connected to other structures sharing the similar density profile. In this paper, an image segmentation framework is proposed by unifying the techniques of statistical region merging and conditional random field (CRF) with graph cut optimization to address the difficult problem of GGO nodules quantification in CT images. Different from traditional segmentation methods that use pixel-based approach such as region growing and morphological constraints, we employ a hierarchical segmentation tree to alleviate the effect of inhomogeneous attenuation. In addition to building perceptual prominent regions, we perform inference in CRF model based on restricting the pool of segmented regions. Following that, an inference CRF model is carried out to detect and localize individual object instances in CT images. The proposed algorithm is evaluated with four sets of manual delineations on 77 lung CT images. Incorporating with the efficiency and accuracy of pulmonary nodules segmentation method proposed in this paper, a computer aided system is hence feasible to develop related clinical application.
The patient's view on quality of life and eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE This study investigated the personal views of eating disorder (ED) patients on their quality of life (QOL). METHOD The views of 146 current ED patients and 146 former ED patients on their QOL were studied using a self-report questionnaire. Patients were requested to name the most important aspects of their life and they subsequently rated themselves on these aspects. Qualitative analysis clustered items into meaningful categories. RESULTS A sense of belonging was mentioned most often (93.0%) by the participants. Work or education, health and well-being were also mentioned frequently. Furthermore, participants stated a sense of self, disease-specific psychopathology, life skills, leisure activities, a sense of purpose, financial situation, living condition, and pets. Current ED patients more frequently mentioned disease-specific psychopathology than former ED patients. Current ED patients reported poor QOL on most domains, particularly on self-image and well-being. Former ED patients reported better QOL than current ED patients, but ratings were just above average. CONCLUSION The views on QOL of ED patients broadens the scope of relevant domains of QOL. The assessment of these views may be a useful adjunct to the use of standardized QOL measures.
Monosomal karyotype in myeloid neoplasias: a literature review

In 2008, the concept of the monosomal karyotype (MK) in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients was introduced, defined by the presence of a chromosomal aberration pattern characterized by the presence of at least two autosomal monosomies or of one monosomy plus one or more structural aberrations (not including loss of a chromosome). We present a systematic review of the literature about the influence of the MK on the outcome of patients affected by myeloid malignancies (AML, myelodysplastic syndromes, and primary myelofibrosis). For this review, a comprehensive literature search using the term “monosomal karyotype” was performed, considering articles listed in MEDLINE. This analysis of the literature confirms the negative prognostic impact on survival of the MK in myeloid neoplasias. The detrimental effect of MK on AML patients’ outcome is independent of other variables, including adverse cytogenetic features, supporting the identification of this entity as a challenging subgroup of patients with distinct biologic and clinical features.
An Area-Efficient and Low-Power 12-b SAR/Single-Slope ADC Without Calibration Method for CMOS Image Sensors

This paper presents an area-efficient and low-power 12-b successive approximation register/single-slope analog-todigital converter (SAR/SS ADC) for CMOS image sensor (CIS) applications. The number of unit capacitors of the proposed SAR/SS ADC is reduced to 1/64th of that of a conventional 12-b SAR ADC using only a 6-b capacitor digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and the power consumption is reduced by sharing analog circuits between the SAR ADC and the SS ADC. In addition, the proposed ADC properly operates without using any calibration method as it is designed to be robust to inaccuracies in analog circuits by connecting the ramp signal to the bottom plate of the unit capacitor in the capacitor DAC. A 1936 × 840 pixel 60 frames/s CIS with the proposed SAR/SS ADCs was fabricated using a 90-nm CMOS process, and each readout channel with the proposed SAR/SS ADC occupies an area of 2.24 μm × 998 μm and consumes a power of 30 μW. The measurement results show that the SAR/SS ADC has a differential nonlinearity of -0.45/+0.84 LSB and an integral nonlinearity of -1.5/+0.74 LSB. In addition, the developed CIS has a temporal noise of 2.7 LSBrms and a column fixed pattern noise of 0.07 LSB.
Bone quality characteristics and performance in broiler chickens fed diets supplemented with organic acids.

A 6-week experiment with broilers was conducted to study the effect of diet supplementation with organic acids on performance, characteristics of the tibia and femur bones, and the calcium, phosphorus and zinc balance. A total of 320, one-day-old, Ross 308 chickens were randomly assigned to 1 of 8 treat - ments. A 2 × 4 factorial arrangement was used, with two dietary levels of calcium and available phosphorus (standard - 9.4/9.2 g Ca/kg and 4.3/4.0 g available P/kg, or reduced - 8.3/8.1 g Ca/kg and 3.7/3.5 g available P/kg, for the starter/finisher feeding phases, respectively), and with diets supplemented with organic acids (none; short chain fatty acids (SCFA), 4.0 g/kg; medium chain fatty acid (MCFA), 2.0 g/kg or SCFA + MCFA, 3.0 + 2.0 g/kg). Broilers fed diets supplemented with SCFA or MCFA displayed a performance similar to those fed the unsupplemented diet (P > 0.05). At 42 days, reducing the dietary levels of Ca and P decreased such bone parameters as tibia yielding load (256 vs. 270 N) and tibia stiffness (171 vs. 184 N/mm), as well as femur breaking strength (342 vs. 369 N), yielding load (233 vs. 250 N), stiffness (164 vs. 174 N/mm), and cortex thickness (1.47 vs. 1.56 mm). The organic acids had no effect on the parameters of the tibias; however, SCFA and SCFA+MCFA increased the yielding load and stiffness of the femurs. The SCFA diet supplementa- tion significantly increased the relative retention of Ca (45.0 vs. 41.1%). There were no significant Ca and P level × organic acids interaction effects on performance parameters, bone quality indices or the Ca, P, and Zn balance. It was thus concluded that SCFA can improve the bone quality and Ca balance in broiler chickens when fed either diets with a standard level of Ca and P, or those with reduced levels of these macrominerals.
ADHD and offenders

Abstract Objectives. To present the needs and psychological treatment options for offenders with ADHD. Methods. Key papers are discussed in relation to this topic. Results. Research suggests there is a disproportionately high number of individuals with ADHD involved with the Criminal Justice System. UK studies among offenders have indicated around 45% of youths and 24% of male adults screen positive for a childhood history of ADHD, 14% of whom have persisting symptoms in adulthood. Those with persisting symptoms have a significantly younger onset of offending and higher rate of recidivism. ADHD was the most powerful predictor of violent offending, even above substance misuse. They accounted for 8-fold more institutional aggressive behavioural disturbances (critical incidents) than other non-ADHD prisoners. Critical incidents have also been associated with personality disordered patients screening positive for ADHD and detained under the Mental Health Act. It is the impulsive symptoms and mood instability associated with ADHD that most likely increase the risk of critical incidents within institutional settings. Conclusions. There are international guidelines available for the treatment of ADHD; however, serious offenders with ADHD will require more complex and comprehensive interventions than their non-offending peers. In particular psychological interventions need to be provided that contain a prosocial competence component. One such programme, the R&R2 for ADHD Youths and Adults, has demonstrated improvement in ADHD symptoms, anxiety, depression, antisocial behaviour and social functioning at three month follow-up with medium to large effect sizes.
Six Revolutions in Vaccinology

The history of vaccine development can be divided into 5 waves, produced by revolutions in technology. They are attenuation, inactivation, cell culture of viruses, genetic engineering and methods to induce cellular immune responses. This division is somewhat artificial, and all of the past strategies continue to be useful. I discuss the candidates for the sixth revolution, which include combination vaccines, new adjuvants, proteomics, reverse vaccinology and vaccines for noninfectious diseases, among others. I propose new delivery systems as the most likely to succeed, although humbly admitting that prediction is always subject to error.
Effects of Sustained HIV-1 Plasma Viremia on HIV-1 Gag-Specific CD4+ T Cell Maturation and Function1

An in vitro proliferative defect has been observed in HIV-1-specific CD4+ T cells from infected subjects with high-level plasma HIV-1 viremia. To determine the mechanism of this defect, HIV-1 Gag-specific CD4+ T cells from treated and untreated HIV-1-infected subjects were analyzed for cytokine profile, proliferative capacity, and maturation state. Unexpectedly high frequencies of HIV-1-specific, IL-2-producing CD4+ T cells were measured in subjects with low or undetectable plasma HIV-1 loads, regardless of treatment status, and IL-2 frequencies correlated inversely with viral loads. IL-2-producing CD4+ T cells also primarily displayed a central memory (TCm; CCR7+CD45RA−) maturation phenotype, whereas IFN-γ-producing cells were mostly effector memory (TEm, CCR7−CD45RA−). Among Gag-specific, IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T cells, higher TEm frequencies and lower TCm frequencies were observed in untreated, high viral load subjects than in subjects with low viral loads. The percentage of HIV-1 Gag-specific CD4+ TCm correlated inversely with HIV-1 viral load and directly with Gag-specific CD4+ T cell proliferation, whereas the opposite relationships were observed for HIV-1-specific CD4+ TEm. These results suggest that HIV-1 viremia skews Gag-specific CD4+ T cells away from an IL-2-producing TCm phenotype and toward a poorly proliferating TEm phenotype, which may limit the effectiveness of the HIV-1-specific immune response.
NF-κB signaling at the crossroads of inflammation and atherogenesis: searching for new therapeutic links

Introduction: NF-κB is a protein complex acting as a primary transcription factor and fast messenger to harmful cellular stimuli, including inflammation. Carotid atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process leading to atheroma formation and ultimately complicating the patient’s condition. This review aims to critically summarize the role of NF-κB in atheroma formation and evolution, also highlighting its potential therapeutic utility. Areas covered: This literature review presents the most recent data in terms of NF-κB, atherosclerosis and implicating factors, with special focus on the carotid artery setting. Results are categorized according to atheroma stage and are discussed for each one respectively, forming an NF-κB mediated atherosclerosis evolvement model per stage. Targeting NF-κB by inhibitors or enhancers and their potential effectiveness are also discussed. Expert opinion: The current data suggest that NF-κB plays a critical role in all stages of plaque evolution toward complexity, implicating genes, membrane and cellular proteins, polypeptides, chemokines and hormones. It also seems capable of assisting several pharmaceutical agents, unfolding either directly or indirectly their anti-inflammatory/anti-atherogenic properties. Targeting NF-κB signaling by specific inhibitors or enhancers may provide new therapeutic strategies against atherogenic inflammatory process.
A miniature UWB planar monopole antenna with 5 GHz band-rejection filter

A noble planar monopole antenna with a staircase shape and very small volume (25 /spl times/ 26 /spl times/ 1 mm/sup 3/) is proposed in this paper. With the use of a half-bowtie radiation element, the staircase-shape, and a modified ground plane structure, the proposed antenna has a very wide impedance bandwidth measured at about 11.6 GHz (2.9 GHz /spl sim/ 14.5 GHz, bandwidth ratio about 1:5) below VSWR 2 including the WLAN band notched in the vicinity of 5 GHz. An omni-directional radiation pattern is obtained. The electrical and physical characteristics of the proposed antenna make it attractive for use in ultrawide band systems.
A comparison study between two analyzers for determining serum ferritin.

BACKGROUND The measurement of serum ferritin (SF) is generally considered to be a reliable indicator of iron status in vivo. The accurate assessment of SF concentration promoted us to evaluate the analytical performance of two automated immunoassays. METHODS A total of 125 different concentrations of clinical samples were routinely collected and determined by two analytical systems: the Architect i2000 system from Abbott Laboratories and the Cobas E601 from Roche Diagnostics. We evaluated the analytical performance of the two systems and compared the measurements of SF results, which covered the whole analytical range. RESULTS The analytical performance and accuracy of the two systems were fairly good, and a satisfactory correlation was achieved between the two methods (r = 0.99), but Bland-Altman analysis suggested that the Cobas E601 was, on average, 60.6 ng/mL higher than the i2000, with wide limits of agreement (95% limits of agreement: -78.3 to 199.5 ng/mL). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggested that the two methods had good correlation but were not interchangeable. Patients should always be monitored for SF with the same method and it should be indicated in the report.
Altered prostate specific antigen reference range after transurethral resection of the prostate.

OBJECTIVES We investigated how transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) affected the serum concentration of prostate specific antigen (PSA) and whether the reference range for PSA has to be altered in these patients following TURP. METHODS 55 patients were retrospectively analysed. All had undergone TURP for bladder outlet obstruction due to benign prostatic hyperplasia which was confirmed by histopathological amination. PSA was determined pre-operatively and postoperatively every 6 months for 48 months. These patients were compared to 12 patients who had undergone radical perineal prostatectomy (RPP) for prostate cancer (CaP). In the latter group, in all patients a TURP had been performed up to 7 years before CaP was diagnosed. RESULTS The median PSA concentration was 4.9 ng/ml before TURP and was subsequently reduced to 0.6 ng/ml after 48 months. There was a steady decrease of the PSA concentration during the observation period. In contrast in patients who subsequently developed a CaP, the median PSA concentration before TURP was 6.8 ng/ml and was reduced to only 2.2 ng/ml after 48 months. PSA levels started to rise before CaP was diagnosed. CONCLUSION After a TURP with a benign histopathologic specimer) PSA levels decrease steadily to values below 2 ng/ml. In case these patients demonstrate a rising PSA in the follow-up after partial prostatectomy, a CaP should be ruled out.