Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel non-thermostable deuterolysin from Aspergillus oryzae

Three putative deuterolysin (EC 3.4.24.29) genes (deuA, deuB, and deuC) were found in the Aspergillus oryzae genome database (http://www.bio.nite.go.jp/dogan/project/view/AO). One of these genes, deuA, was corresponding to NpII gene, previously reported. DeuA and DeuB were overexpressed by recombinant A. oryzae and were purified. The degradation profiles against protein substrates of both enzymes were similar, but DeuB showed wider substrate specificity against peptidyl MCA-substrates compared with DeuA. Enzymatic profiles of DeuB except for thermostability also resembled those of DeuA. DeuB was inactivated by heat treatment above 80° C, different from thermostable DeuA. Transcription analysis in wild type A. oryzae showed only deuB was expressed in liquid culture, and the addition of the proteinous substrate upregulated the transcription. Furthermore, the NaNO3 addition seems to eliminate the effect of proteinous substrate for the transcription of deuB. Graphical abstract DeuB was a non-thermostable deuterolysin from A. oryzae. The transcription of the gene was promoted by protein substrates, but the promotion was eliminated by adding inorganic nitrogen source such as NaNO3.
The passage of abnormal spermatozoa through the uterotubal junction of the mouse.

Summary. Adult female mice of an outbred strain and of the inbred C57BL strain were naturally or artificially inseminated with spermatozoa from 6- to 14-week-old males belonging to two inbred strains, C57BL and KE. Several hours after insemination, the females were killed and examined for the percentage of spermatozoa with morphologically abnormal heads found in the uterus and in the oviducal flushings. According to the degree of abnormality, misshapen spermatozoa were divided into five classes. In young KE males, large spermatozoa were observed and designated as diploid. The proportion of abnormal forms in the uterus depended on the strain and on the age of the males, and was highest in the group inseminated with spermatozoa from young C57BL strain mice. The proportion of abnormal spermatozoa in the oviducal flushings was greatly reduced, although positively related to the percentage of abnormalities in the uterus. This applied particularly to slight abnormalities, their percentage being about three times higher in the uterus than in the oviduct. Spermatozoa with severe abnormalities were either not found in the oviduct or their proportion was reduced more than ten times. The uterotubal junction appears to function as a barrier against morphologically abnormal spermatozoa, especially against severely deformed ones, although its selective action is not absolutely effective.
Serotonin Receptor Changes in Dementia of the Alzheimer Type

Serotonin receptors were assessed in postmortem brains of control and Alzheimer‐type dementia (ATD) patients using ligand binding techniques. Differential losses of serotonin S1 and S2 receptors were present in neocortex, hippocampus, and amygdala of ATD patients, whereas no significant changes were observed in basal forebrain and basal ganglia. Losses of S1 receptors were significantly age‐related in the ATD group, suggesting they occurred at a later stage of the disease process. Losses of S2 receptors were considerably greater (with a reduction to 35% of control in temporal cortex) and were not age‐related in ATD. Significant correlations were observed within the ATD group between S2 receptor binding and somatostatin immuno‐reactivity in temporal and frontal cortices. Thus the loss of S2 receptors in ATD may be a relatively early change in the disease process, and may precede the changes in ascending serotonergic neurones.
Why is a Change of Room Rate Pricing Policy so Hard to Implement ?

This paper analyzes the process of changing a competition-oriented room rate pricing approach into a company-wide value-based pricing process from the perspective of the resource-based view. From a sample of 33 hotels in 16 countries it evaluates data from 55 open-ended interviews, documentation and archival records. Employing systems methodology the study illustrates that pricing is an intra/inter-organizational activity involving crossdisciplinary processes at various hierarchical levels. It finds that changing to value-based pricing involves a remarkable level of especially intangible resources. The study identifies these resources and their impact, identifying how constraints and tensions influence the shift in pricing orientation. It suggests that pricing in a value-driven policy comprises a capability. Without this capability interpersonal realities and goal conflicts, most prominently between sales and revenue, are found to impose major effects on the alignment of functional levels, the change in pricing processes, and the degree to which these are really value-driven.
Modeling and Control of a PMSynRel Drive for a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle

This thesis presents two transient models for a prototype in tegrated charger for use in a plug-in hybrid-electrical vehicle application. The model s can be useful in order to develop control algorithms for the system or to recommend improveme nts to the machine design. A flux map based method, obtaining input data from simulation s using the finite element method (FEM) is used to model the grid synchronizati on process. The grid side voltage can then be predicted by incorporating spatial flux l inkage harmonics. The model is implemented in Matlab/Simulink and compared to stand alo ne FEM simulations with good agreement. The charging process is modeled using an inductance based mo del also requiring FEM simulations as input data. Since the flux linkages in the g rid and inverter side windings are dependent on each other, the presented transient mo del is linearized around a specific operating point. This model is also implemented in a Matlab/Simulink environment. Sensorless control of a PMSynRel drive is also studied in thi s thesis. Focus is put on operating limits due to magnetic saturation when operati ng at low speeds. The rotating and pulsating voltage vector injection methods for sensorl e s control are studied in detail. A technique to map the feasible sensorless control region is proposed which utilizes the resulting position error signal rather than data of differe ntial inductances. This technique is implemented experimentally and compared to correspondi ng FEM simulations with good agreement. The impact of spatial inductance harmonics on the quality of he position estimates is also studied. A method to predict the maximum position est imation error due to the inductance harmonics is proposed based on simplified analyt ic l models. A technique is presented and experimentally verified which can compensate for his effect by injecting a modified rotating voltage carrier. Lastly, the impact of sa tur tion in the rotor structure on the initial magnet polarity detection is investigated. T he experimental results, in good agreement with the corresponding FEM simulations, indicat e that the impact of saturation in the magnet bridges of rotor is the dominant phenomeno n at lower peak current magnitudes.
Tilburg University Survival , LookAhead Bias and the Persistence in Hedge Fund Performance

Hedge funds databases are typically subject to high attrition rates because of fund termination and self-selection. Even when all funds are included up to their last available return, one cannot prevent that ex post conditioning biases affect standard estimates of performance persistence. In this paper we analyze the persistence in the performance of U.S. hedge funds taking into account look-ahead bias (multi-period sampling bias). To do so, we model attrition of hedge funds and analyze how it depends upon historical performance. Next, we use a weighting procedure that eliminates look-ahead bias in measures for performance persistence. The results show that the impact of lookahead bias is quite severe, even though positive and negative survivalrelated biases are sometimes suggested to cancel out. At horizons of one and four quarters, we find clear evidence of positive persistence in hedge fund returns, also after correcting for investment style. At the two-year horizon, past winning funds tend to perform poorly in the
Nonsparse learning with latent variables

As a popular tool for producing meaningful and interpretable models, large-scale sparse learning works efficiently when the underlying structures are indeed or close to sparse. However, naively applying the existing regularization methods can result in misleading outcomes due to model misspecification. In particular, the direct sparsity assumption on coefficient vectors has been questioned in real applications. Therefore, we consider nonsparse learning with the conditional sparsity structure that the coefficient vector becomes sparse after taking out the impacts of certain unobservable latent variables. A new methodology of nonsparse learning with latent variables (NSL) is proposed to simultaneously recover the significant observable predictors and latent factors as well as their effects. We explore a common latent family incorporating population principal components and derive the convergence rates of both sample principal components and their score vectors that hold for a wide class of distributions. With the properly estimated latent variables, properties including model selection consistency and oracle inequalities under various prediction and estimation losses are established for the proposed methodology. Our new methodology and results are evidenced by simulation and real data examples.
Overdose deaths following previous non-fatal heroin overdose: record linkage of ambulance attendance and death registry data.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Experiencing previous non-fatal overdoses have been identified as a predictor of subsequent non-fatal overdoses; however, few studies have investigated the association between previous non-fatal overdose experiences and overdose mortality. We examined overdose mortality among injecting drug users who had previously been attended by an ambulance for a non-fatal heroin overdose. DESIGN AND METHODS Using a retrospective cohort design, we linked data on non-fatal heroin overdose cases obtained from ambulance attendance records in Melbourne, Australia over a 5-year period (2000-2005) with a national death register. RESULTS 4884 people who were attended by ambulance for a non-fatal heroin overdose were identified. One hundred and sixty-four overdose deaths occurred among this cohort, with an average overdose mortality rate of 1.20 per 100 person-years (95% CI, 1.03-1.40). Mortality rate decreased 10-fold after 2000 coinciding with widely reported declines in heroin availability. Being male, of older age (>35 years) and having been attended multiple times for previous non-fatal overdoses were associated with increased mortality risk. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS As the first to show a direct association between non-fatal overdose and subsequent overdose mortality, this study has important implications for the prevention of overdose mortality. This study also shows the profound effect of macro-level heroin market dynamics on overdose mortality.
Active Synthesis of Mouse Polymeric Immunoglobulin Receptor in the Epithelial Cells of the Distal Urinary Tubule in Kidney

The tissue distribution of mouse polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) has been demonstrated. By Northern blot hybridization, pIgR mRNA expression was detected in liver, intestine, stomach, lung and kidney. A weak expression was also detected in thymus by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. The pIgR expression in kidney was further studied and confirmed that pIgR protein was actively synthesized in the epithelial cells of distal urinary tubule and of Henle's loop. Immunoelectron microscopical analysis showed the accumulation of pIgR‐containing vesicles in the apical portion of distal urinary tubule epithelial cells.
Anisotropic elasticity for inversion-safety and element rehabilitation

We present an analysis of anisotropic hyperelasticity, specifically transverse isotropy, that obtains closed-form expressions for the eigendecompositions of many common energies. We then use these to build fast and concise Newton implementations. We leverage our analysis in two separate applications. First, we show that existing anisotropic energies are not inversion-safe, and contain spurious stable states under large deformation. We then propose a new anisotropic strain invariant that enables the formulation of a novel, robust, and inversion-safe energy. The new energy fits completely within our analysis, so closed-form expressions are obtained for its eigensystem as well. Secondly, we use our analysis to rehabilitate badly-conditioned finite elements. Using this method, we can robustly simulate large deformations even when a mesh contains degenerate, zero-volume elements. We accomplish this by swapping the badly-behaved isotropic direction with a well-behaved anisotropic term. We validate our approach on a variety of examples.
Cerebrospinal Fluid 5-Hydroxytryptamine and 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid in HIV-1 Infection

Reduced level of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) in humans has been associated with a number of mental health and behavioral problems including depression, aggression, violence, sexual dysfunctions, sleep and eating disorders. Even though among HIV-1-infected individuals, prevalence of mental health and behavioral problems are common, their relationship with central nervous system serotonin functions is not clearly understood. This investigation was carried out to study the status of CSF 5-HT in HIV-1+ subjects (n = 21), in the early stage of infection, and HIV-1– control subjects (n = 24). Samples of CSF were obtained by lumbar puncture and were analyzed for 5-HT and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), using high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with electrochemical detector. Levels of CSF 5-HT were significantly lower in the HIV-1+ group compared to the HIV-1– group. There was no significant difference in the CSF 5-HIAA levels between the two groups. In both groups, however, there was a significant correlation between CSF 5-HT and 5-HIAA. In the HIV-1 + group, although CSF 5-HT level was significantly negatively correlated with serostatus, there was no correlation between either CSF 5-HT or 5-HIAA levels and CD4 cell number or any behavioral measures evaluated in this study, including Beck’s Depression Inventory and state/trait anxiety scores. These data suggest that HIV-1 infection affects the CNS 5-HT status with no significant association with measures of depression and anxiety, at least in the early stage of infection.
Performance Analysis of Security Mechanism for Automotive Controller Area Network

Connectivity of modern cars has led to security issues. A number of contributions have proposed the use of cryptographic algorithms in order to provide automotive Controller Area Network (CAN) security. However, due to CAN protocol characteristics, real time requirements within cryptographic schemes are not guaranteed. In this work, effects of implementing cryptographic approaches have been investigated by proposing a performance analysis methodology of cryptographic algorithm. Until get implanting the proposed method in a real vehicle, a platform based on STMicroelectronics’32F407 (STM32F407) microcontroller board has been deployed to test the proposed methodology. The experiments show that the implementation of a cryptographic algorithm has an impact on clock cycles number and therefore, on real-time performances.
Improving NER for Clinical Texts by Ensemble Approach using Segment Representations

Clinical Named Entity Recognition (Clinical-NER), which aims at identifying and classifying clinical named entities into predeﬁned categories, is a critical pre-processing task in health information systems. Different machine learning approaches have been used to extract and classify clinical named entities. Each approach has its own strength as well as weakness when considered individually. Ensemble technique uses the strength of one approach to overcome the weakness of another approach by combining the outputs of different classiﬁers in order to make the decision thereby improving the results. Segment representation is a technique that is used to add a tag for each token in a given text. In this paper, we propose an ensemble approach to combine the outputs of four different base classiﬁers in two different ways, namely, majority voting and stacking. We have used support vector machines to train the base classiﬁers with different segment representation models namely IOB2, IOE2, IOBE and IOBES. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on a well-known clinical dataset i2b2 2010 corpus and re-sults obtained illustrate that the proposed approach outperforms the performance of each of the base classiﬁers.
Prediction of clinical response to methylphenidate in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE To examine the pattern of individual responses to to methylphenidate (MPH) in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and to examine factors that predict drug response. METHOD Individual drug response was defined on the basis of changes on the Abbreviated Conners Rating Scales completed by parents and teachers. These scales were the main outcome measures in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of MPH. Response prediction was examined in stepwise discriminant analyses, in which baseline variables and the response to a single, 10-mg dose of MPH were entered. RESULTS Predictors of a strong MPH response were a high IQ, considerable inattentiveness, young age, low severity of disorder, and low rates of anxiety. A positive response to a single dose of MPH significantly improved the prediction of less stringently defined levels of MPH response. CONCLUSION Only strong levels of response could be predicted by baseline characteristics. Severity of disorder based on clinical judgment and improvement after a single dose of MPH are found to be important contributors to response prediction.
Differential requirements of naive and memory T cells for CD 28 costimulation in autoimmune pathogenesis

Experimental auto immune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the most extensively studied animal model of the hum an di sease multipl e scle ros is (MS). In EAE, CNS demyelination is induced by immuniza tion w ith myelin prote ins o r adoptive transfer of myelin-reactive CD4 + T ce ll s . Si nce th e a nt ige n s pec if ic ity o f th e immune response be lieved to be res pons ibl e fo r the pathology of MS is not well defined, therapies that target aspects of T ce ll activation that are not antigen specific may be more applicable to the trea tment of MS. As a result, understanding the role of costimulatory molecules in th e ac ti vatio n o f na'ive and me mo ry T ce ll s has become an area of ex tensive investigation. NaIve T cell s require two signals fo r activation. S ignal one is provided by e ngage me nt of th e T ce ll rece pt o r (TC R) w ith MH C/ pe p t ide co mpl exes a nd prov id es a n t ige n specific ity to the immune response. T he second signal, te rm e d cos timul a ti o n , is us u a ll y prov id e d b y B7 molecules on APC to CD28 molecules expressed on T ce ll s and is a nti ge n-indepe nd e nt. T hi s rev iew w ill discuss our current understanding of costimulation in the indu c ti o n a nd perpetua tio n of EA E, as we ll as th e potential of costimulaton blockade in the treatment of MS.
The Issues of Content and Linkage

Common-sense proposals for restructuring schools neglect two major issues: What content is needed to give direction to structural innovation? and How can the many factors that influence this content be linked? A discussion of the social context of U.S. education demonstrates the ways in which content and linkage problems are complicated. An agenda of content for teacher commitment and competence is described, based on the following areas: depth of understanding and authentic knowledge; success for all students; new teacher roles; and the concept of schools as moral communities. Four areas of need for substantial change are identified: high standards; high incentives and stakes; local empowerment; and collaborative organization. Five problems related to systemic linkage that restructuring "theory" has yct to address are discussed--the failure to explain: how organizational alignment will pe achieved; how powerful institutions will change; how the contradiction between externally developed standards and local empowerment will be addressed; how citizenry will be convinced to generate funds; and how building social capital in the society will be accompliahed. Twenty-six endnotes are attached. (63 references) (LMI) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************
A Massive MIMO Stochastic Geometry Analysis of Various Beamforming Designs with Partial CSIT

We consider coordinated beamforming (BF) for the Multi-Input Single-Output (MISO) Interfering Broadcast Channel (IBC). The beamformers are optimized for the Ergodic Weighted Sum Rate (EWSR) or various approximations and bounds thereof, for the case of Partial Channel State Information at the Transmitters (CSIT). Gaussian (posterior) partial CSIT can optimally combine channel estimate and channel covariance information. With Gaussian partial CSIT, the beamformers only depend on the means (estimates) and (error) covariances of the channels. We extend a recently introduced large system analysis for optimized beamformers with partial CSIT, by a stochastic geometry inspired randomization of the channel covariance eigen spaces, leading to much simpler analytical results, which depend only on some essential channel characteristics. In the Massive MISO (MaMISO) limit, we obtain deterministic approximations of the signal and interference plus noise powers at the receivers for various BFs, which are tight as the number of BS antennas and the total user subspace dimension tend to infinity at fixed ratio. Simulation results exhibit the correctness of the large system results and the performance superiority of optimal BF designs based on both the MaMISO limit of the EWSR and using Linear Minimum Mean Squared Error (LMMSE) channel estimates.
Comparative effects of lifestyles , childhood conditions and education on health : An investigation with a British cohort

This paper focuses on the long-term effects of lifestyles with comparison to social and health-related initial conditions, and education on health status over the life-cycle in a cohort of British people born in 1958. Using the longitudinal follow-up of health and lifestyles at age 23, 33, 42 and 46, it investigates the influence of each determinant on health and the mediating role of education and lifestyles in the relationship between social and health-related initial conditions and health. Self-assessed health is modeled using a dynamic panel Probit specification addressing individual unexplained heterogeneity. Health inequality is explored using the decomposition of the variance. Our results show an impressive contribution of lifestyles to health inequalities about 35% in the baseline specification and 26% in the structural specification. We also found a predominant contribution of childhood conditions when their indirect role on education and lifestyles is taken into account, which underlines the relevance of mediated effects between determinants of health and outperform previous works ignoring childhood characteristics as a relevant determinant of health. Noticeably, average past lifestyles appear to matter more for adult health than transitory lifestyles.