Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NMR methods for the determination of protein-ligand dissociation constants.

This article is a review with 83 references of the application of NMR to the measurement of the dissociation constants of protein-ligand complexes. After briefly discussing some general concepts of molecular stability, the text turns to consider which NMR parameters are reporters of complex formation. The available data treatments required to translate observed NMR effects into quantitative measurements of the stability of the complex in the form of the dissociation constant (KD) are introduced. Linearisation methods and curve fitting methods are explained in detail and are illustrated with examples drawn from recent reports of protein-small molecule interactions. Throughout the text examples of the commonly observed NMR parameters , 1 / T1 and 1 / T2 are drawn from biological studies of 1H, 31P, 19F 15N (and other nuclei). The advantages of NMR diffusion experiments as a measure of KD are considered. Some less frequently used NMR approaches, some new ideas and some non-general methods are grouped together in a miscellaneous section. The major sources of errors in the determination of KD are identified. This allows recommendations for optimal experimental set up. Options for dealing with strong binding are reviewed. Finally, the implications of abstracting KD data from high throughput screening experiments are considered and several different approaches to generate this data are discussed.
Connaissances expertes et modélisation pour l'exploitation d'images d'observation de la Terre à hautes résolutions spatiale, spectrale et temporelle

Les futures missions spatiales d'observation de la Terre, Venµs et Sentinelle (1 et 2), fourniront un flot de donnees inedit en termes de resolution spatiale, revisite temporelle et richesse spectrale. Afin d'exploiter de facon efficace ces donnees pour la realisation de cartes d'occupation des sols ou de detection de changements, des approches rapides, robustes et le moins supervisees possibles seront necessaires. Un exemple d'utilisation de ces donnees pourrait etre d'identifier, des le mois de mai, les surfaces couvertes par du mais dans tout le Sud-ouest de la France. Ou encore d'obtenir une carte d'occupation des sols mensuelle, dans un delai tres court, a l'echelle de grandes regions. On constate que les images seules ne permettent pas d'obtenir de telles donnees. Nous avons cependant d'autres types d'informations a notre disposition, qui ont jusqu'alors ete tres peu exploitees. Ce travail de these a consiste a identifier les informations dites a priori disponibles, evaluer leur pertinence, et les introduire dans les chaines de traitement deja existantes pour chiffrer leur apport. Nous nous sommes interesses en particulier au domaine du suivi de l'agriculture. Les informations que nous avons utilisees sont, entre autres, les connaissances sur les pratiques agricoles (rotations de culture, irrigation, alternances de categories de cultures, etc.), les tailles des parcelles et la topographie. Nous avons principalement travaille avec 2 sources de connaissances a priori : * Celles contenues dans des bases de donnees telles que le Registre Parcellaire Graphique (RPG). Nous avons utilise des methodes d'apprentissage automatique sur les donnees pour les extraire. * Celles fournies par des experts. Nous les avons modelisees a l'aide de regles de la logique de 1er ordre. Une des contributions de cette these est la selection et l'evaluation d'un outil qui permette d'extraire l'information et de la traiter, de maniere a ce qu'elle soit introduite de facon efficace dans les algorithmes de classification deja existants. Pour cela, nous avons utilise la Logique de Markov, un outil statistique capable de travailler a la fois sur des informations issues de bases de donnees, et sur des informations modelisees sous la forme de regles logiques. Nous avons montre que l'utilisation de ces donnees permet d'ameliorer la qualite des cartes d'occupation du sol. Nous avons de plus montre que ces informations permettent d'obtenir des cartes en quasi-temps-reel, dont la qualite va crescendo avec l'arrive de nouvelles informations. En conclusion de ce travail de these, nous donnons des pistes pour appliquer la meme methodologie a d'autres domaines, en particulier au suivi des forets tropicales et a la cartographie generique de l'occupation du sol.
Multi-metrics Restricts on MPRs over Standard OLSR

Optimized Link State Routing is well-suited to large-scale mobile network on account of that all the nodes exchange information of all networks periodically. Instead of typing words to chat with others, video and voice streaming increasingly become frequently-used ways for their convenience. In this paper, we have put forward a way to guarantee a high quality of video and voice services. Some quality constraints have been made to choose multipoint relays. And we compare the improved methods with standard OLSR by OPNET. Virtual voice application has been simulated during the simulation. The results of end-to-end delay and throughput show that the improved way works well when compared with standard OLSR in some degree. The real video streaming over virtual MANET environment also proves that the modified way works better.
Incidenza dei sottotipi di orticaria fisica e validazione dei relativi test in una coorte di pazienti con orticaria cronica afferenti alla Cattedra di Immunologia Clinica ed Allergologia dell’Università di Napoli Federico II

La ricerca ha valutato in termini epidemiologici e clinici la relazione tra forme spontanee e forme inducibili di orticaria cronica, integrando l’iter diagnostico bioumorale e strumentale dei pazienti con orticaria cronica mediante definizione di un protocollo diagnostico per i sottotipi di orticaria fisica che ha standardizzato metodologia di esecuzione dei test di provocazione, tempi di osservazione e criteri di interpretazione dei risultati. Tale attivita ha coinvolto nel periodo di attivita 2006-2009 258 pazienti, prevalentemente di sesso femminile ed eta compresa tra 18 e 78 anni, selezionati mediante questionario in base alla presenza anamnestica di nesso temporo-causale tra manifestazioni cliniche ed esposizione a forze fisiche. Ai fini della validazione del protocollo diagnostico e stata valutata selettivita e riproducibilita delle procedure. Sono stati definiti prevalenza globale e frequenza dei sottotipi di orticaria fisica, associazione con angioedema e concomitanti condizioni patologiche. Le differenze nelle stime di prevalenza reale e apparente misurate per ciascun sottotipo di orticaria fisica sono indicative della presenza di pazienti con manifestazioni cliniche in risposta a stimoli fisici con soglia di elicitazione differente da quella testata, variabile in relazione allo stato di attivita dell’orticaria, alle pregresse terapie effettuate ed alla concomitanza di altre affezioni. I risultati dei test nei pazienti con tireopatia (complessivamente il 16,6% del totale) hanno fornito osservazioni preliminari circa la correlazione tra orticaria e patogenesi autoimmune della tireopatia, l’associazione tra sottotipi di orticaria fisica e specifiche forme di tireopatia, il differente contributo della normalizzazione della funzione tiroidea alla remissione dell’orticaria nei sottogruppi di tireopatia, confermando, nel complesso, la relazione esistente tra orticaria cronica e patologie della tiroide. L’associazione tra forme fisiche di orticaria e tireopatia non autoimmune unitamente alla frequente remissione dell’orticaria alla normalizzazione del TSH supportano un modello fisiopatologico delle orticarie fisiche quali espressione di una reversibile alterazione della releasability mastocitaria in presenza di signaling in grado di modificare la soglia di apertura di canali ionici/ meccanosensori membranari ed indurre attivazione cellulare per stimoli subliminari.
Evaluating Production of Cyclopentyl Tetraethers by Marine Group II Euryarchaeota in the Pearl River Estuary and Coastal South China Sea: Potential Impact on the TEX86 Paleothermometer

TEX86 [TetraEther indeX of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) with 86 carbon atoms] has been widely applied to reconstruct (paleo-) sea surface temperature. Marine Group I (MG-I) Thaumarchaeota were thought to be the primary source of GDGTs constituting the TEX86 formula; however, recent research has suggested that Marine Group II (MG-II) Euryarchaeota may also contribute significantly to the GDGT pool in the ocean. Little is known regarding the potential impact of MG-II Euryarchaeota-derived GDGTs on TEX86 values recorded in marine sediments. In this study, we assessed the relationship between distributions of GDGTs and MG-II Euryarchaeota and evaluated its potential effect on the TEX86 proxy. Lipid and DNA analyses were performed on suspended particulate matter and surface sediments collected along a salinity gradient from the lower Pearl River (river water) and its estuary (mixing water) to the coastal South China Sea (SCS, seawater). TEX86-derived temperatures from the water column and surface sediments were significantly correlated and both were lower than satellite-based temperatures. The ring index (RI) values in these environments were higher than predicted from the calculated TEX86-RI correlation, indicating that the GDGT pool in the water column of the PR estuary and coastal SCS comprises relatively more cyclopentane rings, which thereby altered TEX86 values. Furthermore, the abundance of MG-II Euryarchaeota 16S rRNA gene in the mixing water was two to three orders of magnitude higher than those observed in the river or seawater. Significant linear correlations were observed between the gene abundance ratio of MG-II Euryarchaeota to total archaea and the fractional abundance of GDGTs with cyclopentane rings. Collectively, these results suggest that MG-II Euryarchaeota likely produce a large proportion of GDGTs with 1–4 cyclopentane moieties, which may bias TEX86 values in the water column and sediments. As such, valid interpretation of TEX86 values in the sediment record, particularly in coastal oceans, should consider the contribution from MG-II Euryarchaeota.
Home blood pressure management and improved blood pressure control: results from a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND To determine which of 3 interventions was most effective in improving blood pressure (BP) control, we performed a 4-arm randomized trial with 18-month follow-up at the primary care clinics at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. METHODS Eligible patients were randomized to either usual care or 1 of 3 telephone-based intervention groups: (1) nurse-administered behavioral management, (2) nurse- and physician-administered medication management, or (3) a combination of both. Of the 1551 eligible patients, 593 individuals were randomized; 48% were African American. The intervention telephone calls were triggered based on home BP values transmitted via telemonitoring devices. Behavioral management involved promotion of health behaviors. Medication management involved adjustment of medications by a study physician and nurse based on hypertension treatment guidelines. RESULTS The primary outcome was change in BP control measured at 6-month intervals over 18 months. Both the behavioral management and medication management alone showed significant improvements at 12 months-12.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6%-24.1%) and 12.5% (95% CI, 1.3%-23.6%), respectively-but not at 18 months. In subgroup analyses, among those with poor baseline BP control, systolic BP decreased in the combined intervention group by 14.8 mm Hg (95% CI, -21.8 to -7.8 mm Hg) at 12 months and 8.0 mm Hg (95% CI, -15.5 to -0.5 mm Hg) at 18 months, relative to usual care. CONCLUSIONS Overall intervention effects were moderate, but among individuals with poor BP control at baseline, the effects were larger. This study indicates the importance of identifying individuals most likely to benefit from potentially resource intensive programs. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00237692.
A comparison study of heuristics for solving the 2D guillotine strip and bin packing problems

In this paper we consider the two dimensional strip and bin packing problem with guillotine cuts. The problem consists in packing a set of rectangular items on one strip of width W and infinite height or in bins of width W and height H. The items packed without overlapping, must be extracted by a series of cuts that go from one edge to the opposite edge (guillotine constraint). To solve this problem, we proposed tow heuristics, BSHF (best shelf heuristic filling) and NSHF (non-shelf heuristic filling). We compare the two heuristics with other heuristics from the literature. Computational results show that the two algorithms are complementary and they outperform the other algorithms in most of the instances.
Milchverarbeitung und -vermarktung in Deutschland - eine deskriptive Analyse der Wertschöpfungskette

Die Wertschopfungskette Milch in Deutschland steht vor der Herausforderung, sich in einem zunehmend liberalisierten Milch- und Milchproduktmarkt zu behaupten. Neben der Milchproduktion hat in der Wertschopfungskette vor allem die Milchverarbeitung eine zentrale Funktion. Diese veredelt den international relativ homogenen Rohstoff Milch zu sehr unterschiedlichen Produkten. Die speziellen Produkteigenschaften von Milch (geringe Transportwurdigkeit und Lagerfahigkeit) erfordern zudem eine sehr enge Kopplung der beiden Wertschopfungsstufen Milchproduktion und -verarbeitung. Dabei stehen sich in der Wertschopfungskette viele Landwirte und einige Molkereien einem stark konzentrierten Lebensmitteleinzelhandel gegenuber. Die Molkereistruktur ist in Deutschland mittelstandisch gepragt und weist einen abgeschwachten Strukturwandel auf. Dabei haben sich Konzernstrukturen gebildet. Die Konzentration der Unternehmen ist im europaischen Vergleich gering. Bei der Produktionsausrichtung sind regionale Schwerpunkte in Deutschland festzustellen. Im Norden werden tendenziell mehr Trockenmilcherzeugnisse und im Suden mehr Milchmischprodukte erzeugt. Insgesamt werden entsprechend der Verzehrsentwicklungen in Europa immer mehr Kase und Frischmilchprodukte produziert. Der Absatz von Milchprodukten in Deutschland ist dabei international orientiert, wobei der europaische Binnenmarkt im Vordergrund steht. Bei einzelnen Milchproduktgruppen, wie beispielsweise Kase, werden vor allem gunstige Produkte exportiert und hoherpreisige Produkte importiert. Die Molkereiunternehmen sind im Absatz mit einem stark konzentrierten Lebensmitteleinzelhandel konfrontiert. Im Lebensmitteleinzelhandel sind ein starker Verdrangungswettbewerb und ein zunehmender Trend hin zu Handelsmarken sowie eine Sortimentspolarisierung hin zu Handelsmarken und Premiummarken festzustellen. Deutsche Lebensmitteleinzelhandelsunternehmen sind international wettbewerbsfahig und expandieren zum Teil weltweit. Qualitatsmanagementsysteme sind dabei weit verbreitet und wichtige Vorraussetzungen fur Absatzmoglichkeiten.
Privacy in the Cloud

Introduction Recently, many services in the cloud, e.g., social media, healthcare, banking & payment, and online marketing, depend on the use of personal information. Such privacy-sensitive data may reside in the other side of the planet. This trend highlights concerns on privacy in the cloud – how privacy of users is perceived and protected? In response to the growing privacy concerns, many technologies have been proposed, and governments in the world are preparing legal frameworks to protect privacy. However, there are still gaps between practices and proposed solutions, conflicts of interests, and disagreement on requirements and notions. For example, the more personal attributes service providers obtain, the further personalized services they can provide. Vice versa, the higher risks of privacy erosion. Thus, privacy provision must strike the best balance between conveniences, risks, and public interests. Also, recent public discussions about the usage of private information have raised the question whether privacy protection can become a business model. The notion of privacy is relatively new and should be evolving in accordance with the social and technological advancement. Also, the notion of privacy varies by culture, region and other aspects. Through this panel, panelists with a variety of backgrounds will lay a foundation for common understandings of privacy issues, and discuss agenda to foster further research and development in the areas of privacy in the cloud.
Automated coronary plaque characterisation with intravascular ultrasound backscatter: ex vivo validation.

AIMS Atherosclerosis is considered both a systemic and focal disease. Current diagnostic tools do not allow adequate in vivo identification and characterisation of lesions. Advanced spectral analysis of IVUS backscatter has displayed the potential for real-time plaque characterisation. The aim of this study is to determine the ex vivo accuracy of automated plaque characterisation by spectral analysis of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) backscatter. METHODS AND RESULTS Plaques (n=184) from 51 coronary arteries were imaged by IVUS. The arteries were then pressure fixed and matching histology collected. Regions were selected from histology and corresponding IVUS data were used to build the plaque classification system using spectral analysis and classi-fication trees. Tissue-maps were validated ex vivo by comparison with histology via 899 selected regions (n=94 plaques) that comprised 471 fibrous tissue (FT), 130 fibro-fatty (FF), 132 necrotic-core (NC) and 156 dense-calcium (DC) regions. The overall predictive accuracies were 93.5% for FT, 94.1% for FF, 95.8% for NC, and 96.7% for DC with sensitivities and specificities ranging from 72% to 99%. The Kappa statistic was calculated to be 0.845 indicating very high agreement with histology. CONCLUSIONS Automated spectral analysis of IVUS backscatter provides accurate ex vivo information on plaque composition, with considerable potential for assessment of plaque vulnerability in real-time.
Angiostrongyloza u psów w Polsce

czącą zwierząt mięsożernych, określaną potocznie jako francuska robaczyca serca. W wielu krajach Europy stwierdzana jest ze zróżnicowaną ekstensywnością, zwłaszcza u lisów i innych dzikich zwierząt mięsożernych oraz u psów. Szczególne nasilone występowanie choroby notowane jest w Niemczech, Danii oraz Wielkiej Brytanii (1, 2, 3, 4). Mimo podobieństwa warunków środowiskowych i klimatycznych, opublikowane w 2007 r. informacje o występowaniu angiostrongylozy Polsce dotyczyły wyłącznie wilków (5). Nie było dotychczas żadnych doniesień o zachorowaniach u psów w naszym kraju. Skłoniło to do badań w tym kierunku. Na zlecenie firmy Bayer, we współpracy z IDEXX Vet. Med. Lab. oraz Instytutem Parazytologii z Uniwersytetu w Zurychu w 2012 r. , przebadano w kierunku angiostrongylozy ponad 3 tys. surowic psów z terenu Polski. Zastosowano metodę immunoenzymatyczną (ELISA) w różnych konfiguracjach. Użyto wiele wariantów badania: poszukiwano tylko swoistych przeciwciał bądź tylko antygenów Angiostrongylus vasorum lub jednocześnie przeciwciał i antygenów. W zależności od zastosowanej strategii, ekstensywność inwazji Angiostrongylus vasorum u psów w Polsce na postawie wyników badań serologicznych oszacowano na poziomie od 0,51 do 1,78% (6). Pozytywnie reagujące zwierzęta pochodziły z terenu całego kraju. Mimo wykrycia kilkudziesięciu seropozytywnych psów, nie udało się jednak stwierdzić klinicznego przypadku inwazji. Pierwszy taki przypadek rozpoznano i opisano w Zakładzie Parazytologii i Chorób Inwazyjnych Wydziału Medycyny Weterynaryjnej Uniwersytetu Przyrodniczego w Lublinie (7). Oba te fakty, zarówno wyniki badań serologicznych, jak i potwierdzenie klinicznego przypadku angiostrongylozy, są dowodem na występowanie tego pasożyta u psów w Polsce.
Coherency feature extraction based on DFT-based continuous wavelet transform

Coherency identification is an important issue for transient stability analysis. In this paper, a coherency feature extraction method is proposed based on DFT-based continuous wavelet transform (CWT). By analyzing several typical situations of power angle swing (including incremental oscillated, damping oscillated and swing apart) using DFT-based CWT, it is illustrated that the scale and energy percentage of main components of the original signal can reveal the similarity and difference between power angle curves of the generators. Thus transient process of power angle can be described by a few indexes instead of a series of temporal data. Finally, case study in New England 10-machine 39-bus system indicates that the proposed coherency feature is valid for coherency identification in different fault cases.
Towards a Theory of Continuity of Care

As a principle of healthcare planning, continuity of care is losing ground. It is increasingly being superseded by other principles—notably, accessibility and plurality of provision. Baker1 has identified the pressures and Hjortdahl2 writes of continuity ‘going out of style’. National Health Service (NHS) walk-in centres provide open-access primary care on sites separate from general practices and staffed by different people. For the first time, it is possible that continuity of care will be phased out of NHS planning. If this happens, what will be the consequences for patients and doctors? Over many years a research group in Exeter, including all the authors of this paper, has been developing a theory of continuity, based partly on clinical experience and partly on published evidence. The essence of the Exeter theory is that, in primary care, a ‘personal doctor’ with accumulating knowledge of the patient's history, values, hopes and fears will provide better care than a similarly qualified doctor who lacks such knowledge; and that the benefits of such continuity will include not only greater satisfaction for the patient but also more efficient consultations, better preventive care and lower costs. When we assess continuity in primary care, the duration of registration with the general practitioner (GP) is only one background factor. A more important consideration is the total time the patient and doctor have been in direct communication; and this will include contacts about third parties, such as a child, or an elderly relative during a home visit. We recognize that continuity can have disadvantages; for example, a fresh eye may see what the familiar eye has missed. In this paper we examine the published evidence for and against continuity in primary care.
Blastocyst oestrogen synthesis and the maternal recognition of pregnancy.

The maternal recognition of pregnancy takes a number of forms in different species; among the eutherian mammals the maintenance of luteal function and cessation of oestrous or menstrual cycles is an important event in early pregnancy. In the pig the embryos signal their presence in the uterus between Days 10 and 12 post coitum; this time corresponds to the onset of blastocyst synthesis of oestrogens, which are luteotrophic in this species, and it has been suggested that oestrogens may constitute an embryonic signal responsible for maintained luteal function in pregnancy. Although oestrone sulphate, which is formed from oestrogens of embryonic origin by uterine sulphotransferase, has been found in the maternal circulation in high concentrations after Day 15 p.c. , its appearance is late relative to the time of maternal recognition of pregnancy. Therefore an alternative mechanism has been sought. The recent finding that oestradiol is capable of reducing uterine prostaglandin F2 alpha secretion (i.e. acting as an antiluteolysin), and that it is present in uterine venous blood as early as Day 12 p.c. in pregnant pigs, suggests a mechanism whereby blastocyst oestrogens may be capable of influencing luteal function.