Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of temperature and Y21M mutation on conformational heterogeneity of the major coat protein (pVIII) of filamentous bacteriophage fd.

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy was used to analyze the conformational heterogeneity of the major coat protein (pVIII) of filamentous bacteriophage fd. Both one and two-dimensional solid-state NMR spectra of magnetically aligned samples of fd bacteriophage reveal that an increase in temperature and a single site substitution (Tyr21 to Met, Y21M) reduce the conformational heterogeneity observed throughout wild-type pVIII. The NMR results are consistent with previous studies indicating that conformational flexibility in the hinge-bend segment that links the amphipathic and hydrophobic helices in the membrane-bound form of the protein plays an essential role during phage assembly, which involves a major change in the tertiary, but not secondary, structure of the coat protein.
Friction in orthodontics

Conventional wisdom suggests that resistance to sliding (RS) generated at the wire-bracket interface has a bearing on the force transmitted to the teeth. The relative importance of static and kinetic friction and also the effect of friction on anchorage has been a topic of debate. Lot of research work has been done to evaluate the various factors that affect friction and thus purportedly retards the rate of tooth movement. However, relevancy of these studies is questionable as the methodology used hardly simulates the oral conditions. Lately studies have concluded that more emphasis should be laid on binding and notching of archwires as these are considered to be the primary factors involved in retarding the tooth movement. This article reviews the various components involved in RS and the factors affecting friction. Further, research work should be carried out to provide cost effective alternatives aimed at reducing friction.
Anxiety and Schizophrenia: The Interaction of Subtypes of Anxiety and Psychotic Symptoms

Abstract Objective To examine the interaction of specific anxiety subtypes and psychosis. Introduction Accumulating evidence suggests that anxiety and its disorders play a significant role in patients with schizophrenia, but few studies have examined multiple types of anxiety and how they interact with different symptoms of schizophrenia. Methods Thirty-two patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were assessed through self-report measures and interviewer rating scales to examine symptoms of psychosis and anxiety. Results A majority of patients (62%) were diagnosed with at least one comorbid anxiety disorder. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms and social anxiety symptoms were related to positive symptoms, bizarre behavior, and quality of life (QOL). Furthermore, panic and social anxiety were related to suspiciousness/paranoia. No consistent relationship was found with negative symptoms. Finally, severity of anxiety disorders was negatively correlated with the severity of formal thought disorder. Discussion This is one of the first studies to simultaneously examine the interrelationships of different types of anxiety symptoms and psychotic symptoms. The present findings are consistent with the studies that have suggested relationships between panic and paranoia and comorbid anxiety disorders and impaired QOL. These data suggest that further research into anxiety in schizophrenia, including the cognitive and neurobiological correlates, may help elucidate the mechanisms involved in the manifestation of these psychopathologies Conclusion Anxiety disorders are common in patients with schizophrenia. The presence of such symptoms may influence the presence of core psychotic symptoms and QOL. More information is needed in terms of the relationship between treatment of these symptoms and changes in psychotic symptoms and/or relapse prevention.
A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR ASSESSING TUBIFICID BURROWING ACTIVITIES, AND RECOGNITION OF BIOGENIC GRADING FORMED BY THESE OLIGOCHAETES

Abstract Tubificids are important conveyor-belt feeders in freshwater settings because dense populations can rapidly rework bottom deposits through selective ingestion of silt and clay. The rate at which these organisms redistribute sedimentary particles is the focus of this research in which a new method is presented to address specific disadvantages of previous studies documenting tubificid bioadvection. The new approach incorporates an aquarium inoculated with sediment and worms in which the sediment surface is photographed through time as tubificids produce fecal mounds. Employing computer software, mounds are traced, and using a known pixel length, the program calculates the traced area, which is converted to volume of upturned sediment by assuming an idealized conical shape. This method resulted in a particle redistribution rate for a population of Limnodrilus and Tubifex at 0.042–0.139 cm/d/100,000 individuals/m2 at 21 °C. During sediment reworking, segregation of silt and clay forms biogenic graded bedding defined by a poorly sorted bed with an overall decrease in mean, modal, and median grain sizes upward. This tubificid-formed graded bedding could be recognized in the rock record through careful analyses of grain-size distributions that distinguish biogenic reworking from physically graded beds. Ichnologically, this occurrence corresponds to the broad conditions defined by the Mermia Ichnofacies, but is yet unrecognized and may actually obliterate typical traces associated with this ichnofacies. Identification of ancient tubificid-formed graded beds has the potential to enhance interpretations of environmental conditions (sedimentation rate and current velocities), provide evidence for a previously unrecognized paleobiomass, and broaden the definition of the Mermia Ichnofacies.
GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF RABBITS UNDER DIETARY MANIPULATION AT DIFFERENT POST WEANING AGES FOR HEAVIER BODY WEIGHTS

This study was conducted to determine the effect of dietary manipulation of growth in rabbits at different post-weaning ages on body weight (BW) at sexual maturity. A diet of 12%CP and 3238 kcal ME/kg was formulated as the control diet while another diet of 16%CP and 2906kcal ME/kg was formulated as the experimental diet. Dietary treatments were as follows: Treatment 1: 16% CP diet given between weaning (4 weeks) and8 weeks of age, Treatment 2:16% CP diet given between8and 12 weeks of age, Treatment 3: 16% CP diet given between 12and 16 weeks of age, and Treatment 4:control diet of 12% CP which was fed from weaning to 24 weeks of age. Besides, forage was also supplied. The BW records from 40 animals (10 per treatment) were collected from weaning to 24 weeks of age. Results showed significant differences in BW of the rabbits from 12 weeks of age onwards, with those in Treatment 2 and Treatment 1 having the highest and the lowest BW, respectively. Results of the study therefore revealed that the adoption of the management practice of manipulating growth through feeding between 8 and 12 weeks of age will result in the production of table size rabbits of 1.464 kg and 1.655 kg at 16 and 20 weeks of age, respectively.
Automated analgesic drugs delivery guided by vagal tone evaluation: Interest of the Analgesia Nociception Index (ANI).

Analgesic drugs delivery optimization constitutes one of the main objectives of modern anesthesia. Indeed, their over or under determination constitutes a risk for anesthetized patient in terms of hemodynamic reactivity or post-operative hyperalgesia. Nowadays, new physiological indexes allow anesthesiologists to evaluate the balance between the analgesia level and the noxious stimulus importance. A I is an index related to the autonomic nervous system activity based on heart rate variability analysis. Its ability for the analgesia / nociception balance evaluation has been established bringing evidences about its helpfulness for analgesic drug delivery. In this article, we describe a device for automatic analgesic drugs administration based on the A I evolution during surgical procedures under general anesthesia. We hypothesized that such a device could improve the quality and safety of anesthesia by reducing adverse cardiovascular events and delivered analgesic drugs doses.
Automatic alignment of large 3D data sets for facade reconstruction from car-mounted LIDAR measurements

Automatic reconstruction of large-scale outdoor objects like house facades is an important component of mixed-reality systems that model and visualise real world at different level of detail. The authors are involved in a project that utilises a car-mounted LIDAR to acquire a sequence 3D point clouds representing facades in a street. No GPS or IMU is used. Hundreds of point clouds need to be automatically aligned to obtain a realistic surface model of facades. In this paper, we present and compare two solutions to this complex registration problem. Our methods are based on two different, widely used techniques for registering two partially overlapping point clouds in presence of outliers. The proposed algorithms are capable of automatically detecting occasional misalignments. We analyse the operation of the algorithms paying special attention to the robustness, speed and optimal parameter setting.
Roles of cGMP-dependent protein kinase I (cGKI) and PDE5 in the regulation of Ang II-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis

Significance It has been reported that elevation of cGMP and activation of cGMP-dependent protein kinase I (cGKI) by inhibition of PDE5 activity with sildenafil prevents cardiac hypertrophy. We studied the roles of cGKI and PDE5 inhibition on angiotensin (AII)-induced hypertrophy and fibrosis using control (Ctr) mice and mice expressing cGKI only in cells where the smooth muscle SM22α promotor is active (βRM). In Ctr mice, sildenafil did not reduce the AII-induced increase of cardiomyocyte (CM) size or myocyte hypertrophic markers but did reduce fibrosis. In βRM mice, sildenafil had little or no effect on markers of fibrosis. These results show that the sildenafil/cGMP/cGKI cascade can have an inhibitory effect on cardiac fibrosis but not on CM hypertrophy. Conflicting results have been reported for the roles of cGMP and cGMP-dependent protein kinase I (cGKI) in various pathological conditions leading to cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. A cardioprotective effect of cGMP/cGKI has been reported in whole animals and isolated cardiomyocytes, but recent evidence from a mouse model expressing cGKIβ only in smooth muscle (βRM) but not in cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, or fibroblasts has forced a reevaluation of the requirement for cGKI activity in the cardiomyocyte antihypertrophic effects of cGMP. In particular, βRM mice developed the same hypertrophy as WT controls when subjected to thoracic aortic constriction or isoproterenol infusion. Here, we challenged βRM and WT (Ctr) littermate control mice with angiotensin II (AII) infusion (7 d; 2 mg⋅kg−1⋅d−1) to induce hypertrophy. Both genotypes developed cardiac hypertrophy, which was more pronounced in Ctr animals. Cardiomyocyte size and interstitial fibrosis were increased equally in both genotypes. Addition of sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, in the drinking water had a small effect in reducing myocyte hypertrophy in WT mice and no effect in βRM mice. However, sildenafil substantially blocked the increase in collagen I, fibronectin 1, TGFβ, and CTGF mRNA in Ctr but not in βRM hearts. These data indicate that, for the initial phase of AII-induced cardiac hypertrophy, lack of cardiomyocyte cGKI activity does not worsen hypertrophic growth. However, expression of cGKI in one or more cell types other than smooth muscle is necessary to allow the antifibrotic effect of sildenafil.
5-year incidence of atherosclerotic vascular disease in relation to general risk factors, insulin level, and abnormalities in lipoprotein composition in non-insulin-dependent diabetic and nondiabetic subjects.

The 5-year incidence of myocardial infarction and claudication was examined in a group of middle-aged patients (n = 133, 70 men and 63 women) with newly diagnosed non-insulin-dependent diabetes and nondiabetic control subjects (n = 144, 62 men and 82 women). The effects of general risk factors, plasma insulin level, and lipoprotein abnormalities on the incidence of myocardial infarction and claudication were also evaluated by univariate analyses in both diabetic patients and nondiabetic subjects and by multivariate analyses combining both groups. The age-adjusted incidence of myocardial infarction was higher both in diabetic men (19.4%) and diabetic women (11.0%) than in nondiabetic men (3.2%, p = 0.009) and nondiabetic women (3.0%, p = 0.047). Similarly, the age-adjusted incidence of claudication was higher among the diabetic patients (20.3% vs. 8.0% for men, p = 0.06; 21.8% vs. 4.2% for women, p = 0.003). None of the general risk factors (i.e., low density lipoprotein [LDL] cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, and high density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol) showed an association with the risk of myocardial infarction either in the diabetic or nondiabetic groups of subjects, but an ischemic electrocardiographic abnormality at the baseline examination predicted myocardial infarction in diabetic men. In univariate analyses in diabetic subjects, high serum total cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, high very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, and high total, LDL and VLDL triglycerides, and in nondiabetic subjects, high VLDL cholesterol and LDL triglycerides were associated with the appearance of claudication. In multivariate analyses including both diabetic and control subjects, only diabetes had an independent association with myocardial infarction, whereas smoking, high LDL triglycerides or VLDL cholesterol, and high fasting plasma insulin showed independent relations to claudication. The present results indicate that changes in lipoprotein composition characteristic of non-insulin-dependent diabetes are atherogenic and increase the risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease. Furthermore, high plasma insulin might also be involved in atherogenesis, independent of lipoprotein abnormalities.
Geographic‐based ecological correlation studies using supplemental case–control data

It is well known that the ecological study design suffers from a variety of biases that render the interpretation of its results difficult. Despite its limitations, however, the ecological study design is still widely used in a range of disciplines. The only solution to the ecological inference problem is to supplement the aggregate data with individual‐level data and, to this end, Haneuse and Wakefield (Biometrics 2007; 63:128–136) recently proposed a hybrid study design in which an ecological study is supplemented with a sample of case–control data. The latter provides the basis for the control of bias, while the former may provide efficiency gains. Building on that work, we illustrate the use of the hybrid design in the context of a geographical correlation study of lung cancer mortality from the state of Ohio. Focusing on epidemiological applications, we initially provide an overview of the use of ecological studies in scientific research, highlighting the breadth of current application as well as advantages and drawbacks of the design. We consider the interplay between the two sources of information in the design: ecological and case–control, and then provide details on a Bayesian spatial random effects model in the setting of the hybrid design. Issues of specification are addressed, as well as sensitivity to modeling assumptions. Further, an interesting feature of these data is that they provide an example of how the proposed design may be used to resolve the ecological fallacy. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A controlled trial of buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence.

OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of buprenorphine for short-term maintenance/detoxification. DESIGN A randomized, double-blind, parallel group study comparing buprenorphine, 8 mg/d, methadone, 60 mg/d, and methadone, 20 mg/d, in a 17-week maintenance phase followed by an 8-week detoxification phase. SETTING Outpatient facilities at the Addiction Research Center, Baltimore, Md. PATIENTS One hundred sixty-two volunteers seeking treatment for opioid dependence. INTERVENTION In addition to the medication, counseling using a relapse prevention model was offered but not required. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES Retention time in treatment, urine samples negative for opioids, and failure to maintain abstinence. RESULTS Throughout the maintenance phase, retention rates were significantly greater for buprenorphine (42%) than for methadone, 20 mg/d (20%, P less than .04); the percentage of urine samples negative for opioids was significantly greater for buprenorphine (53%, P less than .001) and methadone, 60 mg/d (44%, P less than .04), than for methadone, 20 mg/d (29%). Failure to maintain abstinence during the maintenance phase was significantly greater for methadone, 20 mg/d, than for buprenorphine (P less than .03). During the detoxification phase, no differences were observed between groups with respect to urine samples negative for opioids. For the entire 25 weeks, retention rates for buprenorphine (30%, P less than .01) and methadone, 60 mg/d (20%, P less than .05), were significantly greater than for methadone, 20 mg/d (6%). All treatments were well tolerated, with similar profiles of self-reported adverse effects. The percentages of patients who received counseling did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS Buprenorphine was as effective as methadone, 60 mg/d, and both were superior to methadone, 20 mg/d, in reducing illicit opioid use and maintaining patients in treatment for 25 weeks.
Real time auditory coding of visual information

This paper deals with the design of a sensory substitution device for rehabilitation of early onset blindness. A visual scene is captured using a TV camera. Image processing achieves edge detection and graded resolution. Each pixel of the processed image is assigned a sinusoid; weighted summation of these sinusoids elaborates a complex auditory signal. Updating rate of this processing of visual scenes in auditory signals is above 12 Hz.
Determinants of Retirement on the High Court of Australia

The objective of this study is to employ a hazard model to examine the determinants of retirement among Australia's top judges using a unique dataset for the High Court data from 1904 to 2001. Our estimation results suggest that pension eligibility, whether the judge was an active participant in the Court's work and the political persuasion of the appointing government are important predictors of when judges retire.
Feature-based alert correlation in security systems using self organizing maps

The security of the networks has been an important concern for any organization. This is especially important for the defense sector as to get unauthorized access to the sensitive information of an organization has been the prime desire for cyber criminals. Many network security techniques like Firewall, VPN Concentrator etc. are deployed at the perimeter of network to deal with attack(s) that occur(s) from exterior of network. But any vulnerability that causes to penetrate the network's perimeter of defense, can exploit the entire network. To deal with such vulnerabilities a system has been evolved with the purpose of generating an alert for any malicious activity triggered against the network and its resources, termed as Intrusion Detection System (IDS). The traditional IDS have still some deficiencies like generating large number of alerts, containing both true and false one etc. By automatically classifying (correlating) various alerts, the high-level analysis of the security status of network can be identified and the job of network security administrator becomes much easier. In this paper we propose to utilize Self Organizing Maps (SOM); an Artificial Neural Network for correlating large amount of logged intrusion alerts based on generic features such as Source/Destination IP Addresses, Port No, Signature ID etc. The different ways in which alerts can be correlated by Artificial Intelligence techniques are also discussed. We've shown that the strategy described in the paper improves the efficiency of IDS by better correlating the alerts, leading to reduced false positives and increased competence of network administrator.
An Invasive Cool-Season Grass Complicates Prescribed Fire Management in a Native Warm-Season Grassland

ABSTRACT: Invasive species challenge managers of natural areas. In many ecosystems, restoring and maintaining pre-historic disturbance regimes promotes native biodiversity and controls invasive plant species. We report challenges in applying patch-burn grazing to restore the ecological interaction between fire and herbivores in eastern North American tallgrass prairie. We use United States Forest Service fire behavior software and fuel models to simulate the effect of a cool-season grass invasion into tallgrass prairie. By introducing a high-moisture fuel type into the native fuelbed, tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum Schreb. S.J. Darbyshire) creates a heterogeneous fuelbed that limits fire spread rate. Our results indicate that a high-moisture fuel type invading a high proportion of a fuelbed requires up to four times the wind speed to achieve a rate of spread similar to that in an uninvaded fuelbed. Reduced fire spread undermines restoring the natural fire regime, putting invaded grassland systems at a higher risk of succession to a woodland state. To mitigate against negative effects of high-moisture invaders on prescribed burning and ensure that fires maintain the intensity required for management goals, managers should consider the following when planning burns: Accumulate higher fuel loads by reducing herbivory or reducing fire frequency; burn earlier in the spring or later in the fall, during the dormant season of the invader; and consider alternative fire weather such as lower relative humidity, perhaps with lower wind speeds to maintain an acceptable level of complexity.
Strategies to Block HIV Transcription: Focus on Small Molecule Tat Inhibitors

After entry into the target cell, the human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV) integrates into the host genome and becomes a proviral eukaryotic transcriptional unit. Transcriptional regulation of provirus gene expression is critical for HIV replication. Basal transcription from the integrated HIV promoter is very low in the absence of the HIV transactivator of transcription (Tat) protein and is solely dependent on cellular transcription factors. The 5' terminal region (+1 to +59) of all HIV mRNAs forms an identical stem-bulge-loop structure called the Transactivation Responsive (TAR) element. Once Tat is made, it binds to TAR and drastically activates transcription from the HIV LTR promoter. Mutations in either the Tat protein or TAR sequence usually affect HIV replication, indicating a strong requirement for their conservation. The necessity of the Tat-mediated transactivation cascade for robust HIV replication renders Tat one of the most desirable targets for transcriptional therapy against HIV replication. Screening based on inhibition of the Tat-TAR interaction has identified a number of potential compounds, but none of them are currently used as therapeutics, partly because these agents are not easily delivered for an efficient therapy, emphasizing the need for small molecule compounds. Here we will give an overview of the different strategies used to inhibit HIV transcription and review the current repertoire of small molecular weight compounds that target HIV transcription.