Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Load balance optimization of a Red5 cluster in the mobile classroom project

The Mobile Classroom Project aims at building an interactive platform for students. The media platform is an important part of it. Through it, the students can view or download instructional videos. Red5 is a good solution to the media platform. It can support multi-user applications. For this platform, a single Red5 server cannot satisfy the requirement. A Red5 cluster is needed to support a large number of users. However, there are still some defects existing in the traditional Red5 cluster. The most important aspect for our application is the loading unbalance. This problem will lead to the result that some edges of the cluster are in an overloaded state. The clients that connect to these edges cannot get a good service. To solve this problem, we decided to add a load-balancing layer to the system. The layer takes responsibilities to collect information of the servers and choose the suitable server for new requests. In the end of this paper, we will give two experiments. From the results of the experiments, we can see that by adding the load-balance layer those requests can be distributed uniformly and the students who connect to the cluster can get a timely response.
The Academic Medical Center Linear Disability Score item bank: psychometric properties of a new generic disability measure in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To determine the psychometric properties of the Academic Medical Center (AMC) Linear Disability Scale (ALDS) item bank in a population of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS 129 patients with RA completed the ALDS and Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) at baseline, and after 8 and 16 weeks of anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha treatment. Disease activity assessments at these timepoints included serum levels of C-reactive protein, Disease Activity Score 28, morning stiffness, and visual analog scales for global disease activity and fatigue. RESULTS Reliability of the ALDS was excellent (homogeneity, Cronbach's alpha = 0.95; test-retest, intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.93). The ALDS results at baseline were strongly correlated with the HAQ-DI (r = -0.75). With regard to known group validity, both instruments discriminated between higher and lower disease activity (ALDS, p < 0.0001; HAQ-DI, p = 0.002) and between non-, moderate, and good responders (ALDS, p = 0.002; HAQ-DI, p < 0.0001), indicating that both instruments differentiate between groups. The ALDS was moderately to highly responsive to changes between baseline and after 8 weeks and 16 weeks of treatment (standardized response mean, range = 0.71-1.19). No substantial floor or ceiling effects were found. CONCLUSION Our results show that the ALDS is a promising new instrument, with at least equivalent psychometric properties compared to the HAQ-DI. Advantages of the ALDS item bank are its linear structure and an item bank that can be adapted depending on the ability level of the patient.
Comparative Sequence Analysis of the Largest E1A Proteins of Human and Simian Adenoviruses

ABSTRACT The early region 1A (E1A) gene is the first gene expressed after infection with adenovirus and has been most extensively characterized in human adenovirus type 5 (hAd5). The E1A proteins interact with numerous cellular regulatory proteins, influencing a variety of transcriptional and cell cycle events. For this reason, these multifunctional proteins have been useful as tools for dissecting pathways regulating cell growth and gene expression. Despite the large number of studies using hAd5 E1A, relatively little is known about the function of the E1A proteins of other adenoviruses. In 1985, a comparison of E1A sequences from three human and one simian adenovirus identified three regions with higher overall levels of sequence conservation designated conserved regions (CR) 1, 2, and 3. As expected, these regions are critical for a variety of E1A functions. Since that time, the sequences of several other human and simian adenovirus E1A proteins have been determined. Using these, and two additional sequences that we determined, we report here a detailed comparison of the sequences of 15 E1A proteins representing each of the six hAd subgroups and several simian adenoviruses. These analyses refine the positioning of CR1, 2, and 3; define a fourth CR located near the carboxyl terminus of E1A; and suggest several new functions for E1A.
MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF PgiC IN A TETRAPLOID PLANT AND ITS DIPLOID RELATIVES

Allotetraploid plant species combine the genomes of related diploid species, but little is known about whether homologous genes from the diploid genomes are expressed, how they interact, or whether they evolve differently when in a common tetraploid nucleus. Polyploidy may lead to gene silencing, but few molecular characterizations of silenced genes encoding enzymes in polyploids and related diploids have been reported. Here we describe the PgiC genes in the tetraploid Clarkia gracilis and related diploid species, which are native from California to southern Washington. PgiC encodes the cytosolic isozyme of phosphoglucose isomerase (PGIC; EC 5.3.1.9). The gene was duplicated in the basal stock of Clarkia and now both genes, PgiC1 and PgiC2, are active in about half of the diploid species, whereas only PgiC1 is active in the others. Clarkia gracilis was found to have three PgiC genes: two PgiC1s and a PgiC2. Reverse‐transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) experiments, starting with mRNAs prepared from seedling leaves of C. gracilis, showed that the three genes are expressed. Analysis of their sequences showed they are evolving at similar rates to their homologues and that they have the same intron‐exon structure. The presence of an expressed PgiC2 in C. gracilis was unexpected because all related diploid species, including one identified as a parent, have only active PgiC1s. The donor of the PgiC2 is now presumed extinct, but parsimony analysis identified its phylogenetic position. None of the PgiC genes that were active when C. gracilis arose were silenced. A possible example of gene conversion involving a 300–nuclectide region of one PgiC1 and PgiC2 was identified, but it probably occurred in the diploid parental species rather than in C. gracilis. PgiC2 is the first known example of an active locus in a tetraploid plant species that is no longer expressed in its diploid relatives.
Global Identification of Genes Affecting Iron-Sulfur Cluster Biogenesis and Iron Homeostasis

ABSTRACT Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are ubiquitous cofactors that are crucial for many physiological processes in all organisms. In Escherichia coli, assembly of Fe-S clusters depends on the activity of the iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) assembly and sulfur mobilization (SUF) apparatus. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms and the mechanisms that control Fe-S cluster biogenesis and iron homeostasis are still poorly defined. In this study, we performed a global screen to identify the factors affecting Fe-S cluster biogenesis and iron homeostasis using the Keio collection, which is a library of 3,815 single-gene E. coli knockout mutants. The approach was based on radiolabeling of the cells with [2-14C]dihydrouracil, which entirely depends on the activity of an Fe-S enzyme, dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase. We identified 49 genes affecting Fe-S cluster biogenesis and/or iron homeostasis, including 23 genes important only under microaerobic/anaerobic conditions. This study defines key proteins associated with Fe-S cluster biogenesis and iron homeostasis, which will aid further understanding of the cellular mechanisms that coordinate the processes. In addition, we applied the [2-14C]dihydrouracil-labeling method to analyze the role of amino acid residues of an Fe-S cluster assembly scaffold (IscU) as a model of the Fe-S cluster assembly apparatus. The analysis showed that Cys37, Cys63, His105, and Cys106 are essential for the function of IscU in vivo, demonstrating the potential of the method to investigate in vivo function of proteins involved in Fe-S cluster assembly.
A VAPB mutant linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis generates a novel form of organized smooth endoplasmic reticulum

VAPB (vesicle‐associated membrane protein‐associated protein B) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)‐resident tail‐anchored adaptor protein involved in lipid transport. A dominantly inherited mutant, P56S‐VAPB, causes a familial form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and forms poorly characterized inclusion bodies in cultured cells. To provide a cell biological basis for the understanding of mutant VAPB pathogenicity, we investigated its biogenesis and the inclusions that it generates. Translocation assays in cell‐free systems and in cultured mammalian cells were used to investigate P56S‐VAPB membrane insertion, and the inclusions were characterized by confocal imaging and electron microscopy. We found that mutant VAPB inserts post‐translationally into ER membranes in a manner indistinguishable from the wild‐type protein but that it rapidly clusters to form inclusions that remain continuous with the rest of the ER. Inclusions were induced by the mutant also when it was expressed at levels comparable to the endogenous wild‐type protein. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that the inclusions represent a novel form of organized smooth ER (OSER) consisting in a limited number of parallel cisternae (usually 2 or 3) interleaved by a ~30 nm‐thick electron‐dense cytosolic layer. Our results demonstrate that the ALS‐linked VAPB mutant causes dramatic ER restructuring that may underlie its pathogenicity in motoneurons. —Fasana, E. , Fossati, M. , Ruggiano, A. , Brambillasca, S. , Hoogenraad, C. C. , Navone, F. , Francolini, M. , Borgese, N. A VAPB mutant linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis generates a novel form of organized smooth endoplasmic reticulum. FASEB J. 24, 1419–1430 (2010). www.fasebj. org
Evaluating the drug-target relationship between thymidylate synthase expression and tumor response to 5-fluorouracil: Is it time to move forward?

Thymidylate synthase is a target of 5-fluoruracil, a pyrimidine analog used to treat gastrointestinal and other cancers. The 5-fluorouracil metabolite, fluoro-deoxyuridine monophosphate, forms a ternary complex with thymidylate synthase and 5,10-methylene tetrahydrofolate. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the time-honored connection between thymidylate synthase and 5-fluorouracil. From our literature search spanning reports from 1995 to 2007 published in journals having an impact factor greater than 2, we stratified the tumors within each article, according to low versus high thymidylate synthase expression. These groups were subdivided into responders, stable disease, or disease progression. The relationship between thymidylate synthase expression and 5-fluorouracil response was analyzed for the overall group, as well as for subsets. Overall, the literature supported an approximately 2-fold inverse relationship between thymidylate synthase expression and response to 5-fluoruracil. We found no change in the trend for a relationship between thymidylate synthase and 5-fluorouracil when the literature was stratified by date of publication, impact factor of the journal in which the report was published, or substrate (mRNA versus protein) for measuring thymidylate synthase expression. Of note, there is no significant change in the trend when comparing 5-fluorouracil treatment alone or in combination with leucovorin. We found a decline of this trend when certain chemotherapeutics were used in combination with 5-fluorouracil. In sum, the connection between thymidylate synthase expression and patient response to 5-fluorouracil does not satisfy expectations for an effective drug-target relationship; and thus, studies of the thymidylate synthase tandem repeat status might only be clinically valuable in regards to patient toxicity. Thus, we question the reliability of thymidylate synthase expression as a clinical predictor of 5-fluorouracil response. Future research could perhaps be directed towards alternate targets and metabolites of 5-fluorouracil, in an effort to find a clinically relevant biomarker panel for response and to optimize fluoropyrimidine-based therapy.
The object of memory : Arab and Jew narrate the Palestinian village

There was a village in Palestine called Ein Houd, whose people traced their ancestry back to one of Saladin's generals who was granted the territory as a reward for his prowess in battle. By the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, all the inhabitants of Ein Houd had been dispersed or exiled or had gone into hiding, although their old stone homes were not destroyed. In 1953 the Israeli government established an artists' cooperative community in the houses of the village, now renamed Ein Hod. In the meantime, the Arab inhabitants of Ein Houd moved two kilometers up a neighboring mountain and illegally built a new village. They could not afford to build in stone, and the mountainous terrain prevented them from using the layout of traditional Palestinian villages. That seemed unimportant at the time, because the Palestinians considered it to be only temporary, a place to live until they could go home. The Palestinians have not gone home. The two villages-Jewish Ein Hod and the new Arab Ein Houd-continue to exist in complex and dynamic opposition. The Object of Memory explores the ways in which the people of Ein Houd and Ein Hod remember and reconstruct their past in light of their present-and their present in light of their past. Honorable Mention, 1999 Perkins Book Prize, Society for the Study of Narrative
Estimation of 10-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease in Iceland with results comparable with those of the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation project

Background No data are available on the comparison between an absolute 10-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) morbidity using the risk assessments of the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) project. Design Data from the prospective Reykjavik Study of 15 782 patients were used to estimate the 10-year risk of fatal CVD and CHD morbidity in Iceland. Methods Survival to fatal CVD event was defined as in the SCORE project. Survival to CHD morbidity was defined as having a myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft, or angioplasty. The statistical methodology of SCORE was used. Results Relative risk in Iceland was comparable with SCORE results but baseline risk was similar to the low-risk version of SCORE, which contradicted previous suggestions for the countries of northern Europe. Correlation between absolute risk of CHD morbidity and risk for fatal CVD was high (r = 0.96), resulting in similar ranking of individuals by risk and discriminatory capacity. This is the first published comparison between total fatal CVD risk and CHD morbidity in a population-based cohort using the current risk assessment guidelines of the European Societies on Coronary Prevention. Conclusions Risk for fatal CVD in Iceland has the same characteristics as those in a European nation with results varying in accordance with the SCORE project. The risk estimate to be used, CHD morbidity or fatal CVD, is a choice of clinical preference. The data, however, suggest that 5% high-risk threshold of fatal CVD corresponds to a 12% CH D-morbidity risk, which is a significant change from the conventional reference value of 20%. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 14: 761-768 © 2007 The European Society of Cardiology
Increased iron‐related MRI contrast in the substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease

Article abstract—Elevated iron levels in the substantia nigra (SN) of the brain in Parkinson's disease (PD) may mediate lipid peroxidative reactions, promoting SN neuronal death. To assess SN iron accumulation in living PD patients and its relation to motor performance, we measured, in 13 nondemented PD patients and 10 normal control subjects, simple reaction time (SRT) and simple movement time (SMT), followed by head MRI in a 3-tesla system. We measured T2 and T2* in the right and left SN of all subjects and calculated R2‘, the relaxation rate due to local magnetic field in-homogeneities, from these values. Asymmetries of 1/T2 (R2), l/T2* (R2*), or R2’ versus asymmetries of SRT and SMT were assessed in eight PD subjects who had not taken anti-PD medication(s1 for 12 hours. The average of right and lef ϵ SN values for R2 was lower, and R2* and R2‘ were higher, in PD patients than in controls (R2, p = 0.046; R2*, p = 0.001; R2’, p < 0.001). R2‘ best predicted group differences. The asymmetry of SRT performance was highly correlated with asymmetries of SN R2* (0.91; p = 0.001) and R2’ (0.72; p = 0.03). These results strongly suggest that the increases in iron levels seen postmortem in the SN in PD are reflected in increased iron-related MRI contrast at 3 tesla in living PD patients. Correlations with motor performance in PD suggest that the clinical severity of PD may be related to SN iron accumulation.
Is cystatin C a better marker than creatinine for evaluating residual renal function in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis?

BACKGROUND Current clinical assessments of residual renal function (RRF) for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients usually require 24 h of urine collection, which is sometimes difficult for patients and contributes to random errors. Objective. Our study aims to investigate whether serum cystatin C (CysC) can serve as a better marker of RRF than serum creatinine (Cr) in CAPD and to develop a formula to estimate RRF with CysC levels. METHODS One hundred and sixty CAPD patients from a single dialysis unit were randomly divided into modeling (n(1) = 120) and validation (n(2) = 40) groups. RRF was assessed as the average of the renal clearances of urea and creatinine. We then derived RRF formulas based on the CysC and Cr levels from the modeling group and validated them by comparison with a published CysC-based equation and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease formula. RESULTS CysC levels were inversely related to RRF, Kt/V(urea) and total weekly Ccr but were unrelated to age, gender, body mass index, diabetes or peritoneal clearance. The RRF formulas derived from CysC and Cr were (sinh(ln(6.736-0.566 CysC)))(2) and (sinh(ln(6.097-0.265 Cr)))(2), respectively. When applied to the validation group, the estimated RRF based on CysC (2.8 ± 1.2 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) was similar to that of on Cr (2.8 ± 1.3 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) and the measured RRF (2.9 ± 1.7 mL/min/1.73 m(2)). The CysC formula showed a small bias, with the best 30 and 50% accuracy and had a larger area under the curve and higher sensitivity and specificity when compared to the Cr formula and other formulas. CONCLUSION Serum CysC may be a good marker for the estimation of RRF in CAPD patients. The derived CysC formula may be used to reliably estimate RRF in CAPD patients without the need for collection of 24 h urine.
Molecular mechanisms of cis‐urocanic acid and permethrin‐induced alterations in cutaneous immunity

Background/Purpose: Cutaneous cis‐urocanic acid (cUCA) or ultraviolet B exposure has been shown to cause diminished cutaneous contact hypersensitivity (CH) and to induce systemic tolerance (increased regulatory T lymphocytes) in mice. Permethrin is also a known CH inhibitor, but the molecular mechanisms are currently poorly understood. In this study, CH was evaluated in four strains of mice: an immunosensitive strain (C57BL/6N), an immunoresistant strain (SvImJ), a strain developed from C57BL/6N mice but genetically altered at both the tumor necrosis factor‐alpha receptors (TNFαp55R and p75R), and a strain developed from C57BL/6N but genetically deleted at the interferon‐gamma (IFNγ) locus.
Dextromethorphan potentiates the antinociceptive effects of morphine and the delta-opioid agonist SNC80 in squirrel monkeys.

Dextromethorphan (DXM) is a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist shown to prevent the development of tolerance to the antinociceptive effects of morphine in rodents. DXM also potentiates the antinociceptive effects of the mu-opioid receptor agonist morphine under some conditions; however, the effect of DXM in combination with opioids other than morphine has not been well characterized. This study determined the antinociceptive effects of DXM administered alone or in combination with morphine or the delta-opioid receptor (DOR) agonist SNC80 using a squirrel monkey titration procedure. In this procedure, shock (delivered to the tail) increases in intensity every 15 s (0.01-2.0 mA) in 30 increments. Five lever presses during any given 15-s shock period produces a 15-s shock-free period after which shock resumes at the next lower intensity. This assay provides a measure of antinociception that is separable from motor effects [response rate (RR)]. Morphine (0.3-3.0 mg/kg i.m.) and SNC80 (1.0-10 mg/kg i.m.), but not DXM (1.0-10 mg/kg i.m.) dose- and time-dependently increased the intensity below which monkeys (n = 4) maintained shock 50% of the time [median shock level (MSL)]. Doses of morphine and SNC80 that alone did not increase MSL were potentiated by DXM. Importantly, these combinations did not significantly alter RR. These data support previous findings with other NMDA receptor antagonists and morphine using this procedure and also extend those findings to a DOR agonist.
Flavonoid profile, antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of different extracts from Algerian Rhamnus alaternus L. bark

Background: Rhamnus alaternus (Rhamnaceae) L. has been traditionally used for treatment of many diseases. Objective: In this study, we determined the antioxidant/free radical scavenger properties, the flavonoid profile and the cytotoxicity of aqueous and methanolic extracts obtained by maceration from Algerian R. alaternus bark, like also of aqueous extract prepared by decoction according to the traditional method. This to estimate the usefulness of the drug traditional preparation and compare it with those made in the laboratory. Materials and Methods: The antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated using five different redox-based assays, all involving one redox reaction with the oxidant. High-performance liquid chromatography/diode array detection/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analysis was used to identify and quantify the flavonoids content. Cytotoxicity on human monocytic leukemia cells (U937) was also carried out. Results: All the extracts tested showed a good antioxidant/free radical scavenger activity and a similar flavonoid fingerprint. However, the methanolic one presented the best antioxidant activity that can be due to the highest flavonoid amount and significantly reduced the proliferation of leukemia cells. The results confirm that the extract prepared by decoction contains efficient antioxidant compounds and this justifies in part the therapeutic and preventive usefulness. Moreover, the methanolic extract exerted excellent cytotoxicity on U937 that could be attributed to kaempferol and rhamnocitrin glycosides.
How Challenge Demands Have Offsetting Effects on Job Performance: Through the Positive and Negative Emotions

By combining the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2001) and the transactional theory of stress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984), this study examines how challenge demands (i.e., task complexity and time pressure) have dual effects on employees’ job performance through the mediating effects of positive and negative emotions. We collected data from 414 employees from three firms located in China, including two hi-tech firms and one financial firm. The results indicated that challenge demands (i.e., task complexity and time pressure) have an overall positive effect on employees’ job performance (i.e., task performance and contextual performance) by offsetting positive indirect effects with negative indirect effects. The theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.